H&R Springs for 855t

firebrick · Post by **firebrick** » 03 Oct 2011, 13:25

Ok, folks. I am puzzled.

ipd and many other retailers sell one H&R spring kit available for all 850/+70s(29958)...for both wagons and sedans/coupes specified. But I came to find out, via H&R website, that there are wagon specific springs(29955) available as well. What gives? Why don't ipd and others sell both versions? according to the H&R specs, it shows that wagon version of the springs actually lowers more than sedan/coupe version. That makes it even more confusing...

Do you have experience in this? I have 855t and am looking for the right set.

THANKS!

Post by **Juan62** » 03 Oct 2011, 15:00

I guess weight distribution.

Post by **JRL** » 03 Oct 2011, 15:47

They may have made them but almost (if not everyone) sells one rear spring (fronts are all the same)
If you liked the way mine sat (the white one) buy them from shox.com and that's what you will get.

If you go too low in the rea of a wagon it WILL bottom out when loaded up!

firebrick · Post by **firebrick** » 03 Oct 2011, 17:11

JRL wrote:They may have made them but almost (if not everyone) sells one rear spring (fronts are all the same)
If you liked the way mine sat (the white one) buy them from shox.com and that's what you will get.

If you go too low in the rea of a wagon it WILL bottom out when loaded up!

Hi, would you explain what you mean by "they may have made them but almost (if not everyone) sells one rear spring (fronts are all the same)"? Sorry, and thanks!

Do you know if the "wagon version" sport springs are made to take more weight or to compensate the stiffer (or designed-to-take-more-weight) springs came from factory thus drops more after installation of these Springs? Does wagons sit higher in the back from the factory? Am I making any sense here?...

Post by **JRL** » 03 Oct 2011, 17:34

Probably, but I've been lowering these now for 11 years and all that's available is ONE spring as far as I know
Forget what you read, try to order wagon specific rear springs...

http://www.shox.com/appguide/shoxshop/p ... isplay.php

firebrick · Post by **firebrick** » 03 Oct 2011, 17:58

I just talked to someone from the tech support at H&R. This is what I found out.

They still sell 2 versions of springs for 850/70 Volvos...wagons and sedans/coupes. Difference is, as Juan62 simply put it, "weight distribution." Wagons are heavier, thus, they had engineered to compensate it accordingly. Also, the reason for the wagon version "drops" more is because the wagons originally come slightly higher than 4/2 door models. The point is that the dropped end result height would be all the same regardless as long as the correct springs are used.

I had asked this gentleman why, then, some retailers, like ipd, do not offer the two versions. He said "how they want to market springs are totally up to them." ...I am curious to hear ipd's explanation now.

At any rate, I think I will choose the wagon specific springs, as you suggested, JRL.

firebrick · Post by **firebrick** » 03 Oct 2011, 18:00

FYI...

http://hrsprings.com/scripts/appguide.p ... &MakeID=39

Post by **JRL** » 03 Oct 2011, 20:24

They're wrong
Wagons do not sit higher, in fact most sedans seem to sit higher in the rear

hrahn · Post by **hrahn** » 05 Oct 2011, 01:37

H&R has 2 spring sets for wagons, one is for Nivomats, the other for normal dampers.
So make sure you get the right ones depending on the shock absorbers actually installed in your car.

firebrick · Post by **firebrick** » 10 Oct 2011, 23:41

Here is the latest twist. I just found out that my 855t is equipped with the Nivomats. I suppose I had never thought about checking which dampers I had. Though, it all make sense now that I am looking back how well it had handled rather overloading situations in the past (i.e. Home Depot runs, family vacations, air port shuttles and Trader Joe's runs

)

Here are two options I need pick one out of... And I would like your $0.02/wisdom.

1- Keeping the original Nivos and get a set of Nivo specific H&R lowering springs.
2- Converting/eliminating Nivomats by installing non-nivo springs and OEM sachs with new mounts.

If I decide to go with the first option, how much longer will those original Nivos last, if they have not already passed the prime? (dropping another $700 just for two new dampers is not an potion here) This seem rather risky without knowing the current condition of the dampers and life expectancy of them. I hear that Nivomats last a longer than conventional dampers...is this a fact? My wagon/dampers have 145k now.

If I decide to go with the latter option, which is also rather risky to me, how well will it handle loads? Since I have never owned another 850, I have no idea what to expect without Nivomat. Granted, I rarely "over-load" my vehicles and am always conscious of their limitations. But really, how much would I sacrifice by getting rid of Nivomats?

Thank you for your time!