'97 Volvo 850 NA 149,000 miles
The car came with 195/65r15 tires which measure 25" in overall diameter as oppose to stock/correct 195/60r15 (24.2" overall diameter).
The front seems to bottom out and rub the inner wheel-wells bad when the front wheels are turned on minor bumps/inclines (like pulling into a driveway).
I realize the tires are slightly over-sized and that the front struts could be weak.
DO the front springs ever get weak ? In all my years working on Volvos in various shops I've never had to change front springs, they seemed to last forever on my old 240's.
What is the stock ride height (measured at wheel-well lip).??

thanks all
ride on
Peter

I had to change my springs at 120K due to rubbing. It happens.

The one inch difference is a lot. When you replace go to 60 series. If you go for wider tread, you must also decrease the aspect ratio farther.

No the springs don't get weak on Volvos, but the struts do as do the spring seats.

Of course, my 1967 wagon has weak rear springs. But that is due to pulling an over weight caravan around the country :>)

Klaus
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There is no present time, just the past and future

got a set of CORRECT size tires for the non-turbo 850 (195/60R15 vs. 196/65R15) that cured the wheel well rubbing (.8" less overall diameter) but the front end still bottoms out badly.
New struts will be happening soon.

roll on
Peter

Yep, will definitely go to 60 series with replacement tires.
I didn't think the springs went soft on Volvos.
Would like to find some info on stock ride height for the '97 850 wagon.
Some people recommend Volvo X90 spring seats as a good upgrade Yes/no ??
My "65 wagon never had a spring problem.
Any front strut replacement recommendations ??

Roll on
Peter

The best way to check ride height is to measure other 850s from the center hub to the bottom of the fender. I don't have an 850, so that leaves used car dealers :>)

Always use the XC90 spring seats.

Shocks will determine your personal comfort. I don't believe Bilstein makes TC's for Volvo anymore - they do make HD's which are a bit hard. Sachs/Boge are OEM and quite reasonable. Monroe are very soft. I put Koni Sport on my R.

Klaus
--
There is no present time, just the past and future

Also welcome strut and tire recommendations

I recently replaced my struts and spring seats with OEM Sachs. Got them for 15% off from FCP Groton. Just got an email coupon for 20% off. The ride has improved, but if I had to do it again I would get something slightly firmer. Might eventually add an IPD brace or something similar to tighten up the front end a bit.

Are you thinking about all season tires or summer tires?

All-season tires plus some better sway-bars in the future.

I don't know where you live and how much snow you get. 850's are pretty good in snow, but if you get much snow at all then snow and ice traction should be considered when buying new tires.

I put Michelin MXV4 Primacy tires on my car. Just did the struts and tires about a month ago. Not enough miles on the tires to comment about their handling ability as they really aren't broken in yet, but they do ride nicely and are quiet. I don't want to do the snow tire changeover thing since I live on Cape Cod and we don't get a lot of snow - usually. So I was willing to pay more for a tire that would give pretty good performance and still be reasonable in snow and ice. The Primacy rates better than any all-season tire in snow and ice. In fact, it has close to snow tire traction. They did great in an 8 inch storm a few weeks ago....:)

I had some special front springs made for an 850 wagon we had. It did take care of the problem and raised the front end. They were made by a place in KS that I had used before, believe it is in St. Marys, KS. I still have the springs as we sold the car. If interested let me know.

dick