My First V6.. (but not a fisher price)

Citroenmad · Unread post by **Citroenmad** » 03 Nov 2010, 21:45

Thats one nice looking Xantia, you dont see many with that colour leather either, very nice

Jim, I think you have started something here, just about everyone is after a V6 Xantia at the moment

Unread post by **CitroJim** » 04 Nov 2010, 07:52

Citroenmad wrote: Jim, I think you have started something here, just about everyone is after a V6 Xantia at the moment

They are good Chris. You really must try one...

If anyone is after a V6, there one available here!

citroenxm · Unread post by **citroenxm** » 04 Nov 2010, 11:10

Thats my problem..

I bought mine - see my Blog - for the leather, but had to make her legal to get her home, so after driving for 6 months, my mind was changed!!

hence my blog!

GET ONE While you can! Though we dont loose these like we do activas!

Paul

Deanxm · Unread post by **Deanxm** » 04 Nov 2010, 22:20

That is a very tidy looking car indeed and i like the leather too, i hope she serves you well.

D

vince · Unread post by **vince** » 04 Nov 2010, 23:51

Auto adaptive

Im loving that innovation !

I didnt know they did this

Precisely why i love Citroens....they are head and shoulders above others

Unread post by **CitroJim** » 05 Nov 2010, 07:12

vince wrote:Auto adaptive Im loving that innovation !

Nowadays it's pretty standard but back in 1997 it was a bit of a revalation in the autobox world.

It really does seem to read your mind Vince!!! It has to be experienced to be really appreciated....

It has six main modes, from "Old Git" to "Boy Racer" and it selects them on the fly by analysing how you're driving.

Press the S button and you develop a silly grin

So Chris, the S button does not stand for "Super Eco" but actually "Silly Grin" ....

Chris570 · Unread post by **Chris570** » 05 Nov 2010, 08:17

Well, after 5 days of v6-ness i can report that it is good fun. As Jim says the auto-adaptive is a very good idea (once you get to learn how it works so you can use its laws to your advantage its even better)

Did some towing with it last night, excellent tow car.

I'm back in the HDi today and was expecting a huge difference in well, everything! but what i found was apart from that pesky pedal on the left and the absent burble from the 24v beast they are very similar indeed to drive, comfort wise. This is of course presuming that you aren't driving it hard, in which case that vee-d engine will make mincemeat of the HDi.

But drive the HDi i must for two reasons, i do a fair few miles and although i'm sure the V6 *can* be economical i'm finding it too much fun at the moment to make it so. Secondly it really is a nice car and i'd like to keep it that way

Koukku · Unread post by **Koukku** » 05 Nov 2010, 15:39

Nice looking V6! The leather interior looks really great in that colour!

Chris570 · Unread post by **Chris570** » 26 Nov 2010, 14:33

Well it had its first service last night.

Begrudgingly I have to admit that Jim is right with his rule with the V6. "It looks hard but it isnt".

Oil filter and oil changed in 10 mintues. Air Filter in 3 minutes.

Judging by the condition of the oil i'll give it another change in 1k as i seriously doubt the old oil was doing much for removing deposits in the engine.

Spark plugs are for another day as i only decided to do what i did while parking up and it was getting rather cold out.

Unread post by **CitroJim** » 27 Nov 2010, 22:33

Chris570 wrote: Begrudgingly I have to admit that Jim is right with his rule with the V6. "It looks hard but it isnt".

Told ya

Ease of routine servicing is fully paid for in some other jobs that are a doddle on any other Xantia being a complete 'mare...

Exhaust downpipe anyone? It's a breeze if you have eight arms and steel-tipped fingers...

XantiaDaveEire · Unread post by **XantiaDaveEire** » 04 Dec 2010, 19:43

That is one seriously stunning looking Xantia

An absolute credit to its former owners

How do you find it on juice?

Have you gone on a motorway run with it yet ?

Unread post by **CitroJim** » 04 Dec 2010, 22:43

Not only does it look good Dave, it is also an absolute peach of a drive too. One of the best V6s I've driven overall...

XantiaDaveEire wrote: How do you find it on juice?

For a 3.0 L V6 Automatic they're surprisingly good. 35 on a run is achievable if you keep it in check and don't go silly and they're not bad around town either. About 26 - 28.

