UPDATED: January 15, 2024            CONTACT

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THIS IS (mostly) AN OLD PAGE While some of this info on this page is a bit out of date, please keep in mind I originally began posting it in 1999 and some things were added over time.

	2000 VCOA West Coast National Meet in Sacramento, California. First Place, Modified
	2002 VCOA West Coast National Meet in Solvang, California. Best of Show, Modified Late Production, 240 and newer. First Place, Modified 240-260
	2003 Annual Arizona Volvo Day in Phoenix, Arizona. First Place, Modified, 240-260 Golden Rod Award for Technical Innovation
	2003 Annual Davis Meet in Davis, California. Best 200/700/900
	2003 VCOA West Coast National Meet in Olympia, Washington. Best of Show, Late Production Modified First Place, Modified 240-260
	2003 Annual Westside Volvo Meet. Westside Volvo in Culver City, California. First Place, Modified
	2004 Annual Davis Meet in Davis, California. Second Place, 200/700/900
	2004 VSA West Coast National Meet, San Diego, California. First Place, 200/700/900 Modified Best of Show, Modified
	2004 VCOA West Coast National Meet at Konocti Harbor, California. First Place
	2004 Annual Westside Volvo Meet. Westside Volvo in Culver City, California. Second Place, Modified

Update note: The below multi-sway bar setup was abandoned in 2003 when coilovers were installed.  Scroll down for details. Big Front Sway -- Dual Rears: from ipd  (rare) 28 mm front sway bar along with trick end links from MVP.  The big front sway bar was developed by IPD for the 260 and has been used for 240 V8 conversions.  It is no longer available. I also installed dual 25 mm IPD REAR sway bars. I initally played with this setup back in the early 90's on my old 244 DL as a way of increasing rear stiffness without parting with the sway bar cash.  Then on my 245 Turbo I played with it there also since there was no single rear bar big enough to compensate for the huge 28 mm front bar.  I had been previously running smaller rear sways, but found a little too much understeer at track speeds with the 28 mm bar in place.  It turned out that the car handled pretty well with the 28 mm front and dual 25 mm rears. This is a very simple installation.  The plate that held the sway bars together was 8 gauge mild steel.  It measured about 10 inches by 3 inches.  The offset for the sway bars is about 3/4 inch with the bottom one 3/4 inch rearward, or basically just enough to give the sway bars a tiny bit of breathing room.    Dual 22 mm rear sways (click photos for larger images): Dual 25 mm rear sways:

Custom re-valved Bilstein shocks and struts. Update note April 2003: The below shock/strut setup was changed to adjustable coil-overs with R-Sport shocks.  Scroll down for details.  Some of you may have heard my complaints that I felt the HD "Heavy Duty" Bilsteins that I had previously installed in my 245 (October 2000) were too soft, particularly at the rear.  I was experiencing an unpleasant amount of rebound... most noticeable at the rear, especially when adding passengers to the back seat or a load in the cargo area.  This was while using ipd Sport Springs.  I think these rear shocks may be just right for a sedan (I later put them on my 242 DL with iPd springs and they were fine), but I felt they were inadequate for my heavier wagon (it weighed 3240 lbs. empty). I contacted Krupp-Bilstein in San Diego (Ph. 800-537-1085) and talked with Tech. Manager Jack French, who was happy to help work out a formula for a set of re-valved Bilstein HD shocks and struts using my car weight and approximate front/rear split.  I purchased a new set and they charged $55.00 per shock or strut to rebuild and/or re-valve. At that time they would agree to re-valve any new or used Bilstein HD set.  If used ones were to be re-valved, they would be rebuilt as well.  Mr. French worked out a formula based on the weight of my car, the front to rear bias (they had charts on this for different vehicles), and the spring rates, if known.  UPDATE 2013: Prices for shock or this strut rebuild/re-valve at Krupp-Bilstein were increased to $110 for struts and $100 for shocks. SPRING RATES I used iPd sport springs for the above shocks and iPd provided the rates as follows:  FRONT: 152 lbs/in., REAR: 129 lbs/in. UPDATE 2013: Other rates for iPd 240 sport springs have been given as between 150-190 for front and between 120-130 for rear, so use your best guess. Here is a thread started in 2016 compiling Volvo Spring Rates: https://forums.turbobricks.com/showthread.php?t=325739 The result of the new re-valved shocks was a big improvement in control and only a slightly stiffer ride.  Ride was actually quite pleasant on the highway.  Below is the actual resistance measurements (before and after) for the Bilstein HD struts/shocks I had re-valved.

