Xantia Activa question.

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Quackers
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Xantia Activa question.

Post by Quackers »

I've had my Activa since june last year and today i got it fixed so now it "corners flat". I've used up half a tank of fuel tonight just finding nice corners to play with it on , but its raining so i've been very cautious.

But my question is this, when i have a really long wide corner, like on a sliproad, the car is flat, and up until the gforces kick in i'm not leaning, but the feeling the car gives is one of sliding sidewards on ice. Is this the correct feeling? I do not dare push the car anything above 40mph round this really long corner as this is the speed the gforces kick in and this sliding feeling comes on. Now before the suspention was fixed my back end spun out on this car not going very fast on a roundabout, and this feeling i get is exactly the same, so i'm EXTREAMLY scared to push it anymore. I do not want my back end to spin out.

How do you know when to not push it anymore? I'm not the the kind that drives like a mad man, but i would once in a while like to demonstrate this cars handling power to my mates, but i want to do so without writing the car off.
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DHallworth
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Post by DHallworth »

my dad used to drive an Activa, and i have just bought one the other day from a mate, and it corners very well.

Can't say i have ever experienced that sliding feeling that you mention.

Regards
David.
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Post by Quackers »

DHallworth wrote:my dad used to drive an Activa, and i have just bought one the other day from a mate, and it corners very well.

Can't say i have ever experienced that sliding feeling that you mention.

Regards
David.
How would you describe the feeling of your activa when you corner at speed?
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DHallworth
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Post by DHallworth »

umm........... i've only driven it 8 miles as it was covered on my mates trade policy till i got it home, but i would have to say amazing!!

Perfectly flat, not a hint of sliding and that was in the pouring rain.

As soon as my XM finished on its temp insurance i am going to insure the Activa for a week or 2 so will report back, but it didn't give any hint of sliding.
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Post by Mandrake »

Nobody seems to have asked the obvious question - what kind and size tyres does it have on, and what is their tread condition ?

If you're sliding sideways slightly when cornering in the wet, the tyres are running out of grip, end of story. Theres not really much that could go wrong with the suspension that would cause what you describe, assuming that there are no obvious signs of trouble with the way the car rides.

The thing about an Activa is that you don't have any feedback (from the body roll) as to how hard you're pushing the car around a corner, so you can easily be going around a corner a lot faster that you ought to be for the conditions without realising it. Couple that together with poor tyres, and you have a recipe for trouble....

My money is on poor quality, inadequate, or worn tyres...

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Simon
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Re: Xantia Activa question.

Post by Homer »

Quackers wrote:Now before the suspention was fixed my back end spun out on this car not going very fast on a roundabout,
What did you have fixed?

Have you checked the rear arm bearings because if these are worn they can make the rear end unstable on a standard Xantia (this I know from experience).
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Post by Quackers »

I have brandnew michelin 15" W rated tyres on the front, but on the rear the tyres that came with the car, which are the wrong ones as they are V rated , old, but still a lot of tred on. I'll try again in the dry.
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Re: Xantia Activa question.

Post by Quackers »

Homer wrote:
Quackers wrote:Now before the suspention was fixed my back end spun out on this car not going very fast on a roundabout,
What did you have fixed?

Have you checked the rear arm bearings because if these are worn they can make the rear end unstable on a standard Xantia (this I know from experience).

Basically before the car would lean badly on the front passenger side. The garage said there was some play in some rods. So they stopped it now it goes flat.
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Post by Mandrake »

Quackers wrote:I have brandnew michelin 15" W rated tyres on the front, but on the rear the tyres that came with the car, which are the wrong ones as they are V rated , old, but still a lot of tred on. I'll try again in the dry.
A bit more info than that might help :wink:

What KIND of Michelin tyres......W and V rating is just a speed rating, and doesn't tell you anything else about the tyre..... like the tread pattern, size and profile etc....

Are they XM1, MXV8, Pilot Primacy ? or ?

Size ? 205/60/R15 ?

If the tyres on the front of the car have a lot more grip than the rear then its certainly possible for the back to let go in hard cornering despite being front wheel drive, especially in the wet.

My car currently has 205/60/R15 on the front and 185/65/R15 on the back, and in hard cornering on rough surfaced roads the back has a slight tendency to run wide sometimes, although it is perfectly controllable, and doesn't seem to do it in the wet...

Regards,
Simon
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Post by Quackers »

The front are Michelin Pilot 205/60 R15 91W

The rear are Viking 205/60 R15 91V

I thought the W rated tyres had strong sidewalls?

I might just go buy some of the Michelin Pilot's for the rear today.
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Post by fastandfurryous »

I think you've found the problem there... poor quality tyres on the rear.

You can confirm that by swapping the fronts for the rears, and trying again. I think you'll find the front washes out first (which is a little more controllable).
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Post by Quackers »

I've been and bought new tyres for the rear, went to the same corner in the dry, there was a car infront doing 40mph. I was stuck behind it, but this is as fast as i went last time. But same again i feel like the cars backend is about to spin out if i was to push it anymore, it goes all "glidy". The car infront was happy doing 40mph i was scared s**t, that cannot be right......

Does anybody here own an Activa and live in staffordshire, or close to so i could drive to them and get them to take the car for a spin to see if they feel its working correctly. It might just be me assosiating the feeling of when i spun last time with how an Activa feels when corning.
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Post by Mandrake »

Hmm ok,

So we've eliminated tyres then. Did you check homers sugession of failed rear suspension arm bearings ?

If they're faulty, one or both rear wheels will have excessive negative camber, (normal is about 1.5 degrees) and will not move smoothly either. If you lift the suspension right up then back down to normal does the rear suspension move nice and smoothly without jerking or creaking/groaning ?

If you give the rear suspension a bounce test (with the engine idling) does it move nice and smoothly, or does it feel like there is a lot of friction ?

Another possible culprit is the rubber mounting bushes that mount the rear suspension chassis to the body - the Xantia has built in "passive rear steering" which is just a fancy way of saying that the rear suspension rubber mounts are designed to flex a specific way under cornering forces to allow the rear wheels to turn slightly in the same direction as the front wheels - thus providing a stabalizing effect.

If the bushes are stuffed, it can make the rear end twitchy and prone to over react / oversteer when you corner hard/suddenly.

If possible I'd try your suggestion of trying to find an Activa owner in your area to drive your car as a comparison, and perhaps you drive their car too.... it always helps to have a car that is not misbehaving as a comparison :)

Regards,
Simon
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Post by Quackers »

The rear ram bushs are worn i believe as i get a banging tapping sound over bumps at the rea. Is this my final problem then? Will this cause the car to spin out at the back if i push it then or is it just the feel?
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Post by Quackers »

Got my mate to have a go tonight to see what his reaction to the car was, his was the same, that it feels like its sliding at the rear. We did give it a push as we came off a roundabout on corner and the backend did skid.
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