One thing I'm sure everybody will agree on is stock 240 suspension is in need of improvement. Most people find the largest benefit is gained by adding (anti)sway bars to a 240, the Turbo sway's are probably the best bang for the buck, and are quite common in the pick and pull yards. The 700 series seems to have a better stock system but still can use aftermarket sway's. One note on 700 sways, I've masured many in the yards, some turbo bars are slightly (~2mm) larger, sorry about the misinformation put here before, I did however recently put ipd's 25/25mm bars on the 740 WOW what a difference. In the last few years I've had a variety of combinations of springs, shocks and sway bars on my bricks, mainly on the 240s as I prefer them. Most of the combinations are on 15 X 6 turbo wheels with 195/60 or 205/60 tires. Click on a combo for my views on it. Or for a brief rundown just read the Summary '88 240 Includes: Stock with 185/70/14 tires Add Boge Turbo Gas shocks/struts, ipd 25/22mm sway bars. Add 195/60/15 Virgos and upper strut braces. Change stock springs for Eibach springs. (really wish I'd kept those!!) Remove Eibachs add Bilstein Touring shocks/struts. Change 22mm rear bar for 23mm GT rear bar. '85 240 Turbo with 205/60/15 Includes: Stock With 23mm front and 23mm GT rear. As above with upper and lower strut braces added. As above with ipd springs and Bilstein Sport shocks/struts. As above with 25mm ipd and 23mm Gt rear bars. Remove 23mm rear bar and replace with ipd 25mm bar. Add Cherry Turbo cross tower brace |
SUSPENSION MODIFICATIONS (MY EXPERIENCE AND OPINIONS) |
Ride is a matter of taste, what I consider a "Sporty" ride may be bone jarring to others, and a "Floaty" ride for me may be luxurous to you. This is the only fact I will set forth here, the rest is my views and sensations, please keep this in mind while viewing this page. Also don't forget the first thing is good bushings!!! |
One thing I'm sure everybody will agree on is stock 240 suspension is in need of improvement. Most people find the largest benefit is gained by adding (anti)sway bars to a 240, the Turbo sway's are probably the best bang for the buck, and are quite common in the pick and pull yards. The 700 series seems to have a better stock system but still can use aftermarket sway's. One note on 700 sways, I've masured many in the yards, some turbo bars are slightly (~2mm) larger, sorry about the misinformation put here before, I did however recently put ipd's 25/25mm bars on the 740 WOW what a difference. In the last few years I've had a variety of combinations of springs, shocks and sway bars on my bricks, mainly on the 240s as I prefer them. Most of the combinations are on 15 X 6 turbo wheels with 195/60 or 205/60 tires. Click on a combo for my views on it. Or for a brief rundown just read the Summary '88 240 Includes: Stock with 185/70/14 tires Add Boge Turbo Gas shocks/struts, ipd 25/22mm sway bars. Add 195/60/15 Virgos and upper strut braces. Change stock springs for Eibach springs. (really wish I'd kept those!!) Remove Eibachs add Bilstein Touring shocks/struts. Change 22mm rear bar for 23mm GT rear bar. '85 240 Turbo with 205/60/15 Includes: Stock With 23mm front and 23mm GT rear. As above with upper and lower strut braces added. As above with ipd springs and Bilstein Sport shocks/struts. As above with 25mm ipd and 23mm Gt rear bars. Remove 23mm rear bar and replace with ipd 25mm bar. Add Cherry Turbo cross tower brace |
700 series The 700 series is quite nice "out of the box" so to speak, not too much roll in the corners and firm but not harsh damping. I use my 700 as a back and forth to work car on So Cal's freeways so the stock suspension met my needs well. The one upgrade I did was to install Boge Turbo Gas shocks, these were stiffer than the stock shocks but not unpleasantly so. The ride is not harsh by any means and I recommend them to anyone who wants a little firmer ride than stock. |
NA 240 A stock 240 is not a thing of beauty when it comes to driver security in corners, especially when the drivers history includes MGs, 'Vettes, and a TR6 (favorite). The car actually handles quite well but the body roll is un-nerving and the understeer is quite noticable. One trip across many miles of twisty roads through the Rocky Mountains was enough, I needed more! The '88 has had many incarnations, soon after I bought it (8-97) I stuck a set of 185/70/14 Pirelli P400s under it, so that will be considered the baseline (stock). STOCK: Lots of body roll and noticeable understeer. I have heard Volvo designed them this way as a safety feature, if the driver insists on ignoring the roll and goes into a corner too fast the front will slide first and the car hits nose first where the crumple zones absorb the impact. BOGE TURBO GAS SHOCKS AND IPD 25/22mm BARS: I thought I'd died and gone to heaven. The shocks felt stock (too floaty) but the bars reduced body roll and gave a much more secure feel in the corners. Still noticeable understeer. VIRGO (TURBO) WHEELS AND UPPER STRUT BRACES: The lower profile tires when combined with the stiffer chassis provided by the strut braces greatly improved the turn in. The increase in response was even felt by my wife, the ultimate test. SAME AS ABOVE WITH EIBACH SPRINGS: Really nice, the springs lowered the car by 3/4" the car felt about stock