V70 Suspension: Bilstein B8 front struts

[2.4TSE]

The question is Bilstein B4 or B8 - so let's start with a P2 platform V70 front strut review that I wrote on these pages just over three years ago.
My question is per the final two sentences below and relates only to B8s, please - Not B4s as I know them very well.

[Start]
OEM
Pros - They came with the car
Cons - Wooden and clumsy - so when the front lefthand strut met its demise against a kerb, the pair were replaced by a set of...

Bilstein B6
Pros - Totally devoid of all float. Very "planted" with sharper turn-in as well as more reassuring steering feel deep in to 3 digit speeds on my annual Autobahn drive. Better traction whereby 2nd gear would accept all the BSR PPC beans with nary more than a squirm. First impressions were therefore promising
Cons - Initially limited to slight jiggliness but I eventually found markedly increased road noise and very abrupt damping off gentle crests to be wearing and out of character with an otherwise relaxing car - so in search of refinement I replaced them with...

Sachs Super Touring
Pros - Road noise nearly entirely absent (the silence was astonishing) and a Citroenesque magic carpet ride on rutted B roads at any speed over 40MPH
Cons - Horribly baggy on any surface approaching smooth. Floating off crests. Roly-poly behaviour on any roundabout and with a vague transition between the two states on exit. Add four bicycles on the roof and the understeer was horrid. With no idea that I was unhappy with the car's handling my eight year old son started complaining that he was car sick on cruisy motorway drives. After 15 months since fitting I had had enough so replaced them with...

Bilstein B4
Pros - Planted and tactile steering. Compliant damping that is devoid of float but which still allows the car to settle without choppiness
Cons - Quieter than I remember OEM struts to be and hugely quieter than the B6s but not as quiet as the Sachs items were
[End]

I now find myself back in the front strut market again because after 75k miles since they were fitted, the Bilstein B4s have turned to mush; they still damp, but have gone baggier than even the Sachs Super Touring struts were, and the car hits the front bump stops on local undulations where it has never done so before. The spring seats are fine and the springs are unbroken, which leaves the dampers.

After a call to very helpful Bilstein UK I have been recommended to fit a pair of B8 struts, these being identical to the B6 struts apart from (i) being intended for a 30+mm drop and (ii) consequently with a 10% increase in initial damping force. I recall that the "lowered dynamic chassis" was only a 25mm reduction in ride height - and I'm still on the correct OEM springs for this - but am told that the B8 struts are still the correct match.

I am torn between going back to sports dampers and fitting B8s, or fitting another pair of much cheaper B4s and having the excellent middle ground I've enjoyed for three years.

Anyone here with experience of B8s on a P2 S60 or V70 with factory "lowered dynamic chassis"?
If so, please be kind enough to share!

Cheers,
2.4TSE

[2.4TSE]

71 views and nobody with B8s?

[Georgeandkira]

How many people out of 1,000 do you think have lowered their S/V70's?

Try asking on Volvospeed or Brickboard.com. There's also an XC forum out there but I cannot remember its exact name.

FYI: FCPEuroparts and eEuroparts (both in Connecticut, USA) have tech help.

Never overlook IPD. They might just be the FIRST place to ask.

[karolasbmx]

I have B6 on the back, same as B8 but not lowered, they are stiff and hard mate

[davebb]

Originally Posted by karolasbmx

I have B6 on the back, same as B8 but not lowered, they are stiff and hard mate

Hi are they still comfortable, what do you have on the front,
Thanks Dave

[2.4TSE]

Originally Posted by Georgeandkira

How many people out of 1,000 do you think have lowered their S/V70's?

I haven't lowered mine at all; it's how it came from the factory - along with tens of thousands of others with the "lowered dynamic chassis option" ticked on the options list.

Thanks for the pointers to possible advice though.

[2.4TSE]

Originally Posted by karolasbmx

I have B6 on the back, same as B8 but not lowered, they are stiff and hard mate

Thanks for posting. I am aware that the B8s have the same damping as the B6s (apart from the first bit of travel which is actually 10% stiffer than the B6s) but it is the suitability of the shortened rod on the B8 that is my concern; as the amount of lowering on the factory lowered chassis is 5mm less than the B8s are designed for, I wondered if I'd be clunking it against the stop more easily when the suspension goes in to droop. Sorry if I wasn't clear.

I'm also open for other options, but I have not found anything to try other than what I have already done. My ideal is damping akin to how I described the B4 in my opening post, but something that doesn't go soft like my B4s have done after a relatively low mileage. When new, and until recently, they were excellent as a compliant, quiet, but reasonably taught pair of road dampers.

Cheers!

[davebb]

Hi I am shore if your car is only 5mm lower (from Volvo) the B6 are what you need,

I am running 30mm eibach lowering springs, with STD dampers, I did contact eibach before I got them and they told me that they are made to work with the std shocks and also the B8, as they are also sold in a B12 kit (B8 and the springs), I would love to have the B8, There was a user RobbieH
of this forum that had B8 on his v70 D5, and he loved them, but he did get them from some one that did not like them?
Thanks Dave

[oragex]

Here's my take when it comes to replacement shock absorbers. If you want the best ride, go with genuine for the shock absorbers and the wishbones. This combination is the only way to get a sense of how were these cars feeling when they left the factory 15 years ago. Nothing will replace the feeling of a genuine Volvo strut coupled with a genuine Volvo wishbone. There are people who say the Super Touring is the exact replacement for genuine, this could not be further away from the truth. On poor pavement the Super Touring don't last, loose rebound and start leaking. The only close replacement for genuine struts is Boge. Lemforder wishbones are also good, but not the same damping feeling as a Volvo wishbone. Lemforder put their brand bushes, while Volvo has Boge bushes. Because the wishbone has an importand damping role, along with the strut.

So if budget is not a problem go genuine with the struts. You will notice that 'Volvo' feeling. Plus, these parts are available online a lower prices that what the main dealer is selling them.

[2.4TSE]

Originally Posted by davebb

Hi I am shore if your car is only 5mm lower (from Volvo) the B6 are what you need,

I am running 30mm eibach lowering springs, with STD dampers, I did contact eibach before I got them and they told me that they are made to work with the std shocks and also the B8, as they are also sold in a B12 kit (B8 and the springs), I would love to have the B8, There was a user RobbieH
of this forum that had B8 on his v70 D5, and he loved them, but he did get them from some one that did not like them?
Thanks Dave

Thanks, davedd. The factory lowered suspension is 25mm lower, vs the B8s being designed for 30mm , the difference between the two being the 5mm. I called Bilstein technical help and they confirmed that the B6s I had fitted previously were wrong and I should instead used B8s even though the amount of drop is not quite what they are designed for. Given this and that the B8s have different damping at the start of their stroke, I therefore wonder if they will be markedly better than the B6s, which disappointed for my needs.

Cheers,
2.4TSE