• Hello Guest, welcome to the initial stages of our new platform!
    You can find some additional information about where we are in the process of migrating the board and setting up our new software here

    Thank you for being a part of our community!

DET17's "Project cheap thrills" - '92 944T

Thats hilarious because the factory 850 brakes are horrible.

The stock brakes on my 95 960 are very nice though.

Drove an M56-swapper 850R with 302mm brakes for a week. That felt good. Really good.

Mr Saabaholic sir, you may want to consider the 302mm brake upgrade also; it's all stock parts; rotor, caliper bracket, and 850 caliper, plus a couple grade 10 washers. You get much better pad selection thia way.

After some more digging around, I'm pretty sure that XC90 brakes are also very easy to adapt.
 
Drove an M56-swapper 850R with 302mm brakes for a week. That felt good. Really good.

Mr Saabaholic sir, you may want to consider the 302mm brake upgrade also; it's all stock parts; rotor, caliper bracket, and 850 caliper, plus a couple grade 10 washers. You get much better pad selection thia way.

After some more digging around, I'm pretty sure that XC90 brakes are also very easy to adapt.

I'm sure the 302 setup is a decent improvement over the factory 280 stuff.

Well, there were different types of brakes on different models of 850's, and some differences between stateside and non-stateside models - perhaps that's where the overlap lies.

From experience, the factory brakes on my 850R were quite horrible and the brakes on my 97 850 NA were also horrible. A stoptech 332mm kit fixed it though :-D
 
Thats hilarious because the factory 850 brakes are horrible.

All I told you was the same lie the man told me:

As part of the final update on the 940 Volvo must have decided to make the brakes feel a bit better, possibly to bring them more in line with the new 850. The servo ratio was changed from 1:4 to 1:5.2 to make the brakes lighter to use and the pedal and pedal box changed to cut down the extra travel allowed by the new servo. Along with these mods the pedal lost it's return spring and gained a new type of brake light switch.

I've driven a car with the later servo and pedal etc and it was comparing this to mine that made me realise my brakes were horrible !
Anyone wanting to make their brakes better on a pre 95 car really need to do this first. If you then find you get problems with fade, then fit the bigger discs.


And since we're frothing at the mouth on this topic, the original "940 Brake Upgrade" thread:

http://forums.turbobricks.com/showthread.php?t=261539&highlight=940+brake+upgrades

If you look thru it, several Euro TB folks made this upgrade and were pleased with the results. I've got the 302mm Zimmermann rotors in the pile. All the details in a month or two, whenever I get to it ;-)
 
Mr Saabaholic sir, you may want to consider the 302mm brake upgrade also; it's all stock parts; rotor, caliper bracket, and 850 caliper, plus a couple grade 10 washers. You get much better pad selection thia way.

Done. Parts in the queue.
 
LOL - brake performance, like most of the rest of anything to do with a car, is highly subjective and almost always referential. "The brakes are great!" can mean anything from 'they stop the car eventually' to 'I can easily modulate them while trail braking into the slightly off-camber turn 2 at Road Atlanta while on worn tires' to 'these brakes are a helluva lot better than the brakes in my truck.' "The brakes are horrible" can also mean 'they stop the car eventually'. In the end all that really matters is that DET's getting the brake set up he wants on the car.
 
While I'm waiting for a TASCA parts order to deliver, decided to fit check my do88 intercooler.

Once again, my anal OCD kicked in, so I cleaned up the front core support prior to the supposed "drop in" fitment of the do88. Here is the front clip sporting the new FMIC:

DSCN7781.jpg
[/URL][/IMG]

DSCN7780.jpg
[/URL][/IMG]

Top fastener points to attach to the radiator nearly line up.... but it needs to shift just a bit to the PASS. side for 100%. Here you can see the slight obstacle which will be relieved to get the FMIC lined up dead nuts:

DSCN7782.jpg
[/URL][/IMG]

A dremel will make quick work of that lip, and a bit of touch up paint she'll be good to go. I'll tell you what, this cooler had better make more POWER because it has got to weigh 20# more than the OE unit! I know that do88 certainly optimized the fitment; that is, they didn't leave any room and consumed it all. The data sheets on Eurosport TUNING claim a nice temperature reduction and a significant flow advantage (pressure drop across the cooler) with this piece. Couple pics here showing the contact between the FMIC tanks and the radiator:

DSCN7783.jpg
[/URL][/IMG]

DSCN7784.jpg
[/URL][/IMG]

I've been studying how to route an extra trans. oil cooler and mount with this stack of heat exchangers. The only sensible path is going to require hoses, and pass thru the core support just below the do88 inlet port. No way to use hard lines with this setup. I'm investigating a 960 external trans. cooler as an option; if that doesn't work then likely aftermarket.
 
