C30 General : Softening the suspension

[Derek Oliver]

We purchased an 07 2L diesel a few weeks ago my wife being the main user and she is delighted with it.

However being a long way past my sell by date with significant arthritis in the base of my spine I find the ride decidedly uncomfortable, particularly on the well potholed minor roads of rural Lincolnshire. Every small dip in the road gives me an unpleasant jolt.

The ride of the car I usually drive - a tatty 14 year old Pug 306 estate - by comparison is very comfortable along with nice handling. I would like to try and soften the jittery ride of the Volvo even if this takes the edge off the handling characteristics. At our age we don't tear about much !!

I suspect that much of this comes from the use of low profile tyres - 205/50 17 which will have little give in the sidewalls. There is plenty of clearance between wheel and brake calliper to change to 16 inch rims with a higher tyre profile to get roughly the same rolling radius. Not yet being very knowledgeable about the Volvo range can anyone suggest a 16 wheel that will fit. Or are the 5 stud PCD and offset the same as another make (Ford?)

Next will be to investigate adjustable dampers for the rear, but I would like to try the wheels & tyres first as 2 are due replacement soon anyway.

[Daim]

Originally Posted by Derek Oliver

We purchased an 07 2L diesel a few weeks ago my wife being the main user and she is delighted with it.

However being a long way past my sell by date with significant arthritis in the base of my spine I find the ride decidedly uncomfortable, particularly on the well potholed minor roads of rural Lincolnshire. Every small dip in the road gives me an unpleasant jolt.

The ride of the car I usually drive - a tatty 14 year old Pug 306 estate - by comparison is very comfortable along with nice handling. I would like to try and soften the jittery ride of the Volvo even if this takes the edge off the handling characteristics. At our age we don't tear about much !!

I suspect that much of this comes from the use of low profile tyres - 205/50 17 which will have little give in the sidewalls. There is plenty of clearance between wheel and brake calliper to change to 16 inch rims with a higher tyre profile to get roughly the same rolling radius. Not yet being very knowledgeable about the Volvo range can anyone suggest a 16 wheel that will fit. Or are the 5 stud PCD and offset the same as another make (Ford?)

Next will be to investigate adjustable dampers for the rear, but I would like to try the wheels & tyres first as 2 are due replacement soon anyway.

The 5x108 pattern is a standard and the same as the Focus and all other Volvos (except some with 4). Even some Renault, Peugeot and Citroens have it...

[scoobysn7x]

My girlfriend had the exact same problem when she got he c30 r design on 17's she found the ride too hard especially on glasgow roads, we swapped to some 16 inch s40 wheels and she finds the ride much better although i find it a little to soft and preferred the ride on 17's

[GusGecko]

Aah jeez I won't take you for a ride in mine lowered and on 18's!!

[MacV50]

Ran 16"s with winter tyres this year and they don't make much difference to ride quality. Was expecting harshness when I put the 17"s back on but really couldn't tell.

Think you'll need to investigate changing the suspension for softer units but they'll need to be well controlled otherwise the handling could turn bad

[slingading]

My V50 runs on 18" low profiles, and the ride was really harsh, too much so for my liking. It had a service, MOT and 2 x new rear tyres fitted last week and the ride is so much better now. The tyres that were replaced were probably what the car came from the factory with, Dunlop SP's I think, and I've now got Barum's on there, such a nicer drive now.

[Daim]

Originally Posted by GusGecko

Aah jeez I won't take you for a ride in mine lowered and on 18's!!

What should I say? Lowered, 19"s and very low profile tyres! Lower than th 18"s have!

But I like my comfortable ride on 19"s...

[niva441]

Originally Posted by Daim

What should I say? Lowered, 19"s and very low profile tyres! Lower than th 18"s have!

But I like my comfortable ride on 19"s...

The quality of German roads probably help to make it a bit less of an issue than in the UK.

I was disappointed when I ordered the C30 that the 16" wheel option was no longer available. However as the 17" fitment was only a change from 55 to 50 I thought I'd give a try. However they only lasted a week as, in addition to all the ride issues they created, they also significantly increased fuel consumption. On the 17" wheels the car struggled to achieve 40 mpg, in conditions when I would have got approx 45 mpg from my similar spec (except 16" wheel) V50. Changing to 16" winter tyres the following week improved fuel consumption to 43 mpg, despite the normal impact of the drop in temperature on economy.

It's now running 16" summer tyres and is the refined, efficient vehicle it should have been all along. Given my C30 experience and the road noise that my V50 suffers with it's original spec tyres I'm come to the conclusion that Volvo either haven't got much idea about speccing tyres, or they operate to very distorted parameters.

[t5_monkey]

Originally Posted by Derek Oliver

We purchased an 07 2L diesel a few weeks ago my wife being the main user and she is delighted with it.

However being a long way past my sell by date with significant arthritis in the base of my spine I find the ride decidedly uncomfortable, particularly on the well potholed minor roads of rural Lincolnshire. Every small dip in the road gives me an unpleasant jolt.

The ride of the car I usually drive - a tatty 14 year old Pug 306 estate - by comparison is very comfortable along with nice handling. I would like to try and soften the jittery ride of the Volvo even if this takes the edge off the handling characteristics. At our age we don't tear about much !!

I suspect that much of this comes from the use of low profile tyres - 205/50 17 which will have little give in the sidewalls. There is plenty of clearance between wheel and brake calliper to change to 16 inch rims with a higher tyre profile to get roughly the same rolling radius. Not yet being very knowledgeable about the Volvo range can anyone suggest a 16 wheel that will fit. Or are the 5 stud PCD and offset the same as another make (Ford?)

Next will be to investigate adjustable dampers for the rear, but I would like to try the wheels & tyres first as 2 are due replacement soon anyway.

5x108

ET 52.5

Hub 63.4

dampers... best bet might be bilstein B4's as they will improve the damping quality significantly.

[niva441]

I replaced my 17" Spiders with 16" Clavas from the Volvo dealers. The main attraction, apart from their simple design, was that they were £75 cheaper than the other designs.