My wife has a 2006 V70R. Is there an easy way to raise (yes, I said raise) the ride height by say 0.5"?

 

Larger tires?

 

That might work, but would throw off speedo accuracy I believe. Don't know about fit under the fenders?

 

I know the Dealer can make some adjustments to the computer for some tire sizes but I forget the exact options.

 

My Geo was equipped with really small tires. They were P155/80R13 size. I upgraded to P175/70R13 and this made my speedo about 3% off. Still cheaper than trying to put a lift kit on a Volvo. and I can live with the speedo difference.

 

Ok, I will ask, what will .05 inch really mean for you? I only say that because it is so minimal that I do not really see the benefit. The tires would be the easiest way but then have the speedo re calibrated. The other option is to change to coilovers and adjust the height that way but you will be looking at around $1000 to do so. The advantage to that is when you realize you like it lower then you drop it really low.

 

0.05" wouldn't matter, I agree. I think 0.5" is meaningful. The car just scrapes on parking entry and on parking "wheel stops" (she destroyed the front bumper by hooking it on one of these sinister things). I haven't exactly measured the problem but I figure if someone can tell me how to raise the car 0.5" I can figure out how to raise it 0.7" if that's what it needs.

 

I think the car needs a new driver. My V70 sits very low and I am always careful to take large dips slowly and avoid parking stops.

 

I see what you mean, I guess if that was happening all the time then that is how you ended up where you are. If it was me and that was the need then buy an XC. I bought my V70 intentionally because of the lower ride height. I wanted the AWD and not the height of the XC, yeah I need to pay more attention but if I am that bad then I drive the Rover.

 

Yeah, I've looked at the XC. Problem is it would cost me $20k. And she likes the R motor and R handling. Also there is a big difference between 4.5" of GC and 9"! All I want is 5-5.5". I like the idea of paying more attention, and she's good about that, but no amount of attention changes the breakover angle or the approach angle. If you live in a hilly place you confront this all the time.

I did check the proposed tire solution. I think that could be the way to go. 225/50x17 is about 0.6" more diameter (so 0.3" ride height) and only a 1 mph error at 60 mph. 235/50x17 gets me the 0.5" lift and is a little more than 2 mph error at 60. For that I need to check if the computer can be tweaked for more accuracy.

 

For the speed error you can always just use a GPS system to be accurate but then the mileage will be off when you total up all those miles. 2 mph multiplied out over a couple years really adds up, I would say most cars of this age are off by at least 1 mph anyways.