I have had this setup on my '04 C70 now for several months and just wanted to share some opinions on the performance / ride of the car. I am running an 18" wheel and I used the set that comes with the Pro-kit Eibachs. Let me start by saying that the stock setup is absolutely the worst suspension (use that term with tongue in cheek) I have ever come across in a car...or truck for that matter. The car with only 60k on it would crash over freeway joints like railroad tracks and it was like that even with the stock wheels / tires. I sucked it up and bought the FSD setup. The first impressions were okay...I did the fronts and ran with those for a month or so before I had time to do the rears (new rear springs went in...just not the shocks). The fronts seemed better than the stockers by light years...the stock rears were still in and were as bad as ever. I installed the rear shocks and was very pleased with the ride improvement. The little flaps that cover the top hole when it's down stopped shaking constantly and the whole attitude of the rear seemed much more controlled and smooth. This improvement in the rear brought to light the front setup is not up to par...there are several areas I have driven that have overwhelmed the front suspension, while the rear takes it in stride. The biggest issue is whe you come to an overpass on the freeway or go over a dip at freeway speeds. The front will bob down and up and down again, feeling as if it is under-damped, while the rear is just solid and composed. I am considering trying Bilsteins in the front, but I plan to call Koni first to see what their thoughts are on the setup...maybe I have a bad pair. They ride pretty well around town, but you still notice the fronts are MUCH softer that the rear....better than stock, but not as controlled as I was expecting. Anyway, there is my opinion...and we all know what they say about those, right? <IMG NAME="icon" SRC="http://www.vwvortex.com/vwbb/wink.gif" BORDER="0"> <br>Oh, I also figured out that a 225 tire on an 8.5" rim is really not the optimal size, so if anyone can suggest a better fitment for the front and rear for an 18x8.5 40mm I am open to suggestions. The tires seem pinched on the rims...and the rears just look small (width) in the gigantic butt of the C (don't get me wrong, I like big butts and I cannot lie). <IMG NAME="icon" SRC="http://www.vwvortex.com/vwbb/biggrin.gif" BORDER="0">
KONI FSD / PRO KIT
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Re: KONI FSD / PRO KIT (NC244GLT)
I'm a bit puzzled by your comments. Granted I don't know the conditions of your roads, nor the conditions of the rest of your suspension. But I've been running this setup on the front and rears for over 30,000 miles. Overall i'm impressed with the setup, especially with the addition of IPD sway bars and heavy duty end links and a strut mount. I find the rear setup perfect, and the front could be a bit tighter, but for a daily driver and a long road cruiser its perfect! In the twisties, it corners well, and hugs the road well putting you on the edge of out of control. But its no s60r in advanced. <p>I will agree with you that the stock setup is overally soft, almost to the point of driving like a Buick Estate. It reminds me of the "Roadmaster" that Buick made in the 1980's. <p>I've been told that the optinum setup would be TME springs with the ohlins adjustible shocks and struts or coilovers..... but both of these are out of my price range. <IMG NAME="icon" SRC="http://www.vwvortex.com/vwbb/frown.gif" BORDER="0">
I'm a bit puzzled by your comments. Granted I don't know the conditions of your roads, nor the conditions of the rest of your suspension. But I've been running this setup on the front and rears for over 30,000 miles. Overall i'm impressed with the setup, especially with the addition of IPD sway bars and heavy duty end links and a strut mount. I find the rear setup perfect, and the front could be a bit tighter, but for a daily driver and a long road cruiser its perfect! In the twisties, it corners well, and hugs the road well putting you on the edge of out of control. But its no s60r in advanced. <p>I will agree with you that the stock setup is overally soft, almost to the point of driving like a Buick Estate. It reminds me of the "Roadmaster" that Buick made in the 1980's. <p>I've been told that the optinum setup would be TME springs with the ohlins adjustible shocks and struts or coilovers..... but both of these are out of my price range. <IMG NAME="icon" SRC="http://www.vwvortex.com/vwbb/frown.gif" BORDER="0">
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I'm running the FSD/pro kit too.<p>Yeah, I don't share your feel about the front of the car, but then again my car before this was a Saab with a 3" drop in the front and mild shocks. Wanna talk about bounding and rebounding over bumps? That car was nuts in terms of rebound and yet it still was hard as a rock.<p>So this car feels very solidly damped to me, but that's by comparison. I drive on some very rough roads but when I hit a swoopy dip, say on the highway, it seems to just go up, then down, and stops. I also get almost zero brake dive, how about you?<p>Have you checked your upper strut mounts? Try twisting the shock nut and see if it springs back to center or if you can rotate it. It should spring back. <p>I will say, front drive cars are obviously front heavy, and are going to bound a little more than a balanced car.
Lloyd & PM - I replaced the mounts on the front and the rear when I did the rest...I was under the impression that the factory mounts had a 60k-ish lifespan....it just feels like the front is alot less controlled than the rear over dips at speed, sometimes it even feels like it bottoms out. I have played around on some curvy back roads and the car handles alot better than it did stock (could use some IPD bars) and the freeway ride on smooth sections is much better. It's like Koni didn't test the front as much as the rear. Our roads are pretty good here, with the exception of a few spots on the bridges and one section I think they made with lumpy oatmeal.
