Citroen Cx Prestige Pallas 2.4i Auto LHD - What do we think of the aero?

[320touring]

Having collected my mates CX, I had to have one.

ebay was scoured, and a LHD 2.4i Prestige (lwb) was found in Brighton.


A flight down to collect, and it was picked up with steam pouring out and a non charging alternator.

the steam was solved by tightening the coolant tank cap, as it was loose.

The alternator proved more troublesome and led to a breakdown on the m25.

It arrived home on the back of a truck whilst we flew up.

the doors and wings are rotton but I have a full set of spares in the car. the name CX is apparently the french name for Cd..

Anyway here are some pics!

[BabyDiesel]

It does have better aero game than most American cars

You will have flow separation at the back where the template and car deviate. Considering the car needs bondo and sheet metal, could you make a kammback to follow the template for even better CX/Cd? Maybe lowering it a few inches??

What was the original coefficient of drag? I like this machine!

[kafer65]

Citroen's have been interesting to me for their dare-to-be-different approach. I think of the "Duck cars" 2CVs with the sound of the two cylinders thumping around villages, the magnified bathroom scales gauges (barrel or cylinder gauges), shifter coming out of the dash that looked like the door release handles on american school buses and the one spoke steering wheels. Ah, the memories! The DS was very innovative and the HY truck was just plain cool looking. The Cactus is catching my eye these days for its aero.
I think the CX has a more grown up business like style to it. How's the ride quality? The approach angle on the chin makes me think it has a lot of lift at speed but I bet its smooth as butter going down the road. The headliner, however, is giving me post traumatic stress after redoing my old Jetta's liner twice.

[elhigh]

I envy you.

Firstly I envy your opportunity. You are a lot closer, physically, to Citroens in general. They never got a lot of play here in the States.

Secondly I envy your resources. The wallet must be willing when stepping up to Citroen ownership, with the exception of the Dyane and 2CV. Citroens aren't simple. They're French to the Frenth degree, a quality where design meets engineering in such a way that both stagger away from the experience wincing but happy.

Thirdly I envy your confidence. A 2CV I could work on, it being essentially a four-seat riding mower with a higher top speed. A Dyane is pretty much a 2CV with weirder bodywork. A Cx? No. So I will stand back and watch from the sidelines. I have no advice to offer at all. None.

[MeteorGray]

Quote: "They're French to the Frenth degree, a quality where design meets engineering in such a way that both stagger away from the experience wincing but happy."

Ah, what a brilliant and genuinely funny observation! (At least, as long as the French haven't caved into the paranoid and humorless American Politically Correct concept of "Safe Zones," as are being demanded by some spoiled US college students of late.)

To the OP, any progress to report?

[320touring]

Originally Posted by MeteorGray

Quote: "They're French to the Frenth degree, a quality where design meets engineering in such a way that both stagger away from the experience wincing but happy."

Ah, what a brilliant and genuinely funny observation! (At least, as long as the French haven't caved into the paranoid and humorless American Politically Correct concept of "Safe Zones," as are being demanded by some spoiled US college students of late.)

To the OP, any progress to report?

Awesome quote!

Have managed to sort the cooling issue, after managing to source a NOS replacement de-aeration valve..
https://fuguttycars.wordpress.com/20...and-damp-cars/

https://fuguttycars.wordpress.com/20...isappearances/

and started to figure out the issues with the charging circuit!

https://fuguttycars.wordpress.com/20...arging-the-cx/

Tomorrow I continue to chase electricity!

[MobilOne]

Good hunting! I would post it in French, but I don't know enough French.

[Piwoslaw]

Originally Posted by BabyDiesel

Maybe lowering it a few inches??

That should only take a few seconds in the CX (assuming the hydropneumatic suspension still works)!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KvhA11_TGNo

[320touring]

I got back to this today - Got a couple of mates over to help too, as cranking it over by yourself whilst trying to see what is happening in the engine bay is somewhat difficult..

Started off refitting the rocker cover and oil cap - looks smart! I may do some more details later..


A new spade connector was attached to the mystical wire that seems to let it crank.


Applied some power via a handy Volvo, but no luck!


Spark was an issue - traced it to a king lead that had came out the coil when the inlet manifold was moved - once reconnected, We got spark!


We then discovered that the car would cough and attempt to start. The Inlet manifold was flooded with fuel from the cold start injector, so it looks like the 4 injectors at the cylinders are not getting a signal to fire.

The next step is working out what Relay controls that feed - I may need to pull in someone who speaks electric..

[EcoMCA]

One of the other quirky aero features (as well as running rear wheel spats and self levelling suspension on all 4 corners) on these cars (Saloon versions) was that they have a concave rear windscreen. They were never fitted with rear wipers as this design was meant to have the added benefit of keeping the rear screen clear.
Another nice thing is they run longerons the length of the chassis pretty much on both sides which would be ideal for the mounting of under-trays.

They also run at the front a somewhat tucked-back front bumper (for the later S2 ones though this one is S1 with SS thin bumper - aero improvements here I would suggest could easily be made by fitting later bumpers and bringing the lower bumper forward to level with it's leading edge and adding a flexible lower extension, or in this case potentially mounting a lower custom bumper to the over-rider mounts.

Depending on how you feel about changing the looks of the car/making your own custom parts.

Other additional efficiency gains could be had by fitting an electric motor to power the Hydropneumatic pump rather than the belt drive and also to lose the aircon if it's got it (many people just drop the belt off in any case).
Obviously a conversion to manual gearbox would help but would be a fairly big undertaking. And there's also the option of swapping to diesel power (there were a few examples in Europe LHD models called the limousine which had the prestige body and spec. but with diesel)....if you could, I'd go with the S2 DTR Turbo 2 with intercooler engine as it's super nice and powerful for the time (120bhp - saloon version held record for a bit as fastest production diesel car) with plenty of torque (and can coax good mpg's) though there are a few caveats on that motor.

Oh and little niceties on the eco-tweakers front... they came with 2 mirrors as an option so you can in fact remove one and I believe there were also small rubber deflectors in front of the wheels (not sure if they were optional).

All in it depends how far you want to go with the car as to originality/looks etc. heck it's an ideal candidate for electric/hybrid (certainly the estate version is!) but I'd say it's a good starting point for an aero car and I think that aero-ing it up fits in nicely with its original design philosophy.

Regards,
EcoMCA.