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1992 Volvo 240 drop

turbobrick92

New member
Joined
Mar 1, 2010
Location
R.I
i'm looking to lower my 240. i've been doing research and keep getting somewhat useful information, but it is all mixed up.
I was wondering if anyone could give me just basically a list, and their opinion if you've used them.
It's summer time and I want to make heads turn :-P

any help would be greatly appreciated!
 
Some folks like to do it by cutting the stock springs. But I would recommend lowering springs because of their higher spring rate your car will have much less of a tendency to bottom out if at all. You do need to use shocks and strut inserts that work well with lowering springs. Bilstein HD, Koni Yellow sports are the high end and work great. The more affordable shock alternatives were Boge Turbo Gas and Tokico but I've never used them with lowering springs. I used the Bilstein HD with IPD lowering springs.
 
all my friends that drive acura's and honda's use cut springs. i don't really want to go with the extremely broke option.

i was looking at ipd's 'sport springs' for a 1.75 drop in the front and 1.25 in the back. with bilstiens touring shock and struts ( http://www.ipdusa.com/version.asp?s...nts=69,265,469&P_ID=725&CAT_ID=469&V_ID=11127 )
any opinions on that set up?

and what about coilovers? are making them as.. hard as it seems?
i can't really find a kit like my brother bought for his car.
but after all, volvo's don't have as much performance and tuner parts as vw or honda. :/
but, in the link mentioned above there was something about getting springs that are 150lb or something like that. I don't understand how that is suppose to work.
 
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Cut stock springs + leaving the old shocks/struts = lower, poor ride and handling, probably going to blow out your current shocks/struts, ride will be even worse, bla bla bla...but it's FREE, YO.

New lowering springs (cut or uncut) + new shocks/struts = lower, killer ride and handling, but costs $700 and you're stuck if you don't like the ride height. Something like $400-800, depending on where/how you go.

Coilover setup = adjustable, cheap to play with different springs, adjustable ride height, give you a big e-penis on the forum. $600+, if you do it yourself, at least a G for a kit from someone.

Your call, bo. I went with uncut lowering springs and new shocks and struts, the same setup that you were looking at. I'm a fan, obviously. If you wouldn't be comfortable doing a turbo swap that required a little fab, you probably shouldn't tackle building your own coilover kit.
 
Cutting springs is fine if you run an appropriate shock with them - or intend to replace them at some point with a proper higher-rate spring. I ran cut springs with stock dampers, and they were fine up to a point. Going past that point made them nearly dangerous. Adding Bilstein HD's quieted them down quite a bit, but that was too much shock for the spring. HD's and proper springs are a good combination, though the valving on the rear HD's are a bit on the soft side for rebound. Coilovers give you the most adjustability for spring rate and lowering, but again - you need to run an appropriate shock for the spring. I've got Kaplhenke coilovers with 300# front and 250# rear springs and Bilstein HD's - something isn't *quite* right but I don't have the funds at the moment to go chasing it down. Might just be that I'm running it too damned low. :-D
 
Cut stock springs + leaving the old shocks/struts = lower, poor ride and handling, probably going to blow out your current shocks/struts, ride will be even worse, bla bla bla...but it's FREE, YO.

New lowering springs (cut or uncut) + new shocks/struts = lower, killer ride and handling, but costs $700 and you're stuck if you don't like the ride height. Something like $400-800, depending on where/how you go.

Coilover setup = adjustable, cheap to play with different springs, adjustable ride height, give you a big e-penis on the forum. $600+, if you do it yourself, at least a G for a kit from someone.

Your call, bo. I went with uncut lowering springs and new shocks and struts, the same setup that you were looking at. I'm a fan, obviously. If you wouldn't be comfortable doing a turbo swap that required a little fab, you probably shouldn't tackle building your own coilover kit.

so you're using ipd 'sport springs' and bilstien touring package from ipd?
how's the height, handeling, etc?
pictures?

thanks everyone! this is really helping.
 
I am also wondering the same thing. Looking to lower my 245, but am on a tight budget. I am also wondering what the reviews are for the "IPD sport springs". People are referring to "IPD lowering springs"...are these the same spring as the sport spring? turbobrick92 and I are probably wondering the same thing.
 
so you're using ipd 'sport springs' and bilstien touring package from ipd?
how's the height, handeling, etc?
pictures?

thanks everyone! this is really helping.

I did this on my '76 242.
It felt stiff but in reality wasn't all too stiff. It had lots of feel to it and I liked it.
I was running the 'sport' springs, billy touring struts in front and KYB gas-a-just shocks in the rear. I ran the stock 240turbo sways and it was fine, just fine for a daily driver here. I really liked the setup and for the price it's hard to beat.
Everyone here will scream billy hd, but I'm just not a fan.
 
i've been driving on 3 coils off the front with stock 350k+ dead struts up front for years, and a stiff mix/match rear setup. the rear setup did more damage to ride quality than the front(shocks are just TOO stiff)
 
I am also wondering the same thing. Looking to lower my 245, but am on a tight budget. I am also wondering what the reviews are for the "IPD sport springs". People are referring to "IPD lowering springs"...are these the same spring as the sport spring? turbobrick92 and I are probably wondering the same thing.

i'm trying to figure out that and why they list as strut inserts and then they have touring struts separate,
:-(
 
If you call 1.75 and 1.25 inches "lowered", then the IPD springs will be fine for you.
I still consider that 4x4 ride height.

