Suggestion for a sticky

Gingerposer · Post by **Gingerposer** » 08 Jun 2010, 19:26

Ok here goes. Would one of our more mechanically gifted members be prepared to write up a guide to "proper" suspension behaviour for us numpties?
The reason I ask is that while there are many threads with useful descriptions, there is not yet one single source which people (i.e. me) could be pointed in the direction of when we have a question which has doubtless been answered before.
E.g. how should Xantia (non-hydractive) suspension behave - how much bounce should each corner have when engine idling, how quickly/smoothly should the suspension go from high to low and back when doing Citrobics, should the nose dive under braking or rise on acceleration etc. Should a non-sinker sink at all overnight, what is the boot test etc, also common problems and how to diagnose.
Basically, a guide to
a) how each different hydraulic car should work properly
b) what are common faults which a novice might not notice, and how to diagnose and rectify these.

I appreciate that this is asking a fair bit of work but it really would prove invaluable and doubtless a timesaver as it would hopefully reduce repeat questions.

Or am I being thick and missing something like this which is already on the forum somewhere?

Cheers

Ainslie

Post by **myglaren** » 08 Jun 2010, 21:22

That is an excellent suggestion Ainslie and particularly useful to newer members who are unsure what to expect from an hydraulic Citroen.

Or am I being thick and missing something like this which is already on the forum somewhere?

Not at all. There are some rather disparate posts about it but they need to be either brought together and collated or rewritten.
We will look into this although TBH stickies are something of a problem as they push recent threads down the forum to the extent that sometimes it looks as though there are only stickies there.
The Supersticky subforum, meant to alleviate that tends to get passed over so an alternative is under consideration.

Post by **CitroJim** » 09 Jun 2010, 18:57

Ahh, I see exactly what you would like Ainslie. A great idea

As "Deep Thought" said in the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, We can do it but it'll take a while...

Hopefully less than the seven million years Deep Thought took to find the answer to life, the universe and everything...

Unless the nettle is grasped by someone else, I can tie that in with a plan I have to write all about how Activa suspension should behave. Subtract a few bits and it applies to all other Xantias.

Time, as ever, is a problem at the moment due to other commitments

red_dwarfers · Post by **red_dwarfers** » 09 Jun 2010, 19:31

Have you come across this linkAnslie?

Now my height correctors are working properly, I can whip up a video actually showing you what should happen with the sit in boot tests.

We could almost sort out a video for the more practical bits on the suspension varieties at one of the rallies this year. Could even setup a camera on one of Milton Keynes finest roundabouts and display the Activa travelling around compared to a hydractive in hard mode, soft mode and standard hydropnematic.

Gingerposer · Post by **Gingerposer** » 09 Jun 2010, 19:51

I have watched that link, and many other Citroen vids!

Post by **CitroJim** » 09 Jun 2010, 21:52

red_dwarfers wrote: Could even setup a camera on one of Milton Keynes finest roundabouts and display the Activa travelling around compared to a hydractive in hard mode, soft mode and standard hydropnematic.

Now there's an idea Kev

Ideally you'd need to film them doing a flick right to left on entry and exit rather than just going around a roundabout. That's where the differences are really apparent. Imagine going straight on at speed across a deserted roundabout. That, for me, is a standard test of Activa handling.

For damping tests, I have a favourite hump-backed bridge just outside Olney. If it bounces across the bridge then the spheres are not good.

Old-Guy · Post by **Old-Guy** » 09 Jun 2010, 22:09

Now I don't want to poor cold water on these excellent ideas, bu-ut considering the number of near-identical questions on flat spheres and seized height-correctors suspension over the last week or so, how do you get the un-initiated to read such a guide or watch a video when they currently don't read recent posts that answer their questions?

Post by **CitroJim** » 10 Jun 2010, 05:41

At least it's easy for us to refer/link to in reply Guy....

Saves a lot of typing!

citroenxm · Post by **citroenxm** » 10 Jun 2010, 10:01

Theres also needs to be a way of identifying "SPheres Gas" bounce and "Flat Bounce on the Diaphram" bounce...

Ive had cars bounce on the Diaphram unaware to the owner, I guess the best way is Oscolation Speed of the bounce - Gas nice and smooth - Diaphram short and many times....

Paul

Old-Guy · Post by **Old-Guy** » 10 Jun 2010, 10:17

Could explain what you mean Paul? Are you talking about the difference in 'solid' suspension because a. it's stuck on high or low (dog-bone gone) versus b. flat(ish) sphere ?

BTW I am amazed at the number of Xantias I see driving around on high suspension (often just the rear). I can only presume the owners bought the car like that and think hard bouncy suspension is normal for a Xant!

Citroenmad · Post by **Citroenmad** » 10 Jun 2010, 10:24

Sounds like a very good idea to me, especially taking videos of all of the range.

Its annoying to see Xantias bouncing around on flat spheres, most of the ones i see now ride very poorly. I guess its owner hates the car and can't understand where Citroen gets its magic carpet ride image from.

Gingerposer · Post by **Gingerposer** » 10 Jun 2010, 20:41

Citroenmad wrote:Sounds like a very good idea to me, especially taking videos of all of the range.

Its annoying to see Xantias bouncing around on flat spheres, most of the ones i see now ride very poorly. I guess its owner hates the car and can't understand where Citroen gets its magic carpet ride image from.

Speaking purely from my own experience, I had no idea that the two front spheres were flat, probably from when I got the car last September - I had heard of the magic carpet ride and wondered if I was expecting too much, cos it just felt like a normal car.

Now that I have had the two fronts done, the car is transformed, I was actually smiling just enjoying the sheer comfort as I drove back from the workshop!

XantiaDaveEire · Post by **XantiaDaveEire** » 13 Jun 2010, 12:41

I can only echo the comments so far

,i think it would be a great idea to see how a Xantia set up correctly should behave

Post by **CitroJim** » 13 Jun 2010, 19:47

On this subject, there are plans afoot to do some technical briefs at this years' CCC National Rally at Gaydon.

As part of this, a workshop on Activa suspension is planned. Although Activa based, it is very applicable to any Xantia or indeed any Hydraulic Citroen.

That should go a long way to meeting the needs of this thread and if one of our members with a video camera could attend, job's a good 'un...

deian · Post by **deian** » 14 Jun 2010, 17:40

may i suggest that to make this subject complete we could a make a cross reference chart too... so people with different cars (years, spec, etc) can find out what they have and go on from there, e.g pump type, number of spheres, h/a or not, anti sink or not, sphere locations for the different engine bay locations, etc

maybe have symtom/problem/solution. With the solution in two forms, a basic form as an introduction, and then like a further reading for more technical info

often a bit of basic education in one area can help people diagnose and find solutions to similar problems