Comfort spheres

[XantiaDaveEire]

I'm going to look into getting a set of these for my car..first of all how are they any different to any other sphere ,is it that they just have a bigger Diaphragm?

And secondly has anyone got them on their car?If so is there any noticeable differance?

Dave

[Citroenmad]

Comfort spheres have a larger damping hole in the sphere, they are often normal spheres but with the hole drilled slightly larger.

In my opinion this is not the correct way to improve the ride quality as it plays with damping, which in my experience, makes the car under damped. Ideally the sphere pressure should be increased slightly and this does give a softer ride but with the same damping effects.

Ive had these on a C5 and removed them as they gave an awful ride, it was a bit like being stick on a bouncy castle with 20 people jumping on it. It was never going to settle down!

[aerodynamica]

I agree with Citroenmad, I have softened the ride on my Xantia 1.9 TD by fitting a new pair of rear spheres from a Xantia 1.9 D (non-turbo) these have 40bar pressure in them instead of the 30 bar for the turbo ones - damping is still sensible.

At the front I fitted my spare pair of CX fronts: these are from a CX turbo and the damper appears almost identical to the right sphere for the Xantia however, the CX uses larger 500cc spheres (bit longer) and has a pressure of 75 bar instead of the Xantia's 60 or 70 (can't recall which but it's a bit less) These give a sumptuous ride with sensible damping.

[DickieG]

I use non original spec sphere's on both of my Xantia's which have Hydractive suspension, what I've done is to use non Hydractive sphere's then I invariably switch on sports mode (especially when carrying more than one passenger) to avoid the suspension oscillating when encountering undulations as sports mode firms up the suspension up to standard Hydropneumatic suspension as soon as the road surface deteriorates or an input of steering or acceleration is made. The ride is super smooth yet still controlled and not sloppy.

Something to bear in mind is that mileage and the wear and tear it brings does have an effect on how soft the suspension feels (presumably due to wear in the struts) my present HDi has done 65k and the VSX 36k, using the same set up on my previous HDi (150k) gave an even softer ride.

[XantiaDaveEire]

I agree with Citroenmad, I have softened the ride on my Xantia 1.9 TD by fitting a new pair of rear spheres from a Xantia 1.9 D (non-turbo) these have 40bar pressure in them instead of the 30 bar for the turbo ones - damping is still sensible.

At the front I fitted my spare pair of CX fronts: these are from a CX turbo and the damper appears almost identical to the right sphere for the Xantia however, the CX uses larger 500cc spheres (bit longer) and has a pressure of 75 bar instead of the Xantia's 60 or 70 (can't recall which but it's a bit less) These give a sumptuous ride with sensible damping.

My Xantia has 55 on the front and 30 on the rear.....I think i'd like to go with 70 on the front and 40 on the rear sounds a bit better to me

I'm sure everyone is different as to how soft or firm they like their suspension to be, but ideally i'd like mine to be as much like a barge as possible ..To sink down as you sit in to it and not feel every single speed bump where i live

So the verdict is to give the "comfort" spheres a miss

I don't fancy buying the spheres in A.E.P direct as this is where i got them the last 2 times and i haven't really been happy with them ..I think they were I.F.H.S brand if i remember correctly

What make do G.S.F sell does anyone know?

[Dommo]

Amtex

[XantiaDaveEire]

That's the one!!

[MPV]

I had comfort "spheres" on my old BX...ok in a straight line, but scary in bends or cross winds!

[aerodynamica]

tellin ya! Xantia Non turbo rears are plush - been to work and back today and they are really soft without being mad. The standard turbo rears seemed a bit stodgy though not at all bumpy.
CX turbo ones on the front is just my choice and it works very well. Standard CX fronts will be even softer (and guess what's on the front of my CX.... might give them a go..)

EDIT: if anyone wants my pair of rear standard Xantia 1.9 TD/ 2.0i spheres, they're a year old - just PM.

[XantiaDaveEire]

I had a look today on gsf for prices £31.20 a sphere

Then went over to aep direct think they were £18 + vat so i'll just get them from there ,The gsf website is an absolute pig to get through

Let me know how ya get on if ya try the normal Cx fronts on the Xantia

[aneesh84]

Hi aerodynamica.... my 1.9TD hydropneumatic xantia spheres were flat and my central valves and ECU were not working, and I just don't have the resources to get them working. So I went ahead with your comment and ordered 2 CX turbo spheres(500cc 75bars ) for the front and 2 xantia non-turbo (400cc 40 bar) spheres for the back. Just placed the order with AEP to ship them to portugal. Hope they provide decent softness and damping!

[XantiaDaveEire]

Hi aerodynamica.... my 1.9TD hydropneumatic Xantia spheres were flat and my central valves and ECU were not working, and I just don't have the resources to get them working. So I went ahead with your comment and ordered 2 CX turbo spheres(500cc 75bars ) for the front and 2 Xantia non-turbo (400cc 40 bar) spheres for the back. Just placed the order with AEP to ship them to portugal. Hope they provide decent softness and damping!

Let us know how you get on with them when you fit them

[steelcityuk]

I tried a set of comfort spheres on my XM 2.1 VSX. It felt awful, somehow it made it seem like driving something more like a stretched limo with 'american' suspension. That said the cars suspension was working really well so they were overkill. One thing about using sphere's with larger damping holes is that you'll get greater suspension travel and fluid flow which I find is good when using hydroflush to bring the suspension back to life , though sinkers seem less prone stiffness I've found.

Steve.

[f00lzz]

Don't do it!!
Put them on my V6 and it's like piloting a boat..

[aneesh84]

Hi aerodynamica.... my 1.9TD hydropneumatic Xantia spheres were flat and my central valves and ECU were not working, and I just don't have the resources to get them working. So I went ahead with your comment and ordered 2 CX turbo spheres(500cc 75bars ) for the front and 2 Xantia non-turbo (400cc 40 bar) spheres for the back. Just placed the order with AEP to ship them to portugal. Hope they provide decent softness and damping!

Let us know how you get on with them when you fit them

Yes I will keep you updated!