Activated V6 driver

[Koukku]

For track use i would likely go for a 50 wieght oil as under temp it will be much better, and go for fully synth as well motul and a few other companies do it like silkolene?

Also if you are getting lighter alloy wheels why not just fit the track tyres to them for when you do go to the track and junk the spare wheel and carrier and jack and use the tyre rapier foams or your Car rescue membership if you have one??

You could also remove the rear window wiper and motor and use a blanking grommet to save a kg or 2?

15W-50 might not be good for cruising at normal 100 degree oil temps, which is what the car is still mainly be used for. Motul 300V is fully synthetic ester oil, and they recommend the 5W-40 for track use. Will see how it does.

At one point I actually considered getting the standard 15" wheels from Mk1 C5 for track use, as they weigh under 5kg a piece. But I'm way too lazy to make changes to the car every time I go to the track. And that would be a bit like missing the whole point of the Activa... you can use it to haul the family from A to B rather comfortably, and blast around corners like your rear end is on fire.

Spare wheel would be an easy diet, but the foams don't do any good if the wheel totally bursts. My insurance covers tow service (not sure if puncture qualifies as a breakdown/accident though), but with a spare I can continue to where ever I'm going. Still, those light C5 wheels got me thinking that I could replace the spare with a lighter one...

About the rear window wiper & motor... already gone. And the 7kg Odyssey PC680MJ drycell battery arrived on Monday. 8) I'm putting it in the place of the original battery (which is almost 20kg) for now, but the plan is to move it under the passenger seat at some point.

Yeah, I'm totally losing it.

[DickieG]

Remove front mudflaps for less drag?

[Koukku]

Remove front mudflaps for less drag?

And it would save weight also! And before anyone suggests: no, I'm definitely not removing the rear spoiler!

Lower ride height would have some real effect on drag, in addition to reduced weight transfer. I wonder if anyone has ever tried that with an Activa... does the suspension bottom out as easily as on a "regular" lowered Xantia? I might give it a try some day.

[KP]

In theory you could set the car up for normal ride hieght on the intermediate stage of the lever, then when you put it on the normal setting it would be lower anyway??

But really for aerodynamics you should get some form of rear undertray as it would help the most.
Have you taking the sound proofing from under your bonnet as well if you have any??

I can confirm the wieght difference even on a Xantia estate HDi90 from xantia steels to c5 ones is noticable enough, and if you combined it with lower profile tyres you would be onto a winner and would be well worth swapping the rims over. Would give you the chance to then put proper track only rubber on them?

I'd say you wouldn.t notice much difference between the oils changing such a small amount. I ran a 330bhp 5cylinder turbo and the oil on that got very hot some summer days(yes we do get them in the UK ) but still always looked nice and red/pinky when it was changed

[Koukku]

The aerodynamics is not something that I'm very much worried about. I'm more interested in acceleration and agility than top speed. The lower ride height would probably help fuel economy at highway speeds though, that's why C5 automatically lowers it's ride height at high speeds.

I'm a bit afraid to put 15W-50 in the engine TBH. It's meant to be used with 5W-30, 15W-40 and whatever falls in between. SAE 50 might be too thick for road use, even in the summer. At least here in Finland...

[Koukku]

I ended up ordering 12 litres of Motul 300V 10W-40 from Camskill.co.uk. It was almost 40 euros cheaper than buying the stuff locally, shipping included. Now if that stuff won't stay inside the engine at high temps (and judging by viscosity alone there's a good chance that it won't), it's time to install an oil cooler.

And while I was on the roll, I also ordered a set of Hankook R-S2 225/50-16 tyres from Camskill. 8) Now I just have to find the best price for the OZ Ultraleggeras...

Oh, and did I mention already that the Black Diamond discs and pads arrived the other day... they look quite mean being all black. Too bad it's just the coating, which will wipe away once they are put in to use. Which should be some time next week.

And then on to something more regular type of Xantia stuff... the stop light has been acting up lately, staying on for almost a minute if the car has not been used for a day or two. And more worryingly it sometimes stays on for about 30 seconds after stopping for only 30 minutes or so. The pump has a tiny leak which doesn't even reach the ground (no green puddles), so that shouldn't be the problem. And I was told that this leak can be easily fixed by changing a gasket without even removing the pump. The accumulator sphere was checked in last November, and it doesn't tick all the time, pretty close to 30 sec I would say. So I booked a doctor's appointment for the Activa for next Friday. The first course of action is to check the accumulator sphere and put hydraflush in.

[CitroJim]

That's crazy that oil can be bough cheaper in the UK than locally in Finland

The leak from the HP pump is a very common problem and yes, it just requires the replacement of an O ring. Even on a V6 it's dead easy but a bit messy

Although the leak is not reaching the floor, it will be reaching the alternator and slowly filling it with LHM. My V6 had a leak from the pump and the alternator was so full of LHM it actually ran out of it when I removed the alternator The leak, however small, does need to be resolved as soon as possible.

Changing an accumulator sphere on a V6 is a bit of a game becauseof its location and access around it but as yours is a manual, it may be easier without the bulk of the automatic gearbox in the way..

