Front springs between 850 SE and 1997 S70 T5

Fosgate · Post by **Fosgate** » 28 Aug 2018, 20:00

Quick question, are the front springs between 850 SE are same as the 1997 S70 T5?
The story is ... I installed set of KONI FSD shock absorbers on my S70 T5 couple of years ago but I find them very harsh with 17in wheels that its currently on the car... they are so harsh that my interior has started making all sort of noise as the trims are coming loose...
So recently I found a set of Bilstein of a 850 at the wrecking yard which looked to be quite new so been planning to install them on my car to improve the driving comfort... the front shocks came with the springs that were on 850 so I need to know if I need to swap the front springs between the shocks before installing them on my car. Bit of a hassle to removing the springs from the shocks but if need to be done I do have all the tools here and have done it before.

Thanks

Post by **scot850** » 28 Aug 2018, 22:15

Do you know what version of Bilsteins you have? If you can find a part number on them you may be able to check if they are the 'Touring' spec or HD. I had HD's on my 2000 'R' when bought and they were way too hard for regular roads. I changed them back to regular Bilstein Tourings and it made the ride with 17" wheels much more pleasant.

The problem with springs on a car of this age is you don't know if they have been replaced or are the original, or are OE or aftermarket. Do any of the springs have a painted color strip still visible on them? Again you can figure out what they are if they are OE from that paint splash on them, might be yellow, blue, brown or other color. The spring color can then be cross referenced to see if standard or uprated. The Vin # plate identifies the correct color for a standard spring for that variant of Volvo.

If you can post the 8 (?) digit number on the bottom RH corner of the Vin plate it can decode this info.

Neil

Fosgate · Post by **Fosgate** » 28 Aug 2018, 23:29

Thanks Neil, I'll check for the colour marking on the springs themselves on both cars ... Im pretty sure they were standard spring from 850 and the shocks are the standard Bilstein thats why I want to go with them as I can feel my car is slowly coming apart with Konis ... they handle great but perhaps they best to have in a race car ... they not very road friendly at all especially on the streets of Sydney.

Post by **misha** » 29 Aug 2018, 01:26

What profile are those 17" tyres?

Fosgate · Post by **Fosgate** » 30 Aug 2018, 02:48

I'll have to check on the tyre profiles but from memory they were 205/45/17...

Post by **misha** » 30 Aug 2018, 03:00

45 tire profile makes the ride harsh...a little bit KONIs-a little bit tire profile.
Those wheels really suits the car and looks good.
As i can see from the picture...car is in excellent shape.

Post by **erikv11** » 30 Aug 2018, 08:17

There is no question - the 850 springs will fit. The only question is what ride will they give. Given how easy it is to install the struts, I'd just pop them in and try it out.

Post by **rspi** » 02 Sep 2018, 11:19

Usually when struts wear out they get harsher. The Bilstien's have a date on them. If they are older than 10 years old, I'd just get a new pair.

I'm running both, the B6 yellows on my wagon and B12 touring on my sedan. The sedan feel great and quiet. Both are new this year. Took about 1500 miles for the new struts to settle in.

Post by **JimBee** » 26 Apr 2019, 16:38

rspi: what shocks are you running on the rear and how do they feel?

Stu70 · Post by **Stu70** » 26 Apr 2019, 23:37

What flavour are those wheels ? - they look fantastic and really suit.
The car is a credit to you ...