until hard cornering or a large dip, then the progressive nature of the springs is felt. The heavier rear springs reduced understeer giving a more neutral feel. I really wish I'd kept these as they are no longer made. EIBACHS OFF, BILSTEIN TOURING ON: These are NICE! Quite a bit stiffer than the stock shocks or Boge Turbos but still very livable. AS ABOVE WITH A 23mm GT REAR BAR: The GT rear bar makes the car more neutral, much like the Eibach springs without the stiffer spring rate, this is a good thing, To much oversteer is not a good thing, ipd only recommends the 25/25 setup is for lowered cars with good reason, the tail becomes too loose on stock cars, this is a very bad thing on gravel or rainy conditions. The 25/23mm is a good compromise. Believe me 1mm may not sound like much but it is noticable in you know what to look for. This is the combination I'm sticking with, excellent damping, predictable handling, and good long trip comfort. UPDATE: Bought another set of Eibachs and put on a 25mm rear bar, this is the final combo! |
Some notes for the next sections. Roll = You all know this one, it is that leaning feeling that says the car is going WAY too fast in the corner whether it is or not. Understeer = The front of the car feeling like it is going to break loose and go straight in a corner. Oversteer = The rear of the car feeling like it is going to break loose and come around in a corner. Turn in = The response to steering wheel input, how fast the car reacts to wheel movement. Hunt = The car making changes of its own in the corner, necessitating correction of the line of travel. |
Turbo 240 Contrary to what people on ebay who are trying to sell "Turbo Springs" may say the suspension on the 240 turbos is the same as the NA cars with the exception of 23/21mm sway bars. Therefore they respond to upgrades in a similar way. STOCK 240Ti, 205/60/15 BF GOODRICH TA: Nice ride, for a inexpensive upgrade to any 240 I highly recommend adding turbo sways. AS ABOVE WITH 23mm GT REAR BAR: Almost Neutral, very nice predictable handling, still more roll than I prefer. ADD UPPER AND LOWER BRACES: Really improves turn in, the lower ones help with stiffness and reduces the hunt that comes with chassis flexing. ADD IPD SPRINGS AND BILSTEIN SPORT SHOCKS/STRUTS: The springs had a fairly stiff rate, 169# front and 131# rear. This significantly changed the ride, much stiffer, ok for freeway and smooth streets but not recommended for long drives or streets with potholes or sudden changes in road surface. Sudden changes in road height like where the road drops suddenly after a bridge or trench plates results in a bone jarring bump and those darn expansion joints set up a motion that is very tiring after a while. While I have put over 500 miles a day on the NA '88 without undue fatigue a 200 mile round trip in this car is very tiring. Highly recommend this setup if you have another car for a daily driver and keep this one for fun. AS ABOVE 25mm ipd front/23mm GT rear bar: Switching out the stock 23mm front bar with an ipd 25mm bar I got from a friend brought the roll down to where I like it but now the car is not as neutral as it was with the 23/23 set up, it's back to behaving like it did stock, too much understeer. I guess I'll have to find a 25mm rear bar somewhere. 12-3-01 ADD 25mm REAR BAR. Now this is nice. I found a 25/25mm set in the pick and pull a few days ago and put the rear bar on the back, with matching 25/25 bars the car is quite neutral and has quite a bit less body roll. I have a feeling it may be a little loose in wet conditions as there is a slight tendency to oversteer. I can see why ipd does not recommend this combination for non lowered cars. 2-20-02 Added a cross tower brace Herman at Cherry Turbos up in Canada made up for me, the flathood necessitated a custom made brace. Tightened up things quite nicely, a good final touch to the car. More for show than practical use on the street but it did make a difference. |
SUMMARY First of all do the bushings first, this makes a big difference in itself and you will get the full benefits of the other modifications. If you are modifying your only car don't get crazy. A 240 can be both a well handling car and a comfortable cruiser. For the person on a budget a set of turbo sway bars and a set of Bilstein Touring shocks will make most people happy for a total cost of under $350, using Boge Turbo Gas shocks will keep it under $300 with a softer ride (too floaty for me). Adding a nice set of 15" alloy wheels and 195/60 or 205/60 series tires looks cool but is not as much bang for the buck seeing as a good refinished set of turbo wheels and tires will run you $600-700. If you have a little more to spend the ipd 25/22mm setup is well worth the $265 + shipping (as of 12/01) body roll is reduced over the turbo bar setup with little degradation of ride quality. Upper and lower braces are icing on the cake and while they do make a difference they are more a "Wow look at that" item. Now if you do have another car to use for those long trips and situations where you need a comfortable ride, go for the full package. A 240 with good bushings, lowering springs, Bilsteins, 25/25mm bars, and a full brace package is a joy to drive, and you will definitely surprise some people as you zip past them on those 2 lane onramps. |
