V70 T5 Handling

Hi all

I'm new to the club after being lucky enough to buy a '98 V70 T5 with FVSH at a bargain price.

I find the ride to be very firm for our potholed roads up here in Aberdeen and braking hard on a bumpy road causes the front end to shudder alarmingly. Is this normal? Will replacement shocks such as Bilstein help matters?

Also how can I reduce understeer? Will changing tyre pressures help or is it possible to add more negative camber on the front without causing inner tyre wear? Alternatively, I have the Nivomat system on the rear, can this be replaced with firmer springs and matching shocks?

Thanks in advance for any advice.

Also, are there any other performance Volvo enthusiasts in the Aberdeen area?

Cheers
Alec

[Simon Linton]

You shouldn't have shudder under braking - this is probably due to warped discs, which will need replacing along with the pads.

Get the front end alignment checked out too - the car needs 4-wheel tracking adjustment to preserve the expensive rubber and to ensure that the turn-in is accurate.

It's the unfortunate follow-on of a "bargain" that all the things the previous owner did not do now fall to you to correct.

Front discs and pads will be £250 ish, tracking will be about £30 but very necessary and you should get the wheels balanced - all of them.

When the wheels are put back on, make sure that the studs are torqued up to 110Nm, this is probably the cause of the warped discs as uneven torque on the studs will warp discs in a few hundred miles.

Put fully synthetic oil in the engine at the next change, change the brake fluid and ATF if you have an auto and look through the threads on t his forum for ideas about modifications; what not to do as well as what to do.

[pettaw]

just a quick re-emphasis on tracking. Make sure you get a true 4-wheel alignment set up done. Its normally advertised as laser wheel alignment/4-wheel alignment, and won't cost less than 60 quid, sounds alot but saves much more money on expensive rubber as Simon said. This should restore feeling through the steering and steady the ship.

Don't trust anybody else to torque up the wheel nuts, do it yourself with a torque wrench.

Even the best 2nd hand cars always need a few 'bits and pieces' doing.

Happy motoring.

Andy

I've got the S40 with sports chassis option and here in Aberdeen (Dyce) it feels very, very bumpy on our roads, although once I get on the motorway/ dual carriageway it glides along. I got the suspension checked by Arnold Clark Volvo and everything appears to be ok.

Gotta ask the question, where does 4 wheel laser tracking cost over 60 quid? I useually pay about 15 to 20 quid, even when the toyota main dealer did the 4 wheel tracking on my MR2 (under warenty) the cost would have been about 25. And yes it was laser tracking, and yes it was done properly (never had uneven tyre wear on any car I've owned, ecxept the spit and that is caused by the huge amount of negative camber that I run!)

Stu

Thanks for all your advice on this subject. I'll get 4 wheel allignment done and take it from there.

Has anyone improved both ride and handling with different shocks and/or springs?

I previously owned a Carlton GSi 24v and although firmly sprung, rode and handled much better than the Volvo.

Cheers
Alec