Suspension: Towing

[ovlovs80]

Hi, I have a 2001 S80 D5, when towing it does tend to sag in the rear a bit these days and was thinking of fitting some of those rubber coil spring assistors. Does anyone know if they are any good at stopping the rear sagging or even help it out at all. Also does anyone know what size i'd need as i've noticed they come in different thicknesses. Thanks..... Pete

[Brendan W]

I haven't used them.
At that age the springs are probably sagging all the time and new ones would transform the ride. At the risk of getting a bleeding obvious award, you have got the nose weight right on the tow ?

[wagonwheels]

Hi Ovlov.I noticed the same on my s60 so I bought Grayston spring assisters to help .About £30 and very tight to fit but do the job.Graystons site have a drop down box list to show what ones will fit or just call them.Ive had them on 4 different cars and work just fine but can make the ride firmer when not towing.

[ovlovs80]

Hi, Yes the nose weight is ok but as its a 25 foot van on the limit of "legal weights" I am just looking for a firmer ride without the cost of new springs. Its not a dreadfull ride its just me after a better ride, cheers

[ovlovs80]

Ok Thanks for that Wagoneheels, i'll check them out.......

[4candles]

Wagonwheels were much much biggerer when my hands were liittler!

[Father Ted]

I've got them fitted to my V70 and had them fitted to my previous car.
They do make a difference.

[Simon Jones]

Don't they melt when the sun comes out? .

[Jim314]

The same company makes helper springs which fit around the rear shocks. These do a much better job than the insert type. The elastomer insert type transfers all the mechanical stress and strain to the unsupported remaining coils.

A search should reveal prior discussions of the advantages and disadvantages of these elastomer inserts compared to true helper springs. One potential problem with the helper springs is that they would put extra stress on the shock mounting points.

Old Jul 28th, 2011, 22:38 #11
60041
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I fitted the auxillary springs to my last car, a ph1 V70 and found them to be very good. I was surprised how weak the springs appeared to be when I got them, but once fitted, they stiffened the back end up nicely and made a huge difference when towing. The car felt better all round and even when lightly loaded it did not affect the comfort at all.
The reason I went for the auxillary springs instead of the rubber doughnut assisters, was that I have had quite a lot of experience fitting assisters to to customers cars when I used to work in a garage, and quite a few of these cars came back a year or two later with broken springs because, as the post above says, a lot of extra stress is placed on the unsupported coils of the springs.
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[aspireofbrixham]

I have them on my V70 and have fitted them on previous cars with a long overhang from axle to tow ball.
Difficult to tell the difference unloaded but keeps the suspension off the bump stops when towing.
If a spring breaks, it’s nothing to do with a bit of deformable rubber between the coils. It’s a fact that springs break on UK roads these days. However, I’ve never had a broken rear spring after probably 500,000 miles of ownership with them fitted, including about 30,000 miles towing (or occasionally overloaded from the builders yard!).