Front suspension mods / braking upgrade

OK, as I've got the IPD blue sports sold, and in preparation of the front brake upgrades, a couple pics of the "as found". Bone stock size front rotors, calipers, and the Zimmermann vented rotors which have served well the last ~ 5 years / 20K miles of DD-dom:

DSCN7788.jpg
[/URL][/IMG]

DSCN7786.jpg
[/URL][/IMG]

GilRacing spacers (25mm) will be removed prior to pulling the struts. Here they hang in baited anticipation:

DSCN7785.jpg
[/URL][/IMG]

DSCN7787.jpg
[/URL][/IMG]

Whilst I'm in here, and considering this is essentially the last waltz with this vehicle, I was cajoled by gsellstr to convert to these BNE Select parts:

https://www.kaplhenke.com/collectio...cts/700-900-spherical-adjustable-strut-mounts

Should have this section pulled out and refitted shortly.
 
Not much time lately due to work demands, but I'm setting up to install the BNE Select adjustable strut mounts. These will work with standard spring diameters or coil overs.

I wanted to compare my original top hats which were "camber modded" so to see where I should start to install these mounts. I moved the stock bolt position ~ 23mm, and had some serious negative camber as a result. Here you see them side by side:

DSCN7799.jpg
[/URL][/IMG]

In order to use the stock upper bearing from the 7/9 and the stock top spring seat, you need to tap into place (nice tight fight) these adapter sleeves, which will receive the OEM bearing. Hopefully you can see these parts which have been assembled:

DSCN7800.jpg
[/URL][/IMG]

Last, here are the pair of BNE select mounts, with his carriage bolts shown roughly positioned to match my original parts. The low cost of these parts ($200) provides the function, but you give up the ease of adjustment in position. It seems to me that to make fine adjustments of camber & caster, will require almost a disassembly to free up the spring so the mount can be adjusted. Hopefully I get it close enough with the initial install and don't require a lot of repetition to hit the targets. Here they are:

DSCN7801.jpg
[/URL][/IMG]
 
After 2 days of house painting I finally carved out some hours to install the B&G springs/struts and the BNE Select top adjustable mounts. We start with the requisite McPherson spring compressors roughed onto 3 coils of spring:

DSCN7811.jpg
[/URL][/IMG]

Here is the front B&G progressive PN, fits 7/9 and 960s (early):

DSCN7808.jpg
[/URL][/IMG]

Using my super-duper 3/8in Homer Depot air ratchet I collapse the 3 bottom most coils. Note the 1/2inch 300# pipe couplings as spacers on the spring compressors..... if you don't use something here the top ends of the acme threads will be pushing against your strut towers. These are dirt cheap at HD/Lowes, and get it done:

DSCN7813.jpg
[/URL][/IMG]

Since Ben Kaplan refuses to create/provide installation instruction (boxfullofparts.BNE.com) I shot him an email, and he informed me this is the proper orientation of the washer (with tapered bore to match the strut shaft) and the sleeve which spins inside his top mount spherical bearing.

DSCN7814.jpg
[/URL][/IMG]

After a first attempt which wasn't going well, I decided to revise the tactic I've always used. Pulled the BNE mount back out and PRE-assembled into position (with the spring compressed). This turned out to be easier than trying to fit the spring top plate/original bearing together while releasing the springs. Here the whole shebang is, ready to raise into place:

DSCN7817.jpg
[/URL][/IMG]

DSCN7816.jpg
[/URL][/IMG]

Look close and you see the black & yellow top bearing from the original setup (this part sourced from IPD, the "better"). And SUCCESS!

DSCN7818.jpg
[/URL][/IMG]

DSCN7819.jpg
[/URL][/IMG]

How sweet it is! I positioned the BNE Select mounts to the "maximum caster & camber" position by eyeball..... and torqued the carriage bolts he supplies to locate the top mount. Gsellstr swears by these parts, and convinced me to shell out the $200 for them. Aside from adjustment ability, the improved steering feel he found as the big improvements. It will be awhile before I finalize alignment numbers with my FASTRAX tool, but I'm looking forward to the benefits.

