Tires for snow/ice ? Xantia in particular.

dieselnutjob · Post by **dieselnutjob** » 17 Dec 2010, 23:40

I used to have Colway M&S tyres for my Peugeot 305. I used them for rally marshalling when I would have to go down farm tracks and the like either before or after the rally cars went through.

I tried them out in snow a few times and they were so grippy it was boring. Instead of slipping they would actually chew their way through the snow.

they looked something like this

my Avon winter tyres look like this

falling-out-with-my-car · Post by **falling-out-with-my-car** » 18 Dec 2010, 11:48

what we need are rocksalt impregnated heated tyres.

Post by **myglaren** » 18 Dec 2010, 12:26

falling-out-with-my-car wrote:what we need are rocksalt impregnated heated tyres.

Inspector Gadget stylee selectable spikes!

Xantidote · Post by **Xantidote** » 18 Dec 2010, 15:56

Thanks for the info, dieselnutjob. I can remember as a little boy seeing estate cars in the winter wearing what you describe as M & S tyres, as we lived in rural village

I see you keep a few spare wheels for your wheelbarrow. Must be a large wheelbarrow looking at the size of those wheels

falling-out-with-my-car · Post by **falling-out-with-my-car** » 18 Dec 2010, 15:58

Never mind chaps it'll all be over in a month or so and we will be chattin about summer tyres

Xaccers · Post by **Xaccers** » 18 Dec 2010, 17:52

Roofbox.co.uk didn't have any AS620's in stock but they do have AS62s which also appear to be suitable for 185/65s and 205/60s
Also ordered a new tow rope as I can't remember where mine is, a telescoping snow shovel, and a windscreen overnight ice protector which I've had one before and did a good job of preventing ice build up and so I can lie in a bit longer in the mornings

falling-out-with-my-car · Post by **falling-out-with-my-car** » 20 Dec 2010, 17:57

Just been to Selecta tyre for some new front tyres mid range Toyo's 48 quid each +vat, the fella drove my xantia estate onto the ramps without touching the height adjuster fine the car cleared the ramps ok.

whilst reversing the car out he insisted that the car needed to be in the top height position in case the car sills hit the ramps, I told him it wouldnt and told him not to drive my xantia in the top position.

I went into the office to pay the money for the tyres and turned back to see the front of my car lifting once again, so this time I went out and shouted at him DO NOT DRIVE THE CAR IN THE TOP POSITION IT IS FOR CHANGING WHEELS AND CHECKING THE LHM FLUID LEVELS.

when the fella came back into the office he was very Brassed off he said " I dont like being spoken to like that"
to which I replied "I dont like having to tell people twice and he should have noticed that the stop light was on as a warnning .

I have scanned my xantia manual and copied the page that explains about height adjustment. he will be getting a copy and so will his manager.

He told me it was ok to drive at 20 mph in the top position.

the manual says different.

and so do I.

I am wondering if there is some confusion here with a C5 although the two cars do look very different.

regards Nigel.

Xaccers · Post by **Xaccers** » 20 Dec 2010, 18:41

You can drive on high, it enables you to move the vehicle slowly, same with on low. You wouldn't go out for a test drive like it though

Sounds like you had a tyre place that actually bothers to care about customers' cars.
Remember, the owner's manual is just that, a manual for owners, who Citroen have to presume are numpties. It's not a technical manual.
It's like when it tells you if a light comes on you must take it to a dealer whereas we know that rarely is the case.

Ah memories of a BX advert where it drives on low to get under a jammed garage door

Actually, checking the manual it confirms you can drive on high with extreme care at very low speeds.

Citroenmad · Post by **Citroenmad** » 20 Dec 2010, 20:06

You CAN drive your Xantia in high, as you can with any hydraulic Citroen. Unless you go mad and try and drive it on the roads at roads speed then you will have problems. But at parking speed its fine, not a problem, and id agree, 20mph is probably the limit in high.

Have you been in a Xantia with no pressure in its spheres? It rides like a Xantia in high (i.e. no suspension) but plenty of people do thousands of miles like that. Obviously you cant drive it in high for long and 20 should be the top speed, 10 really.

