Hydractive 4

mooseshaver · Post by **mooseshaver** » 02 Apr 2007, 11:20

I keep seeing little snipets on the web about Hydractive 4 in the new C5. Does anyone have any real info or pictures?
2 Spheres per wheel sounds interesting but expensive.

Post by **CitroJim** » 02 Apr 2007, 11:48

Umm. Interesting.

Do we perhaps see the return of the Activa

Imagine a C5 Activa with a whoppingly powerful engine

mooseshaver · Post by **mooseshaver** » 02 Apr 2007, 12:07

There is this from autoexpress
http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/news/autoe ... ugger.html

And this from Citroen Car Club (Its near the bottom of the page)
http://www.citroencarclub.org.uk/PostNu ... 40&meid=92

Think the Estate with the V6 diesel would be nicest.

Post by **CitroJim** » 02 Apr 2007, 12:32

Hydractive 4 will, when it arrives, probably offer "dynamic levelling". Each wheel will have a separate height corrector and a pair of spheres, with each wheel able to be independently switched between a firm and a soft setting. Separate height correctors will help to ensure that body roll is kept to an absolute minimum - in effect, dynamic levelling, preventing pitch, yaw and roll.

Wow! Drool

. Best of all systems and yes, Activa is back

8) $\:D/$

That little lot could just persuade me to get a new one

That is getting on for my ideal vehicle. I always said I'd have a Xsara Picasso if only it had hydropneumatic suspension.

mooseshaver · Post by **mooseshaver** » 02 Apr 2007, 13:00

citrojim wrote:
That is getting on for my ideal vehicle. I always said I'd have a Xsara Picasso if only it had hydropneumatic suspension.

Grand Picasso has hydra on the rear. Don't know if its for comfort or jsut for heavly loads and lowering the back for loading

Xaccers · Post by **Xaccers** » 02 Apr 2007, 13:53

citrojim wrote:I always said I'd have a Xsara Picasso if only it had hydropneumatic suspension.

Dad's feels like it has girders welded in place where the suspension should be, bloody awful ride, but if it had proper suspension (why it doesn't I don't know, must be the cost, I blame Peugeot) and rear seats designed for people over 10 years old, I'd be tempted.

Post by **CitroJim** » 02 Apr 2007, 14:35

Xac wrote:Dad's feels like it has girders welded in place where the suspension should be, bloody awful ride, but if it had proper suspension (why it doesn't I don't know, must be the cost, I blame Peugeot) and rear seats designed for people over 10 years old, I'd be tempted.

A mate has a 1.6 HDi Picasso and yes, I agree totally. A real boneshaker. Goes exceptionally well but it's harder than my 205GTi

It seems to handle quite well though.

Another thing I don't like (as a passenger) is the distance you sit from the windscreen and the lack of any visible bonnet beyond. My pal is a bit of an enthusiastic driver and every time he stops behind another vehicle it seems for all the world that he is going to run into it.

Grand Picasso has hydra on the rear. Don't know if its for comfort or jsut for heavly loads and lowering the back for loading

Ahh, I thought I read somewhere it was an air suspension rather than true hydropneumatic. Still, better than nothing I guess.

Peugeot made it very clear after the takeover of Citroen they wanted nothing to do with hydropneumatic suspension systems. In fact the BX was planned to have conventional springs but after massive protests they relented. I guess we are very lucky in retrospect that the Xantia and XM retained and actually improved upon it and that a vestige of it remains on the C5 and C6 but how silly not to put it on the MPVs and vans, a natural home for it really. Sometimes the actions of vehicle manufacturers seem very bizarre.

AndersDK · Post by **AndersDK** » 02 Apr 2007, 14:50

Wonder if Citroen would switch to variable inflation pressure sphere systems, instead of keeping the variable fluid volume systems ?

These days it could be cheaper using air suspension to achieve the same results. The recent urban commuterbuses I know off uses this system.
(why do they always regulate whenever I go on/off the bus

)

mooseshaver · Post by **mooseshaver** » 02 Apr 2007, 15:45

AndersDK wrote:
These days it could be cheaper using air suspension to achieve the same results. The recent urban commuterbuses I know off uses this system.
(why do they always regulate whenever I go on/off the bus )

LOL
Some of my friends get a bit offended when my C5 compensates for their weight entering the car.

jeremy · Post by **jeremy** » 02 Apr 2007, 16:23

Air does have the advantage of no LHM - so no fluid leaks etc. There are also many vehicles that have been fitted with air suspension including many articulated trailers so the technology and repair expertise is probably freely available.

It also has the advantage over the systems as fitted to the BX that its easy to control on a wheel basis and so can fight roll, rather than an axle basis where the hydraulics encourage roll.

Its interesting that none of the mainstream Citroen commercials have been fitted with hydropneumatic suspension but I expect the answer besides cost is that it would encourage overloading, and when problems did arise they would happen very rapidly.

Xaccers · Post by **Xaccers** » 02 Apr 2007, 16:33

jeremy wrote: Its interesting that none of the mainstream Citroen commercials have been fitted with hydropneumatic suspension but I expect the answer besides cost is that it would encourage overloading, and when problems did arise they would happen very rapidly.

Or their manufacturing partners (like Peugeot and Fiat or whoever they make cloned vans with these days) aren't interested in the the development costs.
It's a pity as you say.
As for overloading, how difficult would it be, from a technical point of view, to fit the vehicle with overload sensors to warn the driver?

Post by **CitroJim** » 02 Apr 2007, 16:47

Xac wrote:As for overloading, how difficult would it be, from a technical point of view, to fit the vehicle with overload sensors to warn the driver?

Easy, but would they take any notice of them

Post by **philhoward** » 05 Apr 2007, 19:38

citrojim wrote:
Xac wrote:As for overloading, how difficult would it be, from a technical point of view, to fit the vehicle with overload sensors to warn the driver?
Easy, but would they take any notice of them

Easy - put it in the starter circuit, or get it to illuminate the horror (STOP) light....!

AndersDK · Post by **AndersDK** » 06 Apr 2007, 00:40

philhoward wrote:
citrojim wrote:
Xac wrote:As for overloading, how difficult would it be, from a technical point of view, to fit the vehicle with overload sensors to warn the driver?
Easy, but would they take any notice of them
Easy - put it in the starter circuit, or get it to illuminate the horror (STOP) light....!

Even better -
let the abused car bottom out, so it wont move ...
as if you are 50kg's past the load capacity, it will suddenly snap down and have rearwheels like a beetle ...
That'll teach the driver

jeremy · Post by **jeremy** » 06 Apr 2007, 07:54

Oh of only it was that simple to detect an overload - if you put a sensor in that cuts if its overloaded - you then have to build in a system that allows the thing to take normal variations in load caused by motion - ie ruts etc which will create the impression of a temporary overload.