C5 Hydractive3 front suspension low

[osx]

Not sure if it's me but do you think the front suspension is too low? Had the car serviced a couple of months ago and I feel that the suspension is a bit more firm that it used to be.

[osx]

Drove a friends C5 and it felt different. Not sure what to make of it.

[qprdude]

I think mine sits a fraction lower at the front. Difficult to say. Looks OK to me.

[vborovic]

Don't just feel the suspension ... measure it ... ... and compare the arch wheel height from the pavement with someone whose car seems OK to you to make sure whether any difference exists ...

[osx]

There is a difference of 1.5cm.

[osx]

I think mine sits a fraction lower at the front. Difficult to say. Looks OK to me.

Does the underside of the car look parallel to the road, mine is def not parallel.

[qprdude]

Slightly lower at the front, but who's to say that's not the design. Plenty cars sit lower at the front. C class Merc springs to mind (no pun intended)

[osx]

How can you tell if the spheres are not doing their job?

[vborovic]

I'm guessing the same way as with regular suspension ... you can lean on the car bonnet side (front bumber), and release it, and see how the return force is being dampened ... if it's not doing it "normally", then you could say sth is wrong ... But, from my experince driving hydractive cars my dad had, you would immediately sense any malfunction in the drives, because it wouldn't be as comfortable as it should (sailing on the air ... ) ...

[qprdude]

Have to say, there must be a scientific/engineering way of checking.
This pushing on the bonnet/boot depends entirely on the person doing the pushing surely? My missus couldn't push the suspension more than a couple of inches. Wildly inaccurate, and a test to see if there is any recoil means there is some sort of suspension, but not a great deal more.

[vborovic]

I never said that you'll get scientific results with mechanical pushing of the car, did I? ... ... You're right in that it depends on the person pushing ... I came to know several people, pro mechanics, who over the years gathered enough experience to test suspensions this way (mostly classical suspension), and I'm talking about the first check, of course they afterwards confirm this with equipment ... how they manage to do it, or rather, how can they be so sure about the feedback feeling they get from the car, is beyond me ... but I'm also certain that any issues with the hydractive suspension should (in case something is off, like starting position lower than normal) be very apparent during the drives ...

... although, I've witnessed just a few days ago a woman driving a car with the blown tyre (which came apart, and she continued on the rim ... so much for apparency), doing 50 mph, not being aware of the situation ... go figure ...

[qprdude]

vborovic, I wasn't questioning your post , just suggesting that there must be a proper way of checking that everything is working as it should. I have been doing the "press test" on suspension for 40 years, but I thought osx was looking for a definitive check where any anomaly could be found and sorted.
I was going to add, that my front suspension gives a bit of a bang if I go too fast over a "Traffic calming Bump" on the road. The rear never makes a sound. I've often wondered if something is not as it should be, but after changing from a superstiff Saab, it's difficult to be sure.

[vborovic]

@ osx - Back on track ... if you lower/lift the car several times even ... when you return it to normal, does it stop at the current level that seems problematic to you?

[qprdude]

Just had a look on X7's for sale on Autotrader to check the photographs, and they all seem to sit slightly lower at the front, so it is either normal, or most of them have suspension faults.

[Mandrake]

Have to say, there must be a scientific/engineering way of checking.

Yep, pressure test the sphere, just like older Citroens.

Of course that means removing the sphere from the car and attaching it to a pressure tester (which can be home made) but its 100% scientific