Citroenmads Citroen blog.

[Northern_Mike]

They are brilliant cars Chris, I'm glad you are pleased with it. That one in particular is very nice.

[ashy90]

I am suprised how everyone seems to recommend Michelin tyres on here. Some tyres really must be more suited to some cars more than others, as on other car enthusiasts forums I am a member of, pretty much no one recommend Michelin tyres. Indeed, when I had Michelins on the front of my Rover 214 Si (bubble shape) I was not impressed. They were OK grip wise - in the wet and dry, however they were not exceptionally good when you consider the premium price tag they fetch, and, like lots of older Michelins seem to do, the tyres started to perish/develop cracks, before the tread wore down.

They best tyre for the money I personally have found is the Toyo Proxie T1R. Yes they are a fairly soft compound and the tread wears quicker than other tyres, however the grip is brilliant be it wet or dry, more grippy than the Michelins I had - yet a lot cheaper.

[bxzx16v]

It looks like the cleaning bug has got you Chris

Mark

[Citroenmad]

I am suprised how everyone seems to recommend Michelin tyres on here. Some tyres really must be more suited to some cars more than others, as on other car enthusiasts forums I am a member of, pretty much no one recommend Michelin tyres. Indeed, when I had Michelins on the front of my Rover 214 Si (bubble shape) I was not impressed. They were OK grip wise - in the wet and dry, however they were not exceptionally good when you consider the premium price tag they fetch, and, like lots of older Michelins seem to do, the tyres started to perish/develop cracks, before the tread wore down.

They best tyre for the money I personally have found is the Toyo Proxie T1R. Yes they are a fairly soft compound and the tread wears quicker than other tyres, however the grip is brilliant be it wet or dry, more grippy than the Michelins I had - yet a lot cheaper.

Ive not really had a problem with Michelins perishing. My 2006 C5 still has one of its original rear tyres, it is slightly cracking but only surface and nothing which looks at all worrying. Though Im going to replace it very soon as the tread is getting down. I usually replace tyres in pairs, however the one on the other side needed replacing due to a split sidewall, so that is a new Michelin and I have a matching new one to make it a pair ready to go on.

We have had our Citroen Traction Avant for about 32 years now. Until this year it had never been fitted with a tyre in our ownership! It was on original spec Michelins and they were not new when my dad got the car. Despite them looking fine, with no signs of age and having a tyre place check them out and replace the inner tubes, we have since replaced them. Again with a set of brand new original spec Michelin X tyres - here is to another 30 years! I must stress that this car is kept in a dark and heated garage ...

The worst tyres I have had for perishing have been Firestones, I had to replace a pair after 3 years due to a perished sidewall which was an advisory on an MOT. Ive also had Firestones turn into the shape of a 50p peice. I dont recommend!

Yes, the Toyo T1-Rs are superb tyres and I have had them on a C5. I thought they were good, the grip was good both wet and dry and they even impressed in the snow. However the wear is quite rapid. I got 11K out of the fronts but the outer shoulders were balded smooth a long time before that. I got 18K out of my last pair of front Michelins and they wear much more evenly too, the shoulder on the NSF did rub off smooth near the end of the tyres life but not at the pace the Toyos did. Tracking and pressures kept a close eye on.

I was looking at Toyos for the Xantia, however in its size it is the CF-1, which is reasonable but could be better in the wet. Plus they were £65 each and so not a huge amount cheaper than the Michelins I ended up with.

As for Michelin performance, the older E3A Michelin Energy is ok but the wet grip is not as good as many other brands. They are passable but not great. I took them off my Activa as the wet grip was getting poor, tyres always get less grippy with age anyway.

However, the newer Michelins I think are great! We have three cars fitted with the new style Michelin Energy Savers and they grip in the wet very well. Two of our C5s, mine being one, have Michelin Primacy HPs, they again are great tyres and I can not fault the wet grip, dry grip, wear or noise. The only thing I would like is for them to give a slightly better ride, though that would eat into the handling performance. I wish the Primacy HPs were available in the Xantias size, as they are very good tyres but I am more than happy with the Energy Savers. I have tried many tyres and I I always come back to Michelins. They do also suit Citroens very well and seem to work well with the ride quality. Having experience C5s on many other brands the ride can be very negatively effected. Same in the Xantia, my HDi had Dunlops on the front which sent more bumps into the car than the new Michelins do.

I don't just use Michelins though, my Activa has a pair of Conti PremuimContact2s on the front (great tyres) and a pair of Pirelli P7s on the rear. I generally try and stick to Michelins though, however I do also like some Contis, Pirellis, Toyos and Vredesteins - superb tyres, another possible I thought of for my Xant.

