'comfort' Spheres, Has anyone tried them?

GFS are supplying what are reffered to as 'comfort' spheres, I understand that they are the standard pressure but have a larger orifice, reducing the damping. Has anyone fitted them, if so how much effect does it have on the ride? All comments gratefully recieved.

Peter.N.

Hi Peter and All

I have just obtained a full set of comfort spheres to fit to a 96P estate. Mine came from Paul Johonson at the Oxford Citroen Centre. I had been told about 'comfort spheres' by euro car parts and decided to ask Paul if they were a worthwhile alternative. From this I concluded that it would be worth trying these to obtain a slightly softer ride. The spheres supplied to me were new in manufacturers original boxes from stock. l concluded that they were purpose designed to provide the softer ride and carried as a stock item by a specialist XM maintainer. It was only this that convinced me to try them. I will let you know how the car rides once I have fitted them.

Regards

XMexc

Thanks XMexc

I have to order som parts from GSF for the MOT so I thought I would get a set of those and fit them while I am doing it. I await your test results with interest.

Peter.N.

Well, I got them and fitted them today, you can now bounce the car like a CX! It has improved the ride on the road but not so much on the 1/3 mile of forest track I have to drive over to reach it, I think thats mostly down to the tyres. It doesn't seem to have adversly affected the handling, although I dont drive that fast.

My verdict is : If your spheres need changing, go for them, if not, wait until they do. I am surprised they make so much difference because the orifice in the standard ones is about the size of a pin, these are the size of a darning needle, compared with the non H/A suspension they are still very small.

Peter.N.

Just an update on the 'comfort spheres'. Now I have covered a few miles I can positively say that they do improve the ride. I think maybe I was expecting to much at first but now I have used them on different road surfaces and longer journeys you can definitly tell the difference. They dont appear to have adversly affected the handling, I have even tried pushing it hard round bends (not my style of driving at all) and it behaves impeccably, so if you want a ride like the Citroens of old - give it a try.

Peter.N.

Peter - that is interesting. What tyres are you using? I ask because I have a theory that XM comfort is a combination of tyres plus spheres.
Slainte!
Wendham

Hi Wendham.

Cheapies, unfortunatly, from what I have read Michellins are the optimum for comfort but couldn't afford them at the time. The tyres certainly seem to be a significant factor in absorbing small bumps, such as the flints in our forest track but there has been some improvement with the spheres even on that, but large bumps and hollows, providing that they dont have sharp edges, are absorbed very well.

Peter.N.

'comfort' spheres

What this all about then !!!!

If it was ment to have BX rears on the front in the first place then Citreon would have fitted them (*that is all they are*)

I put some on my xm to try out I do agree It make it softer but try it round a few good bends before you put them on

Then fit them my god it handling goes out the window no way will it go as fast round them or handle anything like it should (if your car was working as it should)

I like going fast round bends and know that I will come out ok at the other side and not hope and pray I will

If you are not into speed then fit them but you should have no need for them as long as your xm is working right in the first place

I have done several thousand miles on them now including a 2,000 mile + trip to the north of Scotland and in my humble opinion they have done nothing but improve the ride. I think Citroen fitted the originals to placate the growing market sector that believe that it is necessary to be able to corner at 90 mph and have rock hard suspension, hence the mania for low profile tyres which has ruined the previously good ride on many cars, the Audi A6 particularly, I was more than happy with the way yhe CX cornered and that was still softer then this. One of the main reasons that I changed to Citroens about 20 years ago, was for comfort and that is still one of my main priorities. To many people are watching Clarkson!

Peter.N.

Hi Pete

Don`t get me wrong the comfort is an improvement but the handleing is no way in this world as good

If ALL your system is working as it was made then there should be NO need for any other bodgit idea`s

The centre sphere gives you your softness but 9 out of 10 do not think of changeing them the leg one`s are to assist,

Mine is just fine as is all regased all done even the centre one`s drives like new

I found the comfort one`s tryed for test made it bounce for ever and handles like a donkey on bends but fine round town and no good at speed to much rocking and rolling

Well that what I have found and everyone can make there own mind up
If your happy then thats your choice, I`m happy the way mine works

It would not do for us all be the same

Bye for now

I have changed the centre spheres and yes they do make a great deal of difference but the new, softer spheres have improved it still further and for my style of driving they have made no difference whatsoever to the handling. Incidently the spheres ar not BX spheres the 'damping' holes are much smaller than the BXs.

Peter.N.

Hi Pete

Now I don`t want to get into some slanging match over this,
but I think you will find that they are BX Estate Rear`s

As long as you are happy then that is good

The way I drive is different to yourself and I am no way happy the way the car handles

Haveing said that pottering around town its fine and do make it better in one way,
at speed there is no way that I am happy to much rocking and rolleing for me

It does upset the hydroactive system, when in sports mode it still has a lot of bounce were it should stiffen up for better handleing.

I my eyes it should be left as Citroen made it, as long as every sphere is to the correct pressure then there is nothing wrong with the way it handles

Neither do I! Its horses for courses. I never use mine in 'sports' mode, wouldn't consider it necessary for my type of driving. But on the matter of the sphere type, the BX doesnt have 'hydractive', no centre sphere, so if you put these on a BX it would ride rock hard! If you used BX spheres, I would imagine that it would 'rock and roll'.

Peter.

Hi Pete

I think we must be at cross wires here

the outer spheres are the Bx estate ones that are fitted as comfort spheres and the centre ones are the xm spheres

As the centre hole is just a little bigger than the xm outer ones that make it have the comfort effect, a bit like the old cx`s were

I was not talking about fitting xm ones to the bx has that would make the bx like rideing a cammel

Get back soon

Most of the suspension movement on the hydramatic comes from the centre sphere, when the solonoid is closed the suspension movement is very limited, you can feel this effect markedly on the Mk1 where in 'sport' mode the centre sphere is switched out altogether, so the outer spheres are much harder than conventional 'two sphere' systems so the spheres need to allow a great deal more suspension movement. If you look at the orifice on a standard XM sphere it is about the size of a pin hole, on the 'comfort spheres it is about the size of a darning needle, still very much smaller than a BX sphere, if you compare them side by side you will see what I mean.

Peter.