Volvo 240 wagon suspension upgrades?

Question

I have an '89 240 wagon. Does anyone have experience with upgrading the suspension? The lowering springs, suspension bars and dampers offered by IPD intrigue me, but I would like to know your opinion about the cost vs. benefits. Thanks!

Answer 1

You can find a wealth of information by coming and checking out the forums at www.turbobricks.com. The forum address is simply:

forums.turbobricks.com

Look under the "maintenance" tab near the top. There are a lot of guys on that website that have older 240 models and have done extensive work to them. IPD is a great site for suspension products catered to the Volvo community.

Sway bars will help give you stiffer suspension when you make a tight turn. For lowering, the cheapest way would be to just cut or heat your springs, but it will give you a bumpy ride and could be unsafe. In my experience, spending a bit more money for better parts creates a safe, satisfying ride. Remember, you get what you pay for.

Answer 2

This Site Might Help You.

RE:
Volvo 240 wagon suspension upgrades?
I have an '89 240 wagon. Does anyone have experience with upgrading the suspension? The lowering springs, suspension bars and dampers offered by IPD intrigue me, but I would like to know your opinion about the cost vs. benefits. Thanks!

Answer 3

turbobricks.com is a very good volvo enthusiast website.
I just put on lesjofers lowering springs and bilstein hd shocks/struts on my 244 turbo. Very noticeable difference, corners much better, at higher speeds. Very comfortable on long journeys too.
IPD are good, but expensive, register at turbobricks and keep an eye in the for sale section, i saved over $100 buying my suspension parts there, and the guys are good sh*t.
cheers

Answer 4

the benefits are super. i built a 79 242 for my daughter and purchased the factory style chassis braces, lowering springs front and rear sway bars, upper strut reinforcement plates,boge "turbo" struts and shocks, adjustable pan-hard bar[re-centers diff with lowered springs] many other mods have also been made, car is solid reliable corners like on rails [much better than my old spitfire] and is very neutral on corner entry [neither pushes or feels loose] and best of all it absolutly does not beat you up on long journeys, even over less than ideal roads. go for it, ipd products do exactly what they claim
note : i have not tried the urathane bushings as they by nature harshen the ride [this is my daughters car not mine] but for all out performance these would be suggested [any camber caster change during an autocross event must be avoided]
but for the street i personally feel that they are not necessary [they are pretty though]

Answer 5

The humvee is an ill conceived piece of crap and yes the volvo is better, but you seem to miss the whole point of your own question. A gorilla war is not winnable, there are some that have gone on for forty years, also most of the fighting is between religious groups and as we all know there is no better way to get people to kill each other. { or as we said in The Nam, lets kill a commie for christ} .

Answer 6

Don't know about the springs and shock stuff but I had a few customers with the sway bar and front suspension stiffing components. They made a noticeable difference in handling and overall feel of the car. I would say they were worth it.

Answer 7

It's a Volvo. Nothing can make them handle good. Buy a Subaru or a Toyota.

Answer 8

buy all of the IPD parts you can afford. They will make your car handle like a sports car. When replacing all of the new suspension parts, be sure to replace anything that looks worn... safety first...

Answer 9

calnickel obviously cannot drive/modify his car.
they may not handle as well as a modded toyota or subar with ind. rear susp etc. but volvos can still handle well