Your ride is hard cuz you have the R suspension. I agree with the others, do the Bilsteins, really nice shock. You probably need upper front strut mounts and sway bar links too, neither of these last real long. You will be pleasantly surprised how nice the ride is once this stuff is done.

I realize that not many Volvo owners go with KYB, as another poster has already said. Someone else asked about Monroe a few psots up from this. I do not like Monroe, never have, and I've used them a few times on some American cars in the past. I LOVE the KYB's, best cheap shock you can buy in my opinion. I've used them on my last two Mustangs and they are currently on my Triumph TR6. I'm doing my shocks and struts this weekend on my 850 and I went with the OEM Sachs, my car is not a turbo and it's just my daily driver so I don't need or want anything special from it. If KYB made front struts for it I probably would have gone with them. However, if I was you and I had the turbo, especially with the R suspension, I'd blow the extra coin and go for the good Bilsteins (not the touring) or, better yet, Koni adjustables. With adjustables you can keep them on the comfort side and, if you ever get the urge to go shred some corners, just turn the little dials and you've got a nice firm performance setting.

KYB is not really into Volvos. They're made in Japan and they're good shocks but they only make the rears for the 850 not the front struts. The factory T-5R comes with Bilsteins on it and that's what I'd stick with. Here's some part numbers for the Bilstein HD's - Front: VNE-4579-BE (Touring) or VN3-4358 (HD), Rear: BNE-2945-BE (Touring) or B36-1640 (HD) . The regular Volvo 850 shocks are Sachs. You can order the Bilsteins online from www.FCPGroton.com if you want to. They're not cheap but they're the best.



Mike
'95 850T