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C6 and Michelin Tyres |
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C6Dave
 
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    Member No: #1
Location: Northumberland |
At the moment we have several threads running with information about the Michelins tyres originally fitted by Citroen so felt it time to have a dedicated one! In line with other members (following on from my post about the pressure sensing valves) I checked my tyres carefully. I had to change the front 2 yesterday as they were bordering on dangerous. They were still within legal limits and from a tread perspective looked OK However, looking at the side walls there was some serious cracking and signs of 'perishing' but, only really apparent on the outside of both wheels, the inside walls looked OK. What was worse though is that you can see threads from the structure sticking out of one of the cracks right on the wall edge. Plus once off the car, the wall had a lot of flexibiity and had in effect, lost it's support as can be seen in this short video (choose 1080p and full screen for a better view). Having read all the previous posts on tyres I went for a pair of Falkens. However these, against all I have said before, ended up on the front of the car as the locking wheel nut tool gave up on us as a dumb trainee used it with an impact wrench to try and remove the bolts.:-# BTW the wheel bolt torque setting 9 ± 1 m.daN equates to around 75 lbs/ft With a bit of luck, we managed to get both wheels changed with the very dodgy adapter and some superglue so the Falkens were put on the front, not the rear which is strongly recommended by Citroen (and the police as my tyre fitter showed me a letter from them) To replace the special adapter means ordering one from Citroen via the code on the hex area e.g. E 6BR7 but at a cost of £46.00 and a 2-3 week delivery time So it's cheaper to replace the whole set, which from the likes of Halfords costs £35.00 But Citroen sell a replacement set of 4 bolts with a new key for around £25.00 - go figure that one out  So I'm waiting for the postman to bring the replacement set before swapping the wheels around - part number 9607.R5. There is some signs of cracking on the rear tyres as well, but nowhere near as bad so having to think hard about what to do about them as they have a good bit of tread left. Now when driving the car with the new tyres on the front the handling is much improved during cornering and feels far more assured. I suspect that the poor side walls on the Michelins were flexing to much in the corners, which as it was a gradual change, wasn't noticeable until the tyre change. Out of interest when I looked for replacement tyres this is what I found to choose from: Nexen N600 100Y XL @ £96.35 each fitted. (Budget option) Falken ZE 912 W 100 Extra Load @ £135 each fitted (mid range) Goodyear Eagle AYSM 100Y XL @ £166.26 each fitted Pirelli PZero 100Y XL @ £178.36 each fitted Conti Sport Continental CNT 3 XL 100Y @ £180.95 each fitted Michelin Sport PS2 100Y XL @ £207.93 each fitted So, if your reading this looking for a used C6, CHECK THE TYRES carefully and if in doubt, insist they are replaced as it could cost you a lot of money to replace a set of tyres. Reference threads to read are: - Click Here -, - Click Here - and - Click Here - |
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gmerry
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 Member No: #21
Location: Scotland |
Dave, good post and long overdue need to separate out from the other posts. I'm looking to replace at least 2 tyres soon, so will check out the Michelins for the sort of damage that you have seen. It's a bit rich for the most expensive tyre not to be up to the job. You didn't mention the valve cores: Did you end up with new valve cores or did you refit the old ones? PS, if you get stuck with a locking wheel screw problem, I have the special plate and internally threaded headed plain screws to facillitate the job, available for loan assuming the loaner pays the postage. See one of my earlier posts. Regards G |
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michaelb
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 Member No: #14
Location: London |
Dave, I can only echo gmerry's comment: it's shocking the dearest tyres seem to be the worst. They've been criticised for noise, one owner has already had to change them due to side-wall failure, I had a pair which had gone off-round, and now yours - which don't look old or abused - are falling apart. Shocking. Glad you got it fixed for a few hundred quid. I hope you put ordinary valves in while you were at it. I agree with Citroën that, in the case of front wheel drive cars, new tyres should always be put on the rear. I've had tyre-fitters argue with me over this point before but I've always insisted. The simple reason being that rear tyres are used so gently that they could easily manage five or six years which is too long. M |
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C6Dave
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Member No: #1
Location: Northumberland |
The 'valve cores' are standard ones and were replaced, nothing special about them at all. The stems were fine showing little corrosion and have cleaned up so left them all in place, just replaced the centres. Thanks for the offer but hopefully won't need it  New bolt kit arrived in the post so here is the picture. Ref 5406.09 is the 'key' part number - which are £46.44 to order from Citroen with the correct code, just for the key Ref 5406.02 is a similar part number - which are £38.96 to order from Citroen with the correct code, just for the key The Accessory pack of 4 bolts and a new key is 9607.R5 and cost me £26.92 including postage They usually fail by the 4 pins falling out so check for that every time you use it, if they do drop out and you can find them, superglue them back in place IF in any doubt about your key, replace the bolt set a.s.a.p. as you don't want to have to go through this: - Click Here - I could have bought a set of locking bolts for £16.99 from a local car spares shop, however they aren't dual purpose Alloy and Steel wheel fitments if the spare needs to go on so went with Citroen ones. |
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dsharples
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  Member No: #119
Location: Woodbridge |