If you, like me, think that is 4x4 ride height then your options are as follows...

Cheapest:
Cut springs - Damn near free and when done right still rides great and handles 100% better than stock.

Towery's budget coil-overs - very cheap way of getting a decent performance suspension on a 240 and really hard to argue with it's results, tunability or cost.

Not cheap:
RSI or Kaplhenke Coil-overs - they have done all the work for you. Parts that were intended for this purpose. Peace of mind, less aggravation and someone to call to ask questions while installing them.

Expensive:
RSI or Kaplhenke Lowered Coil-overs - Able to go super low and still ride decently. Tested coil-overs on race and auto-x cars that actually work. Both can be geared to a street car with softer springs/dampners.


Cut stock springs + leaving the old shocks/struts = lower, poor ride and handling, probably going to blow out your current shocks/struts, ride will be even worse, bla bla bla...but it's FREE, YO.
Your advice wasn't too bad except for this part where you obviously have limited or no experience when it come's to 240's. Mis-information is worse than not saying anything at all. Think about that next time you speak of something you know little about.



badgerdt.jpg
 
If you call 1.75 and 1.25 inches "lowered", then the IPD springs will be fine for you.
I still consider that 4x4 ride height.

If you, like me, think that is 4x4 ride height then your options are as follows...

Cheapest:
Cut springs - Damn near free and when done right still rides great and handles 100% better than stock.

Towery's budget coil-overs - very cheap way of getting a decent performance suspension on a 240 and really hard to argue with it's results, tunability or cost.

Not cheap:
RSI or Kaplhenke Coil-overs - they have done all the work for you. Parts that were intended for this purpose. Peace of mind, less aggravation and someone to call to ask questions while installing them.

Expensive:
RSI or Kaplhenke Lowered Coil-overs - Able to go super low and still ride decently. Tested coil-overs on race and auto-x cars that actually work. Both can be geared to a street car with softer springs/dampners.


Your advice wasn't too bad except for this part where you obviously have limited or no experience when it come's to 240's. Mis-information is worse than not saying anything at all. Think about that next time you speak of something you know little about.



badgerdt.jpg

so, where are there other springs where i could drop it even more?
or would you think about just cutting a coil or so off the ipd's?

and for coil-overs, i couldn't find any specific to volvo beside DIY kits.
edit- Kalphenke coil-overs are looking very intresting...
anyone using these? and what would i need to get from them if i went that route? i see front coilovers, and rear springs and perches... and then underneath it is coilover hardware and converted strut tube (which my guess is i will need near everything listed on that page)
 
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EuroSportTuning has progressive-rate springs that are a 1.5f/1.4r (I think) drop. B&G has some springs that are a 1.6f/1.5 drop and is the same company that makes the springs for EuroSport. Another company, SAM used to make single-rate drop springs for 240s, but I forget how much of a drop they were and are no longer made.
Cutting progressive rate springs doesn't really affect the ride quality because the bottom couple springs are zero-rate "dead" coils that do little more than provide a platform for the rest of the coil to sit on. I'll be cutting one dead coil off the progressive-rate H&R coils on my Rabbit to bring the ass end down so it sits level with the front.
As far as OEM volvo springs go, 1978-1980 242 GT's came with 15mm lower springs from the factory that had a higher spring rate than those found on the GL and DL. They are pretty rare nowadays, but at one time you could order them, along with 23mmf/21mmr sway bars straight from the dealer. A much more popular and inexpensive route is to cut front coils from a diesel 240 and rear coils from a 240 wagon. The diesel springs use 14.5mm thick coils, whereas non-diesel cars come with 13.5mm thick coils. This is the route I plan on taking, because I'm cheap/poor. Matched with some gas-a-just KYBs in the rear and Tokico HPs in the front along with some 21mm bars, it should be a pretty decent setup.

I imagine that with cutting 1-2 coils off a progressive-rate spring, you could drop your car about 2-2 1/2" or so.
 
so, where are there other springs where i could drop it even more?
or would you think about just cutting a coil or so off the ipd's?

and for coil-overs, i couldn't find any specific to volvo beside DIY kits.
edit- Kalphenke coil-overs are looking very intresting...
anyone using these? and what would i need to get from them if i went that route? i see front coilovers, and rear springs and perches... and then underneath it is coilover hardware and converted strut tube (which my guess is i will need near everything listed on that page)
I'm not a fan of cutting coils off of aftermarket springs. I think they are too stiff for an off the shelf dampner on a street car. Stock springs cut 1.5-3 coils (depending on car) is usually pretty nice. If you cut 2 coils off of a stock front spring (raises spring rate roughly 20%) it is fairly close to an IPD Spring, just a little lower and a little softer.

RSI coil-overs:
Standard length coil-overs with Bilstein HD's - $690 ($100 core charge)
Shortened coil-overs with Bilstein HD's - $850 ($100 core charge)

Add $200 for rear springs and adjustable perches
Add $185 for rear Blistein HD shocks (standard or short lengths)

Kaplhenke coil-overs:
EDIT: See Ben's post below for current/correct info.
Standard length - $400 (plus $240-250 for Bilstein HD's or strut of your choice) ($200 core charge)
Shortened coil-overs - $1300 for Single Adjustable or $1500 for Double Adjustable ($200 core charge)

Add $230 for rear springs and adjustable perches
Add $334 Koni Single adjustable rear shocks (website doesn't list a more basic shock option)
 
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