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May I inquire about suspensions for a 740?

I've gotten a LOT of great help here, so I apologize if I ask a lot of questions. I'm currently on a 3 phase plan restoring my 1987 740 GLE. Phase 1 - get it running and solid mechanically. Phase 2- tires, suspension, steering and brakes. Phase 3 - paint and trim.

I am preparing to move from Phase 1 to Phase 2. So far I've been told I need struts, tie-rod ends, ball joints, etc. - the stuff that wears out on the front end and shocks on the back.

Well, part of me says stick with OEM or near OEM as far as tires and struts go. Another part of me says spice it up a bit, maybe go a little stiffer on the struts and maybe a little more performance on the tire.

Personally, I am not a guy who likes the look or style of dropping an average car and trying to make it a performance machine. To me, if I see a family sedan dropped a few inches, with fancy rims, a loud muffler and some stripes - it doesn't look impressive to me at all.

You know how you have your standard passenger car, then you have the sport edition of that car? That's kind of what I am looking for and really need some help.

So, basically I need to understand more of a range of options. If someone can help me understand "What would happen if..."

Example: As compared to OEM shocks, struts and 14" tires, what would happen to the ride/handling if I --

A -- just put a slightly thinner tire on?

B-- kept OEM tires and put Bilstein TC shocks?

C-- OEM tires plus Bilstein HD shocks?

D-- Bilstein TC shocks plus a thinner tire?

E-- lowering kit plus slightly thinner tires?

What I cannot get an appreciation of is how much things will change with these options. Will thinner tires make the car slam and slap the road, jolting me around?

I haven't been able to drive this car any significant amount yet, so I don't have a feel for it yet. What I want is for the ride to be tight, I want to have a sport feeling for the road and have the car feel responsive to driving.

I want it to be more like a European driving machine and not a floating lincoln town car.

Please advise.

Reply to
Jamie
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IPD swaybars would make the biggest improvement towards handling, some slightly firmer struts will have a noticeable difference too. In almost any case though, more sporty handling means less soft ride, everything is a compromise.

Reply to
James Sweet

Thanks James, I looked up the IPD swaybars and they seem to be something I am interested in. I was looking at my car and with the 14" wheels, I think I could stand to lower it about 1".

The thing I can't judge is when they say the ride will become more stiff, do you say "it will become more stiff and feel like a BMW," or do you say, "It will become more stiff, handling the curves beautifully while banging the hell out of you on the straight roads?

I think the sway bars would be a good start. More responsive steering is what I am after, but I still want to take road trips with my family and not feel every bump in the road.

Reply to
Jamie

Does my car (1987 740 GLE non-turbo) have any kind of factory front sway bar already? I've located a front swaybar from a 1990 740 GL. If I have no sway-bar, then this would be an upgrade. If I have one, this would be a waste of money.

Reply to
Jamie

AFAIK all 700 series cars have a front swaybar and all sedans have a rear bar, wagons don't for some reason.

Thicker bars will make the car much more stable and responsive, it won't lean nearly as much in curves, but driving on uneven surfaces will feel much rougher. I'm pretty sure IPD has a money back guarantee which you'd obviously want to verify the details but in that case you could try out the bars and send them back if you don't like the effect.

Reply to
James Sweet

OK, I think I understand now. My 740 sedan must have a set of sway bars, but these would be stiffer bars. I thought my car had no bars and I would be adding something that was not there before.

Cool.

Reply to
Jamie

You'd be replacing the existing ones with stiffer ones. IIRC the stiffness increases with the square of the diameter, so a mm or two larger bar is much stiffer.

Reply to
James Sweet

Non-turbo cars have a 21mm sway bar, turbo cars have a 22mm sway bar and sports option have a 23mm sway bar. Worth thinking about rebushing the front end with polythene bushings (can give same ride as various grades are available and last much longer). However standard bushings are cheap and you can also add the sway bar struts with new bushings. The sway bar holding bushes may also need to be replaced (brackets attach to front chassis members). Of course swivel ball joints will need replacing as well.

All the best, Peter.

700/900/90 Register Keeper, Volvo Owners Club (UK).
Reply to
Peter K L Milnes

Thanks for the insightful explanations!

Reply to
Jamie

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