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sweet850

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Nov 4, 2008
Location
Northeast
Hey all. Just trying to get a grip on availability and resources for 740 parts. My son and I are building up a 1988 4 speed sedan. Not sure if this is the right place to ask bout this stuff.

We are looking for 17" wheels and tires for the car, and selection seems limited. I was given a link that showed me VOXX 17x8 with 245-40-17's, and they looked great. I know I can use FWD rims with spacers, not sure if I wan to do that tho.

We are installing Kilen springs. 1.6" drop, and have new KYB dampers in already. So I guess I need to know about fender rub.

Just a bit of background, we installed a 15g, a '90+ exhaust mani, and are having a 2.5" turbo back exhaust fabbed this weekend, with 2 straight thru mufflers, and a hiflo cat, all Magnaflo from Jegs, pipes from Columbia. Also a K+N drop in filter. Doing rotors and pads ASAP. New sway links with poly bushings also. This car goes real good!

Thanks for entertaining the newb questions, looking forward to your replies.
 
For 17" wheels at a decent price your best bet will probably be something FWD with spacers.

I would strongly consider going to a 3" exhaust off the bat. You're spending money twice getting a 2.5" setup.
 
As you may have pound, volvo's bolt pattern is 5X108. Ebay can be a great source of wheels; you just have to get lucky. Ferrari, some ford, some jags all use 5x108. You can also make a thread in the "wanted" section to see what comes up.
 
like Karl said, go 3" on the exhaust,

K&N filters are a joke, run a paper element to keep your motor clean.

KYB shocks aren't that great, get bilstein HDs
 
OK lets review. The budget is very limited, sooo...

KYB's are new and installed already.
The K+N is also bought already, FCP 15% off sale, so Why not? I have the oil/charge kit already.

I have already purchased the 2.5" exhaust parts and piping, they are in my basement, so I'm not shipping 75 pounds of parts back to the vendors, no way.
The original DP is 2.5" from the conical 15g, so thats what I'm using.
The car has 225k miles on it, I'm not doing a frame up restoration.

The car already can't keep from spinning tires in 1st, how much more torque do I need? And it's for my kid, not me.

So I guess I'll poke around, look for some deals, thanks for the replies. ANy vendor sites I should check out?
 
The car already can't keep from spinning tires in 1st, how much more torque do I need? And it's for my kid, not me.

sounds to me like it just has bad tires.

Next time you want project advice, contact the forum of that vehicle before you buy anything. your basically screwing yourself on quite a few parts.

for example, just cut the springs and save the $$ to spend elsewhere.
 
I bought the car 5 months ago from a multi Volvo owner I trust, and money was a problem upfront, so he advised me on the parts I've purchased. The springs were $180 delivered, I'm not gonna cut springs and change rates and performance.

It is what it is, and I'm sure won't meet the standards of a true brick tuner. It's my kids car, it doesn't need to go 13 sec 1/4. It just has to steer and stop well, and sound cool to the kid. Help me with what I have, stop your wish list impositions on my project. Thanks anyway, tho.

And tires are part of my wheel questions. I have other interior issues with the car that need to be addressed/paid for, and some body trim that needs to be replaced, and some audio upgrades also. So I'm going cheap as possible and that's that.

I don't mean to be rude, I asked for info not critique.
 
On behalf of some of the more mature members here, I'm sorry. There are a lot of dicks here. Do what you gotta do and take what you can from the info here. Sounds like your kid will have a fun car to drive.
 
On the tires thing,

I see your from the northeast so on the plus side, you dont have to get nice rims until spring, on the minus side, you have to get snow tires or your son probably wont survive winter. You should also consider filling the trunk buttcheeks with bags of sand.
 
Thanks for the smooth over.

We are looking at snows now, using the stock steelies. You are correct, sir, we will not be doing that stuff till the spring. Just trying to gather info, and get my budget set. Car has snows/AW tires on now, but tread is thin. The car seems tail light in general, no? He needs to learn how to feather the clutch, or start off in 2nd gear, thats what I do. Car also has some sort of boost chip in it, goes ballistic in 3rd gear.

I must admit, the car has a ride as nice as my buddies, BMW.
 
Snow tires: Nokian Hakkapeliitta's, Skandinavian tires with a very good reputation. They come in different versions so you might want to google them and read up on the differences between the types. Nokian seems to pop up repeatedly in top3 of best buys.

On top of that there are multiple snowtire threads posted on this forum. You could try the search function and find a wealth of input. That way you can balance price against experience/performance and make an informed choice.

about the tail lightness: have you checked how thick the rear swaybar is? If it has the huge IPD bar (25mm) then thats the reason for the tail lightness. (Stock 700/900 came with either NO rear sbar at all, 16mm or 19mm (turbo's and 16V's))
a good winter setup tip: completely remove the rear swaybar on the rear axel.(if present) This will give smoother progressive handling, less snappy oversteer and better traction out of corners.(less inside wheelspin) In summer you can put the sbar back on again for flatter faster cornering with those big 17"-ers you plan to use.
Try it, it works.
 
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We are looking for 17" wheels and tires for the car, and selection seems limited. I was given a link that showed me VOXX 17x8 with 245-40-17's, and they looked great.

Hi Sean,

Myself and other Houston Volvo owners have had bad luck with two Voxx models, MG and Misano as they bent easy. Which Voxx model are you looking at? If your roads are anything like ours, might I suggest a stronger wheel choice, possibly even on OEM?

-Erik
 
and are having a 2.5" turbo back exhaust fabbed this weekend, with 2 straight thru mufflers, and a hiflo cat, all Magnaflo from Jegs, pipes from Columbia

.

Go 3" or don't bother.
It is the foundation of other mods, and when you decide the microscopic Mitsubishi is weenier than weenie, and you get a correctly sized T3 Garrett, you won't have to re-do the exhaust.
 
Go 3" or don't bother.
It is the foundation of other mods, and when you decide the microscopic Mitsubishi is weenier than weenie, and you get a correctly sized T3 Garrett, you won't have to re-do the exhaust.

I know a bloke who reckons cos he has a "TME" exhaust that is 2.5" he doesn't need a 3" for his t3... silly guy who listens to brand names.
 
I know a bloke who reckons cos he has a "TME" exhaust that is 2.5" he doesn't need a 3" for his t3... silly guy who listens to brand names.

regardless on whether its ideal or not, i ran a 13.400 on TME exhaust, now I have TLAO 3" but have not had a chance to measure the improvement.
 
Hi Sean,

Myself and other Houston Volvo owners have had bad luck with two Voxx models, MG and Misano as they bent easy. Which Voxx model are you looking at? If your roads are anything like ours, might I suggest a stronger wheel choice, possibly even on OEM?

-Erik

Stalker! How'd you know it was me? Recognize my syntax? Haha!

They were MG's.
 
Go 3" or don't bother.
It is the foundation of other mods, and when you decide the microscopic Mitsubishi is weenier than weenie, and you get a correctly sized T3 Garrett, you won't have to re-do the exhaust.

Wow ton of info fast!

Sway bar info duley noted and acknowledged.

OK, lets have this 3" thing out. Realizing that I have $300 worth of 2.5" mufflers, cats, pipes, 90's, 180's, and 45's, in my basement, and it was really easy for me to ship it all back and get cash credited back to PAyPAl account, AND assuming my son will want to keep a car with a 1/4 million miles on it long enough to do a serious turbo upgrade, how do you get a 3" DP on a conical flanged 15g? Which would be another expense, DP and flange. I bought the car for $1000, so a $600 + exhaust is kinda, I don't know, WHACK.
 
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