Re: (NC244GLT)
If you're getting the feeling that you're bottoming out, there's a good chance that the shock or strut is bad. Something else to consider is that these struts and shocks are progressive. They work best when you push the car, hence providing the maximum resistance. The rest of the time they are relaxed providing minimal resistance, giving you the smoother feel. If you were trying to get a firmer ride, you should have gone with bilstein yellows, or the koni adjustables.<p>Also, you may not have noticed this yet, but the strut mounts on the front are going to wear out at least one a year after the addition of the FSD and eibach springs. Its part of the design flaw in the suspension. The strut mounts are made of a very soft rubber that can't stand up to the additional stresses that the new struts and springs place on them. So far I've replaced the front mounts three times since installing the springs. Hopefully IPD can come out with a poly mount for this. I just replace one of the rears too. <p>
If you're getting the feeling that you're bottoming out, there's a good chance that the shock or strut is bad. Something else to consider is that these struts and shocks are progressive. They work best when you push the car, hence providing the maximum resistance. The rest of the time they are relaxed providing minimal resistance, giving you the smoother feel. If you were trying to get a firmer ride, you should have gone with bilstein yellows, or the koni adjustables.<p>Also, you may not have noticed this yet, but the strut mounts on the front are going to wear out at least one a year after the addition of the FSD and eibach springs. Its part of the design flaw in the suspension. The strut mounts are made of a very soft rubber that can't stand up to the additional stresses that the new struts and springs place on them. So far I've replaced the front mounts three times since installing the springs. Hopefully IPD can come out with a poly mount for this. I just replace one of the rears too. <p>
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7,603 Posts
IPD does have a high strength mount available now, and a lot of people have taken to installing the XC90 strut mounts which are a direct fit but much beefier than the sedan/coupe/wagon mounts.
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Re: (PM)
Don't worry about the rears. Get the sway and strut bars. With the FSD/Eibachs it will feel like a different car.
Don't worry about the rears. Get the sway and strut bars. With the FSD/Eibachs it will feel like a different car.
Re: KONI FSD / PRO KIT (NC244GLT)
<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD><i>Quote, originally posted by <b>NC244GLT</b> »</i></TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Let me start by saying that the stock setup is absolutely the worst suspension (use that term with tongue in cheek) I have ever come across in a car... </TD></TR></TABLE><p>The stock US suspension maybe <IMG NAME="icon" SRC="http://www.vwvortex.com/vwbb/wink.gif" BORDER="0"> <p>Last week I changed my rear orginal sport shocks with Sachs Performance, and it feels really good again (it was not bad, but they started to wear down).<p>I still have to do the fronts.
<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD><i>Quote, originally posted by <b>NC244GLT</b> »</i></TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Let me start by saying that the stock setup is absolutely the worst suspension (use that term with tongue in cheek) I have ever come across in a car... </TD></TR></TABLE><p>The stock US suspension maybe <IMG NAME="icon" SRC="http://www.vwvortex.com/vwbb/wink.gif" BORDER="0"> <p>Last week I changed my rear orginal sport shocks with Sachs Performance, and it feels really good again (it was not bad, but they started to wear down).<p>I still have to do the fronts.
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yep
I have some information on the FSD/Prokit from Eibach that I wanted to share. The kit from Koni includes the Pro Kit #8420.140 and as I stated above, this setup feels really bad to me as far as the front of the car goes, so I wanted to try to find some info on the spring rates so I could see about increasing the rate to improve the handling. I was surprised to find out that the rates are A) Linear, not progressive as someone stated. B) Really low...F=134.21 lbs/in, R=142.9 lbs/in. This seems to be extremely low for a car as heavy as the C70. They also said that they only list the set as having an application for the coupe, not the convertible. Any numbers on other springs available? What about weight difference from Vert to Coupe?
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They list coupe for some years, convertible for other years, but as far as we know Volvo didn't fundamentally change the suspension at all through the run of the C70. I think they just have incomplete data in their system. <p>And I'm running a kit that was listed for the late model convertible but isn't shown for earlier models, it doesn't even come up if you search for LPT when it does for HPT.<p>And you can't just say "the spring rate is low" because there are dozens of other factors, like the mechanical advantage of the suspension, how far the spring is compressed at stock height, etc.<p>I mean, I have <A HREF="http://www.tirerack.com/suspension/suspension.jsp?&make=Koni&model=FSD+Damper+Set+%26+Springs&group=FSD+Damper+Set+%26+Springs&autoMake=Volvo&autoModel=C70+Cabriolet&autoYear=2004&autoModClar=HT&partNum=2150-4017-3&perfCode=P" TARGET="_blank">this kit</A> and I have no complaints about it. It's plenty stiff and not bouncy or saggy under load. And it did drop the car the advertised 1.2"/1.2"<p>I just googled the Koni part number and most places say it's only for the coupe, including Koni's own literature. It looks like the struts are the same in all the kits for Volvos common to this chassis, it's just springs that are different.<BR><BR>
<i>Modified by LloydDobler at 4:56 PM 11-4-2008</i>
<i>Modified by LloydDobler at 4:56 PM 11-4-2008</i>
Re: (NC244GLT)
I have to agree with the others and advise that you change your sway bars first. If Lucky offers another run of the 25/25mm bars I would recommend picking up a set. Once that is done then you can decide to go with stiffer springs or a coil over setup. BTW, what speeds do you get this front end suspension bob?
I have to agree with the others and advise that you change your sway bars first. If Lucky offers another run of the 25/25mm bars I would recommend picking up a set. Once that is done then you can decide to go with stiffer springs or a coil over setup. BTW, what speeds do you get this front end suspension bob?
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Re: (flat_six)
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^<br><A HREF="http://www.ipdusa.com/ipd-Heavy-Duty-Upper-Spring-Seat/fi-37" TARGET="_blank">http://www.ipdusa.com/ipd-Heav...fi-37</A>/
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^<br><A HREF="http://www.ipdusa.com/ipd-Heavy-Duty-Upper-Spring-Seat/fi-37" TARGET="_blank">http://www.ipdusa.com/ipd-Heav...fi-37</A>/
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