Hi, I'm in need of replacing my shocks and struts on my 93 850. My local Volvo mechanic does not recommend OEM replacements, which I believe are Boge. He recommends Bilstein Touring Shocks as replacements. He seems to imply that the OEM shocks and struts are a waste of money. Is this a common opinion? I can get a good deal on the OEM shocks, just don't want to be wasting time and money if they are not so good. Any input would be appreciated.
TIA, JB
Just Make sure that he changes the upper shock mounts when he changes the front shocks
I put Boge Turbo gas struts and shocks on my 93 940 wagon and am very pleased, only have 10 k miles on them so far.
I replaced the OEM shocks with the Bilstein touring shocks, they gave a pretty decent ride - good solid road feel but a little stiffer than I had expected from shocks not marketed as "sporty". I don't have any OEM benchmark to compare it to however, when I bought the car the shocks on it were beyond dead and I needed new front mounts on both sides. They were noisily rattling around while I drove. Getting the weird little star shaped nut off on the passenger side was *miserable* but the driver's side was a breeze. I'd suggest the IPD tool.
This was on a wagon, a friend with an 850R sedan used the Bilstein top of the line shocks and the IPD springs. Compared to the Bilstein shocks I had they were rock hard though.
That being said I'd use them again, but for me the price was right for those shocks. Figure in the cost of replacing the shock mounts too, in my case they were needed all around.
What kind of a ride did he say they give, and what kind of a ride are you expecting?
If you want a stiffer ride you can get stiffer shocks, if you want compliant, get shocks that are known to be more compliant. Your mechanic should be able to give you a recommendation based on how YOU drive the car, get him to take a ride with you, let him see how you handle corners, if you like to have some fun on winding roads, then drive on those roads, if you carry 4-5 people a lot, talk about upgrading to firmer shocks and even stiffer springs.
Went with Volvo stock on our 1993 960, just 1000kms ago (has 161K Kms)... old shocks were getting, well... old... new stuff brought back the quality ride.
I've had Blisteins on for three or four years now (nothing wrong with the originals). They're a lot of money up front, about $400 just for parts. They really do work better. For example, right away I noticed the ABS would rarely kick on on bumpy surfaces. With the original shocks it would often make a few sharp clicks in the brake pedal during even moderate braking over things like train tracks or manhole covers.
I'm not convinced they are worth the extra money for most people. I'm still happy with them and don't regret my own decision at all, but that's my car and my money, not your car and your money. If you enjoy the act of driving any car, fast or slow, you may be happy with Bilsteins. If you have the car because it has been a good appliance all these years, you may not enjoy spending that much money on shocks.
I only used OEM replacements (only Volvo dealer service) on my '93 850 and frankly I don't remember ever replacing them in 180,000 miles. On my '95 850 with 110,000 miles the same is true. They were so good and lasted so long that it just doesn't ring a bell. Perhaps your mechanic wants more work and profit than OEMs provide.
He's wrong. I don't doubt you might get _slightly_ better handling from vastly more expensive shocks. If you have the money to throw away, good and well.
I've just replaced my rear shocks at 130k miles (93 850 saloon) with OEMs (you're right, they're Boge/Sachs) and they've restored the handling of the car to what it was - pretty good for a car of that size and weight. They didn't introduce any jarring, either - our roads are not noted for their smoothness so that's important to me.
Let's face it, much as I love my 850 (and particularly the looks of the early version) it's getting on now, and spending over the odds to achieve dubious or fairly insignificant gains is just stupid.
I would say though, I wish I'd replaced the springs too - I think I'll be doing that soon. I replaced the upper mounts because I'd ordered new ones, but the old ones were actually in very good condition.
AJ
The OEM shocks are fine if you like the way it handles, Bilstein will give you very noticeably more sporty handling, whether you want that or not is up to you.
I replaced the OEM Sachs struts in my 2000 S80 with the "Touring" Bilsteins and, frankly, I'm sorry I went that route. They are too stiff (too much compression damping) for wet bumpy roads. I actually have less traction with the Bilsteins than with the OEM Sachs with one blown damper. Worse on snow and ice as well. On dry pavement they give a sporty feeling ride but I'm not convinced they offer any more road-holding and they are quite jarring. I know the proper struts were installed but perhaps Bilstein engineers miscalculated the damping needed for the S80 and, being a low volume car, nobody has bothered to correct the problem. The Bilsteins for another model may be fine but, from what I've heard from others, the Bilstein Touring series are more sport than touring and, in the case of the S80 replacements, I wouldn't even say they are more sporty if they don't give more roadholding. I would hate to find out what the "Sport" Bilsteins feel like on an S80.....
If I did it again I would either use the OEM Sachs which actually worked very well had one of them not blown out at 60,000 miles or I would see if Koni makes something to fit.
Spanky
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