For comparison, measurements are in NEWTONS and at a peak velocity of 500 mm/second (19.7 in./second) on Bilstein's computerized dynamometer.
BILSTEIN HD SPECS	Rebound/Compression	Part Number	NOTES
Original Bilstein HD Front STRUT:	129/75	34-181539	Front Bilstein HD strut supplied by iPd
Original Bilstein HD Rear SHOCK:	225/107	24-002967	Rear Bilstein HD stock supplied by iPd
Re-valved HD Front STRUT:	220/100	P36-0081	Front Bilstein HD strut custom re-valved 34-181539 by Krupp-Bilstein San Diego recommendation for 245 front with 152 lb. spring rate.
Re-valved HD Rear SHOCK:	300/120	B46-0296	Rear Bilstein HD shock custom re-valved 24-002967 by Krupp-Bilstein San Diego recommendation for 245 rear with 129 lb. spring rate.
OTHER BILSTEIN SPECS
Bilstein HD (B6) Front STRUT:	350/150	34-030837	Front Bilstein HD (B6) strut designated for rallye
Bilstein HD (B6) Rear SHOCK:	275/200	24-022118	Rear Bilstein HD (B6) shock designated for rallye
Bilstein HD (B6) Front STRUT:	305/206	34-030806	Front Bilstein HD (B6) strut designated for cup/clubsport. These are a bit shorter.
Bilstein HD (B6) Rear SHOCK:	225/150	33-067230	Rear Bilstein HD (B6) shock designated for cup/clubsport. These are a bit shorter.
Bilstein HD (B6) Front STRUT:	300/175	34-031520	Front Bilstein HD (B6) strut designated for ambulance
MEASUREMENT NOTES: Bilstein measures its damping force in Newtons at a velocity of 500 mm/second (which is approximately 20 inches/second). One Newton is the amount of force required to accelerate 1 kilogram of mass to a rate of 1 meter per second squared. Bilstein damping ratings involve two numbers, which represent the Rebound Force and the Compression Force — written as XXX/XXX.  These numbers are an abbreviation representing 1/10 of the Newton value result. For example, a rating of 300/120 means 3000 Newtons rebound and 1200 Newtons compression at the specified velocity. Higher numbers have firmer damping forces than lower numbers, so a shock rated at 300/120 will be stiffer than one rated at 130/75. Some shock companies like to use Pounds-Force (lbs.F) for measuring damping. this is commonly used used by Koni and Gaz. These figures may be converted: 1 pound (lb) = 4.45 Newtons (N).

April 2003 Volvo R-Sport Struts and Shocks added with Adjustable Coil-Overs. In 2003 I acquired a new set (NOS) of Volvo R-Sport 240 struts and shocks.  These were no longer in production and were difficult to find.  They were made by DeCarbon (a French company). This set is yellow in color and they have Volvo part numbers 552197 (front) and 552198 (rear). This struts/shock set together makes up PN 552094, which was designated as "Rally gas-pressure shock set - extra hard setting for advanced driving. Intended for Rally and Rallycross."

Since I was curious about the valving of my newly acquired R-Sport shocks, I took them to Krupp-Bilstein in San Diego and they graciously put them on their dyno for me.  Since you will probably not find any of these R-Sport shocks out there, these measurements may be used for comparison or if you desire to have a set of Bilsteins re-valved to this Volvo R-Sport Rallycross specification.  For comparison, measurements are in NEWTONS and at a peak velocity of 500 mm/second (19.7 in./second) on Bilstein's computerized dynamometer. SPECS Rebound/Compression Part Number NOTES FRONT STRUT: 360/100 552197 DeCarbon front strut supplied by Volvo R-Sport. REAR SHOCK: 400/100 552198 DeCarbon rear shock supplied by Volvo R-Sport. MEASUREMENT NOTES: Bilstein measures its damping force in Newtons at a velocity of 500 mm/second (which is approximately 20 inches/second). One Newton is the amount of force required to accelerate 1 kilogram of mass to a rate of 1 meter per second squared. Bilstein damping ratings involve two numbers, which represent the Rebound Force and the Compression Force — written as XXX/XXX.  These numbers are an abbreviation representing 1/10 of the Newton value result. For example, a rating of 300/120 means 3000 Newtons rebound and 1200 Newtons compression at the specified velocity. Higher numbers have firmer damping forces than lower numbers, so a shock rated at 300/120 will be stiffer than one rated at 130/75. Some shock companies like to use Pounds-Force (lbs.F) for measuring damping. this is commonly used used by Koni and Gaz. These figures may be converted: 1 pound (lb) = 4.45 Newtons (N).

