Large, heavy load

I was asked to help transport an armchair over the weekend. It is the sort of task that Citroëns do well. The BX isn’t a tall car but you can get surprisingly deep loads inside and even when fully loaded the self-levelling suspension keeps everything nicely level. If you need to, the whole car can be lowered to ease loading or unloading. (So much for the virtues of oleo-pneumatic suspension not being worthwhile).

What I hadn’t planned for was the meanness of the specification of a base-model car. My old BX had a back seat that could be folded completely flat. Foolishly I thought my current BX would enjoy the same detail. I discovered that the seat back would fold down but there was no way to move the seat cushion to make a flat floor. As a result the chair wouldn’t quite fit and I had to tie the tailgate closed.

It is hardly the end of the world but it is an object lesson in not taking things for granted.

I’m sick of Citroën BXs

Maybe it is Thursdays, maybe it is me and maybe it is Citroën BXs but I’ve just got home (at 9:30) having left work at 5. On the way the low hydraulic fluid light came on – along with the inevitable “STOP” light. I decided to limp to Halfords to pick up some LHM (the green lifeblood of any true Citroën). Limping was the operative word, the back end was sinking lower and lower and when I went to stop in the car park I discovered that the brakes had gone!

After pouring one bottle of LHM into the reservoir I started the engine and went to check the fluid level. At that point I noticed the green puddle growing under the car. My spirits sank like the poor BX’s suspension; in the space of a week I’ve gone from having one broken car to having two broken cars – I suppose it is a kind of progress.

I’m beginning to formulate a hypothesis – you only get one bargain of any model of car. My first Prelude doesn’t count as I paid proper money for it and had 5 great years from it (longer than any other car I’ve owned), the second one was inexpensive and possibly even better than the first and the third was a disappointment. Now with the Citroën the first one was pretty good and the second one looked like it would be even better. Now I’m wondering if I shouldn’t have bought something different.

A blast from the past

Going through the day’s press releases (it is a tough, dirty job but someone has to do it) I saw a name that I hadn’t heard in years. The name was ZF-Nivomat which is a self-levelling suspension strut which works using the movement of the suspension to maintain a constant ride height. I first heard about it in connection with early Porsche 911s (where it was the Boge Nivomat) but I suspect the first use was either on the Range Rover or the Ferrari 365GT 2+2.

The advantages of self-levelling suspension include more consistent handling and ride because the suspension is not bouncing along on the bump-stops. Tyres sit properly on the road, which helps road holding and reduces the danger of uneven tyre wear. Even a slight change in a vehicle’s angle of attack can upset the aerodynamic performance of the body; i.e. a heavy load in the back forces the back of the car down and the front up, increasing aerodynamic drag. Even the headlamps work more effectively because their aim is not upset.

ZF were keen to stress the advantage of a self-contained unit in terms of simplicity and economy. In my experience pneumatic suspension and Citroën-style oleo-pneumatic suspension offer advantages that the Nivomat strut cannot match. What cannot be done is to easily incorporate pneumatic suspension into vehicles not designed for it.