Hi

Couple of days ago I´ve seen a nice 245 on the road which had a somehow unique appearance. It was lowered but the front end was slightly deeper than the rear end.

My problem is, that I have the nivomat ( rear shocks which could be filled with compressed air to keep the rear axle on a constant horizontal level when heavy load or lots of passengers are transported ) installed on the rear axle and none of the sport shock suppliers offer such a system. So I can´t lower the car completely because then I would lose the nivomat.

Now my question is:
Can I lower only the front end and keep the stock Volvo spring/shock combinationon on the rear axle?
If this is possible, what are, or are there any possible problems of such a modification?

PS: the car is a 1989 245!

Thanks for any input!

Ciao -- have a nice day

M.P.

I picked up a 79 Bertone about a month ago that has been lowered all around but the front is lower than the rear. It also has sway bars installed. I cannot believe how well this car handles. It's really spooky how there is no body roll and the car just points and shoots through corners. I live in the Missouri Ozarks where there are nothing but winding roads and have had several well handling cars. The Bertone beats them hands down and I think will give my father's 944 a run for its money (not in the speed department).

Erich

While lowering the front more than the rear may look good, it's not great for handling, always try for a level stance otherwise you can wind up with a very loose rear end with some strange handling traits.
It's terrible for looks, but often cars handle better with the rear end a little lower than the front, sad but true.

--
Veronica, my 85 760Ti

Hi M.P..

I was unaware 240's had Nivomat's. I also believe the Nivomat system "self-charges" as the car moves through jounce and rebound during use. Are you sure it's a Nivomat system? You might just have air shocks on the rear. Those could be replaced with suitable dampers that match whatever lowering springs you purchase. There are several sources for good springs. Search this board for previous threads.

I wouldn't lower just the front. Besides a strange appearance, you could create handling problems.
--
Eric Carter - 1982 245T, M46

Hi

It´s not the same system like on the 700/900 because it is not self adjusting. Everytime I want to haul some heavy load I have to go to a gas station and fill the shocks with compressed air, till the rear end is high enough and has the reserves needed, to become horizontal again when the trunk is fully loaded. The pressure inside the shocks is measured by a pressure gauge inside the engine bay. So I don´t know exactly if it calls nivomat or not, it is just a very nice thing when hauling heavy things around. :-)

By the way - thank you all for the input - I´ll check out the best solution without lowering only the front. The handling arguments sound very convincing and logical!

Ciao M.P.