XANTIA ACTIVA - E CROFTING REPAIR KIT

[chrisjvm]

Hello Mike,
I live near Leighton Buzzard...
Only about 5 miles from Little Horwood.
I will address the tyres issue at the w/end (Michelin Energy's)
Hope they qualify as decent tyres on an Activa!?
I did back off when I felt the front end floating away so next time I'll keep my foot planted a la 2cv!
I appreciate the advice... Just hope my reflexes are up to it!
Yes the Ami has the same mechanicals as a 2cv though mine
Had a 'trafficator clutch'( I think that's what its called)
And as I said to Dean ... I agree the Activa's not like anything
I've ever driven...

Regards
Chris M

[chrisjvm]

I've got a set of Energy's to put on Dean..
I know the size probably limits choice, but ideally what tyres would you use ?
I appreciate it is a personal choice and have read that Energy's
Sidewalls are too soft,but i think they are better than the ones I have on...
Dom told me about your 'flying machine' look forward to seeing it at CXM.

Chris M

[Northern_Mike]

Hello Mike,
I live near Leighton Buzzard...
Only about 5 miles from Little Horwood.
I will address the tyres issue at the w/end (Michelin Energy's)
Hope they qualify as decent tyres on an Activa!?
I did back off when I felt the front end floating away so next time I'll keep my foot planted a la 2cv!
I appreciate the advice... Just hope my reflexes are up to it!
Yes the Ami has the same mechanicals as a 2cv though mine
Had a 'trafficator clutch'( I think that's what its called)
And as I said to Dean ... I agree the Activa's not like anything
I've ever driven...

Regards
Chris M

Hiya Chris,

That's a shame, I know a couple of very good Citroen places down in South Bucks in the Slough area, but they're probably too far for you to travel. Sounds like it's probably just your tyres giving that problem, they should grip very well. Both of mine have. Lift off, turn in, power through the bend seems to work very well (obviously when conditions permit, I'm not advocating driving like me all the time!).

Tyres - don't use Goodyear Excellence! See if you can get some Toyos in that size, I really like them. Also, I just put four Matador MP44s on the Berlingo, and they are really quite good. They stick very well. I know it's not a 150BHP cornering machine, but they're a decent tyre. Cheaper and better than those Excellence rubbish.

I should be up there on Saturday at least, sanity permitting! See you there..

[Deanxm]

I would go for Toyo's but again its all personal choice, this time however i was going to go for THESE, looking at them in the tyre shop they had very tough solid shoulders and a very sticky compound being a drift tyre, my tyre guy recommended them for the activa, he says they are one of the best gripping tyres you can get and would really do the activa justice but they wouldnt last long, its been a heavy month and since ive not been feeling too bright overtime hasnt really been on the cards so in the end i went with some new ditchfinders to replace the old ones i had, needs must, the Energies will be fine.

D

[Spaces]

I did a 90 degree spin today on a small tight roundabout
It was damp but I was only going a little faster than I would
In my Berlingo van... I know the road well so was suprised when the front end let go, I dabbed the brakes opposite locked and the back end followed round...
Maybe the driver was driving beyond his capabilities !
But the way it happened I would like to have the car checked out
Regards
Chris M

Interesting - of course, your new Activa may have both old rear tyres and less-than-perfect rear arm bearings with the resulting negative camber as well as soft rear subframe mountings. This /\ which begins to appear on the Peugeot rear axle as arm bearings wear can induce unwanted oversteer very easily on a slippery road where cornering loads aren't sufficient to generate much roll/force to lay all the tread on the tarmac.

In a Citroen which electronically resists roll as it corners, any negative camber will be much more lethal and the wider and lower profile the tyre the more snappy it becomes. The contrast between wet and dry cornering grip becomes huge, to the point it is completely dangerous - particularly with Citroen suspension and especially the roll-limiting version of it.


