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200 Series General Forum for the Volvo 240 and 260 cars |
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New (to me) 1980 Volvo 244Views : 1773740 Replies : 4083Users Viewing This Thread : |
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Jul 7th, 2020, 22:00 | #1411 | |
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Time will tell!
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Jul 8th, 2020, 07:00 | #1412 | |
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[My apology for mixing units in the above - the important thing is that the Young's moduli for steel and aluminium, as well as their densities are in the ratio of 3:1 - good engineers should be able to switch units easily, unless they worked on the Mars Climate Orbiter of course]. I suspect (and it is only a feeling, I'm not a mechanical engineer) the steel wheels for road cars will generally be lighter because they are functional and have no adornments (it doesn't matter what they look like - just cover them up with a plastic hub cap), whereas alloys are mostly designed to be seen and admired (hence all those funny shaped but largely superfluous spokes and things). If alloy wheels were just made to a similar, simple design as a steel wheel (a bit like the racing Jaguars in the 1950s) then they would be about the same weight as steel ones of the same rigidity, perhaps a bit lighter as the steel wouldn't need to be as thick as it is practical to make it in places. Anyway - I hope I remembered the above correctly - I attended a few lectures on materials science as part of my physics degree in about 1980 (there may be a mechanical or structural engineer out there that will correct me if my memory has failed me in this respect). It will be interesting to see the results of your experiment: my money is still on the plain-Jane steel wheels being lighter than the flash alloys. Alan Last edited by Othen; Jul 8th, 2020 at 08:12. Reason: Spelling error. |
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Jul 8th, 2020, 19:17 | #1413 |
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One learns something new every day...
I'd always wondered why some PO had gone to the trouble and expense of fitting rear wheel spacers to the Royal Barge. The tyres don't look odd in the wheel arches and the track seems to be the same at the back as the front of the car...
... well, today I got round to doing some research and discovered that the track at the rear is 70mm narrower than at the front on 240s. I can't imagine why Mr Volvo thought that was a good idea, maybe they just had lots of slightly too narrow live axles to use up in the parts bin as I notice it was corrected on the 700 and 900 cars. I understand rear wheel spacers are quite a common fix (particularly among American Volvo owners), and back in the day Mr Volvo even offered an OEM 20mm spacer kit for the 240s' rear end (still available here and there at €394.70). If the issue had not been sorted by a previous owner I don't think I'd have fitted a spacer kit (they are a bit pricey at between £120 and £200), but I'm feeling quite smug having discovered the RB has the same track both ends of the car. :-) Last edited by Othen; Jul 8th, 2020 at 19:37. |
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Jul 8th, 2020, 20:16 | #1414 |
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It's not uncommon for the rear track to be different to the front Alan but i wonder if the rear spacers were more to fit the alloy wheels. Being potentially wider rims than the original steels, it may have been necessary but also it could have been the PO that did it just wanted improved handling.
There are benefits to a narrower track at the rear such as improved turn-in on corners and a (slightly) tighter turning circle. I did once read that the wheelbase on the XJ Jeep Cherokee was 1/2" shorter on one side to take into account the camber on US roads. Never been able to verify it but interesting thought!
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Jul 8th, 2020, 20:50 | #1415 | |
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Regards, John.
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Jul 8th, 2020, 20:57 | #1416 | |
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I don’t know about fitting the Virgo (not Virago as I have been calling them for the past 5 months, Loki corrected me) wheels. They fit fine at the front, and look as if they would without the spacers at the back - I’m led to believe these were usually for the GLT model (that seems to be bourn out by ads I’ve seen for GLT cars of the era), so it is a little hard to imagine they wouldn’t have fitted the standard hubs. You are probably right - a PO probably just wanted to improve the handling (hence the Virgo wheels, adjustable Koni shockers and beefy anti-roll bars). All that doesn’t matter all that much, I’ve looked at some photos of other 240s and have noticed they do look a bit odd with a narrower track at the back, so I’m pleased a PO sorted out this little issue for me. Someone obviously spent some cash doing this job properly. I did speak with James, the ever helpful manager of F1 Autocenter, (who fitted the tyres for me and are fascinated by the RB every time they see it). He said they had noticed the spacers and had assumed I’d fitted them, his MoT tester had been impressed that the work had been done to make things right. Anyway Dave, I’m pleased to see there was a good justification behind fitting the spacers, and they do make the RB look much better. Alan Last edited by Othen; Jul 8th, 2020 at 21:20. |
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Jul 8th, 2020, 21:13 | #1417 | |
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I remember the rear torsion bars ran the whole width of the car, so they had to be staggered, one in front of the other. I think the wheelbase was the same both sides, but one of the swinging arms was a few inches shorter than the other). It didn’t seem to affect the handling - it rolled around all over the place anyway, :-) Alan |
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Jul 8th, 2020, 21:43 | #1418 |
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I'd forgotten about the Renault 4, a cross between an overgrown Lego brick and hippo plop-plops on wheels!
The Renault 5 wasn't much different except it was more Lego than hippo in shape and had a better marketing campaign. The early ones still had the push-pull gearstick mounted in the dash.
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Jul 8th, 2020, 21:51 | #1419 | |
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It was a typically dreadful French design that somehow worked okay (against all odds) and it drove sort of okay. I think the engine was something like 850cc, and so probably made about 25 HP, 65 MPH was about the top speed. Life was simpler in those days. Alan |
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Jul 8th, 2020, 23:03 | #1420 | |
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Strangely and coincidentally, I had one too, Alan. Mine was an early one, '63, I think in the late '60s. I totally agree with your assessment. My mates nicknamed it the 'Jellymobile' on account of the qualities to which you allude! Didn't stop them coming to me when they wanted something moving, though - we once had a complete dismantled Lambretta 150 in the back with room to spare! Regards, John.
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