European Towing

[CliveAlive]

Gee, I'm sorry this seems to be turning into a Volvocentric thread!

Otto: I would love to see more info on your +T and airbags. Could you post a link to the info. Or e-mail me through my profile? (I'll have to check that I have an e-address in there). I would like to +T mine one day, but then I might get into trouble!! They are neither of them slouches and fast enough for me nowadays.

Raya: You know, the funny thing is that I tend to jump in my wagon more than my sedan. Yes, the overload springs gave me a slightly more bouncy ride to start with, but I usually carry some wieght in the back and that helps smooth the ride. Plus after a while they have settled in and are not as bouncy without a load, which is also what I had been advised they would do. I am very happy with them and am also looking at raising the back some more with these: volvogue.com - Heavy Load Blocks

I also have larger tires on it: 205x17x14. The original 185Rx14 tire size is no longer available and most tire places give you too small a tire for the wagon - 185x70. I think the best equivalent is 195x75. I went with the larger tire which of course has more sidewall so more area to flex.

I don't know what shocks I have in the wagon as I have not had to replace them since I got the car, even though I am the second owner and have had it for some years.

I did put Boge Turbo Gas shocks in the sedan and noticed the firmer ride in that afterwards. So if perhaps you went from the Boge Automatic to Turbo Gas that will have given you a stiffer ride too.

I would just keep rolling with them for a while and see how they settle in. I'd be interested to know how it goes.

How does the rear end handle with the overloads and Turbo size sway bar? I had that bar on a previous wagon with regular wagon springs and the back end would step out more readily than I liked. Whereas this one is very solid in the corners with just the overloads.

[Raya]

Well at least it is a European Towing thread

Okay, to clarify (non-Volvophiles should obviously tune out now!):

The turbo anti-sway bars are not IPD ones; they are actual original Volvo ones I took off a mid-80s turbo wagon at a pick-n-pull. IIRC my original bars were 21mm front and 16mm rear, and these are 23mm front and 21 mm rear - but I need to check that in my notes. At any rate, these figures are proportional to the change. (I think the IPD bars are 25mm/23mm for NA cars, or 25mm/25mm for turbo cars, but again I need to check on that; at any rate my new bars are about halfway between stock and the IPD ones, and I'm quite happy with them.)

At first this was my only change, after years of driving similar 245's with bone stock set-ups. OMG... LOVE!!! The car suddenly handled like it was on rails, and I could do cloverleafs at posted speeds, swerve to avoid other cars, and just have fun on corners. There was no excessive tendency to oversteer (as you know, they are set up to understeer in factory trim).

Next, I went from the "as I bought it" rear shocks to a set of Boge Turbo Gas (stock on turbo 240s; on previous cars I'd used the OEM Boge Automatics). This made a slight difference, but really only to go from "augh, I must replace these horrible old shocks" to "Ahhh, new shocks." With this set-up the car handled great, although since the rear springs were a teensy tinsy bit saggy, the rear end sagged when towing.

Next, I added the overload springs. My mechanic, who is new to me and my car, drove it after installing them and said "OMG, what is wrong with those shocks?!" I, knowing just how the car had felt when I drove it in (and of course knowing the shocks were newish and fine), drove out to see how it felt. Augh.... awful. It wasn't so much that the car *bounced* (the shocks took care of that), but that the rear end suddenly felt "dodgy." Like it could bounce sideways into the adjacent lane (not that it WOULD, but just the way it felt). All my wonderful improvements that I felt when I put the larger anti-sway bars on were GONE. And on a long freeway trip, I found I had to recline the seat *way* back just to not feel Every Single Joint in the road surface. Yuck!

When I picked up my tall/heavy friend, and all of his and my gear were in the car, it was not bad, but that was quite a load (I normally carry quite a bit of stuff, toolboxes, and etc. but that didn't calm down the springs at all).

So I have a dilemma: Leave the springs on, which would probably be quite nice when towing (I carry a fair bit in the car then, plus have the tongue weight); or take them off and have a well-behaved car 95% of the time, and a car that has behaved fine towing as it was (albeit the rear end was not "perky" when towing).

If I take them off, I have either the original springs from my previous 245 (not saggy when the car is not loaded), the springs from this car (were a tiny bit saggy), or a new set of "normal" springs. I haven't decided how to proceed yet. I had not heard about the springs "breaking in," and I don't think IPD mentioned that.

Raya

[Perry J]

Raya, I have driven Toyota PUs for ever. Only one problem with Toyota's. You put 4 bags of grocery's in the bed and the rear sags.
I tried overload springs with the same results you suffered.
I have used Ride Control Air Bags by Airlift for years. The bags on my present PU are 5 years old and still going strong.
The minimum pressure is 10 lbs. and my ride is normal.
I have a 16' Self contained front bath Scamp with a battery that probably weighs at least 75 lbs. in the front closet, dual propane tanks and a metal storage box on the tongue.
With 45 lbs. of air my trailer and PU are level and the ride is reasonable. When I am hauling my ATV and trailer I have to put about 60 lbs. in the bags.
The maximum recommended pressure is 100 lbs. With my 627 lb. ATV in the bed and my trailer hooked up if I put the 100 lbs in the bags I raise the back of my PU to the maximum height of the spring travel.
Air bags are the only way to go if you want to maintain a reasonable ride when your not towing.
John

[Otto]

While you're at the pic-n-pull, keep your eye out for original Volvo air bags. They have a compressor in the trunk and a control on the dash. Kind of rare, though.