Hi, I'm a noobie and i just bought a 2003 s80 2.0t with 80,000km on the clock. Its a great car but I find the ride wallowy and unsettled. I have previously owned a number of bmw's and mercs but this is my first volvo so I just wanted to know if this ride quality is normal in the s80 or do I need new dampers?

Thanks

 

"wallowy" is tough to communicate... the ride should be solid, but somewhat soft, should not be a lot of body sway. The S80 does not have a hard ride like you'll find in a sports car, but it also won't be like you're driving on marshmallows like you'd get in a bigger Buick (no knock on Buick owners - my dad love's his - they make some nice product). I've found the suspension to be a love/hate situation because when it's good it's great, and it provides a high contrast for when a component starts to go south. (I had my suspension overhauled about 45k miles ago and just recently it began to let me know that something minor is starting to wear.)

 

Well I found out that the previous owner had fitted 1 inch thick spacers to the front shocks and removed the bump stops. I removed the spacers and am replacing the stops so i expect a big improvement, I am also replacing the timing belt and pulley just to be safe

 

No luck! The car still boings over bumps and crashes through potholes, the ride feels wobbly and fidgety. Any ideas anybody?

 

If you know a shop that specializes in suspension work then take it to them and ask the for a recommendation. Since the car only has 80K on it I wouldn't think that the shock absorbers (dampers) are worn-out. If you replaced them with new ones of the same spec. the improvement would be minimal. Replacing the springs with stiffer ones should help with the wallowing however there always is a trade off. The engineers that set the spring and damper rates for the car took into consideration the geometry of the suspension and the desired ride qualities. Volvos have their own unique ride quality I would describe it as more of a luxury car ride than a sports car ride. If you know of a qualified shop and are willing to spend the money you should be able to modify the ride quality without compromising safety.

 

I changed the front shocks and there has been a lot of improvement in high speed ride quality on bumpy roads. The low speed ride is still a bit fidgety but my local Volvo specialist seems to think that is normal. So i guess I may replace the rears shocks later on and see how it goes

 

Find another S80 for sale and test drive that one.