Hard Ride on C5

[Triumph]

[:(]I have a 2.2 HDI Exclusive with Hydractive suspension. Having previously had a CX and 2 XM's on which I fitted 'comfort spheres' I find the ride in the C5 very hard. Has anybody tried alternative spheres for more comfort - would I be grateful!

[Homer]

There was a post recently where someone replaced their spheres with those from a 1.8 and improved the ride.

[Patxi]

Anyone coming from a hydropneumatic Citroën will find the C5 hard. That's the way life is.
I don't recommend changing spheres on the 2.2HDI.
But:
1st: Where do you find it harder? rear or front? (i personnaly find the whole car hard, even with Sport mode off - i tryed some 5 different C5's before buying mine - ),
2nd: Check out and tell me the rear spheres markings. Either 25 or 31, near the top.
3rd: what type of seats do you have?
By checking the tech data by Citroën, i guess the problem lyes on the damping of the front suspension. The pressure of the front spheres is 52 bar for you 2.2HDI and the V6, while the 1.8L and 2.0HDI have 57 bar. This is normal, heavier engines -> stiffer "springs". But the damping is very different. Check these posts :
viewtopic.php?t=6648
and for sphere info (scroll down a bit):
viewtopic.php?t=6522
I messed up with mine because it has no HA3+, like yours, the damper diametre isn't much different (but on real life is) and i can handle a bit the now added oversteer (thanks to ridding my Frontera); my Mum drives slowly, but usually i'm the "chauffeur", so not many problems with that...
But i haven't the faintest idea for your problem. [?] The spheres can't be drilled for changing the main damper bore.
How many Km's or miles does your car have?
It's just that i find cars with more Kms softer, due to material fatigue on the damping rings. Maybe getting the spheres of a similar car with more kms than yours...
Guys, give a hand here, please!
PS:I know what ride comfort is. 2 lumbar hernias....just grrrreat!

[Patxi]

BTW, do you feel any trembling on the steering (like having the wheel badly centered or twisted) when changing from intermediate to normal, or while riding on intermediate height, or on normal height while accelerating in 2nd gear in low rpms? (don't know if the 2.2 does this too).
Thanks!

[bencowell]

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by Patxi</i>

BTW, do you feel any trembling on the steering (like having the wheel badly centered or twisted) when changing from intermediate to normal, or while riding on intermediate height, or on normal height while accelerating in 2nd gear in low rpms? (don't know if the 2.2 does this too).
Thanks!
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">
In my 2.0 HDI (Non H3+) I get the first 2, but it is always smooth in normal height, I often use low RPM.

[Patxi]

Ben, the 3rd happens to me while the engine is a bit cold. after some 5kms+ (when hot) it dissipates.
Does this happen to other Citroëns (Xantia, CX, Bx..etc)?
I'm going to citroën to find this figured out - i'm a pain in the rear when in warranty period [:D]
Sorry for this off-topic bit Triumph.
If your car is still warranted, check out (in the "bug them out till they drop" way) Citroën for a BHI software upgrade. Latest release is from 2004. Might be a possible cure for your problem. Wasn't for me because mine is HA3 (not HA3+ like yours - a software correction might help in staying longer in soft mode).
I'm sorry, but can't figure out a viable solution for this...at least soon. [:(]

[bencowell]

I haven't got the H3+, so no soft mode for me.

[Patxi]

To starighten things up a bit, here's a small catch of the HA3 suspension:
HA3:
2 spheres per axle; automatic body leveling according to vehicles speed: the BHI lowers the car 13mm at speeds higher than 110kms/h, returns to normal under 90kms/h; BHI increases road clearance under rough terrain, if the sensor given information persists for a period longer than 20sec (+/-) by 15mm.
HA3+:
3 spheres per axle; same as above; sensors acknowledge vehicle speed, steering speed, suspension travel speed, etc, which the BHI uses to decide if the suspension should be softer or harder (sport mode - also available for the driver to decide by a touch button between the 2 suspension control buttons). Softer ride is due to the opening of the 3rd sphere valve into the normal hydraulic circuit. Closing this valve isolates 3rd sphere from circuit, thus turning the ride harder.
Corner spheres have lower pressure/higher damping than on HA3.
Considering this, HA3 is always on "soft mode", whilst HA3+ has soft and sport modes.
For further understanding, check out: http://www.tramontana.co.hu/citroen/citroen%20guide.pdf
Cheers!

[bencowell]

I understand that the H3 is harder than the H3+ in soft mode.

[Patxi]

Ben, believe me, if someone calls soft to HA3+, that someone has no sensitivity.
I rode both versions, about 2 months ago, when my sensitivity to pain was at max , in a middle of a sciatic crisis, on really bad tarmac to test the difference. To those who say the C5 with HA3+ is a Citroën i tell them that that car is a BMW M5 undercover...

[Milos87]

BTW, do you feel any trembling on the steering (like having the wheel badly centered or twisted) when changing from intermediate to normal, or while riding on intermediate height, or on normal height while accelerating in 2nd gear in low rpms? (don't know if the 2.2 does this too).
Thanks!

Buddy, mine C5 has almost new spheres but still has hard ride...several days ago it was raisen on front 3cm a back about 2cm using sensor to propert height, but after that it got trembling you mention while accerlating in 2nd gear in low rpms...? What could be the problem?

[Hell Razor5543]

Milo87, have you tried raising and lowering the suspension several times in short order? If there is air in that system that can help move it to the reservoir so it can then escape. Take the suspension to full height, wait for a minute or so (to allow things to settle down), then down to the lowest settings, wait, and then repeat a few times. It can also help to turn the steering slowly from lock to lock, with a 1 minute wait at each lock.

I am NOT saying this will fix the problem, but if there is air in there it should help.

[Peter.N.]

After running hydropnumatic Citroens for 30 years I had a 2.2 hydractive C5 and a 2.0. non hydractive, the 2.2 gave a much better ride, I changed the spheres and trailing arm bearings with little or no improvement, so I sold them and got a 406 estate which for a conventionally sprung car has an excellent ride/handling balance, I'm still running them.

Peter

[Milos87]

Milo87, have you tried raising and lowering the suspension several times in short order? If there is air in that system that can help move it to the reservoir so it can then escape. Take the suspension to full height, wait for a minute or so (to allow things to settle down), then down to the lowest settings, wait, and then repeat a few times. It can also help to turn the steering slowly from lock to lock, with a 1 minute wait at each lock.

I am NOT saying this will fix the problem, but if there is air in there it should help.

I did several push ups, but no such a waiting time between, will try to make 1min pause... the fun thing after I raised the car on sensors, it was fully comfortable maybe for 3 days, then again became hard... Simply, I was amaized how it worked over holes and bad roads, but unfortunately it last short..

[white exec]

Wonder if trapped air is being got rid of by a session or two of Citrobics, but creeping back in and building up after a few days of normal use.

Might be worth dipping a sample of fluid from the reservoir (I presume this is possible on C5?) when the ride is harsh, to see whether the fluid contains bubbles or is aerated.