I'll stress that I do not hang about, even in the wet, my tyres get well tested

I certainly have Mark

[bxzx16v]

Firestone tyres are just terrible

Mark

[Citroenmad]

I have been using the XM today, about 50-60 miles, just as it clicked over to 66K! Its quite interesting having both Xantia and XM estates at the moment, as its a good oppotunity to compare the two. The XM is a huge square box which holds pretty much anything you would ever need to get in a car. Its very open when you look backwards from the drivers seat and the rear window is a long way off. The Xantia estate in comparrison is like a 'lifestyle estate', quite curved at the rear, more for style than the XM but has a very good sized boot too. It feels quite closed off inside with three quite large rear headrests and smaller windows.

I have never realised how much I need an estate until this week The Xantia Estate has had all sorts in it from the 3 dogs to three big bags of rather heavy animal bedding and three bags of feed, all in the boot. The boot on the Xantia is not that much bigger than on my C5, very similar in length but obviously has more height. I have kept it clean and hoovered as I always do and am very careful loading so as to not damage anything.

I've given the XM a good clean today and have machine polished it too, its looking very nice! Magenta is a great colour Tomorrow I'll have to finish off the exterior and then the interior. Hopefully it will sell soon but I'm not in a rush However I am looking forward to having a few less cars around here, I seem to spend half of my time shunting them about to get others out. Ive used my Activa twice since taxing it, its behind too many cars at the moment

I am getting quite into this machine polishing now. Once I have finished the rest of the Xantia estate I will set a day aside to do the Activa. Im interested to see what effect it has on a silver car, as it is usually an unrewarding colour to polish, it always looks pretty good but doesnt do mirror shine like deeper colours. I also need to set a day to do waxoiling on both the Xantias.

Another not great picture, it was getting dark:

[red_dwarfers]

I don't know what it is but the two cars look like little models!

What my parents use to do was get hold of a thick offcut of carpet or some such material and stick in the boot, saved them having to worry too much about damaging their beloved Astra Mk2. The Citroen boot liner I picked up works for me for day to day things, fits in both the Xantia and XM.

I suppose you feel right at home in Paris with their close parking

[CitroJim]

I don't know what it is but the two cars look like little models!

You're right there Kev

Estates are useful but I've already amazed myself at what can be got in an XM hatch when the need arises...

[bxzx16v]

If your after a mirror shine on your activa Chris it's got to be dodo juice supernatural hybrid , it will look amazing i promise you won't be dissapointed if you try it , don't bother with the megs stuff . I'm looking forward to some nice pics on completion . Here's mine of my old dispatch and my wifes laguna .






Mark

[Citroenmad]

They do look a bit like models there Kev, how much easier would they be to park if they were!

The XM hatch can make an impressive load lugger Jim. I had two Big6 Traction gearboxes in the boot and all my luggage for a week in wales. I did wonder how the floor would cope with the weight as they weight an absolute ton

Looks like im going to have to get some of that stuff then Mark, lets see if silver can impress me

Well, the XM is done:






Now all it needs is a new home

[bxzx16v]

Fantastic work on the Xm Chris , I can't believe it's not sold yet . I wouldn't mind it myself but I wouldn't want to put it through a winter on the roads . I keep looking at Xantia estates and thinking I want one of those .

Mark

[Citroenmad]

Fantastic work on the Xm Chris , I can't believe it's not sold yet . I wouldn't mind it myself but I wouldn't want to put it through a winter on the roads . I keep looking at Xantia estates and thinking I want one of those .

Mark

It does look much better than it did Mark, its gleaming now

We have always kept all of our XMs out of winter use to try and preserve them. Though if they are waxoiled and kept clean, it shouldn't be too bad.

I really like my Xantia estate, im starting to think they look better than the hachbacks! The equal overhang front and rear suits it. Im looking forward to getting it polished up and looking its best

[CitroJim]

Gosh it looks gorgeous Chris If only she was an auto...

[Xantianut]

Ay up!

I have to agree - the estates are a better looking car than the hatches. Maybe someday.....

[Citroenmad]

What my parents use to do was get hold of a thick offcut of carpet or some such material and stick in the boot, saved them having to worry too much about damaging their beloved Astra Mk2. The Citroen boot liner I picked up works for me for day to day things, fits in both the Xantia and XM.

I suppose you feel right at home in Paris with their close parking

Ive got a rubber bootliner which is made for a Xantia estate on the way, hopefully that will make me less nervous about putting things in the boot

Ah yes Kev, I feel very at home in Paris If you can get two sheets of paper between two cars here its no good, it must be one sheet! I've even been getting some practice at going around roundabouts the wrong way!

Gosh it looks gorgeous Chris If only she was an auto...

Thanks Jim, it is looking very tidy 4 pedals, that is the correct number

Ay up!

I have to agree - the estates are a better looking car than the hatches. Maybe someday.....

Some of them, certainly!

I was reading a roadtest of an early Xantia Estate last night, headlined 'Estate of the art' Apparently it "oozes class and style"