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Anybody know if stock 240 Turbo springs compare with IPD "Sport" or IPD "lowering" springs?. I know that OEM Turbo springs are shorter than DL springs, believe shocks are shorter, too.
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Oh.....and, I've found that with the Koni Sport damping, spring rates similar to what I picked and V8 torque -- you may find you don't need a rear sway bar at all. I'd use a big one on the front (25mm) and try it with no rear bar at all before deciding. In any event, probably won't need anything bigger than one of the stock rear 4 cylinder bars. I elected to completely remove the rear bar.
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82 242 5.0L; '10 Cayman S; '15 Honda Fit
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Mike,
I've seen your car in a few places, (magazine articles, sadly, not in person), and have been drooling over it for years, an inspiration to me to get off my butt and get busy on mine. With 5 Norton Commandos, a Triumph and an Aprilia, the bikes keep me pretty busy, but I've made more progress in the last 6 months than in the last decade on the Volvo! Biggest delay was full knee replacement, (crappy plastic/metal crude junk!, couldn't do squat for 2+ years!), and a house move and sad loss from a 22x40, fully insulated, heated, A/C, extremely well lit and wired garage/shop to a tiny 1 1/2 car, (barely), bare, "garage". But, garage addition phase #1, (widening, new doors, etc, completed and phase #2, 12ft. addition, big elect. upgrade, insulation, etc, etc on schedule for spring. I did a fair business restoring vintage Brit bikes in the old place including doing all of my own blasting, powdercoating and painting.
I've mentioned the project car, the one with the good body, is an '84 242DL, but the parts car, (sadly, I love that car!) is an '83 242 Turbo, so I have the bits from it, plus I have a diesel front bar and a big fat front one from a Mustang that I think can be made to work.
I have looked EVERYWHERE for the EIBACH springs, can't find any. Eibach says "no stock". Of those available, the IPD springs seem to be the best choice, but you've given me some specific numbers to shoot for. Maybe I can find some comparable in Europe; Svenska Ebay?
Doug
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I'm running coilovers in front - 2.5" Eibach coilover springs are available in many different free lengths and many different rates just about any place. Don't think you'll find an Eibach in the stock front spring diameter. And the 5" rear Eibachs are easy to source as well. I ended up running 12" in the front; 14" in the rear.
I had Billy HD's and IPD sport springs before. The transformation is dramatic - MUCH better damping, MUCH firmer/tauter, MUCH quieter/more stable/more enjoyable ride quality even though stiffer. Talk to the tech folks at Bilstein and Koni (I did) -- the Koni Sports have MUCH more damping in both compression and rebound than the HD's. Rebound is adjustable, compression isn't.
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82 242 5.0L; '10 Cayman S; '15 Honda Fit
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Lots of searching for springs. Suppliers of "sport" or "lowering" springs either don't know or won't supply spring rates. Can't find ANY info from EIBACH, "no longer in stock".
Guess my only alternative at this point is the IPD springs with the KONI Sports. Added expense of coil-overs out of the budget for now.
Financing the Volvo project partly by finishing restoration and sale of one of my Norton Commandos, so more than one project going on at once. Garage is set up for doing bikes, not cars; 7 bikes, 2 bike lifts and 2 Volvos make things crowded.
Still looking for SBF motor/trans. Junk, $$$$$$, or drag racer "grenades" seem to be what I find. Funny how usable SBF Mustang stuff is kinda hard to find in DEARBORN!!
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The "sport" springs are generally around 10-20% stiffer, at least from what I have seen for 240s. I had a set of the Eibach springs on a 242T, along with KYB shocks/struts. That made for a great ride/handling balance.
Actually, I remember that at the time (around 2001), I rented a Civic, and compared to that, the 242 handled much better, much less roll, AND on rough roads such as a cobblestone street, the ride was better and I could drive faster more comfortably. The Civic felt like it was going to shake apart, and I had to slow down.
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My homepage:
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The stock 240 turbo springs have ride height much closer to the DL ride height. They are not comparable to IPD lowering springs. The turbo springs are also a bit softer than the lowering springs.
What are you planning on doing for shocks/struts?
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My homepage:
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I've been seeing some pretty good prices on KONI Sport lately. I like the idea of adjustability with the V8. I was a line mechanic in a BMW dealer for 9 years, (and decades before/after on other makes, bikes, snowmobiles, etc), back in the '80s-early '90s and Bilstein were the choice then for a street car. Good street handling and still a decent ride. The KONIs were thought to be a bit too "harsh"
My '83 242 Turbo parts car has OEM factory Volvo replacements, done maybe 20k miles before it was parked, but it's been sitting a loooong time and they are pretty crusty. Thought I might be able to save a few bucks by re-using the Turbo springs on the 242 DL, a super clean, rust free car from Arkansas.
A note on the spring choice and KONI adjustability; the weight of the Ford 5.0 roller motor and T5 manual trans. vs the Volvo B23 and auto trans looks to be very close. I'm working a deal right now to buy a set of used TrickFlo aluminum heads from the Mustang drag racer down the street which will trim a bunch of weight off the motor, too.
Do you have experience with the KONI Sports? Bilstein? others? Always good to ask someone who has tried things, if possible, before you buy.
Drove a '82 244 Turbo with a carbureted Ford 5.0/T5 swap a couple of weeks ago. Kind of cobbled together car, rusty as hell as he was using it as a kind of low rent dirt road rally car, but it ran pretty good. Had Bilsteins on it, I think.
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On my 240, it currently has Bilstein HDs front and back. I also had a 940 with Koni Sports on it, and the impacts seem to be harder with the Bilsteins. That is usually the concensus with the HDs vs the Koni Sport. The HDs are great, durable, and can be custom valved, but the Konis seem to be a little more comfortable in general.
I also went from a B230 with automatic to a Ford 5.0 with T5 trans and aluminum heads, and I don't think there is much weight difference. At the time the conversion was done, the stock springs were still on the car, and I really didn't notice any difference in ride height.
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My homepage:
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82 242 DL powered by 5.0L Ford/T5/aluminum heads/battery in trunk/Commando bumpers replaced with fiberglass bumpers. Total weight and front/rear balance largely unaffected with those changes.
I run Eibach 2.5" springs in front and Eibach stock dia 5" springs in back - coilovers in front and adjustable perches in the rear. Koni Sports all the way around. The IPD sport springs I removed were about 170 lb/in front; 130 lb/in rear. Eibachs 275 frt/200 rear. While ride is firmer/tauter -- ride QUALITY/NVH/handling MUCH improved. All bumps are one and done. Much quieter.
STRONGLY urge poly bushes in the front. Removes the mystery spring rate from the stock rubber bushing and with V8 exhaust pipes, I couldn't tighten the rear control arm bush/bolt with the weight on the tires. Recommend quality front strut bushing, strut brace and caster/camber plates as well. Ben Kaplan's stuff (Kaplhenke) is first rate - used on mine and could not be happier with the quality.
If you wanna discuss further, feel free to reach out - michaelhjundt@gmail.com
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82 242 5.0L; '10 Cayman S; '15 Honda Fit
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