Better than an Activa

Chris570 · Unread post by **Chris570** » 30 Apr 2011, 09:38

Update time....

Well the friendly people at the DVLA have reminded me that i must give them some more money to *ahem* maintain the roads... so that means we're now at 6 months of V6 ownership.

I've just re-read the thread and i'll update my views accordingly

Do I still like the V6?

Well in all honesty about 2 months ago I was briefly tempted to move onto something else, but I had a think and decided that although it drinks fuel like its going out of fashion in comparison to my HDi it isnt a fair comparison and to compare the cars isnt fair on either the HDi or the V6. With this new mindset i've come to realise that it is very good for what it is (34mpg on the last tank).

Its a rare beast as well and if its driven as intended by Citroen its a wonderful car and a excellent Q car.

So in summary, No, I don't like the V6 anymore..... I Love It (mr ShellBPTotal does to)

update on the car...

Well, as Jim will attest I had a bee in my bonnet about the ride of my V6 (Swampy as SWMBO affectionatly calls it). It simply wasnt as good as the HDi. I've resigned myself to the fact that Swampy simply will not handle, she's too front heavy. With this in mind I decided to make it as soft as possible, ideally to match the HDi (which had replacement spheres a year ago). We tested the spheres and found them at about 2/3rds pressure, so i've replaced all of them and softer, yes but not as soft as the HDi, this was annoying.......

I then swapped the front corners for non hydractive items, again, softer, but we're still not floating. By this point I was getting fairly irritated with Swampy... she's done half the mileage of the HDi(Victor) so surely should be capable of achieving the same quality of ride...... I know that some although all Citroens are equal some are more equal than others.. but given that this is a relatively simple hydraulics problem I wasnt prepared to accept "Citroen Voodoo" as a cause.

By this stage we're doing pretty well but the back still seems too hard... standing on the towbar test confirms the difference. In frustration Jim and I do a series of back to back tests involving his fleet and mine and when Jim drives the HDi we find the problem (well he says its a problem, I disagree as you'll see). The rear on my HDi is under damped so will sit down quite happily and so floats a lot better over bumps. Its not dangerous but its just a lot less damped than it *should* be. Now I've done over 25k with the HDi like this, so i'm used to it and very happy with it so to me this is my "normal" but of course to Jim its not (hence my disagreement). After driving Jim's V6's I know that Swampy is actually quite healthy in that respect and so she's being left alone in regards to suspension.

Mileage wise, Swampy has covered about 4k in my ownership and although we're getting a slight short "chirp" from the crank pulley on cold mornings she's in good health. The gearbox hasn't missed a beat and for the most part I'm agreeing with Citroen's choice of the auto for this engine. I think that for this car with this engine the auto is best. (don't tell Jim I said that though).

Swampy still looks the same as before, as she's only used for special occassions and NEVER for anything where she may get dirty. Pennies permitting she may go into a bodyshop later on this year to have various bits put right (the spoiler colour choice was quality checked by Ray Charles) and various other niggles.

Well here endeth the Jim style update hope you enjoyed reading it

Unread post by **CitroJim** » 30 Apr 2011, 10:32

Excellent stuff Chris

Reading this as I await filler to go off on Robyn's sill that she badly dented on a low wall the other day..

Pleased you're loving "Swampy". That's the effect they have on you, as does an Activa

Yep, I think your HDi is under-damped but then again I have a real bee in my bonnet about damping and you will have seen in the blogs vis-a vis my Activa...

I like my ride to be very well damped. I hate roll and I hate bouncing - hence one reason I love my Citroens... I like their suspensions to be soft and taut..

Tell you what, do you want to try the rear spheres off my Activa that were suffering damping problems and see if that will help achieve the floaty ride you crave?

Say yes or no soon as they are due to go to Martin to be turned into accumulators...

Chris570 · Unread post by **Chris570** » 30 Apr 2011, 10:39

CitroJim wrote: Tell you what, do you want to try the rear spheres off my Activa that were suffering damping problems and see if that will help achieve the floaty ride you crave?

Say yes or no soon as they are due to go to Martin to be turned into accumulators...

yes yes yes