Citaerobics

BernieLugg · Unread post by **BernieLugg** » 19 Oct 2005, 22:28

Alec wrote:
fastandfurryous wrote:There's also the "traffic lights roulette"

Can you get a full cycle (normal => max => min => normal) in before the lights go green? Always confuses others in the queue, and is somewhat cheaper than the other traffic lights game (the grand prix)
I thought I was the only one who did this. Haven't done it for a while since having to leave the light's on max and getting abuse for my slow pull away (from other drivers and erm my wife. ooops!!)

Glad to see Im not alone then! Esp if in a large Q of non moving traffic!

deian · Unread post by **deian** » 23 Mar 2006, 21:38

ok so if we do it at traffic lights, and the car is on full height or all the way down, what if ur car can't get to normal height before you set off? is it safe to driveon full or lowest height?

AndersDK · Unread post by **AndersDK** » 23 Mar 2006, 22:13

deian wrote:ok so if we do it at traffic lights, and the car is on full height or all the way down, what if ur car can't get to normal height before you set off?

You must wait until normal drive height is obtained.

is it safe to drive on full or lowest height?

Absolutely not.
In both these situations you only have the rubber end stops as suspension element.
The low setting is for service only.
The high setting is for crawling speed passing "very unduly road conditions" only.

Test both settings cautiuosly on an empty parking lot - and you will instantly know why.

mezuk04 · Unread post by **mezuk04** » 24 Mar 2006, 10:36

I reversed out of the drive when the car was on its lowest setting, dont know for the life of my WHY or HOW....but probably because the STOP light never came on until i started to hear a bit of scraping, fortuantly no damage was done.

Driven the car in its highest setting the day after I bought her (Well you have to dont you, its the newness of this feature)...fortuantly it was when we went to a car boot sale which is situated at the bottom of a bumpy awful road and car parking area.

Got lots of looks which was very funny but never went any quicker than 2nd gear pulling and slight braking

deian · Unread post by **deian** » 24 Mar 2006, 16:30

isn't the highest setting ROCK solid? it was on mine when i was messing about with it, or do u mean the setting between normal and high?

Mandrake · Unread post by **Mandrake** » 24 Mar 2006, 21:53

deian wrote:isn't the highest setting ROCK solid? it was on mine when i was messing about with it, or do u mean the setting between normal and high?

Yep,

Both lowest and highest settings are rock solid. And out of the two, the highest setting is the most dangerous to drive in - because you have a very high centre of gravity (unstable cornering) and as well as being rock solid there is maximum pressure in the hydraulic cylinders, and it is not unknown (on older models at least) for hitting a really big bump at this height to SPLIT one of the hydraulic cylinders right down the middle.

This applies to the alloy cylinders used on older models like GS/CX etc at both the front and the back, on the Xantia they are only used at the back, but the risk of damage is still great.

With the height right down you are once again rigid, but this time you're sitting on the bottom limit stops with no suspension pressure at all - effectively you're the same as a car that has chopped springs. (Which is illegal in most countries...)

Although you're unlikely to split a hydraulic cylinder, every single bump is putting a huge mechanical strain on the suspension, especially on the strut top rubbers in the front suspension - and if they're cracked and fatigued to start with it could easily push one over the edge into failure.

Furthermore with the suspension right down you have NO rear brakes.

Both height settings are EXTREMELY dangerous at normal driving speeds.....the maximum height setting is designed for wheel changes, and minimum height for depressurizing the suspension for sphere removal or maintaince.

Regards,
Simon

JohnTurbo · Unread post by **JohnTurbo** » 25 Mar 2006, 20:21

I use the high driving setting for mcdonalds drivethrough windows too

deian · Unread post by **deian** » 25 Mar 2006, 20:29

thats such a brilliant idea, imagine the smile on the girl in the windows face when you rise to the occasion! gotta be a babe puller, especially when you get to reach too!

talk about citraeobics, i did it today, and as we all know my accumulator sphere is a bit knackered, and the back wasn't happy coming back up after being on the lowest setting! until i forced it by putting the lever back on up, then normal. is this also typical of acc.sphere problem?

AndersDK · Unread post by **AndersDK** » 25 Mar 2006, 22:00

deian wrote:talk about citraeobics, i did it today, and as we all know my accumulator sphere is a bit knackered, and the back wasn't happy coming back up after being on the lowest setting! until i forced it by putting the lever back on up, then normal. is this also typical of acc.sphere problem?

No this is typical of dry linkage on the rear HC. Down you go and squirt WD40 over a couple of days. Or when nice summer is here you go split the lot, clean and lubricate it.

deian · Unread post by **deian** » 25 Mar 2006, 22:21

another nice project for me, i hate the weather when it rains! roll on the summer! can't wait to get my hands dirty on this car, it's cool to work on and interesting to learn about the citroen peculiarities.

mezuk04 · Unread post by **mezuk04** » 27 Mar 2006, 08:08

Im back, ive moved out of home so i dont have internet access so have to use works.

The ride was rock hard but adds to the fun when you see 3 lads in the car jolting up and down hehehe