Id have been very happy if my tyre place put my car into high to get it on and off the ramps. I always lift my car in high when i go to get tyres fitted, as when they put it on the 4 poster and drop it down when they are finished the car ins confused so it drops to the floor into low, they then start it up and rev the tits off it to make it rise. Maybe i should yell at them for reving it as it doesnt do any good and doesnt make it lift faster, though whats the point? Its only hassle.

Dont believe everything you read in your manual, you car will not drop to bits if its driven at parking speed in high, if it does id start worrying then!

The C5 is NO different to Xantia suspension, despite the computer controlling and less pipewrok its very similar. Though putting the C5 into high it will drop back to intermediate at 6mph and then drop to normal above 24mph. It acts no different to a Xm or Xantia when its in high, there is still no suspension.

falling-out-with-my-car · Post by **falling-out-with-my-car** » 21 Dec 2010, 10:26

Xac wrote:
Actually, checking the manual it confirms you can drive on high with extreme care at very low speeds.

not in my xantia manual it doesnt. it says page 92,Maximum Height" only for checking LHM fluid levels or changing wheels".
Minimum Height "For workshop use only DO NOT USE WHILST DRIVING".
Interneadiate Height "provides increased ground clearance for temporary use, for use on poor surfaces at very low speeds".

The BX was a very different car I had two of them, you could easily raise the suspension and for some reason you would still have a little movement/travel on the suspension, so in your opinion even the stop warnning with the suspension in bottom or top is a worthless effort???

comparing a well serviced car to that of someone who doesnt change the spheres is barmy, they are the numpties driving around at motorway speeds for months on end with no pressure in the spheres. I'll take my chances and obey the manuals and then no damage will occur.

the xantia suspension is very different in ammounts of free travel acvvailable and a much heavier vechicle than a BX, it also has had the suspension stiffened in the front unlike the BX.

for those that didnt read the above properly the car was driven onto the ramps without raising the suspension so therfore the tyre changer just wanted to sod about with doing citroen aerobics as he could have got the car off the ramps without playing the fool.

fair enough you have to drive very slowely in top if your rear height correctoir fails or even the dogbone fails but only to a recovery vechicle. personaly I would have thought 20mph was far to fast esspecially in a road with speed ramps as the tyre place has outside.

hobblerian · Post by **hobblerian** » 21 Dec 2010, 11:11

To be fair to the tyre guy he was probably worried that as he was coming down the ramp the suspension may drop further that when driving up because of the weight having a greater effect. He may well of had it happen before.

But as you say he shouldn't of put it in the top position just the intermediate one to provide a bit more height clearance. I certainly wouldn't want the weight of my XM driven on just the bounce of the tyres. Especially dropping down from a ramp.

Xaccers · Post by **Xaccers** » 21 Dec 2010, 13:47

falling-out-with-my-car wrote:
Xac wrote:
Actually, checking the manual it confirms you can drive on high with extreme care at very low speeds.
not in my Xantia manual it doesnt. it says page 92,Maximum Height" only for checking LHM fluid levels or changing wheels".
Minimum Height "For workshop use only DO NOT USE WHILST DRIVING".
Interneadiate Height "provides increased ground clearance for temporary use, for use on poor surfaces at very low speeds".

The BX was a very different car I had two of them, you could easily raise the suspension and for some reason you would still have a little movement/travel on the suspension, so in your opinion even the stop warnning with the suspension in bottom or top is a worthless effort???

comparing a well serviced car to that of someone who doesnt change the spheres is barmy, they are the numpties driving around at motorway speeds for months on end with no pressure in the spheres. I'll take my chances and obey the manuals and then no damage will occur.

the Xantia suspension is very different in ammounts of free travel acvvailable and a much heavier vechicle than a BX, it also has had the suspension stiffened in the front unlike the BX.

for those that didnt read the above properly the car was driven onto the ramps without raising the suspension so therfore the tyre changer just wanted to sod about with doing Citroën aerobics as he could have got the car off the ramps without playing the fool.

fair enough you have to drive very slowely in top if your rear height correctoir fails or even the dogbone fails but only to a recovery vechicle. personaly I would have thought 20mph was far to fast esspecially in a road with speed ramps as the tyre place has outside.

