I have a 240 with Virgo wheels, 25 mm ipd spacers, and cut springs (2.5 coils in the front and 1.5 in the back). I love the look of this but I didn't pass inspection because my front springs were too short. my initial thought was to get ipd lowering springs even though they're expensive, however, in one of the pictures it looks like the springs are around 2 coils less than the OEM ones so I'm worried that even if I got them, I wouldn't pass inspection. another option I have at my disposal is 2 245 parts cars I can take OEM springs off of and replace the front cut springs with. this would pass inspection but not look how I want it to. I might need to get smaller shocks... I don't quite know so any suggestions?

 

Not a fan of cut springs - if you want to lower the car, the best approach is to buy a set of lowering springs and match to an appropriate set of shocks. Otherwise your car is just lower with lousy bump and rebound control. Not sure what you mean when you say you might need to get smaller shocks - if you already have cut springs, your OEM shocks are already too long (idea is, when the suspension is completely unsprung, its the shock that limits suspension travel. If the spring is shortened and the shock are not, the shock can extend more than the spring and the spring will not stay seated. So your choices are go back to OEM and pass inspection then save up for the proper parts or start shoping immediately for proper replacement springs - A quick google of "volvo 240 lowering springs" will give you a list of vendors - some well known like Eibach or H&R and some not. I noted prices from $111 to $300 for a set - I doubt you will find just the fronts but by shopping you can select your lowering amount and whether you want fixed or progressive rate (where the spring rate varies by travel). Plenty of stuff on eBay as well - you may get lucky and find something used to save some $$.

 

Virgo wheels should fit a 240 perfectly without any spacers.

I second the emotion re: cut springs. the IPD springs are excellent quality, I had them on my 740 wagon, with bilstein shocks and IPD antisway bars.... Do you know /why/ your existing setup didn't pass this inspection?

 

I am a high schooler trying to make my car look good on a budget. I cut the springs and the IPD lowered springs would obviously perform better, however they are around the same height as my cut springs. I failed the inspection because my springs were too short in correlation to my struts. This meant that in the front when the car was jacked up, my springs weren't tight in the suspension as they were shorter than OEM and this made me fail. In my mind, if I got lowered springs I'd be in the same position. I also talked to someone from IPD and he said the aftermarket struts are the same length as OEM so this also wouldn't help me. To solve my problem I need shorter struts (shorter than OEM). Another idea I had was cutting the tube that holds the strut in between where the threads for the strut are and the perch where the spring sits and removing some material before welding it back to make my springs not loose when the weight isn't on it. I have no idea if that would work, I just thought of it.

and the virgo wheels fit without spacers, i just like the fitment better

 

lowering cars,. IMHO doesn't do a damn thing to make them look better, it just makes them look stupid. it also makes it easier to scrape hard parts on driveways, dips, bumps, and so forth.

 

I personally like the look, do you have any knowledge on where to look for shorter struts or if my idea about cutting and re-welding the strut tube would work or does the OEM strut not have space in the tube to move if I made the tube shorter?

 

I doubt that would work. maybe something like this, but undoubtably far beyond your budget.
Retro Turbo: Volvo Motorsport UK | Volvo 240 Series, Sport Coilovers (Short Strut)

 

Those look nice (although they don’t seem to show a price) but I think i want something more like what ipd has that is just the shock- however just shorter if that makes sense. not the whole assembly

 

well, surely IPD's lowering springs combined with sport shocks don't leave the spring loose at the top of the suspension travel ? they probably don't lower the car nearly as much as you did.

 

that’s exactly what i assumed but by looking at a customer submitted picture of the lowered springs next to the oem ones it looked to be about 2-2.5 coils difference for the front (i cut 2.5 front) and talking to customer service for ipd i was told that the shocks that they had to pair with the lowered springs were oem spec... so i would hate to spend the money to get them just to figure out it doesn’t solve my problem but it doesn’t make sense for it not to work so i’m stuck