Xantia V6 Battery rating?

[155V6]

Could anyone tell me which battery I should be looking for to fit my Xantia V6?.The one that's on there has died,I'm not sure if it was up to the job so want to make sure I get one with the correct power rating. Cheers,Tim.

[CitroJim]

I've used diesel batteries on mine in the past. There's bags of room as the battery carrier is identical..

To be fair though the V6 is not hard on its battery at all. Generally they always start on the button and don't need much starter to do it.

The starter motor itself is tiny. I've seen bigger motors in Hornby train sets...

Mine is still running on the battery it came with 4 years ago and that was not new then, having seem previous service in a DS...

[Peter.N.]

You wouldn't be exaggerating would you Jim?

Peter

[CitroJim]

You wouldn't be exaggerating would you Jim?

Me? Exaggerate? Never!!

I've already told you that at least a million times Peter

[Old-Guy]

Jim certainly isn't exaggerating. The power required to spin an engine over is, crudely, a function of the capacity of a single cylinder and the compression ratio. That's why diesel with compression ratios of around 20:1 require a beefier starter and battery than a similar sized petrol engines. The cylinder capacity of a 2L 4-cylinder petrol engine is 500cc, but only 416cc for a 2.5L V6.

[Mandrake]

It's 2946cc though Guy, not 2.5L, so 491cc per cylinder. And 10.5/1 static compression ratio. Not diesel like by any means, but highish for petrol. (Mine had a cranking compression of 212 psi when I measured it, which is the highest I've ever seen on a petrol engine)

Also bear in mind that on a V6 the compression strokes of adjacent cylinders in the firing order overlap by 60 degrees, unlike a 4 cylinder where there is no overlap, so at some points in the rotation you're trying to compress two cylinders at once, although in different phases of their cycle.

It is very easy to start and crank over though as Jim says - just as easy if not easier than a typical 2L petrol, and it is a rather small looking starter which doesn't look at all in proportion to the size of the engine.