Page 92 of my 3 manuals says "NOTES"
Page 88 on the other hand says:
Minimum height
For workshop use only.
Do not use while driving.

Normal ride height

Intermediate height
Provides increased ground clearance for temporary use.
For use on poor surfaces at very low speeds.

Maximum height
For wheel changes and checking the hydraulic fluid level. May be used to clear very difficult obstacles but proceed with extreme care at very low speeds. There is no suspension movement in this position.

Feel free to live by your owner's manual, just don't expect professionals to ignore what they know over a booklet designed with numpties in mind.

We know that when a car's been up on supports it's suspension can drop suddenly once it's on terra firma while it sorts itself out, so setting it on high while rolling down a ramp (I take it there were no speed bumps/pot holes at the bottom of the ramp right?) is a sensible thing to do, better that than scraping the taipipe etc.

Driving with flat corner spheres is the same as driving on high, there's no dampening other than the tyres, and it was mentioned to show that as doing 70mph for months even years doesn't destroy the hydraulic system, then rolling a Xantia off a ramp on high is going to do no damage either.

Also, if your stop light is on when on high, you need to find out what's wrong, could simply be low on LHM and/or a stuck float, or it could be time for another visit to pleiades.

Really does sound to me like you've had a go at a responsible tyre place. I'd grab some chocolate biscuits and head back there to appologise.

andy5 · Post by **andy5** » 21 Dec 2010, 15:01

falling-out-with-my-car wrote:whilst reversing the car out he insisted that the car needed to be in the top height position in case the car sills hit the ramps, I told him it wouldnt and told him not to drive my Xantia in the top position.

I had something a bit opposite to this years ago

My old BX blew up the rear silencer late one evening on a trip to Scotland.

Found a hotel after about 30 miles of noise, and went looking for an exhaust place on a Sunday morning.

The second one had the parts in stock, and I went for a walk. Came back, and the bloke seems to be doing some unusual things under there.

He'd finished the job, and went to reverse off, but didn't wait for the suspension to rise up. The downward pointing ends of the U-bolt on the exhaust joint had hit the crossbar at the rear of the ramp and bent the whole lot forwards, almost folding flat the pipe where it went upwards to the manifold.

In a chat with him and the manager, we agreed we'd bodge it to keep going, and I'd come back on the way home in 3 days time and they'd have the rest in stock by then.

The middle bit was probably ok at a pinch, but I had a complete new exhaust system for not much over half price.

I even helped the bloke bash it about to straighten it, and gave him a tip!

falling-out-with-my-car · Post by **falling-out-with-my-car** » 23 Dec 2010, 09:51

why don't people read instead of just scanning?

the car was driven onto the ramps without raising the suspension incedentially by a tyre fitter "Not a citroen specialist" or a mechanic.
if you want to drive your xantia at 20 mph in the top position fine go ahead I wont be doing that I'm afraid.

as for buying chocolate biscuits for someone I asked politely not to drive with the suspension in top TWICE as he first ignored me and carried on doing the same thing the first time, after I lowered the suspension to the intermeadiate height for him.
is just plain stupid. so the manual uis for numpties as you say so ignore every saftey message in the manual id that what you are saying, this would include the bright yellow message at the bottom of the page "

always use axle stands when working under the xantia" another load of crap I suspose, we already know this to be a valuable piece of information and we all support this very much so.

The manual also contains some other useful information that doesnt just relate to idiots

when buying a used xantia or any other item in this world I do tend to bother to read the manual it can save you from disaster, now I do know of several people that dont bother to read manuals and have the attitude that manuals are for numpties until they do something stupid like put the batteries in the wrong way around, I don't proffess to know everything like some who do and don't bother with manuals and I think my attitude towards always following manuals is a pretty safe bet, on using equipment properly withoput going bull at a gate and doing some serious damage.

f00lzz · Post by **f00lzz** » 23 Dec 2010, 10:07

Wow