Volvo RWD 200 Forum

I'm tempted to buy H&R 1" adapters to move my stock steelies out to the edge of the fenders. I know it would look better, but I can't justify the cost for looks alone. Will it also improve handling? I keep thinking that even that 2" wider track would make an improvement in stability/handling.

Thoughts?

Okay. Hmmm. I'm hearing a whole lot of "no." Well, I guess that makes it even easier to not spend the money. Thanks for the opinions.

The same effect would be had by installing wheels with a 1" greater negative offset. The positive scrub radius would increase and the wheel would have a bit more leverage to compress the springs.

absolutely not what you want to do...

Spacers such as them are for fitting wheels with the wrong offset, effectively putting the centerline of the tires in the correct place in relation to the hub. What you propose would be completely counter productive, changing suspension and steering geometry from how the engineers planned it. And them engineers were pretty good.

as said, get wider wheels with the proper offset, get your steelies widened (though with all the nice alloy options, what'd be the point?), or leave well enough alone. If Volvo wanted them wheels sticking outside the fenders, they'd have done it that way, and they'd have done it right.

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-Matt I ♥ my ♂

If you've ever driven a 240 with this setup, you would understand a bit better why it's a bad idea. For a short time I ran 225/50/16 tires on 7 1/2" wheels and ran a 13mm spacer because the wheels were 20mm offset and the tire would rub the strut tower without the spacer. The net effect was not only a wider tire but 13mm increase in offset on each side. The car drove horribly. It would track every ridge and depression in the road surface. It scrubbed horribly on any sharp turn moving forward and reversing was even worse. The rears are not nearly as fussy about track increase although many will argue that it will wear bearings more quickly with the added leverage. I tend to agree.

On a trailer queen or track-only car, have at it. On a daily driver? No thanks...

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Dale

No question the factory engineers know more than we do. However, they have to make the product safe for anyone from a teenager to a grandmother and to carry anything from one person to 4 or 5 and luggage. So the stock design is probably not optimized for performance. I'm just suggesting there is room for adjustment for special purpose use.

Hello,


You should focus on perfect alignment, suspension braces, and new shocks/struts. These items will yield a real improvement.


Goatman

I think you would get more bang for the buck with Virgo or Hydra wheels.
Dan

But, oddly enough, on Sean's car, the steel wheels look really nice. Virgos just wouldn't quite look right with all the chrome. And I've never liked Hydras, but that's just me.

My point is a wider tire/ wheel with a lower profile shorter side wall gives you better handling than moving the wheels out.
Dan