I'm planning to upgrade my 1998 C70 Coupe suspension as the maintenance comes due, and would like some suggestions and input on how to upgrade. Past posts by members here have been great, though my car has very low (51,000 now) miles and isn't ready for new shocks just yet. Suggestions I"ve seen...are:

Strut Brace
Stiffer shocks
Heavier anti-sway bars, front and rear.

Question: What MORE can we do to overcome this otherwise spectacular car's abysmal handling? I noted in another posting that running over rough pavement causes the steering to jerk around. It's so clunky as to be an embarassment. Replacing the bushings with mushy factory parts is just a signal to Volvo that all is well out here when it's NOT.I simply don't want to perpetuate this aloofness by their engineers by buying into this lack of awareness.

I've found some IPD bushings and end links that look promising. Have any of you found rack or control armbushings made of polyurethane that fit the 70's? How would we find out what alternate parts (say, for another brand of car)work on the 70 series if this hasn't been attempted before? Tough question, I know.

A few years ago, I think it was IPD that had a solid strut brace made of brushed steel that was very attractive. They've sold out no doubt. The onlyavailable one I've found now is a cheap-looking welded truss-style one. Pricey too. What kind of luck have any of you had with this brace? Will it help stablize the C70's tracking even a little bit?

Koni vs. Bilstein? The new variable Koni's seem worth the extra cost. Are there anyusers out there with results to share on that?

Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Links to performance sites or company names of products would also be helpful. Thanks!

 

As far as suspension upgrades: I would do the IPD swaybars, Heavy Duty Endlinks,Sport springs, and Koni or Bilstein would be fine, and if you want...you can always have a roll cage put in, which will tighten up the whole chassie A LOT. I have Bilstein HD's on my 745t for 9years now with no problems. They are awsome shocks. Koni's are also nice but they do cost more... Another option would be Coilovers, like theKW COILOVER V2.I Havethe CherryTurbo upper and lower strut brace kit and it works very well. It really tightens up the fron end. IPD and EST have nice strut braces so it is your choice. As far as the bushings go, You can get some liquidpoly and fill in an open bushing to strenghten them up, or Just make you own Poly bushing with liquid poly.
Dont forget to check out this link: https://volvoforums.com/m_38615/tm.htmIt has a bunch of the Volvo Aftermarket sites.

 

TIPSP, much thanks for the link. This site is so large that I'd overlooked it.

All of your suggestions inspire me to do the best modifications possible for street use. The roll cage.... interesting idea, andif my car was a convertible it would be a safety feature. However, I still use the rear seat for passengers at times and it would be problematic. For racing, definitely a plus, though. We do have a local track on the island and I'd like to use it when the car is ready for 150 mph.

The upper/lower strut brace kit is a definite consideration, at least an upper will be on the list and can be installed in minutes before the major modification takes place; after reading about this, doing it piecemeal would not be a good idea. Apparently, all of the associated suspension parts that are old need to be replaced, as the new coils, shocks, links and bars place undue stress on the old strut mounts and bearings, which are creaking due toage/exposure.

The liquid poly idea is brilliant. I'll just buy new rack bushings and drill out the factory rubber and clean them up before re-gelling. The control-arm bushings look difficult and I'll likely forget about those, but will look at it before replacing. This thing is going to be driving like the factory should have done it when the list is completed. Again, thanks!

 

Sweet. Yeah the Roll Cage was just a though..AndIwantto put oneinmy 745t, but My dad wont let me gut the car. I guess I will have to waitand see what mynext car will be. Good luck and have some fun with it.I would love to see your Polybushings...please post some pics when it is done.

 

Viva Performance has TWO lower braces, front and rear. Link below, go take a look, they're awesome looking:

http://www.vivaperformance.com/catal...roducts_id=775

They also have control-arm polyurethane bushings here:

http://www.vivaperformance.com/catal...roducts_id=470

Thanks again for the information, I'll continue to pass along any findings.

 

Eurosporttuning is "supposedly" coming out with a Carbon Fiber strut Brace..this year..

 

you got my curiosity going. What is liquid poly?

 

Liquid Poly is a two part polyurethane which when mixed together creates a hard plastic type polyurethane which can be moldded into any shape or size you want.
You can read more in my write up: https://volvoforums.com/m_38764/mpage_4/tm.htm

You can order from polytek.com, but it is kind of expensive.I am sure you can get other polyurethane from other places but I have great expeirence with Polytek.

You can also get poly bushings from VIVA Preformanceor IPD