Our Citroens, Xm, C5, C15-6, Traction.

Hi Citroenmad

The launch owners handbook (020 GB 7-89) lists the original XM injection 2.0 petrol as fitted with 195/60 R 15 MXV2 87H tyres while the 2.0 carb version got 185/65 R 15's. At that time all XM's were delivered with a 175/70 R 15 spare.

John

The XM looks great on those wobbly webs Chris, you've renewed my determination to find a set now!

Re the tyres, my S2 was on 205/60s when I got it, and I continued the trend. I put a set of BF Goodrich of the same size on it, and I must say it outhandles / grips the S1 in every way. The original factory spec Mich Primacy 195s that were on the S1, and the Prielli P6000s I replaced them with, are skitey as hell and I just don't have a fraction of the confidence in them as I do the S2. Going to change them to 205s soon I think.
The fat chunky look of the wider tyres really suits the XM (I can't believe even the V6s came with 195s), must find some pics of my S2.

Ciarán

Hi John, yes so it seems, i didnt know that. So the 'vintage tyre' on here is about 16 years old now

Ciaran, thanks for the nice comments They are a very nicely shaped wheel.

Maybe i should get a set of 205s fitted then, i would like a chunky set of tyres, it should give it a better stance. Although i will never use my 195s, so i best use them on here first.

So you notice the difference in grip on your S2, do you think thats mainly better tyres or the fact they have a greater contact area?

Hi Citroenmad

For a given tyre pressure changing the tyre width does not change the contact patch size just its shape. This is because the weight of the car stays the same. The contact patch is actually fairly small about the same size as the sole of an adult shoe. With normal tyre design the patch is slightly longer than it is wide giving the car manufacturers idea of best match between longitudinal force (acceleration and braking) and lateral resistance against skidding. Changing to wider tyres shortens and widens the contact patch so slightly reducing brake force and increasing lateral resistance.

John

Which is why it is best to have her wearing a good set of wet weather tyres when wider rubber is fitted, as the wider the tyre the more it wants to aquaplane, although mine, with 215's on, corners like its on rails for such a big car

D

I have 205's on mine, they do set the wheels off a bit better.

They do look better surrounded by a bit more rubber, ill see what i do, ill proably just get my 195/65s swapped, ive never had a problem with them and they are pretty new tyres. I doubt ill ever go back to the steel wheels to seems as shame to waste the tyres. They will fill the arches the same as the 205/60s but obviously wont be as wide.

Where do you get proper stainless side trim and bumper inserts and how much are they, the plastic ones I see are shockingly bad.

Your white car looks great, one of the best colours imo. Not that I'm biased though having had a white S1..

The front and rear bumper trims are genuine Citroen plastic coated ones, bought from the Citroen dealer about a year ago. I dont think anyone does the front and rear bumper trims in stainless.

The side trims are the stainless ones, we got them from a Citroen Car Club event, ill try and find the number or info for the person who sells them.

They do really improve the look of the car, so well worth getting.

Thanks for the comments, i agree, its a superb colour for an Xm

Not half..

Are the bumper ones inserts or the whole bumper trim.?

Any memory of the cost.?

The bumper trims are the chrome/plastic inserts, you pop out your old ones and pop the new ones back in.

Really easy to do, i sealed the ends of the new ones with some slicone to help prevent the water getting in between the plastic and chrome effect.

You cant really tell, unless you look very closely, that it has front and back with the original plastic trims and the sides with the stainless. It looks a million times better than the pealy trims from before.

From memory, i think both back and front trims came to around £150 - they obviously come in the shape to fit the bumper as they dont bend. I would think these are getting in short supply from Citroen now, it seems an easily breakable item to have in stock. So id suggest anyone wanting a set should get one while they are available.

The stainless side trims i think were about £80/90 for all 8 bits, they are cut to shape, you just need to pop out your old trims and stick the new ones in place. So you need some kind of bond silicone.

I think i recall someone mentioning front and rear stainless trims are available for the bumpers, although im not too sure about that.

Chris.

This post has been edited by Citroenmad on February 15, 2009 11:45 pm

Hi All

For the Stainless side trims I think one of our forum members, Techmanagain is the supplier. Not aware of anyone doing the front and rear trims in stainless.

John

So ive bought a C5!

I picked it up last night, its a 52reg 2.0HDi 110 SX hatch, with optional cruise control. This is the one which does NOT have a FAP filter - one reason i went for this engine - it should have a dual mass flywheel, but on my car it was replaced a while ago with a SOLID single flywheel, so no more problems there!

Its been serviced every 6K, run on Shell or BP fuel, always fitted with Michelin tyres, always gets anything it has ever needed from its previous owner - who has owned since it was a few months old, before then it was a demo for a Citroen dealer.

Its in excellent condition: looks, feels and drives like new, of course everything is working.

Its extremely economical, very refined, has lots of kit, drives nice and its quite responsive too. So yes, I really like C5 ownership so far!

I know sometimes C5s don’t go down well on here, however, after a really good run out in it today, brimming with 5 people, loads of shopping and 4 heavy bags of horse feed. 100 miles of very hilly twisty roads and still getting 46MPG, that is really not bad at all! (however i am told the dash display under reads by 4MPG, but ill have to see when i work it out - so that could be 50MPG!)

Pictures and an Xm vs. C5 comparison to follow ....

Chris.

This post has been edited by Citroenmad on February 20, 2009 07:37 pm

Hi Chris

Sounds like you got a good one, without that crap D/M flywheel which is good, will look forward to seing the pictures.
Did you get the number plate sorted in the end??

D

It does seem like a very good one, the more i drive it the more i like it

Its certainly a car thats alive with technology! (C4 i know) Where i park it at home is quite tight, means i need to go on full right lock to get it into the space, although i always straighten the wheel.

You know how when you drive the Xm on full lock, the front lifts right up and the tyres scrub under, then if you leave it like that with the engine running it trys to level to normal. Due to the flex on the tyres and angle of the wheels it cant so it goes up and down until you switch it off.

Well the C5 is the same, only it keeps on doing it after you have parked, locked the car and walked away. So i was busy doing something in the garage and noticed the car going up and down, was very odd the car just sitting there moving! Quite an odd thing really, i can imagine it would get some funny looks if i left it doing that in a carpark! Anyway, the system cuts out after 5 or so minutes, then it sits level - obviously parking it without the tyres being 'tucked' it wouldnt do it. Which means you dont have to wait until the engine is started until it self-levels.

It settles slightly over night, so its slightly lower than normal, when i come to it in the morning, as soon as i press unlock the car lifts instanty to the normal position.

It has quite a few quirky touches to it.

I did get some pictures yesterday at a CCC meet, with the Xm too, so ill post those up later, with a bit of an opinion write up too.


I need to follow up the number plate progress. I sent the form and V5 to the new owners, as directed by DVLA when i phoned, so assuming the new keeper has filled it in and sent it away i should have the plate on retention within a few weeks.

So i need to ring the new owner and see if they received the form and what they have done with it.

Chris.

This post has been edited by Citroenmad on February 23, 2009 09:26 pm