In search of a better ride

[dixiebuyer]

I purchased a 1999 Volvo v70xc off of craigslist about a year and a half ago for almost nothing. The front end was terrible, you could hardly steer it, it was so floaty.

I replaced the front struts, mounts and rear nivomats. The whole front suspension, control arms, tie rod ends, sway bar bushings were all replaced. New Yokohama AVID TRZs all around replaced some ****ty chinese tires. I have also replaced the radiator and hoses, the pcv system and precat o2 sensor. Lift gate supports, panel lights, took out the seats and restitched the driver side and cleaned, cleaned, cleaned.

My mechanic fixed the A/C and it has all new condensor, evaporator and a new heater core.

Everything is running well, the car handles great, but it still rides rougher than I would like. The new struts and shocks (SACHS OEM) and tires helped, but not as much as I would like.

Obviously I am all in on this car and my Volvo specialist says it is now in great shape and should easily go another 30k miles (it is at 185k now) with nothing but regular maintenance. Any ideas on how to make the ride less harsh? Subframe bushings? They look like they are toast? Any ideas, or do these cars just ride rough? Anything else I can do to improve the harsh ride?

[almostarctic]

Ipd Sway bars. 1st thing everyone does. Strongly recommended. reduces drama jiggly jello on uneven surfaces

Tires? What size brand and model you running?

[JRL]

It's partially the tires
These cars need a decent tire without a hard sidewall
Conti DWS's work very well with Volvos
Also what tire pressures are you running?
Anything much over 34 lbs will also make it ride very rough

[deltajets]

With a healthy suspension these cars have a "firm" ride.It sounds like you've address everything in the suspension you can,at this point tire press is really the only thing I would suggest.