That 2.1 is back on again

[Peter.N.]

Hi Steve

I am a little confused with all these posts, or it may be just my age but have you bought the SED from Bridgwater that I looked at on Sunday?

Peter

[andmcit]

That's what I think he said Peter!!

Andrew

[Peter.N.]

Thank you Andrew. you will have to excuse me I've only been awake for about four hours, but he has not yet collected it, Right?

Peter

[jorgy]

. I'm looking forward to seeing what can be done with engine to improve it's efficiency and power.

Steve.

Steve, I just bought this: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... K:MEWNX:IT

Just a temporary cheapo to see what the turbo is doing (to start with ), mine has a working gauge but no...numbers So later we can compare values etc., great!!

The electronically controlled 2.1 has some not-insignificant improvement in torque, about 1kg extra (peak hp is same though) - I have the graphs somewhere-, and of course it can be tuned further (french ebay is full of cheap 2.1 eproms), so maybe that's a worthwhile mod to look at. I'm already browsing the net for tunning work on the XUDs...in France, TCTs are not the only choice of the Pugeriser team The Bosh mechanical pump should easily, safely, and cheaply give 130-135 hp, with boost and fuel tunning. This will be a very-very pleasant XM to drive!

That's great Steve, fantastic buy there, and a good price on sum, this XM is very pretty on the photos -only difference with mine is the plastic trims are not color-coded, was it dependant on color I wonder?-. So it's getting the Volvo alloys. Are u removing the trailer-thing or keeping it on?

Anyway, too early to ask these I suppose. Hope all goes well with the picking up! (Why don't u get an ebay matrix? I find they r posting faster these days prob as business is low).

S1 and S1.5 cars are my choice style-wise, inside and out, just love them. S1.5 is the best XMs to have if u ask me. Electric niggles have been fixed in June 1992, so any car afterwards is as reliable as an S2.

What S1+S1.5s miss from the S2 is soundproofing. S2s are really a click above in that -interesting to see ur impression also-. But that can be fixed. The airbags is the other most important thing that only S2s have.

On the other hand, a detail that many miss is that the S2 series became much heavier. Bear in mind that an S1/S1.5 2.1td will perform equally to an S2 2.5td, from memory the 2.5 carrying about 250kgs more at any time (ooops I just opened Pandora's Box ) The power-to-weight ratio is almost the same, and 0-62 is the same, 11.2". Obviously as air resistance increases the 2.1 will be slower.

cheers
G

[Peter.N.]

Steve

If you want to know how to find the house without crashing you car I will give you some directions.

Peter

[andmcit]

What you need to bridge the two input/feed pipes into the leaky matrix is a length of the existing
ally matrix feed pipe that the matrix usually connects onto in the footwell (if you have one spare!)
A twin male joint plastic plug would do the job nicely too of course - wonder if Machine Mart would
have one more suitable than Halfords although they'll do. Don't forget a knife and jubillee's and a
screwdriver...

and a warm jumper!!!

Andrew

This forum is agonising to use at the moment....

[xmexclusive]

Hi George

My practical experience of 2.1's against 2.5's suggests that your theory is wide of reality.
I ran a S1 manual 2.1 and a S2 auto 2.1 both for nearly two years each.
Used them as the weekday work cars as I had taken my 30k 2.5TD up to 51k in a 12 month.
In both cases during those times I had the 2.5 on the road and was swapping regularly between the cars.
I found that 2.5 performance and low rev torque dramatically improve the drivability for me.
It might just be that my driving style means I do not always get it in the perfect gear but the 2.5 is much more responsive and forgiving in those circumstances.
More recently I tried V6-12v autos (three over two years) and found them no more than equal to a 2.5 but an auto XM is always an easier drive.
The difference in fuel costs took me back to my 2.5's.
On vehicle weights as far as I know there are no published figures for S1.5's but I suspect they are midway between S2 and S1.
I was amused to see that according to the owners manual Citroen state that unladen a 2.5 is lighter that a S2 2.1 auto.

John

[jorgy]

Hi John,

No doubt over what u say there. Will try later to publish the docs I took weight and performance figures from, they r S1 and S2 -I do not know of official S1.5 figures either-. I've always assumed S1=S1.5 weight-wise. My S1.5 has side-impact bars in the doors, both front and rear, do we know if S1s had these?

Have u ever tried to tune the 2.5 John?

cheers
G

[xmexclusive]

Hi George

No side impact bars in S1's.
I have not tried rechipping a 2.5 personally.
I cannot say what the previous owners did to the cars.
I still keep more than one car active and regularly swap between them.
I do notice performance differences car to car but my main interest is in watching that the fuel consumption stays reasonable.
A high mileage 1997 2.5 that came my way was exceptional so much so that I formally asked my insurance broker if I was responsible for checking about chipping by previous owners. SORN at the moment and the ECU is incompatible with the earlier cars.
That incompatibility problem makes any ebay ECU chip purchase rather risky.
Good chance it may not work and no damage done other than the cost and time wasted.
The real risk is that in the worst case it could do nasty things to the engine.
Replacing the 2.5 engine is not easy. I would not want to part with my hard earned spares.
People seem to have unreasonably high price expectations if they have a 2.5 engine to sell.
Complete cars can be cheaper and 2.5's seem to fetch a bit less than 2.1's at the moment.
At least prices of both seem to be edging up a little.
Just right timing as of last week my XM buying days are now over.
Hopefully I have enough in stock to last me out.

John

[steelcityuk]

Hi Peter,

So sorry to hear of your mishap, those sorts of things really do get people down. I hope you get it sorted OK. The train station looks to be just across the road from the address he gave me.

Hi Andy,

I was planning on taking a good selection of hand tools including a mutil bit set and a flexible driver.

Hi George,

Yes I saw the one you bought, I did very nearly have a crack at it but on a whim bought the A170CDI. I'm pretty sure the usual head and manifold work yeild good results if the castings are as bad as the TCT ones. The 2.5 can be upgraded but I didn't look into it so I'm not sure if it's a flash or chip replacement. Yes I think I will leave the towbar on, whether I'll use it or not is another matter but it may help if another driver bumps into it whilst parking. I'm OK with the non colour coded plastic because I think it doesn't show damage as much. As you know I had the 2.5 but I found it too much trouble finding parts and working on it. Sure it's powerful and smooth for a four pot but not my cup of tea. I think you've opened a can of worms with those words George.

Steve.