Got this from a tech at FCP Euro last week and thought I'd share because I haven't found it anywhere online. Everything online seems to refer to the metal plate under the hood; mine is a sticker like this on the rear of the passenger side B-pillar.

**Note that #2 and #3 are transposed; My interior / exterior color codes are the opposite. I haven't verified all the other numbers, but the tech at FCP Euro said #6 is my front strut code, which seems to check out.



Hope that helps somebody...

 

Nice share. Also check out the following for interpreting exterior paint codes

https://www.volvoclub.org.uk/paint_colour_codes.shtml

 

Is there anyone out there who has an XC90 V8 which isn't a Sport or R-Design model? If so, would you mind sharing the suspension codes as shown above (i.e. the 12 character code on the LHS, shown as 5-12 in the OP's diagram)?

I have a V8 Sport and am looking to "delete" the sport suspension option (way too hard for poor quality roads where I live) by replacing the shocks, springs etc. as necessary. To do that, I need to know what the factory configuration was for a non-sport vehicle.

Thanks.

 

If no one here can help you, I bet the folks at FCP Euro can tell you which parts you need. You don’t have to order from them, just email and ask for the part numbers. They were very helpful when I was trying to determine which brake parts I needed.

 

Your thread caught my eye by the way; I'm actually looking to do the opposite... I think the 3.2 suspension is a tad too soft and would like to stiffen it up a bit. I wonder if it would be a simple swap of bars or if the mounting points are different for the V8? I imagine the front might be an entirely different bar shape with the V8 vs. I6. I'm interested in hearing what you find out relative to part numbers... I may just reach out to FCP myself.

I'm keeping the OE springs, but upgrading the dampers in the next couple of weeks... would be a good time to look at anti-roll bars too.

 

Hi Chris.

From what I've learned so far, the differences are restricted to shocks, coil springs and the anti-roll bars (if we put wheel and tyre sizes, and the "servotronic" steering modules to one side). The front and rear sub-frames are identical for all V8 cars and I *believe* that they are identical across the entire range. They are certainly identical between the V8 and oil burning D5 models. Hence mounting points etc. will be identical.

Speaking strictly in terms of two specific European vehicles I know of personally (my V8 Sport SE, and a friend's D5 Executive which has the softer setup), I can say that:

Front springs: Stiffer on the V8, type '33'
Front shocks: Stiffer on the V8, type 'AE'
Front anti-roll bar: Identical on both models

Rear Springs: Identical on both models (type '54')
Rear Shocks: Stiffer Nivomats on the V8 (type '48', as opposed to '26' on the D5)
Rear anti-roll bar: thicker variant on the V8, type 'D', as opposed to type '9' on the D5)