V50 General : Rear springs normal or HD

[iainmd]

If it helps, these are the ones that should fit the V50 rear springs (what I have fitted)...

Grayston Coil Spring Assisters, 26-38mm Gap, Pair (2) GE14

They do make a difference to the ride and ride height under load and I have noticed no negative impact on normal light load driving. Ours is a DRIVe so the suspension is lowered and hence it wasn't best suited to being heavily loaded without.

[PeteTheSwede]

oh man, Thank you soo much as finally I can figure out what springs and shocks I have on my v50. :-)

[iainmd]

Be aware that although Volvo have a multitude of different spring codes for the S40/V50, most aftermarket manufacturers tend to just do one generic spring type.

I replaced all the springs on our V50 when two broke and opted for Sachs. I went standard at the front and heavy duty at the rear and also left the Grayston spring assisters in the rear.

Oddly, Sachs rear HD springs are half a coil shorter thank the original Volvo springs. On a car with a heavier front engine than mine it would probably level out but when they were first fitted the front ride height was quite a bit higher than the rear which looked pretty dodgy. Putting the spring assisters back in improved that situation.

I switched springs partly because I had to due to a broken front and rear spring but also because the ground clearance on the DRIVe was a problem for us with a fully loaded car on holiday. We often have 4 of us, a full boot, a roof box and 4 bikes on the towball. Adding rear HD springs has made the car's life for us extend by years as before it was dragging its backside badly.

[fleming164]

Originally Posted by iainmd

Be aware that although Volvo have a multitude of different spring codes for the S40/V50, most aftermarket manufacturers tend to just do one generic spring type.

I replaced all the springs on our V50 when two broke and opted for Sachs. I went standard at the front and heavy duty at the rear and also left the Grayston spring assisters in the rear.

Oddly, Sachs rear HD springs are half a coil shorter thank the original Volvo springs. On a car with a heavier front engine than mine it would probably level out but when they were first fitted the front ride height was quite a bit higher than the rear which looked pretty dodgy. Putting the spring assisters back in improved that situation.

I switched springs partly because I had to due to a broken front and rear spring but also because the ground clearance on the DRIVe was a problem for us with a fully loaded car on holiday. We often have 4 of us, a full boot, a roof box and 4 bikes on the towball. Adding rear HD springs has made the car's life for us extend by years as before it was dragging its backside badly.

Any chance you could let me know what your experience is like with an empty car and the HD springs? We tow a caravan or trailer with our S40 semi-regularly so I was thinking about using HD springs since I'm changing them anyway. However I am a bit worried they will completely compromise the ride quality when the car is empty, it spends a lot of it's life commuting with only 1 person.

[iainmd]

I can't say I felt it compromised the ride quality at all. It made it a little stiffer but then it would do as my old springs were about 9yrs old and I had all 4 replaced at once. My guess would be that they are not much difference to stock when new.

Hope that helps.