Xantia - softest tyres?

LD · Post by LD » 02 Aug 2008, 11:42

That's interesting - could you tell me exactly what size your tyres are? Mine are 205 60 R15, and I want to change to 185 65 R15. I believe some Xantias are R14.

Completely off-topic, but whenever I reply and click on an emoticon it comes out in text form like

What am I doing wrong, or not doing?

LD · Post by LD » 02 Aug 2008, 11:44

Oops - they DO come out in the final version - but not when I'm "composing" a message.

XantiaMan · Post by **XantiaMan** » 02 Aug 2008, 14:14

LD wrote:That's interesting - could you tell me exactly what size your tyres are? Mine are 205 60 R15, and I want to change to 185 65 R15. I believe some Xantias are R14.

There is very little difference in ride between the two but much improved grip with the 205's.

pete_wood_uk · Post by **pete_wood_uk** » 04 Aug 2008, 08:37

Uniroyals might be a brand of tyre to look at. I had them on my old Xantia and loathed them - soft sidewalls meant lots of squidge and (for me) dreadful and imprecise handling, but then I live in the middle of the fens where roads are bumpy, wet, muddy, sometimes reverse-cambered and with loooong drops into the ditches. So for me, grip and handling are paramount; your view of the compromises is clearly different - Uniroyals may do what you want.

Cheers
Pete

LD · Post by LD » 06 Aug 2008, 20:59

Thanks Pete - I'll put Uniroyals on the list of possibilities. Something was making a noticeable difference on that other Xantia . . .

Does anyone know whether the type of engine makes a difference to the ride? Are diesel engines heavier? My cousin's is petrol, so I wondered if that was a factor.

Also - I was sitting in the back - presumably there's less vertical movement there than in the front? If this is complete nonsense please forgive my ignorance!

As a matter of interest, how does the ride in your C5 compare with the Xantia? It seems that each new model is a little harder than the last? As both yours are estates they should be completely comparable.

Post by **Peter.N.** » 06 Aug 2008, 21:26

The better the 'sprung to unsprung' weight ratio, the better the ride, so theoretically the heavier diesel should ride better, all other things being equal.

Post by **xantia_v6** » 06 Aug 2008, 21:44

Peter.N. wrote:The better the 'sprung to unsprung' weight ratio, the better the ride,

I think that that is only indirectly true. I think that the direct factor is the softer the damping the better the ride, but you can only have soft damping with low spring rates (to avoid under-damping), and with low spring rates the wheels don't follow the road very well unless the unsprung wieght is proportionately less (notice that all hydractive xantia were fitted with alloy wheels).

Post by **Peter.N.** » 06 Aug 2008, 23:04

I accept that. I should have said 'that for any given system......'

pete_wood_uk · Post by **pete_wood_uk** » 07 Aug 2008, 13:45

LD wrote:As a matter of interest, how does the ride in your C5 compare with the Xantia? It seems that each new model is a little harder than the last? As both yours are estates they should be completely comparable.

Unfortunately, they're not directly comparable - my Xantia estate is Hydractive II, the full 8-sphere rig, whereas the C5 is what Citroen call Hydractive 3, which in means bog-standard sphere-at-each-corner but with automagic height control.

The C5 does not ride as well. It rarely, if ever, achieves the ride-on-air feel of a real Citroen. It's *probably* better than my old TD "standard" Xantia, it's certainly a lot quieter, but on some fen roads it can develop a sort of side to side rocking motion, a bit whippy, which can be quite disconcerting. It's certainly a quiet ride, but it's not in the same class for smoothness as the Hydractive Xantia estate, or my old CX.

As I've remarked elsewhere, it doesn't handle as well as the Hydractive Xantia either; but its front tyres are shot so if I get my act together it may get some new ones next week - think I'll try Goodyear Excellence and see what happens...

Cheers
Pete

LD · Post by LD » 02 Dec 2009, 22:26

I'm astonished, and somewhat embarrassed, that it's over a year since I received so much help on this topic . . . my Xantia now has 185/65 tyres - and the ride is definitely improved. About 20 percent softer, and much "tidier". My motoring journalist friend says the ride is now as comfy as the Morris Oxford I used to drive in the 60s - he has an Austin Cambridge from that period.

Tyres are Michelin XN1 . . or XH1 - the mechanic wrote the second letter ambiguously. There's been a much greater improvement in road noise - evidently tyres are a vital factor in keeping Xantias acceptably quiet.

So, if you fit comfort spheres to a Xantia, and the narrowest tyres permitted, it's possible to achieve the level of comfort we took for granted 50 years ago; but the Peugeot 504 is still in a different class - we compared all three cars over the same local roads.

Anyway thanks to everyone for your thoughts - I'm satisfied that I've gone as far as I can in softening my TD SX. Next puzzle will be to see if it's possible to fit the driving seat from my other 504, which had to be scrapped; but I'll start another thread for that.

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