[C5 X7] Difference in driving feel / stability between 17" and 18" rims?

[the-termin8r]

Hi all,

I finally found a 3L diesel saloon last weekend. It was a little sketchy in that it had no service history at all (not even a handbook) and a spotty MOT history. But Diagbox came up mostly clean and the test drive was mostly ok as well, and for £2.5K it was a steal so I picked it up. I've got it booked for a full inspection at the Chevronic Centre on the 11th, what I do with the car will depend on what they come back to me with. So while I wait for that to come around, I've been giving the car my own surface-level once-over. The 3L is noticeably worse for wear in the interior than my 2L, so some trim will be getting swapped over.

Anyway, to my actual question. My 2L runs 17" Baltic rims, but the 3L runs 18" Atlantic rims (the car was sold to me with Cross Climate 2s, so I'm very happy there). I want to swap the wheels between the cars because I want the extra comfort of the higher sidewall, but it got me thinking. Given that the 3L is significantly faster, more powerful and ~200kg heavier, would the stability and driving characteristics be impacted significantly by the added sidewall height of the 17s? Obviously I'm not planning on doing track days or anything like that with it, I just want it to still be planted to the road and stable the way a C5 should. Comfort is obviously very important to me, but I'm not putting it above safety in this scenario.

Additionally, am I right in thinking that I'd still be ok to run my usual Michelin Primacy 4+ tyres on the 3L (regardless of rim size) or would it be better to go for something more extreme like Pilot Sports?

Thanks

[wurlycorner]

My 3.0 tourer runs the 18” Atlantic wheels as well and although I’ve not driven an x7 with the 17”s, I can well understand your observation about comfort provided from the 18”s.
The 18”s weren’t standard for the 3.0 they were an option, so I would assume the car is still fine with 17”s from a handling perspective.
Nb: personally despite the much lower profile and extra rubber width on the x7 with 18”s, I find that my x7 is much more ‘nose heavy’ and keen to delve into understeer, than either of my mk1 c5, which run with the much more narrow tyred 15” or 16”s! I think that’s just a trait of the x7 regardless of which wheel/tyre you have on it.

What condition are your 18s in and what will you be doing with your old 2.0 x7? Two of the 18”s on my x7 are unfortunately a bit scraped and I’d like to replace them with a better pair and we’re in approx the same area of the country. Perhaps we can work something out???

[the-termin8r]

I was always under the impression that the 18s were standard on the V6s (and maybe some 2.2s?) and that the 19s were optional.

I can't speak to the difference in balance between Mk1s, 2s and 3s as I only ever rode as a passenger in our Mk1 and 2 since I was only a kid at the time. But if I recall, my dad said that the X7 felt like a heavy car (because it is) but also felt more planted whereas the older two felt more "floaty" but not at all unstable.

In terms of the condition of the 18s, I haven't actually taken a close enough look, but I can let you know when I get home from work later. As for what I'll do with the 2L, that depends on what Chevronics say about the 3L after the inspection. If there's lots wrong with it and is too expensive to repair, then I'll keep the 2L and sell the 3L on (hopefully that won't be the case). Otherwise, I'll swap the bits I need between the two and sell it on. If I do end up selling it on, I'd be happy to arrange a viewing with you if you're interested. I just can't promise anything at this stage.

[Kees]

I also drive a X7 3.0/24 whit 18" and many times I wish I had the 17".
Even if I lower the pressure to 2.3 bar I'm not satisfied even small stripes on the surface of the road you feel them inside the car.
In other post I explained how I change the suspension system, that he stays in the soft mode, because I find that he went to stiff, to quickly.
Greetings,
Kees.

[wurlycorner]

Sorry, I've just re-checked the original sales catalogue that came with my car and the 3.0 did indeed come with the 18" as standard (I had seen elsewhere in the catalogue that the original buyer had marked them up as the wheels they wanted - but later on I see it lists them as standard anyway).

It's not really the 2.0 that I'm looking to buy, it's just on the wheels, really, so I end up with a perfect set on my tourer - I don't like the ride of the 18's but I like the look of the Atlantic and hence want to stick with them.

The X7 is more 'planted' but it's far less communicative and is indeed heavier. So despite the extra rubber and serious increase in power of that over my 2.0 HDi Mk1, there's no question I can hustle the mk1 through the bends much faster (and have a lot more fun doing so!).

[the-termin8r]

Ah, in that case I'm not sure I'd be able to help you unfortunately as I'll be looking to sell the whole car as opposed to just the wheels. I'm not sure there's many people that will buy a wheel-less car lol. Though there seems to be an offer at the moment at Citroen shop EU, £189 per wheel (without centre caps and presumably TPMS) which is cheaper than the £200 per wheel + tyre I'd be willing to sell mine for.

[wurlycorner]

Ah, in that case I'm not sure I'd be able to help you unfortunately as I'll be looking to sell the whole car as opposed to just the wheels. I'm not sure there's many people that will buy a wheel-less car lol.

I wasn't suggesting you'd sell a car on bricks
Swap (so you do have wheels on it ) plus a bit of cash, kinda thing.

Thanks for the other link - for some reason the site doesn't seem to load?

[the-termin8r]

That I'm open to. Have to see what happens with the inspection first though.

EDIT:

Thanks for the other link - for some reason the site doesn't seem to load?

Sorry, missed this part of your post before. I just googled "Citroen Atlantic rims" and it was the first or second result.