Even in the Hydractive car I was driving on today's wet roads there was easy neutrality then oversteer if provoked, starting with a bit of nasty understeer if driven too provokingly, amazingly all at speeds as low as 35mph (these were not greasy, diesel-spilled urban junctions - I was in the middle of nowhere). I was able to induce some four wheel drifting then tail sliding on some particularly open, wide and deserted stretches of road - and with the 'sport' mode on and less initial heel, the sliding back end started a lot sooner and quicker, ceteris paribus.

My cornering speeds were reduced to those of school-run Fiestas on Chinese tyres, in complete contrast to dry, grippy days when the machine will see almost everything else a clean pair of heels.


This is fun on a racetrack, but on public roads annoying and potentially lethal - one of my pet hates of Peugeots. Fine in a warm and dry climate, but with a little wear and less than perfect roads it is nasty. It's one of the reasons I detest rubber as a suspension geometry aid particularly when used as 'cleverly' as Peugeot's chassis engineers do - coming round one uphill corner today the incline reduced then increased in a long 'bump' - and I had to be quick with the steering wheel as the back axle decided 'more cornering' was necessary. I wasn't travelling so quickly and a novice driver could have been in trouble. Had I been travelling more rapidly, I might have been. This particular Xantia is shod with 195-65 boots instead of the original 205-60s; a little bit of wear and the wider, stiffer sidewall tyres would have been even more twitchy.

I won't mention how Citroens used to come into their own in slippery conditions - it is well enough documented and fondly remembered by those who have had the joy of driving GS and CXs fast on poor surfaces, whether slick-smooth or rough and undulating. But if I had the resources (and the option of no other car for use in wet and slippery conditions), I'd soon be altering the back axle. Cars which become dangerous-handling as they wear have largely disappeared - rear drive Skodas, Beetles, >80s BMWs etc; even the 406 doesn't suffer from quite this sort of wear-induced handling problem.

[chrisjvm]

Mike...
I don't mind travelling to a good garage that knows Activa's
I used to take my VW camper to a guy in Holmfirth!
I'm stuck with the Michelins as replacements for now
But I've heard Toyo's are good.
I hope it is just the tyres, and the driver of course!
My Berlingo van is very predictable handling wise.
Loads of wet weather undesteer....
Oops.. I'm starting to sound like a boy racer!
See you at CXM.

Chris M

[chrisjvm]

Thanks Dean...
Toyos or Maxxis next time hopefully...
Thats if the Activa honeymoon lasts!

Chris M

[Deanxm]

It will last, there is nothing awefully complex about them really.

D

[chrisjvm]

Hello 'Spaces'
Thanks for your post.
Thought provoking to say the least..
Here's me thinking I'll change my tyres at the w/end and
Get my 'driving 'act together and everything will be fine.
Maybe I'll get the Activa thoroughly checked over..
As your contrast between 'dry' and 'wet' weather handling due to worn/ defective suspension is very much what I experieced ...
The Activa handled brilliantly in dry weather conditions....
But today in the damp was a different story
Reminded me of driving a Hillman Imp 30 yrs ago !
There are so many things that can go wrong with a car.
I just hope its me and my tyres!

Chris M

[chrisjvm]

Dean...
I hope so...

'Spaces' post has given me a reality check...

But i still think the Activa's a great car!

Chris

[Northern_Mike]

Mike...
I don't mind travelling to a good garage that knows Activa's
I used to take my VW camper to a guy in Holmfirth!
Chris M

There's a good Citroen garage in Holmfirth too I used to get my first Xantia worked on there occasionally..

I've sent you a PM with the garage in Slough, I'm not sure whether I'm allowed to say on the forum!...

[Spaces]

Activas can be beyond awesome in the right conditions - a little like a Traction Avant can be - but never forget it is fundamentally a trick-suspension Peugoet when all is said and done. And I never trust any Peugeot with that rear axle unless it is warm and dry...

