Suspension
General Suspension Modifications: In general I really like my suspension setup.  I really noticed the change in the handling of the car right away, it is definitely smoother in the corners with very little body roll.  The tower-to-tower brace and GT chassis braces improved the feel during long sweeping corners.  I originally had the Boge Gas Turbo shocks because they were relatively cheap.  The ride of the Boges was decent but seemed a bit mushy at times and I knew there was better out there.  I got a good deal on some Bilsteins and love them.  The ride is more firm, but has a better feeling than the Boge.  The only real 'drawback' to the suspension that is sort of annoying, is that the large swaybars tend to make the car rock from side to side when you go onto uneven surfaces.  This is most noticeable in situations like leaving a parking lot that has one of those little 'dips' where it meets the road.  The ride is very firm and on rough roads begins to be sort of annoying.  I would not recommend this level of bracing, shocks, springs, and swaybars if you are doing regular commuting or travel on a lot of uneven surfaces.

Brakes:

I really like the brakes on this car!  It stops on a dime wet or dry.  Every other car I get in has crap for brakes compared to the Volvo.  The SST brake lines were not a night and day difference but they firmed up the pedal a bit when you really get on it.  
 

Wheels and Tires:

I decided since my car never gets used in the snow, that I'd try a high performance 'summer' tire instead of an all season high performance tire.  These are very good tires.  When I went to driving school, they handled everything I threw at them.  They do handle very well both wet and dry.  It is hard to tell the difference between many high performance tires while dry but the wet traction is very impressive and is immediately noticeable.  I had Les Schwab put them on and they scratched two of my rims, then denied doing it!  Because of this, I will never, ever buy another thing from Les Schwab, even if I break down in their parking lot!

My previous tires were Dunlop D60A2 205R55.  For an all season M&S tire, I loved those tires!  They were not super high performance but I pushed those tires pretty hard and they never disappointed.  They lasted for 45K miles before I ran one flat and ruined a tire.  I think they would have lasted another 10k if I would not have pulled such a bonehead move.
 

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