[Koukku]

Yup, the alternator looks a bit wet...

While waiting for the garage appointment, I went and ordered OZ Ultraleggera 7x16" wheels. Surprisingly I got the cheapest quote from a local tyre&wheel shop.

[SLYTZD]

Yesterday I ordered Black Diamond grooved discs and performance pads...

The Black Diamond discs and pads arrived the other day... they look quite mean being all black. Too bad it's just the coating, which will wipe away once they are put in to use. Which should be some time next week.

Did you get the full set - front & rear?

What do you think of them?

[Koukku]

Yesterday I ordered Black Diamond grooved discs and performance pads...

The Black Diamond discs and pads arrived the other day... they look quite mean being all black. Too bad it's just the coating, which will wipe away once they are put in to use. Which should be some time next week.

Did you get the full set - front & rear?

What do you think of them?

Yup, the full set. The rear discs weren't a bolt on job though. Either the discs were a tad thicker than standard, or they were not aligned exactly the same as standard, as they came in contact with the calibers. The garage that did the job (I still don't have a place to do this kind of stuff myself) got them to fit though. Not sure if I could have managed that on my own...

I have about 100km on them now, and they still seem to bite in harder every time I brake. There's no noticeable increase in braking power (not yet anyway), but I wasn't really expecting any. Heat and fade resistance was my main goal, and that shall be put to test the next time I hit the track. And that should happen within a fortnight from now... Motul oils should arrive early next week, and new wheels and tyres about a week later.

I did one hard braking from about 160km/h -> 100km/h yesterday, and the little rumbling noise the grooves make feels quite reassuring. Also, no squealing so far.

[Koukku]

The pads have settled in, and the brakes feel a lot better than with the standard parts. The initial bite is stronger, and even the braking power seems to have increased a bit. Could be my imagination of course, but I have a lot more confidence in the brakes now.

I got the new wheels and tyres installed today, and the first thing I noticed was how stiff the sidewalls are. It's amazing how much sharper the car turns now. Second thing I noticed was that brand new tyres and wet asphalt are not a good mix... almost ran wide at the first roundabout. Sadly it has been raining all day, and looks like more of the same tomorrow. Anyway, here's one quick closeup in the rain of the new setup.



It was quite a tight fit. When suspension is set to high the right rear touches the piping that goes to the fuel tank. And at full lock the fronts make contact with those mud flap extensions that the previous owner had put on. They will come off tomorrow...

The wide tyres do seem to wonder a bit on uneven surfaces, which was expected. They actually feel a lot like the Kumho Ecsta SPT's I had in my Xsara. The tread pattern is quite similar too. I need to experiment with different tyre pressures, as that seemed to help a lot with the Kumhos. Road noise has also increased (at least on the wet), but that was expected as well.

Current forecasts say that Thursday morning should be sunny, and it better be, as I'm heading to the track. Can't wait.

[SLYTZD]

Looks good, how about a photo of the rear discs to?

[Koukku]

The tyres made quite a difference at the track, although pressures were a bit off. I need to take a pressure gauge with me next time and do some testing with different tyre pressures. It took a while to get up to speed, but I managed to shave off 5 seconds of my personal best time at Ahvenisto. I drove a total of 33 laps, which adds up to about 100km and half a tank of fuel...

Oil temps are still a problem, it was getting very close to 150 degrees after a while. The Motul 300V oils did stay inside the engine though, so there is an improvement over Mobil 1. Water temps were normal all the time.

Those Black Diamond brakes didn't really impress with their performance. I got brake fade (pad fade probably) after 3 or 4 fast laps, and had to cool down for a while. I also got some vibration from the brakes when braking hard from high speed (150-160km/h) when the brakes are hot. This is probably due to pad transfer/deposit, where some pad material is deposited unevenly on the disc, which causes vibration while braking. This mostly happens with pads that are not designed to handle extreme heat...

Haven't had a chance to take any proper photos in good lighting, plus I don't have a proper camera atm either... but here are couple of shots anyway.





BTW, I'm moving house in about three weeks from now, and the new place has a big garage where I should be able to a bit of tinkering myself.

[CitroJim]

Oil temps are a worry on the V6.

Mine runs at 90 degrees just in ordinary use on a journey and it takes little effort to increase it.. Those owners of the MK2 V6 Auto in the UK are blissfully unaware of how hot the oil runs as they have a gear indicator in place of the temperature gauge...

If ever an engine needed an oil cooler it is the V6 but I guess the usual PSA method of using an oil to water exchanger might have overloaded the cooling system, especialy on the automatics where the coolant cools the autobox.

I reckon you'll need to fit an external oil-air cooler. You should be able to get a sandwich plate to fit behind the filter to take the oil feeds to and from the cooler. At least there is plenty of room at the front to mount one. Make sure if you do fit a cooler to fit a thermostat also. Oil running too cool is as bad as oil running too hot.

Your car is looking very smart

[SLYTZD]

Im sorry to hear that the Black Diamond's arn't as good as you hoped. I was interested largly because they're alot cheaper than say EBC & they make discs to fit the rear.