240;8547 wrote I'm running DVS lowered springs (about 40mm lower) and Bilstein B6 struts, could that setup have placed more stress on the strut mounts?
Absolutely. Any increase in spring rate over and above the original spring rates will have an impact on service life of strut mounts.
As such, it is best to avoid cheaper aftermarket ones in this space - happy to share my 'shit list' of what to avoid here.

On top of that, It appears that new genuine Volvo ones are not as long-lasting as old genuine Volvo ones.

If only for longevity, a solid strut mount can be a good idea - we can offer a few options in this space too.

If you're looking at a mount for the purpose of additional castor and camber adjustment, be aware that the limiting factor will always be the external dimensions of the spring and strut assembly and the internal dimensions of the tower.
If using standard dia springs, they'll foul on the tower well before you get anywhere near limits of adjustment on your strut mount (multi-position offset or adjustable).

In a performance/motorsport application, the biggest motivator to go with a coilover arrangement on a 240 is not for ride height adjustable, rather it is so that you have a smaller strut assembly to take advantage of more castor and camber adjustment via more inner tower real estate and more spring rate options.

Thanks @AshDVS .
Myself, James and others have had the genuine Volvo ones replace in under 2 years so they definitely don't seem to be very good quality (probably no better than aftermarket to be honest).

To be honest I'm not looking for anything that provides extra adjustment and so on, the car is never used for motorsport. I just need an option that won't wear out in the same way that the genuine ones have.
By the same token, I don't want to go for coilovers or anything; at the moment I'm happy with the DVS springs with the B6's.

Out of interest I wouldn't mind seeing what solid mount options you can offer.
And please share the shit list!
@240 Ben at Kaplhenke got back to me, he said you don't need the Luxe Steer perches to use the strut tops.
a month later
@jamesinc
@heavy_dd
@bgpzfm142
@robsta77

Ben at Kaplenkhe got back to me, and said he can do 3 or 4 sets. So including me, that's 5... one of us might have to miss out for now...
Could you specify which option you wanted and we can go from there so I can confirm with Ben?
240 Spherical strut mounts with luxe steer for 2.5 inch coil over springs for me please
I'll miss out for now, that's cool all my strut tops are currently in good condition so it'll probably be a year or so before I really need a set.
I'll step down too. I broke the ceramic crowns on my 2 front teeth last night. Bye bye a few grand right there
No worries.
@bgpzfm142 let me know if you're still in or not and I'll give Ben confirmation.
240;c-140631 wroteNo worries.
@Major Ledfoot let me know if you're still in or not and I'll give Ben confirmation.
In, for 2 strut mounts, bearings, and mounting hardware.

Please let me know the cost, the deadline for money down, and when the order is expected to be delivered. Ideally, I'd like to collect them at the Oz Volvo Nationals in September.
You mean 2 strut mounts, or 2 sets of mounts?
Will confirm exact cost once I get the exact details from Ben and so on, but it will probably be approaching $300 for the set, once the exchange rate is taken into account.
I expect they will be here before September.
I wouldn't necessarily need the money in full until they actually arrive in Australia (I think that'd simplify things on the off chance that something went wrong with the order).
I've had orders with Ben drag on for months with no updates. Make sure he's got the things you need in stock before you order.
Yeah, I've been emailing him to make sure.
Hes certainly not the best when it comes to communication, kind of a shame since we pay a premium price for his products, but I guess there isn't really an alternative!
Ben's customer service and attitude is the worst I have ever encountered internationally for any car parts, ever.
alphax;c-140669 wroteBen's customer service and attitude is the worst I have ever encountered internationally for any car parts, ever.
Is there some backstory on that? I saw on facebook when I shared your street machine article to TB they commented on it...
240;140652 wroteYou mean 2 strut mounts, or 2 sets of mounts?
Two mounts - i.e. 1 set. Thanks.
nugget_940;c-140689 wrote
alphax;c-140669 wroteBen's customer service and attitude is the worst I have ever encountered internationally for any car parts, ever.
Is there some backstory on that? I saw on facebook when I shared your street machine article to TB they commented on it...
The brief back story is that I ordered a bunch of parts on ocean freight. I spent months asking for the vessel details and none was forthcoming. Only later I found why. He sent the parts via a friend of a friend (without my knowledge or consent) and the shipment only left port many many weeks after they were supposed to.

He could have just been honest about it but instead decided to lead me on for months, providing no answers about when the parts left port or their whereabouts at any point in time.

I guess I had to deal with the shipping problem and his questionable customer service, so I feel burned more than the average guy. If you just had to deal with the questionable customer service and have parts shipped via Fedex or similar, it probably wouldn't be so bad.
Let this be a warning to others.
Just be careful to monitor cost of items in package and new $1000 dollar limits for GST and all other charges that customs want to slap down

I joined with another Volvo nut to source some parts and to save freight we bundled them together but the combined value slid past the $1000 mark (remember $1000AUD is only $750USD approx) and it has been lost in customs hellhole for 2 months. First parcel 1 of 2 arrived in under 5 days. Other has been stuck in system ever since and we have taken to getting a customs agent involved to try and sort and get delivery of parts

If we had known what we do now we would have just imported items separately and payed the extra $50 freight.

So be warned gents to check on the rules

As of 1 July, the GST applies to everything - not just goods over $1000 - so it doesn't really make a difference now.
Only thing I'm worried about is being taxed twice, if the overseas vendor charges the GST and Customs also charge it... but I assume there are processed in place to prevent that.
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