The hydractive car I'm driving also has more compliant spheres (including the central ones) but they have damping close to the original. I wondered at first if it was this 'rolling off the tread' lack of grip fom the rear due to a little more roll than intended, but as I mentioned the sliding back end was much quicker to start to move in the sport mode - when the car heels less - both on smooth surfaces and rippled. I put this down to the slight negative camber, a little more obvious on the n/s wheel but still only very slight (correspondingly the car was more likely to slide in a right-hander) as there was not even pressure across the tread, with the outside loaded the least.Rattiva_Mike wrote: There is one particular off-camber, long right hand uphill bend on my journey which can be taken comfortably in the dry at considerably more than what one might consider a normal speedIt induces tyre howl from the inner OS rear wheel as it slides slightly as the rear just get "dragged" round the bend. I can feel it through the seat of my pants going ever so slightly sideways, while the front stays planted. This is, I'm sure, something to do with the softer rear spheres than spec, and the enhanced roll. In the wet it does the same, but at lower speed, and it feels like you are on tippy-toes at anything more than 45-50mph. I have tried it faster in the wet, out of interest (and there's nothing to hit other than a hedge, always a consideration of mine) but it gets all hairy and you have to slow down, which of course induces the old lift-off oversteer. It's all fun though, and at normal driving speeds, it's never, ever a problem.
When the wheels were absolutely vertical a few years ago (or where they should be with new bearings) this characteristic was less marked, although still there if you weren't cautious of camber and surface changes in the wet. I suppose it is so obvious partly because of the highish speeds at which the suspension allows 'progress' without the car being bounced about, and partly because PSA cars are set up to corner with less and less understeer the faster and harder you go - and in the dry, corner so well. Go fast enough and you only have to think a good Xantia through a corner. Equally they are pretty stable if you do decellerate mid-bend.
But the electric cornering ability comes at a price - one which, with less than perfect rear tyres, suspension and camber, can send the back of the car sliding uncontrollably. The same design of back axle is what made the 205GTi such a drivers' favourite, but also killed many over-enthusiastic young people as its short wheelbase gave little time to catch the slide.
We need to remember that a Hydractive or Activa Xantia is capable of travelling and cornering at great speed with little fuss, in the dry at least -and that with the characteristics of the Peugeot rear axle, rear tyres should be as grippy as possible.
Wales is a wish at this time but it's likely a vanload of spares will need to go there... I'll tell more when I see you... It all might then make some sense 