P2 V70 with 225 55 V17s - wheel spacer sizing

[YorkshireDave]

Just fitted new tyres to the beast. The additional height is fab and now I dont ground going onto the drive.

However! The tyres are rubbing more than normal (guessing as multi season tyres they are wider). I'm having taller springs made (+30mm) so feel that I could then accomodate spacers of say 15mm front and rear to give me back some lock and reduce rubbing. I just need to have a ladder made to climb in then I'll be fine ;-)

Anyone have any advice or issues I should consider?

Bear in mind this is NOT a lowering exercise. Its raising so wheel arch clearance should not be an issue...

[100K+]

I have read something about this idea on another site, but can't find the post.
IIRC fitting anything other than the standard tyre 225/45 x 17 or 235/40 x 18 will cause rubbing back and front. Fitting spacers helped but was not a cure.



If I can find the details I'll post a link 4 u.

Cheers

Bob

[INS60T]

Originally Posted by YorkshireDave

Anyone have any advice or issues I should consider?

Bear in mind this is NOT a lowering exercise. Its raising so wheel arch clearance should not be an issue...

You might want to consider uprating/replacing the anti roll bar bushes and the drop links. Taking the car +3cm from standard will have quite an effect on the roll centre of the car, so making sure the roll bars and fittings are as good as they can be will be a must.

Will the struts cope with your springs?

How are you calculating spring rate required for the +3cm increase in height?

Regarding the tyres rubbing they will if you've raised the sidewall from a 45 profile to a 55 - assuming that's what you have done? The change in springs should help alleviate that.

If they're rubbing at full lock rather than on the wheelarch liners then you might need to consider changing out the steering limiter blocks.

[YorkshireDave]

Appreciate you replying.

Bushes and link are all new. Was told by makers that basic handling doesnt change too much as its only the coil spacing that changes. I do appreciate it would matter hugely if I were looking for handling, but at my age I'm all bout comfort!

Apparently the struts will fit fine, but my mechanic isn't looking forward to the job as compressing new springs is 'fun' and taller ones even more 'fun' ;-)

I've new limiter blocks to fit too.

On reflection, I may drop to +25...

Please explain spring rate and why you'd calc?

David

[INS60T]

David - hi - as I see it 'spring rate' can be defined as the amount of continuous force it requires to compress a coil (in this instance) spring over a measurement of distance. Most commonly the measurement you'll see is lbf/in (pounds of force per inch) but you may also see springs measured in N/mm (newtons per millimetre) if the metric system is used.
The practical upshot is that if 300lbf/in springs were fitted to a car which has 200lbf/in springs fitted then the ride would alter significantly for the harder and vice versa.

In your case you are suggesting you might raise the ride height by fitting longer springs than the manufacturer intended with the OE struts.
Without teaching you to suck eggs the springs are the resistance to the road surface and compress under load before trying to 'bounce back' to their original size, this bouncing motion would continue unless the force of the springs action were damped which is where the shock absorber (damper) or strut comes in.

A variable rate springs would seem to be the answer, these usually have a lower initial spring rate (giving a compliant ride initially) which rapidly becomes a higher rate as the spring is fully compressed. This is essentially the spring type found on a road suitable coilover system. In a long winded kind of way I coming to why I think you might wish to look at the spring rate.... so, with the above in my mind, it strikes me that longer springs are not necessarily the answer to your issue. A variable rate spring might be a solution but the ultimate answer might be coilovers. Coilovers are as much about maximum extension/travel as they are about slamming a car to the deck and - handily - they tend to come with the progressive springs I think you actually need over longer springs which I'm uncertain are desirable unless very carefully worked out.

[4candles]

I'd be inclined to agree with a lot of what INS says, by raising it on the same poundage spring the car may feel more boaty.

Progressively wound springs are used in many vehicles to great effect, not sure why Volvo elected to avoid them as i think they would be a great enhancement to a rather dull and floaty chassis.

Not sure that coil-overs are neccessary but a set of progressive springs would be on my shopping list, with the primary winding being soft, a little softer than you have at present but winding up to maybe a 20% increase in the secondary poundage, this i feel would make for an improved chassis whilst still beng as comfortable, if not more so.

[harveys]

XC70 springs would be longer as they sit higher ?.

I guess changing the ride hight would mess up the alignment.

[INS60T]

In theory - for the purposes of discussion - I'd guess you'd need to shift the entire front suspension assembly from an XC on to a V for that to work, not sure the springs on their own would be sufficient.
Anyone?

.... just buy an XC70 would seem to be the optimal solution

[4candles]

My V70 has thinner coils than the xc, not sure about the length, but seems likely they are longer.

I recall advising someone on here from Albania against this, but he used XC springs all round, altered the alignment and reported it as being a great improvement! And on V70 arms!

[YorkshireDave]

From my discussion with the spring manufacturer, they say nothing is altered (in terms of rates and reactions) about the spring but the length. It's the same amount of steel (prob better quality though), same diameter, same number of coils - just 25mm added to overall length.

The dampers and springs are designed to work as they do, and of course the springs elongate and compress in the normal course of their daily grind anyway.

I do get how a progressive spring works and could improve both ride and handling, but they would mean a complete redesign. NOT what I've got on my agenda. I fully accept it will handle slightly differently and as Forc says be comparitively 'boaty' as a consequence especially as the existing springs will have settled by 15mm or so over its 180K. With the new springs it will seem far too tall for a while and over time settle down to the same height as new springs.

I had Isuzu troopers for the last 15 years so boaty is something I'm well versed with...