Mat's BX Blog

Tell us about life with your BX, or indeed life in general!
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RobC
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Re: Mat's BX Blog

Post by RobC »

I had the devil link pipe for a while instead of the cross box on my old valver, and it sounded nice pootling around town and on the B-roads, but on a motorway it was just too darn boomy for my taste!
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Re: Mat's BX Blog

Post by mds141 »

The valver can get a bit boomy on the motorway, if I keep below 66mph it's not too bad. 5th gear mod beckons I think.
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Vanny
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Re: Mat's BX Blog

Post by Vanny »

mds141 wrote: 5th gear mod beckons I think.
Ignore all those tools that say that it's easy!

Step 1) take the cover off the end
Step 2) Unto the 28mm nut
Step 3) Visit everywhere within 5 miles that sells tools and try to acquire a 12pt 28mm socket
Step 4) Loose will to live that you can get either a 27mm or 30mm but not a 2-bloody-8mm socket
Step 5) Take a few days off from car while eBay purchase arrives


That's as far as i've got TBH. Haven't actually counted the teeth on the relatively unknown box to know if it is actually a turbo 5th!
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Re: Mat's BX Blog

Post by Des Smith »

Vanny wrote:Ignore all those tools that say that it's easy!
... except the tool that is a 28mm socket

It does seem a lot of effort to achieve a slightly less frantic cruising experience. I assume someone's done it before and posted on the perceived benefits. Apart from a more relaxed engine at speed I suppose the fuel consumption drops a bit but I imagine there's a bit more change-downs to 4th on inclines. The 14 is a tad under-geared and it makes a bit of a racket at 80, but I either turn the stereo up or take my foot off the loud pedal. Anyway, it'll probably last longer if I don't thrash the wotsits off it.
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Re: Mat's BX Blog

Post by hilarystone »

The 5th gear conversion reduces the revs at 70mph by about 500 which is definitely worthwhile soundwise and fuel consumption wise. My fuel consumption has improved from around 30 to 33/34mpg ... and I do drive hard. In France, Belgium and Holland going to and from Citromobile I got 35mpg cruising at 10% above the limits... Which for a 160 bhp car is I think just brilliant.
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Re: Mat's BX Blog

Post by mds141 »

So apart from a TD fifth gear, I'd also need a new gasket for the end cover plate. Hilary, if I keep below 70 mph I can achieve 40 mpg. Towing the caravan, well it's at least half that!! :cry:
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1989 BX GTi 16 valve. Blanc Alpine. Completed the Citroen Classic Challenge Ecosse and 1337 miles without a hitch.
2000 XM VSX 2.1 td Auto. Rouge Magenta.
TGD saloon many years ago.

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Des Smith
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Re: Mat's BX Blog

Post by Des Smith »

mds141 wrote:So apart from a TD fifth gear, I'd also need a new gasket for the end cover plate. Hilary, if I keep below 70 mph I can achieve 40 mpg. Towing the caravan, well it's at least half that!! :cry:
Sorry Mark, but why would you own a valver and keep below 70mph??? You could do that with Fiat 500!

Fuel consumption is a funny thing - My MX3 returns better figures the faster I drive. I get ~22mpg round town no matter how gentle I am with the accelerator. Once I'm on the open road, I get 33-35mpg cruising at between 80-90 or thrashing around windy A-roads. I imagine it's all down to having a V6 engine.
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Re: Mat's BX Blog

Post by mat_fenwick »

I can see the appeal in lowering the 5th gear ratio, as IMO the 16v isn't an ideal motorway car. But sometimes they're necessary, so anything you can do to make them easier/more affordable without compromising what it is good at, has to be a win-win. I doubt that motorway gradients would need you to drop down to 4th much (Hilary?) but might get annoying if (say) you towed a caravan...

I'm well chuffed with the exhaust BTW - I get a cleaner pickup when I press the accelerator and it feels quicker. Can't remember clearly enough to say how it compares to a straight pipe, but would expect it to be less good. But am very happy with the noise/performance trade off - I don't think you would be able to tell from inside or outside the car unless you knew and were looking for a difference. Would be interesting to compare back to back with a standard TD this weekend (exhaust noise I mean, not a drag race down Wetherby high street!)
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Re: Mat's BX Blog

Post by Vanny »

Des Smith wrote: It does seem a lot of effort to achieve a slightly less frantic cruising experience.
Someone has clearly not been in a valver at 70mph for 3 hours! After the first hour you are actually, seriously considering stuffing it into the LTOC car in front of you, just to end the journey a little sooner!