[Northern_Mike]

I did a 90 degree spin today on a small tight roundabout
It was damp but I was only going a little faster than I would
In my Berlingo van... I know the road well so was suprised when the front end let go, I dabbed the brakes opposite locked and the back end followed round...
Maybe the driver was driving beyond his capabilities !
But the way it happened I would like to have the car checked out
Regards
Chris M

Interesting - of course, your new Activa may have both old rear tyres and less-than-perfect rear arm bearings with the resulting negative camber as well as soft rear subframe mountings. This /\ which begins to appear on the Peugeot rear axle as arm bearings wear can induce unwanted oversteer very easily on a slippery road where cornering loads aren't sufficient to generate much roll/force to lay all the tread on the tarmac.

In a Citroen which electronically resists roll as it corners, any negative camber will be much more lethal and the wider and lower profile the tyre the more snappy it becomes. The contrast between wet and dry cornering grip becomes huge, to the point it is completely dangerous - particularly with Citroen suspension and especially the roll-limiting version of it.


Even in the Hydractive car I was driving on today's wet roads there was easy neutrality then oversteer if provoked, starting with a bit of nasty understeer if driven too provokingly, amazingly all at speeds as low as 35mph (these were not greasy, diesel-spilled urban junctions - I was in the middle of nowhere). I was able to induce some four wheel drifting then tail sliding on some particularly open, wide and deserted stretches of road - and with the 'sport' mode on and less initial heel, the sliding back end started a lot sooner and quicker, ceteris paribus.

Funny you should say that, I've had exactly the same today in my HDi Xantia with sport mode switched on. On the roads I go on, they are a mixture of fast flowing bends and quite tight turns. On the tighter turns, I find that the usual "lift off, turn in, power through the bend" results in a little initial understeer which can be controlled easily with the throttle (lift off *slightly*, the nose tucks in) and then the tail will start to drift in a nice, controllable manner which can be corrected by a tiny bit of countersteering - I wouldn't go as far to say it's opposite lock, as it's not, but it behaves nicely. There is one particular off-camber, long right hand uphill bend on my journey which can be taken comfortably in the dry at considerably more than what one might consider a normal speed It induces tyre howl from the inner OS rear wheel as it slides slightly as the rear just get "dragged" round the bend. I can feel it through the seat of my pants going ever so slightly sideways, while the front stays planted. This is, I'm sure, something to do with the softer rear spheres than spec, and the enhanced roll. In the wet it does the same, but at lower speed, and it feels like you are on tippy-toes at anything more than 45-50mph. I have tried it faster in the wet, out of interest (and there's nothing to hit other than a hedge, always a consideration of mine) but it gets all hairy and you have to slow down, which of course induces the old lift-off oversteer. It's all fun though, and at normal driving speeds, it's never, ever a problem.

I never had a problem with my Activa, it had 107k on the clock when I sold it. The only time I ever frightened myself was coming off the M4 at J7 eastbound, when I was going too fast for myself, and lifted off when I shouldn't have done. That scared me. No feeling, no warning, just complete lift-off oversteer. Fortunately the road is wide enough there and it gripped again and sorted itself out, for which I am eternally grateful!

[CitroJim]

Whereabouts in Bucks are you Chris?

Indeed, as Mike says, where are you Chris? I ask as I'm in North Bucks (Just outside MK) despite what my location says

EDIT: Sorry. I see you’re in Leighton Buzzard.

You're more than welcome to pop over for an assessment of the health of yours but regrettably I'm unable to take on any remedial work of any kind. As for any specialists, pass... The only ones I can think of anre B and L Autos is Welwyn garden City...

I'll be at CXM with my Activa on Saturday. You can't miss mine as it carries a private plate ending in XAN. It'll be good to see you.

[Chris570]

There will certainly be a lot of Activa owners there so one way or another we'll get you sorted with what to do etc. I'll not be bringing mine but i'll be in an XM