Fire in the hole!

DSCN7822.jpg
[/URL][/IMG]
 
Is it possible to adjust mounts without compressing the spring? and did you get more camber than with the modified original mount?
 
Is it possible to adjust mounts without compressing the spring? and did you get more camber than with the modified original mount?

Unknown at this point. What I DID do was with the front suspension at full droop, AND with the strut spring compressors just compressing the bottom 3 coils (each side) the top of the spring was completely unloaded.... movement was easy with just the BNE carriage bolts 1/4 turn from "snug". This is the cost of the savings of the BNE Select mounts; I plan to set it and forget it, once I get the readings. If you want to drive your car to an Auto-X event, change setup & race, then restore and drive home..... I'd buy his Full Monte setup.
 
Unknown at this point. What I DID do was with the front suspension at full droop, AND with the strut spring compressors just compressing the bottom 3 coils (each side) the top of the spring was completely unloaded.... movement was easy with just the BNE carriage bolts 1/4 turn from "snug". This is the cost of the savings of the BNE Select mounts; I plan to set it and forget it, once I get the readings. If you want to drive your car to an Auto-X event, change setup & race, then restore and drive home..... I'd buy his Full Monte setup.


thanks. I was thinking more to how easy they would be to adjust to get the camber similar on both sides. With the fully adjustable mounts it will not be possible to use the original bearing, which I would like for comfort on my daily driver. The BNE select mounts seems better. interested to see what angles you get. BTW nice project :)
 
Had a bit of free time last week and began fit checking the 302mm front brake upgrade.

With all the stock bits removed, I bolted up the Zimmermann vented rotors (in the back pages of the FCPEuro offerings) and then attempted to bolt up the SKANDIX adapter abutment brackets (for mounting the 850 Calipers). Of course the rotors fit perfectly:

DSCN7827.jpg
[/URL][/IMG]

DSCN7829.jpg
[/URL][/IMG]

Well the brackets almost fit... but "fouled" on the ABS pulse wheel. Apparently the target audience for these in Europa are on pre-ABS vehicles. Here you can see the ABS signal wheel with the square tooth pattern:

DSCN7838.jpg
[/URL][/IMG]

Note the spacer sleeves on the inboard side. When attempting to install the fastening bolts, the 2nd one won't make up by ~ 3mm I would guess. There were no deformities in the SKANDIX caliper mounts (abutment brackets) so they obviously were made to the print.... they just don't clear the ABS wheel. Well, it's either give up or MAKE THEM WORK. Taking the obvious choice I made some "relief mods" to delete just enough metal to allow them to clear the ABS wheel.

DSCN7837.jpg
[/URL][/IMG]

DSCN7836.jpg
[/URL][/IMG]

Hated to grind away new metal.... and now I've got to seal up the bare steel on a factory fresh zinc chromate finish :grrr: Oh well, the things we must do for performance! I don't believe I've (significantly) weakened these mounts, if you look at how the reactions are transferred to the strut tube ears (do a FREE BODY DIAGRAM in your mind). Confirmed the pass. side will likewise require a similar relief for clearance Clarence. Got to keep the improvements moving..... hopefully much more to show soon.
 
thanks. I was thinking more to how easy they would be to adjust to get the camber similar on both sides. With the fully adjustable mounts it will not be possible to use the original bearing, which I would like for comfort on my daily driver. The BNE select mounts seems better. interested to see what angles you get. BTW nice project :)

The fully adjustable mounts are compatible with the original bearing as well.

Is it possible to adjust mounts without compressing the spring? and did you get more camber than with the modified original mount?

There should be no reason why you would need to compress the spring to adjust the mount, you do need to take the load off the corner as the friction between the tower and the mount will be too high with the corner load being applied. More camber and caster is possible with these over modded stock mounts as the bearing is more offset
 
Last edited:
The fully adjustable mounts are compatible with the original bearing as well.

There should be no reason why you would need to compress the spring to adjust the mount, you do need to take the load off the corner as the friction between the tower and the mount will be too high with the corner load being applied. More camber and caster is possible with these over modded stock mounts as the bearing is more offset

Thanks :)
 
Back
Top