Bilstein Dynamometer Print-Outs: These printouts were given to me by Bilstein after completing the dyno runs on the R-Sport DeCarbons.  Some people get all bent out of shape because these graphs show force measurements in Newtons, not in LBS. FORCE. Stop complaining and use the internet to convert if you're confused.   Measurements are in NEWTONS at a peak velocity of 500 mm/second (19.7 in./second) on Bilstein's computerized dynamometer. FRONT REAR SIDE NOTE: Volvo 240 Group A Spec Competition Front Struts Added by David Russell (Chesapeake, VA) David was able to locate a NEW set of Bilstein special valved competition front struts originally used for the Group A 240 Turbo race cars in the 1980's.  Based on the stampings, it appears the compression/rebound specs were set as follows.  For comparison, measurements are in NEWTONS and were made at a peak velocity of 500 mm/second. SPECS Rebound/Compression Part Number NOTES Bilstein Special 450/150 35498 Front strut Bilstein special valved for 240 Group A

There were also more mild R-Sport sets out there too, such as part numbers 552195 (front) and 552196 (rear).  These are gas shocks that make up the set called "Road Gas Shock Kit." PN 552093, described as "moderately firm setting for road and rally".    Also an image from the Volvo R Sport Performance Parts and GT Accessories Catalog.

Updated 2003: Adjustable Coil-Over Suspension Kit The below pics show MVP's Coil-Over kit for the 240. MVP no longer offers these kits, so you'll need to look elsewhere.  I opted for 200 lb. front springs and 175 lb. rear springs. The result, combined with the competition R-Sport shocks, is a pretty firm ride, but certainly not too firm for a street driver.  If you decide to go with springs this stiff I recommend some very firm shocks to overcome the rebound for these springs.  I don't think unmodified HD Bilsteins will do at all. The front strut housings in the pics didn't normally come with MVP's kit.  Your housings can be modified by a machinist (they included instructions for that).  I paid extra for MVP to send a set of modified housings on an exchange basis. Installation took me about 8 hours at a leisurely pace.  That was including changing my previous monster sway bars to a more tame setup, flushing my brakes with ATE Super Blue fluid, and overcoming a few unplanned problems (related to Murphy's law).   Current sway bar is now a stock 23 mm front bar and one 25 mm rear IPD bar.  My feeling is that the stiffer springs and shocks pretty much eliminates the need for really large sway bars.

BIG BRAKES Project completed March 2004.  The front caliper/rotor on the left is stock (except for the custom drilling) and those on the right are from the 2004 and later S60 R.  The R caliper is aluminum 4-piston Brembo.    CLICK HERE FOR 240 BIG BRAKE PAGE FOR MORE

Diagonal upper strut tower braces and lower A-arm to crossmember frame ties from a late seventies 242 GT. Tower to tower aluminum strut brace from Steve Bucina in Florida.  Steve made them for a number of years, but they are no longer in production.   (See underhood photos below ). Under Hood: As of April 2001, my new motor and tranny are in.  You can get more details on the motor from my Engine Project Page. Here are some older under hood pics:

Transmission: As of April 2004 my car has a Ford Motorsport (Tremec) T5Z 5-speed transmission.  Details on this conversion can be found at the Turbobricks.com forum (and specific links below).  Awesome links for T5 transmission conversion info: https://forums.turbobricks.com/showthread.php?t=3620 https://forums.turbobricks.com/showthread.php?t=23541 https://forums.turbobricks.com/showthread.php?t=23646 https://forums.turbobricks.com/showthread.php?t=23284 https://forums.turbobricks.com/showthread.php?t=18952 https://forums.turbobricks.com/showthread.php?t=17614 https://forums.turbobricks.com/showthread.php?t=17283 https://forums.turbobricks.com/showthread.php?t=16921 https://forums.turbobricks.com/showthread.php?t=15408 https://forums.turbobricks.com/showthread.php?t=16019 https://forums.turbobricks.com/showthread.php?t=11183 https://forums.turbobricks.com/showthread.php?t=37552 And Aaron Baker's page: http://www.aaronreedbaker.com/t5swap.html

Custom aluminum intercooler  from Spearco in Torrance, California. This intercooler is 22 inches wide (at the bottom of the tanks), 28 inches wide overall, 17 inches tall, and 3 1/2 inches thick!   While the surface area on the front of this intercooler is approximately the same as a stock one, the displacement has increased from 375 cubic inches to 952 cubic inches.  Some of you have asked if I think this intercooler produces more lag.... absolutely not! Also I recall modifying the brackets for the oil cooler, but I eventually got smarter and began placing the oil cooler in my 240s UNDER the bottom radiator crossmember, about 8 inches behind the front spoiler opening.  That is a much better place.  The stock oil cooler lines can be moved and tweaked to allow the oil cooler to be place down there without needing any new lines.

<<< I designed the intercooler specs and provided Spearco with this drawing.  It generally follows the shape of an original intercooler. This design is fatter than a stock IC and when in my 245 next to the big radiator, I had to trim some of the sheet metal from the back edge of the top radiator support.  But by reducing the height of this IC by about an inch or two, you could easily tuck it under the support and not have to make any cuts.

