www.citroën.cc

Renewal of this site

I’m currently undertaking a renovation of this site and updating everything. I hope you find it more friendly and organised. Lots more current info coming and i’ve tried to bring the links and references up to date. It’s a long term project with little time available to do it…

btw – anyone who says you need to understand the technology involved in these cars to be able to appreciate them is lying. They [mostly and usually] look great, they drive like nothing much else on the road and they often generate conversation with strangers.

Spend less time fixing and more time driving them!

Also they drive better the faster you go

7 _ March _ 2010

Rust

It’s everywhere…

I’ve found that many of the panel surfaces and edges have developed rust over time, especially around the doors and rear panels.

It does help that the bonnet is made of Aluminium, the roof made of Fibreglass, and lots of the fittings are stainless steel.

A useful paint product to reduce rust issues is the POR15 antirust paint [available from Permanent Painted Coatings in Australia].
I used their Marine Clean product to clean the surfaces down after a rub down [a bit of scratching] with a screwdriver and wire brush and before using the POR15. It sticks better that way. It sets hard and seems to suck the moisture out as it solidifies. tip – Buy small cans as the polymer content goes off fairly quickly in ambient moist air once you have opened it.
It’s ideal for areas like the edges of the bonnet, bonnet gutters, inside the back wheel panels, boot and door edges and anywhere on surfaces that are not visible but need rust prevention.[eg. under the c pillar rippled metal plates and on the frame anywhere]

Likewise I found a rubberised underbody anti stonechip spray paint useful around the inside of the wheelwells to keep it clean and water/mud repellant. Hammerite have some good products for this like their stonechip shield.

Wheels and tyres

The wheels are Powder coated – they seem pretty robust and still look ok after a few years of driving. They probably need to be done again to get a more correct colour grey.

I have two sets of wheel hub caps for the wheels. A set of the smaller and a set of the larger stainless ones. They both look good and it’s more of a mood type thing as to which I put on. The small ones supposedly are correct for a Dspecial but this car was delivered with the larger ones on here in Australia. I purchased the smaller set after buying the car.

I currently use Michelin 185 HR XVS Tubeless R15 – Michelin XVS are suddenly hard to find, and XAS originals almost impossible. Locally we can get them at www.stuckey.com.au as a ‘classic’ tyre. Michelin seem to be producing them in batches about once a year.

A full range of the original Michelins can also be obtained from Vintage Tyres in the UK but they are more expensive obviously having to import them to Australia from the UK.

There is some variation in tyres and their supply on the D Models. Most late models in Australia like mine seem to have been supplied with 185 on all four corners… they drive good! especially when they are new… There is a lot of discussion in D groups about the benefits or not of driving with XAS over XVS. And discussion about the merits of driving on Michelin or other brands, and often the discussion revolves around cost value for money etc. The Michelin XVS seems pretty good to me. I like the ride and they look good. And then there’s the obvious connection with Citroën during development of the DS.

Here is some helpful info that helps explain what the markings on the side of your tyres mean.

Michelin Car Tyre Sidewall Markings:

Michelin = Manufacturer’s name
Energy = Name of the range of tyres
Usually a Logo (eg. Energy)
185 = Nominal section width of the tyre (SW = 185mm)
65 = Aspect ratio or series (H/S = 0.65 ie. 65%]
R = Radial construction
15 = Nominal interior diameter of the tyre in inches: 15 (corresponds to the rim diameter)
Load & Speed indexes – These 2 elements put together are called the Service Description and are mutually dependent.
88 = Load Capacity Index (88 = 560 kg) The load index is an assigned number ranging from 0 to 279 that corresponds with the maximum load carrying capacity of a tyre. Most passenger car tyres load indexes range from 62 to 126.
H = Speed Category Symbol (H = 210 km/h) The speed index is an assigned letter ranging from J to Z that corresponds to the reference maximum speed at the associated load index
XVS = Tread pattern
TL = Tubeless
Xï = Michelin radial, registered trademark

• Maximum speed symbols for tyres:
  

  Speed symbol	km/h	mph
  N	140	87
  P	150	93
  Q	160	99
  R	170	106
  S	180	112
  T	190	118
  H	210	130
  V	240	149
  W	270	168
  Y	300	186

Ignition

Installing an optical system like Lumenition optronic ignition really helps with starting and keeping it going. You can get basic packs and performance ones with added features. My original one died after about a year in the middle of Sydney city at peak hour [no fun]. Not sure why it died but it had been there for a while before I bought the car.

I now have a good alternative installed called 123 ignition available from 123ignition. It has made a HUGE difference to the drive having installed that new ignition system with both more power and cleaner steady acceleration. I would recommend it highly.

By the way… Make sure you obtain and have with you at all times the socket extension for removing the Spark plugs. They cannot be removed with a normal length plug socket remover.

I also found i needed some spare wire to test the ignition when it died… i had to use speaker cable wire at the time. I now carry a small extra length in the boot in case it ever happens again.

Heat

These engines seem to run really hot all the time. It’s worth adding a heat blanket to the underside of the bonnet/hood. And the interior of the car is always hot – drive with windows down – also allows you to talk to admirers while stopped at the lights. I custom cut some “parking” silver relectors down from very large ones for the front windscreen area and back parcel shelf – it really helps in the sun when the car is parked somewhere outside – along with the heat in Australia, we have very high UV to deal with, which kills anything plastic fairly quickly.