S90 T8 R-Design - Disappointing suspension

[speedswede]

Hello

I recently bought a 2019 S90 T8 R-Design from a Volvo dealer.

Generally speaking, I’m extremely happy with the car. It’s my second S90, the first one being the D4.

But one thing I’m not that pleased with is the handling. It’s floaty, wallowy, wobbly and just not as taut as my last S90. It’s also not as good as a V90 B6 that I drove that went round corners like it was on rails.

Anyone else having issues with S90 T8 handling?

[Clan]

Originally Posted by speedswede

Hello

I recently bought a 2019 S90 T8 R-Design from a Volvo dealer.

Generally speaking, I’m extremely happy with the car. It’s my second S90, the first one being the D4.

But one thing I’m not that pleased with is the handling. It’s floaty, wallowy, wobbly and just not as taut as my last S90. It’s also not as good as a V90 B6 that I drove that went round corners like it was on rails.

Anyone else having issues with S90 T8 handling?

Perhaps you are noticing the extra weight and mass of the batteries and motors and other electric control gear .....

[nu11eaf]

Originally Posted by speedswede

Hello

I recently bought a 2019 S90 T8 R-Design from a Volvo dealer.

Generally speaking, I’m extremely happy with the car. It’s my second S90, the first one being the D4.

But one thing I’m not that pleased with is the handling. It’s floaty, wallowy, wobbly and just not as taut as my last S90. It’s also not as good as a V90 B6 that I drove that went round corners like it was on rails.

Anyone else having issues with S90 T8 handling?

You could ask your dealer if they have a T8 S90 demo you could try to compare against your car, then you will now if they is a problem or not.

[speedswede]

Thanks for the responses. Good idea on driving a demo.

I have found that the S90 (both D4 and T8) are susceptible to tyre pressures. Even slightly under inflated tyres and/or a mismatch between pressures is quite noticeable when driving.

I was able to spot a marginally under inflated tyre on my S90 D4 before the TPMS told me.

Alarmingly, the TPMS on my S90 T8 did not warn me. I checked the tyres and corrected underinflations on two tyres.

Even with all four tyres properly inflated, the handling on the S90 T8 is wobbly.

I’ll try driving a T8 demo to compare.

I’m thinking about Eibach springs and Bilstein dampers. Anyone have any experience with these, particularly on Volvo?

[sk546]

When I test drove the XC60 T8 R-Design Pro & Inscription Pro before ordering my current car, I too found the standard suspension in the T8 to offer quite disappointing handling characteristics (floaty, wobbly and not very confidence inspiring).
For those reasons alone, I chose to order the XC60 Polestar Engineered that has the Ohlins suspension installed. These totally transformed the handling characteristics of the XC60 into something that actually inspires confidence in the corners and handles like a much smaller, lighter car.
Im sure a change of springs and/or dampers on your S90 will make a noticeable difference in handling. I have used Eibach and Bilstein on some of my previous cars but cant give any advice other than how good Ohlins equipment is on Volvo cars, however, they aren't a cheap option.
Good luck and I hope you manage to sort out the handling as there is actually a really good chassis under there somewhere.

[speedswede]

Originally Posted by sk546

Good luck and I hope you manage to sort out the handling as there is actually a really good chassis under there somewhere.

Thanks, I booked the car into the dealer a few weeks ago. It was supposed to go in on Friday. Service advisor called on Thursday evening to advise the courtesy car was required for another customer (I'd given three weeks notice!!) and they'd have to rearrrange.

Long story short, repeated phone calls for a new date and the service advisor is not returning my calls nor emailing me. So today I want to a different Volvo dealer and have the car booked in for a week on Friday.

I'm wondering if there's a problem with the dampers on this car? Worn or leaking, perhaps?