SPEARCO INTERCOOLER TESTING I have done some testing with this new intercooler and can say that it does its job very well.  I found a pretty steep uphill grade that runs for several miles which allows me to run moderate to heavy boost at freeway speeds for an extended climb.  The testing device used was a digital temperature gauge on my dash with one thermister installed in the intercooler pipe just after the turbo and another one just after the intercooler.   These temperature readings were taken on a sunny, 70 degree fahrenheit (21 deg. C) day, running 14-15 psi (1 bar) boost at part throttle for about 60 seconds at a stabilized speed of about 90 mph.  Oh, I almost forgot... I also had an air conditioning condenser in front of the intercooler, but of course the A/C was OFF. The below temperatures were recorded as temperatures increased. Temperature BEFORE Intercooler Temperature AFTER Intercooler Total  Temperature Reduction 250 deg. F (121 deg. C) 75 F (23.9 C) 175 F (79.4 C) 340 deg. F (171 deg. C) 77 F (25 C) 263 F (128.3 C)

Stock Volvo Intercooler Efficiency The below information was provided by Niels Bengaard of Denmark.  The tests were done on a standard 240 intercooler and standard Volvo 240 Turbo.  Owner/tester: Henrik Mortensen of Denmark.  All measurements were made at a stabilized speed and boost. Outside temperature 28C (82F). Speed 150 km/h (93 mph) 180 km/h (112 mph) 200 km/h (124 mph) 215km/h (133 mph) Boost Pressure 0.1 bar (1.5 psi) 0.5 bar (7.2 psi) 0.7 bar (10.2 psi) 0.75 bar (10.9 psi) Before IC 91 deg. C (196 F) 135 C (275 F) 160 C (320 F) 175 C (347 F) After IC 40 deg. C (104 F) 48 C (118 F) 52 C (126 F) 56 C (133 C) Temp. Reduction 51 deg. C (92 F) 87 C (157 F) 108 C (194 F) 119 C (214 F) Oil temp. in pan 70 deg. C (158 F) 85 C (185 F) 85 C (185 F) 85 C (185 F) Oil return from turbo 110 deg. C (230 F) 130 C (266 F) 155 C (311 F) 180 C (356 F)

EFFICIENCY: Stock vs. Big Spearco NOTE: In the original Volvo papers that come with a Volvo intercooler kit, Volvo states that the intercooler is limited to reducing the temperature after the intercooler to 25 deg. C (77 F) ABOVE the surrounding temperature. Based on the above measurements... Efficiency: standard intercooler = (347 - 133) / (347 - 82) = 0.808 or  80.8% Efficiency: Spearco intercooler = (340 - 77) / (340 - 70) = 0.974 or  97.4% The above tests show that a stock Volvo intercooler is capable of approximately 81% efficiency.  Not too bad, but improvement is possible. The Spearco intercooler I has shown that it is capable of approximately 97% efficiency. Keep in mind that many other factors will affect testing results.  Every modified car will act differently, so it is difficult to tell how your car will react under similar testing.

Custom aluminum radiator from Ron Davis Radiators in Glendale, Arizona (Ph. 623-877-5000).  This radiator is 22 inches wide, 16 inches tall, and 2 3/4 inches thick.  It has 2 rows of large 1 inch tubes.

Here is an in-progress installation photo of the new intercooler and radiator.  This may not look like it, but it was a lot of work to squeeze them in.  Believe me, there is no wasted space.

The primary electric puller fan is a Spal 16" shrouded high-flow type that I installed with this radiator.  CFM rating is something like 2300.  I purchased it from Mattson's Radiator, Inc., in Stanton, California (a Spal dealer and another custom aluminum radiator maker).  Their number is (714) 826-0357. B230 (from 740 Turbo) Intake Manifold Conversion: This made a big difference in the smooooth idle department and increased power too. I was originally using a Porsche (Bosch) Compressor Bypass Valve for the turbo.  This is a plstic type valve was used on twin turbo Porches at the time.  It's a little more stout that the Saab CBV's that were common and can better handle higher boost pressures.  The Porsche part number is 993-110-337-50.  Anthony Hyde has written a good page on Compressor Bypass Valves at http://wwwrsphysse.anu.edu.au/~amh110/Technical_pages/blow_off_valve.htm. I am now using the Forge billet aluminum bypass valve from Stratmosphere.com.  See it at  http://www.stratmosphere.com/forge_valves.htm

Performance:     Best 0-60 mph time:         5.97 seconds using my G-Tech/Pro.  Auto trans.     Best 1/4 Mile Time:         No time recorded.     MPG highway: Was 19 MPG with the auto trans... now 27 MPG with the 5-speed.      MPG light-foot/city: Was 16 or 17...  Now low 20's with the 5-speed.     Dyno Results:  RWHP: 221 @ 4500 RPM (corrected).   RWTorque:  323 @ 3200 RPM

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