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Performance/Suspension upgrade for a 96' 960

10K views 17 replies 5 participants last post by  Nebor 
#1 ·
Hi to all....

My family owns a Volvo 96' 964 limited edition (mid-night purple one, volvo said there are only 150 964 around the world in this color)

I have been looking for some performance and suspension up grade for this car... I have got K&N drop in filter and Brembo brake rotors right now but I am looking for something that will increase the performace and handling more....
I found many sources and nothing fits the car... even IPD and Euro Sports Tuning don't have any parts for it...

So I would like to ask all the Volvo spealists here, any one knows any parts will fit the 96' 960 limited ed? Are there any superchargers or suspension kits will fit the car???


Also we were told this model has 198hp instead of the normal 181 hp...
Does any one know about it or can I check it any where???

Thanks a million.....
 
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#2 ·
Re: Performance/Suspension upgrade for a 96' 960 (Jac350z)

It's hard to find suspension mods, because most of the 960s have hydraulic levelling shockers at the back.

I'm not sure what it's like the US, but here in Europe, most 960s have 200hp. They reduced it to 180 later on, especially for the US market in fact, so the overall hp is reduced but there is supposed to be more low-end power. I don't know when they made the change in the US, but in 1996 I would say it's likely that it still has 200hp (actually, the exact figure should be 203hp, at least, that's what mine has)

I'm surprised with what you say about the midnight purple, because I think it's relatively common here, at least I've seen a few, but they were mostly S/V90s and not 960s. Is your 960 one that looks like a S90, since I think '96 is the year they changed?

Also, there's this company here called Powerchips that claims they can make a 960 go to 221hp and 307Nm torque. I don't know anyone who's done this on a 960 and people I know who have put these chips on other cars have had mixed succes as far as reliability goes. Some gave no trouble whereas others had frequent problems.
 
#3 ·
Re: Performance/Suspension upgrade for a 96' 960 (Alex960)

The power chip requires that you disable the car and ship the ECU for modification. For that reason and the fact that the tech rep did not know the location of the ecu on my '96 965 I went with the K&N filter, modified the fresh air box and installed a free-flow cat and exhaust.

Most performance shops will dyno your car for a fee. Use the same shop each time and make a new run after EACH modification. Run the highest octane gas available and keep the throtle body clean. I use the expensive Bosch spark plugs but it's my wife's money...

The '96 960 is about maxed out in the suspension area right out of the factory. Huge money will buy specially valved Bilsteins but they are really stiff.

George Dill
 
#4 ·
Re: Performance/Suspension upgrade for a 96' 960 (gdill2)

And does the K&N filter really make a difference? Some friends of mine who tried it on other cars said it mostly made the car use a lot more gas and make a little more noise, but with no substantial difference in terms of power.
 
#5 ·
Re: Performance/Suspension upgrade for a 96' 960 (Alex960)

Thanks a lot for your info.

When we purchased the car the sales told us this mid-night purple 960 is limited ed.
But one years later they came out with the same color S90 in mass production.
We went to ask about that and the sales said only 150 960 were made in this color....
We were kind of pissed off....
But it has special rims than S90 or 960 (Doesn't looks nice though)
 
#6 ·
Re: Performance/Suspension upgrade for a 96' 960 (gdill2)

I have the Bosch Platinum+ 4 spark plugs too.
I like them very much.

I can get Bilsteins suspension!? That's good...
Do you know can I fit post 96 960 or 940 parts on the car or not?
How do I find out does my car has self-leveling and IRS or not??

Also is it possible to put on supercharger or turbocharger???

Thank you soooo much... http://********************/smile/emthup.gif http://********************/smile/emthup.gif
 
#10 ·
Re: Performance/Suspension upgrade for a 96' 960 (Jac350z)

There are aftermarket suspension parts available for late model ('96 and later) 960s and S90s. They're sold as a front kit and a rear kit. The front kit includes new coil springs and new firmer struts, the rear kit includes a stiffer rear leaf spring and new shocks for the rear. In addition there is a rear sway bar upgrade.

Mine arrives in Canada tommorow from Sweden. Who knows how long before it gets to Texas. I'll be replacing the entire suspension, basically, save the front sway bar, which will be getting new (stock) end links. Cost so far is about $1000. Looking at another $400 for installation (10 hours of labor.)
 
#12 ·
Re: Performance/Suspension upgrade for a 96' 960 (Alex960)

Volvo makes the kit. Contact Frank at Eurosport Tuning (info@eurosporttuning.com) about having it imported from Sam Steffenson. Neither company lists the items on their site, you just have to inquire.
 
#16 ·
Re: (Jac350z)

It wouldn't really be that much more work. Custom intake and exhaust manifolds would have be to be made, and custom ECU tuning. It would come out to around the same cost, installed, as a supercharger would by itself. Superchargers are expensive. And superchargers are against the principle of Volvo.
 
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