All Things V6...

[CitroJim]

Gosh David that is shocking... I'd suggest that Pirelli ought to know about this and see what they have to say. That should never happen.

Maybe there is a bit of a reason why Pirelli tyres are known in some quarters as 'ditchfinders'...

[DHallworth]

I agree Jim.

I had a new set of Pirelli P6000's on a Xantia V6 I bought and they were utterly useless. The P Zero's do seem to get some fairly good reviews though.

Will write to them later today when I get time. I'm fully expecting the whole "you've run it at the wrong pressure" pitch though.

David.

[Mandrake]

Utterly staggering!

I've always felt Pirelli's were a "premium" brand that get more props than they deserve - expensive and well regarded in some quarters, yet there are a lot of anecdotal tales of them not performing well or living up to their reputation, although this is the first de-lamination I've seen...

I get dinged on the forum sometimes for sticking with Michelin, but I've yet to ever have a problem with one, they're certainly not the cheapest tyre, but they're far from the most expensive too, and always seem to last well, perform well and most importantly be very reliable.

Every time I've had a Citroen without Michelins, (other tyres have come with the car when I got it) it's been a case of disappointment with ride, handling, wet grip etc and I can't wait to get them off and fit Michelins.

I would definitely bring this to Pirelli's attention David, if you don't who will, but I don't blame you for steering clear in the future! Pirelli were never on my radar, but they definitely aren't now...

[Hell Razor5543]

Don't Pirelli do the tyres for the current Formula 1 season? Haven't they had some spectacular failures this season? Didn't the drivers threaten to strike unless something was done about the tyres?

[DHallworth]

Simon, I will write to them later today. These were the first tyres that I've bought in years that weren't Michelin. The garage happened to have them in stock the afternoon we needed them before a trip to Manchester. A quick read of the reviews on my phone suggested they were good tyres so I bought two.

James, I believe they did now you mention it!

The wet grip, road noise, handling etc off them was very good. They were on the front so they were quite easy to gauge the feel of straight away.

When looking for 407 Coupe tyres the Michelin's were £200 a tyre whereas the Pirelli's were £153 a corner so I bought a set of 4 of Pirelli's thinking that as I was pleased with the ones on the 207 it was hard to justify an extra £200 on the bill for a set of tyres. Again, I was impressed with them when fitted from new but this has scared the bejesus out of me! I certainly won't be buying anything other then the Michelin's again.

I've just ordered two Michelin Pilot Sport 3's from my tyres so hopefully they'll be delivered quickly. What's really annoying is if we hadn't of needed Cheryl's car to go down south when we were I'd of ordered the Michelin's online rather then buying the Pirelli's from the local guy.

David.

[Hell Razor5543]

I would also (without apportioning any blame) show them to the garage who fitted them. Let them know that you are writing to Pirelli, and the reason for showing them to the garage was just to make them aware of a problem.

[CitroJim]

Michelin and their budget cousin BF Goodrich is all I've used for years now and never had a moment's trouble. I'm entirely with you on that score Simon.

[DHallworth]

Well, this is one of those times where I say I wish I'd listened to the advice I was given... I was told by my folks and Paul not to bother buying the C5 as I had no need for it and no time to do it...

Seems they were right on some parts... I've had it since April now and am only just getting round to finishing it off and have just had to order more parts for it today.

So far it's had:

Timing belt and tensioner - £80
Radiator and replacement pipework - £250
Tyres - £60 for a set of part worns with 6.5mm of tread on them
Genuine Citroen front brake discs - £60
Pagid front pads & rear discs and pads - £80
Exhaust - £60 for a second hand stainless steel back box
Sat Nav DVD Player and Disc - £40
Starter Motor - £20
Front brake caliper overhaul kit - £30
Two new rear brake calipers - £70
Genuine Crank shaft sensor - £25
Assortment of nuts and bolts for rear calliper disc retainers, arch liners, belly panel etc - £25

Total I've spent on parts so far is £800, add £275 to that for the cost of the car and I'm at £1,075 before I've got it through an MOT. This figure also doesn't include the cost of the ferry with the Range Rover and trailer to bring it home. However, I'm telling myself as I had a great day out playing with cars that the ferry cost doesn't count

It seems that C5 really don't like sitting around, much more so then any other Citroen I've ever had the joy of owning. Once I've done all of this and got it through an MOT it'll be a really sorted C5, it's in lovely condition and runs beautifully but it's turned into a bit of a money pit.

What's even more upsetting is that as I've no use for it, once it's MOT'd it's going to have to be advertised for sale which means that I'm going to loose my shirt on this one!

However, if there's any members that fancy a V6 C5 that's had a huge amount of work done to it and is in great mechanical condition, great condition inside it and good condition on the outside then this will make a good car for someone. Unfortunately after buying my 407 Coupe which I adore I've just got no room for a 5th car to be on the road.

Finally, if anyone has a headlight washer for a C5 then I'd happily relieve them of it as I believe this is now the only thing this car needs for it's MOT

David.

[Mandrake]

I don't know how you kept on top of the number of cars that you already had David, looking after one old car seems like a full time job to me!

There was a long period of time where I seemed to be spending pretty much every non-raining weekend doing something to this one...

Then you have the problem with cars that are left to sit and aren't driven often enough - not just flat batteries but the fact that as you noted old cars don't like to sit unused for long periods of time...it often brings on the rust worm and other problems...

Pity the C5 is an ugly child, or I might have been tempted...

[DHallworth]

Simon,

I agree to a certain extent but my Activa until this year hadn't actually seen a main road in 5 years! It went for an annual MOT but did nothing else until I decided I'd had enough of walking past it in the spring this year. My XM also lives in the garage over the winter and only comes out in the summer too. These two don't seem to have had any major hassles.

The C5 though had sat for 6 years without even being started. I start mine regularly and let the oil and water warm through and give them a bit of a rev after they've been running for half an hour or so before switching them off.

It's silly things on the C5 that are causing problems. The rear calipers are aluminium but use steel bolts to hold them to steel trailing arms and they use a small steel bolt as a pad retaining screw. All of which lead them to corrode and disintegrate the caliper housing itself.

David.

[KP]

Some mot testers aren't so stringent on the hid lights being cleaned so you may get lucky but you may have to start looking at the breaker adverts on fleabay as a few exclusives on there may have the bit you need

[DHallworth]

Already been looking Will but most people reckon they'll break when taking them off or say they're selling them with the bumper.

[KP]

Is it just the cover or actual assembly?

[DHallworth]

The actual assembly. It broke when it came off Luke's trailer unfortunately. I've got the body coloured cap but need the bit that sits below the bumper and pops up to wash the headlight that the cap attaches too.

David.

[Citroenmad]

Its unfortunate that your C5 is leading you down an expensive path, it can get like that with cars and C5s are pretty complex things compared to many. The rear calipers are indeed a design fault, our C5s have had quite a few rear calipers due to corrosion and the small hole which takes the pad pin breaking.

Stick with the XM and Xantia, 90's cars are the best ...