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coilovers?

Posted: Wed Aug 04, 2010 3:16 pm
by aron
does anyone sell coilovers for the 480?
i want to know what's available to give my 480 a healthy dose of lowering

Re: coilovers?

Posted: Wed Aug 04, 2010 3:31 pm
by ted clutch
no.

Re: coilovers?

Posted: Wed Aug 04, 2010 3:35 pm
by aron
that was short and to the point lol

so has anyone ever had any made? i heard that leda used to make some for the 400 series, is that true?

Re: coilovers?

Posted: Wed Aug 04, 2010 9:30 pm
by ted clutch
they have been made if youve got deep pockets. :cryhard:

Re: coilovers?

Posted: Thu Aug 05, 2010 11:03 am
by aron
who makes them? anyone on here had a set made?

i'm not worried about spending the money to get the look i'm after :)

Re: coilovers?

Posted: Thu Aug 05, 2010 11:21 am
by Sieger
i have coilovers from a WV golf mk1 on a renault 5, exactly the same offset. so if there is nothing for these volvo's you can look @ other makes, keeping the weight of the used car in mind :wink: . It was a lot of research but it paid off, the car can be slammed on the tarmac now :shock:

Re: coilovers?

Posted: Thu Aug 05, 2010 11:30 am
by aron
thanks for your reply!

i was thinking that myself, there must be coilover kits available that would fit onto the 480 - surely someone in europe has done it? 40mm just isn't enough lol

Re: coilovers?

Posted: Thu Aug 05, 2010 3:05 pm
by Iroll480
40mm already upsets the geometry from the chassis (panhard rod, camber etc). If you lower it even more to make it handle better think twice. For improved handling mount a strutbar and a good set of tyres and shocks like Koni or Bilstein imho.

Re: coilovers?

Posted: Fri Aug 06, 2010 2:06 pm
by aron
it looks like i'm on my own on this lol, i can't believe no-one in 24 years of 480's has used a setup to give a substantially lower ride height

i've read about the handling 'issues' and i understand why most on here use bilstein 40mm kits

i appreciate a bespoke kit will cost me (i've had coilovers on all my previous cars) - i feel it's almost worth doing because it's never been done

the 480 isn't a patch on my mk2 golf in terms of handling, nor will it ever be, my 480 trips are always a leisurely pace

Re: coilovers?

Posted: Sun Aug 08, 2010 11:43 am
by Iroll480
the 480 isn't a patch on my mk2 golf in terms of handling, nor will it ever be, my 480 trips are always a leisurely pace
Are you sure all the suspension components are OK?
If the handling components of the 480 are in good nick, it should/can handle like the mk2.How are the bushings from the panhard rod and other rearaxle links?Are the rubbers from the front suspension arms, stabiliser and droplinks in good nick? How are the shocks, especially the rear ones are important roadhandling wise. I totally don't regognize a leisurely pace is needed. Only the steering itself is a bit vague and not as responsive compared to the mk2. I have a roadtest that states the 480 can take 1,1G while cornering in standard form, quite an achievement at that time. After all the chassis is set up bij Lotus!

Re: coilovers?

Posted: Sun Aug 08, 2010 2:05 pm
by chriskay
My thoughts exactly, Iroll480. Of course, if aron is willing to sacrifice handling for looks, that's his business.

Re: coilovers?

Posted: Mon Aug 09, 2010 11:13 pm
by aron
my 480 is only a 1.7 n/a and has never endured a spirited drive in it's 50k mile life - and i intend to keep it this way.

the mk2 is my weekend b-road car, all i want for the 480 is a very low ride height, i'm not asking how to make my 480 handle better, i'm asking how to get it lower, i suppose that might upset some of you purists out there but i guess we can't all like the same things

i phoned up leda late on friday and the guy there said they had done a cad design for the 480 previously

i'm surprised no-one on here knows anything about it, but then again, this place does seem very quiet at the best of times :(

Re: coilovers?

Posted: Tue Aug 10, 2010 7:25 am
by volviz
heads up aron... it isn't that bad here. If you just wanted to go as low as possible then this is what you can do....
Image

from year 2004
195/50 r15
Image

Image

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at the front choped BMW E39 lowering springs on stock struts, at the back Mercedes 190 choped front springs (too stiff) now I'm rebuilding rear to take BMW E30 springs :wink:

-100mm :nuts:

Re: coilovers?

Posted: Tue Aug 10, 2010 8:25 am
by glasgowjim
hell volviz what do you call your car Digger ! :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

Re: coilovers?

Posted: Tue Aug 10, 2010 10:09 am
by Iroll480
the 480 isn't a patch on my mk2 golf in terms of handling, nor will it ever be, my 480 trips are always a leisurely pace
This is the only thing what upsets me, because it's besides the truth. You gave the impression in your topic that you wanted to make the 480 handle better, and in that case don't go any lower than 40mm. But now you made clear that you purely want to lower it just for the looks. I won't judge you on that, but I don't understand it either. For me handling always comes first and looks second, just a different perception of things.

Re: coilovers?

Posted: Tue Aug 10, 2010 11:21 am
by aron
thanks for your reply volviz - i think i'll be looking into some custom springs and shorter shocks unless i can find some coilovers to fit - good to know someone else out there has done this type of thing - i've got some nice wide wheels ready to go on when i finally get round to sorting the 480 :)

iroll480 - i wasn't saying a 480 couldn't be made to handle as well as my golf etc, my original post simply asked about getting a 'healthy dose of lowering', my point is simply that having great handling on the volvo is not important to me, driving the volvo is more for the enjoyment of it's quirkiness and charm, not for it's cornering ability/straight line speed (it's a 1.7 n/a - it's not a fast car) - if it was a tuned turbo i'm sure my outlook would be slightly different

Re: coilovers?

Posted: Wed Aug 11, 2010 5:06 am
by volviz
glasgowjim wrote:hell volviz what do you call your car Digger ! :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:
No it's FLATIRON :lol: and it has been sitting in back yard for last 5years.... :cry:

2 Aron
For the front it's enought to machine with turner’s bench the schocks bar shorter, so the spirng isn't fully released when car being lifted. As it has McPherson type struts it shoud be possible to make coilovers from other cars to work.

To the rear there are posibilities spring wise as said Merc, E30 or toyota ae 86 sadly neither will be direct fit, or just chop 480 lowering springs to your taste. Same about shocks :wink:

rear kit from toyota:
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Re: coilovers?

Posted: Sat May 07, 2016 12:12 am
by 480Guy
Did anything ever come of this? I'm currently fitting adjustable coilovers to mine

Both coilover struts are modified to bolt up, but I'll be modding them to give camber adjustment too before they are totally finished. On the rear I've fitted shorter springs and shocks, I'm gonna be using a hight adjustable spring seat and I'm making the panhard rod adjustable too.


I've tried adding photos but apparently they made my post "too spammy"

Re: coilovers?

Posted: Sun May 08, 2016 1:10 pm
by cranna21
480guy,

What front struts have you used that fit?

Re: coilovers?

Posted: Sun May 08, 2016 1:54 pm
by 480Guy
Modified lupo