Our cars 'handling' in general

[Welton]

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.

[iainmd]

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.

[Welton]

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.

[iainmd]

I did all front bushes.

[andy_d]

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 )

[Yobbo]

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.

[Welton]

Great responses so far, very interesting thanks.

[PhilJ82]

I find I can push my V50 T5 harder than I should given its weight and size. The feedback isn’t great, but it seems to be quite capable. Ride is firm but not crashy, given it’s on 18” Medusa wheels too. It’s an SE Sport (whatever that means!)
My other car is a bmw M3, which has insane grip, feedback and corners like it’s on rails. The V50 stands up very well for itself in that company.

[LizardOfBodom]

I dont really like the way my car handles but its far from saying it handles badly. I find it really understeering on tight corners and roundabouts and wouldnt mind if it was a bit stiffer but its my personal preferences. I think the problem is partially due to being AWD and higher than it should, and partially due to oem setup (someone decided to order SE SPORT version with COMFORT suspension from factory). Have driven S40 T5 R and it had much nicer and stiffer suspension but was even more understeering due to FWD so I guess its a loose-loose situation.
All in all I think it mostly depends on factory setup option and driving style.

If (JUST) polisbushing can make a difference, I might look at it in future, also uprated ARB apparently makes night-day difference, but its all "in the future if possible". for 98% of times its a highway cruiser so that it does perfectly

[FunkyMelon]

Originally Posted by LizardOfBodom

I dont really like the way my car handles but its far from saying it handles badly. I find it really understeering on tight corners and roundabouts and wouldnt mind if it was a bit stiffer but its my personal preferences. I think the problem is partially due to being AWD and higher than it should, and partially due to oem setup (someone decided to order SE SPORT version with COMFORT suspension from factory).

I would have thought ordering an SE Sport is better than ordering comfort from a handling point of view, so they did you a favour there. Your handling issues now are probably down to age/miles - Shocks get tired, springs sag, bushes wear down, it all contributes to a sloppier handling car which most of us probably have now.

Originally Posted by LizardOfBodom

Have driven S40 T5 R and it had much nicer and stiffer suspension

Do you mean R-Design? When I think R I think a proper R, as in, 850R/S60R/V70R.

If it's R-design you mean, as far as I know, they didn't make any suspension changes from the earlier models, just gave the bumpers/lights/interior bit of a facelift (I could be wrong though!).