Volvo Community Forum. The Forums of the Volvo Owners Club

Forum Rules Volvo Owners Club About VOC Volvo Gallery Links Volvo History Volvo Press
Go Back   Volvo Owners Club Forum > "Technical Topics" > C30 / S40 & V50 '04-'12 / C70 '06-'13 General

Notices

C30 / S40 & V50 '04-'12 / C70 '06-'13 General Forum for the P1-platform C30 / S40 / V50 / C70 models

Information
  • VOC Members: There is no login facility using your VOC membership number or the details from page 3 of the club magazine. You need to register in the normal way
  • AOL Customers: Make sure you check the 'Remember me' check box otherwise the AOL system may log you out during the session. This is a known issue with AOL.
  • AOL, Yahoo and Plus.net users. Forum owners such as us are finding that AOL, Yahoo and Plus.net are blocking a lot of email generated from forums. This may mean your registration activation and other emails will not get to you, or they may appear in your spam mailbox

Thread Informations

Our cars 'handling' in general

Views : 1166

Replies : 27

Users Viewing This Thread :  

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old Aug 7th, 2018, 16:49   #1
Welton
Premier Member
 

Last Online: Sep 14th, 2021 18:03
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: Market Harborough
Default Our cars 'handling' in general

What do most people think of the way S40/V50/C30's handle generally?

Personally I think although my S40 handles and grips generally well it doesn't feel like it wants to? the steering feel was always documented on these models as being below par and that's certainly still the case.

On motorways the car gets unsettled in crosswinds too easily, on rough surfaces the ride is too firmly sprung etc.

Been thinking about polybushing the car as I'm convinced the bushings are contributing to a lack of feedback and a general 'lazy' feel to the drive; for example - steering inputs at speed seem to create a delayed reaction from the rear of the car, which would make sense if the bushings are flexing too much.
__________________
2005 S40 T5 SE - Manual. Bilstein B4's. (For Sale)
2010 Citroen C4 1.6 HDi (bizarre Gearbox model).
2010 Renault Twingo (refreshingly simple)
2018 Infiniti Q30 1.6T Business Executive (what's this button do?)
Welton is offline   Reply With Quote
Old Aug 7th, 2018, 17:01   #2
iainmd
Member
 
iainmd's Avatar
 

Last Online: Yesterday 14:49
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: Fife
Default

I Powerflex polybushed the front end of my old S40 T5 and it increased the feel of drive significantly. The steering felt a little more precise and roll was controlled a little better too.

My only criticism is that they tend to squeak a little if the stereo's off and the windows are down. I never got round to polybushing the rear.
__________________
Present: 2009 Volvo V50 1.6D DRIVe SE

Past: 2004 Volvo S40 T5 SE
iainmd is offline   Reply With Quote
Old Aug 7th, 2018, 17:30   #3
Welton
Premier Member
 

Last Online: Sep 14th, 2021 18:03
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: Market Harborough
Default

Did you literally just have the main lower wishbone bushes changed, nothing else?

I'm thinking the main culprits for too much play in the sussy must be the lower rear wishbone bushes on the front end and the rear control arm bushes.
__________________
2005 S40 T5 SE - Manual. Bilstein B4's. (For Sale)
2010 Citroen C4 1.6 HDi (bizarre Gearbox model).
2010 Renault Twingo (refreshingly simple)
2018 Infiniti Q30 1.6T Business Executive (what's this button do?)
Welton is offline   Reply With Quote
Old Aug 7th, 2018, 19:26   #4
iainmd
Member
 
iainmd's Avatar
 

Last Online: Yesterday 14:49
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: Fife
Default

I did all front bushes.
__________________
Present: 2009 Volvo V50 1.6D DRIVe SE

Past: 2004 Volvo S40 T5 SE
iainmd is offline   Reply With Quote
Old Aug 7th, 2018, 21:27   #5
andy_d
Premier Member
 
andy_d's Avatar
 

Last Online: Yesterday 22:35
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: birmingham
Default

i have been told by my friendly volvo dealer mine has the "comfort" suspension
i am taking that to be "its not as harsh as the non-comfort" options,

predictable would be the 1 word id use to describe it

comfy,, yes to a point,
feed back, yes to a point,
capable, yes, but not in a sporty way

its not as "waft along" as the 940 i had,but this doesnt have ninvomats so,,
its not as "sporty" as the S40(phase 2) with factory sports suspension (and it was LOW far lower than other s/v40s with std factory suspension,)

the 940 was a lot less affected by crosswinds than the V50 is, but i wouldnt say the V50 is a "blown all over the motorway" , the body seems to roll a bit when the cross wind hits it but tracks true with very little if any "wind sheer effect" (or it wasnt windy enough to find out )
__________________
940s - 2l / 92 < gone&missed s401.8 xs auto <gone >V50 2.4SE Geartronic aka "the new money pit"
"skyship007 has now been successfully added to your ignore list. "."

Last edited by andy_d; Aug 7th, 2018 at 21:30.
andy_d is offline   Reply With Quote
Old Aug 8th, 2018, 12:45   #6
Yobbo
Dave
 
Yobbo's Avatar
 

Last Online: Sep 7th, 2023 12:33
Join Date: Apr 2016
Location: East Yorkshire
Default

I've done a fair bit to improve the handling of my car and on stock suspension it really did throw out and get a bit boaty at times.

The first modification I made was an uprated rear anti-roll bar, this did improve the body roll in bends and make the car a little less unwieldy, I could certainly push it through the corners a bit more.

Then I polybushed the wishbone rear bushings as mine were shot, pig of a job on the first set I did, but I then found a really efficient way to do it without drilling or marking the outer case - quite simple really, use a propane torch to heat the casing for about 5 mins, this breaks the rubber bond to the inner wall, then you need to crack it loose from the rubber with a screwdriver, should be moderately stiff then go, if it doesn't budge then more heat required. Oh, and you'll need a 10 tonne press to get the buggers in.
Performance wise - much perkier response through the wheel and less dive on braking, plus they'll never go again!

Coilovers - Mine are Bilstein B14s and the difference is night and day compared to standard suspension and lowering springs, control is much sharper, feeling of being on rails springs to mind.
Can be quite bumpy on uneven surfaces but you eventually live with it, so can be tolerable for long journeys on the motorway.
In terms of handling improvement I'd say that moving to coilovers had by far the biggest improvement but along with all of the modifications I've made the car can be somewhat twitchy but predictable, definitely feels more alive!
But rest assured the confidence of the car being planted means (along with good tyres) that if you must, you can throw it around without the fear of massive oversteer, wobble, and a break in grip.
In addition I found my braking performance improved as well.

There's a few good options for coilovers but getting a good brand is highly advised - premier options are Bilstein, BC Racing, and KW.
__________________
V50 D5 'Thor'
Yobbo is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply


Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
 
Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT +1. The time now is 01:18.


Powered by vBulletin
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.