Irritatingly I find that it's acceptable around 60mph, and acceptable around 80mph/130kph, but 70mph, just finish me off now!
wish full thinker wrote:I don't think you would be able to tell from inside or outside the car
Because there is no difference ;)
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Re: Mat's BX Blog

Post by hilarystone »

I doubt that motorway gradients would need you to drop down to 4th much (Hilary?) but might get annoying if (say) you towed a caravan...
No you don't need to drop to 4th for any motorway gradients but I find myself changing down to 4th a little more often when I need to get out into a stream of traffic or use a burst of speed to pass a bunch of vehicles. Really its no hardship at all and the benefits of a significantly quieter cabin and increased fuel economy far outweigh changing gear a bit more often. 16Vs in any case perform best when revved…That's part and parcel of driving a 16V revving the engine and listening to its wonderful note. You just don't want to listen to a drone when doing long motorway journeys.
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Re: Mat's BX Blog

Post by Dollywobbler »

Used to find 80mph in my Valver pretty horrific. 4000rpm IIRC and the boomy exhaust and frantic engine made it far from relaxing. 500rpm can make a lot of difference - a TD is far more relaxing than an NA D for that very reason.
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Re: Mat's BX Blog

Post by Des Smith »

Vanny wrote:Someone has clearly not been in a valver at 70mph for 3 hours!
No, not yet, and seemingly best avoided.
Vanny wrote: After the first hour you are actually, seriously considering stuffing it into the LTOC car in front of you, just to end the journey a little sooner! Irritatingly I find that it's acceptable around 60mph, and acceptable around 80mph/130kph, but 70mph, just finish me off now!
That's pretty bad... I can see the incentive for changing the ratio. I had a similar experience many years ago while touring through France on a Yamaha XS750 which produced a lumpy vibration patch at around 70 with similar set of options. Unfortunately, at 80 I got whacked over the head by an irate pillion passenger and at 60 I got so bored I was in danger of falling asleep. Both pillion and bike were traded in shortly after the holiday.

I get the impression that it's the exhaust and engine noise more than the vibes that drive you mad. Weird that it gets better the faster you go but there is probably some fancy resonant frequency stuff going on inside the body shell. Can't compare with my BX - its just progressively noisier the faster I go, but it would be interesting to know whether any of the bigger-engined BXs have similar issues.
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Re: Mat's BX Blog

Post by mds141 »

@Vanny. The valver certainly doesn't feel down on power, but then not having been in another one I'm not qualified to say for definite. I'll let you have a go in mine and see what you think.

@Des. I try to keep below 70 on the motorway purely for the sake of my licence. Those on the Classic Challenge 2012 will attest to my enjoying the higher limits of the valvers rev range. If I want a fast burst of adrenaline fuelled speed I'll take the Firestorm out for a blast.

If I decided to carry out the fifth gear mod, would the car struggle to pull the caravan in top gear on the flat? As it is, I have to drop down to fourth on gradients and occasionally third if it's a particularly steep one.
Mark Smith

Is it just me or is everything shit?

1989 BX GTi 16 valve. Blanc Alpine. Completed the Citroen Classic Challenge Ecosse and 1337 miles without a hitch.
2000 XM VSX 2.1 td Auto. Rouge Magenta.
TGD saloon many years ago.

1990 Swift 'Corniche' 12/2 aka BXClub HQ.
Honda Firestorm. Gone, but not forgotten.
2015 Triumph Tiger Explorer XC.
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Re: Mat's BX Blog

Post by Des Smith »

mds141 wrote: If I want a fast burst of adrenaline fuelled speed I'll take the Firestorm out for a blast.
...but only on a private road or a racing circuit, officer :wink:
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Re: Mat's BX Blog

Post by mds141 »

Des Smith wrote:
mds141 wrote: If I want a fast burst of adrenaline fuelled speed I'll take the Firestorm out for a blast.
...but only on a private road or a racing circuit, officer :wink:
Always. :D

Mind you, living in north Lancashire, the rural roads are my own private track anyway. 8)

Not that speed is clever of course. :wink:
Mark Smith

Is it just me or is everything shit?

1989 BX GTi 16 valve. Blanc Alpine. Completed the Citroen Classic Challenge Ecosse and 1337 miles without a hitch.
2000 XM VSX 2.1 td Auto. Rouge Magenta.
TGD saloon many years ago.

1990 Swift 'Corniche' 12/2 aka BXClub HQ.
Honda Firestorm. Gone, but not forgotten.
2015 Triumph Tiger Explorer XC.
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