I have a 10/2007 Lignage, with a build-date of late 2006 - and have the same issue with my only remaining original tyre. Premature side-wall fatigue. I suspect that many of these cars just "sat around" in compounds and perhaps are the worse for it. Some under-bonnet nuts/bolts/fixings also showed what looked like excessive corrosion for a car that I believed was only 8 months old when I bought it - and aroused my suspicions of the actual "early" build date. I replaced 2 tyres in January 2009 with Michelin Primacy HP 100Ws for £418.60. I've never had much luck with other tyres on Hydraulic Citroens. My previous XM's and BX's used to wear corners off Pirellis, and overheat Continentals - despite being premium variants, so I've stuck to Michelin (The 2CV and GS also prefer Michelin. Firestones are just to "hard"  )I will stick with the Primacy's, which are original fitment, for as long as they are available. Just after the purchasing the car, I also had an "old Michelin" blow-out on the A12, and had to be "recovered", as the locking wheel bolt was missing a "roller". I was none-to-impressed - having NEVER been recovered in the 8 years I owned my 1998 XM Estate. I had two business colleagues onboard in full smart suits, and they were trying to help! I had to send them home in a Taxi, whilst I waited for my (then) nice new shiny C6 to be recovered on the back of low-loader within a few weeks of me taking ownership. Also - be warned, the recovery company turned up with a 3 Tonne? low loader, and it really struggled with the C6. The trucks front wheels lifted as the c6 was lifted on my the hydraulic bed, and there was a crash down as the weight transferred backwards. The driver "felt" the C6 was getting towards his truck's limit - although he was much more careful when unloading the c6, and there were less dramatic movements. The Citroen factory warranty covered the supply of a set of replacement locking wheel nuts, and I purchased an additional "spare" to match the set - so I now have two "just in case". Just my experiences... Kind Regards, Dave. |
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C6Dave
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Member No: #1
Location: Northumberland |
Interesting, I have just been refused a new wheel nut tool under warranty. | ||
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dsharples
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Member No: #119
Location: Woodbridge |
In my case, the previous effective owner was the supplying dealer's sale director (although the car belonged to Citroen UK) - so perhaps they covered. In either case, I didn't pay for the "removal of the wheel" or the new lock set. Of course, my own recovery service (Britannia Rescue) paid for the recovery - as I don't believe Citroen Assist covers punctures/wheel locks - which is poor, as both My Wife's Mercedes and Dad's Jag assist programmes do cover puncture/wheel replacement assistance. Kind Regards, David. |
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C6Dave
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Member No: #1
Location: Northumberland |
Citroen Assist does provide cover for wheel issues. When my tyre valve went I couldn't get the wheel off to fit the spare (it had 'bonded' to the hub) so they (AA) came out and removed the wheel, fitted the spare I did then drive to the garage so don't know what would have happened if the wheel nut wouldn't come off. Would they have drilled it off or taken the car to a dealer? Fortunately I didn't need them to do that, but I wonder what would have happened if they couldn't get the wheel off the car because of a broken locking bolt adaptor. Anyone else been in that situation? |
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gmerry
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Member No: #21
Location: Scotland |
I've said this before, but those wheel nuts are a potential serious problem to normal situation (ie roadside wheel change). Even in a workshop they can cause grief. Better to throw them away or replace with an aftermarket reliable alternative (IMHO). Screw thread for the wheel "bolts" is M12x 1.25mm pitch. Regards all. |
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dsharples
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Member No: #119
Location: Woodbridge |
C6Dave, hands up - you are correct. Citroen Assist covers all incidents on the C6! Having owned many nearly new Citroens' this was never the case, and I notice is the "exception" in the Citroen Assist Guide. Well I've learned something - that will be useful until October, when my 3 year warranty expires. I also suspect that as my C6 had always been in the dealer network, they had to replace my locking bolt tool - it hadn't been used by me or any independent tyre-jockey, therefore should have been supplied to me in a good working order, which clearly it hadn't. Been stuck at the side of the A12 at night was no laughing matter! Kind Regards, Dave. |
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C6Dave
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Member No: #1
Location: Northumberland |
gmerry wrote ... I've said this before, but those wheel nuts are a potential serious problem to normal situation (ie roadside wheel change). Even in a workshop they can cause grief. Better to throw them away or replace with an aftermarket reliable alternative (IMHO). Screw thread for the wheel "bolts" is M12x 1.25mm pitch. Regards all.  I don't disagree with the advice but want to clarify a couple of points as the Citroen bolts are dual purpose.The alloy wheels use the flat face 'washer' shown on the right to secure the alloy wheels. The tapered shoulder part is used to secure the emergency steel wheel if it has to be used. If you go down the after market looking wheel bolt route then the set has to be flat face design, not tapered (I have yet to find a dual purpose set BTW) That means you have to get a spare bolt in case the steel emergency wheel is fitted as you can't run on 4 bolts, it needs all 5. You then need to ensure that you have a spanner that fits BOTH the Citroen Wheel Bolts and the after market locking bolts in the car, as they may be different sizes (I had to carry 2 spanners in the C4 just in case) Just a heads up for those of you who haven't tried that route yet  |
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michaelb
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Member No: #14
Location: London |
C6Dave wrote ... That means you have to get a spare bolt in case the steel emergency wheel is fitted as you can't run on 4 bolts, it needs all 5. Another reason, if we needed it, for the spare wheel to be a fifth road wheel identical to the others. I tried to buy a spare Roccastrada rim for this purpose from that scrapped C6 but sadly they had already gone when I rang 
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C6Dave
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Member No: #1
Location: Northumberland |
Actually, you could get an 8J 18" alloy with the same PCD and bore and use that as a spare (or get a steel one which would be cheaper - wheel details in the doc library) OK it won't match, but if on a long run, you can drive at normal speeds rather than the 55mph of the emergency wheel |
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C6Dave
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Member No: #1
Location: Northumberland |
Well I did 560 miles to Norwich and back and can now give more feedback on the 'Falkens' Road noise (on varying surfaces) is fine up to a certain point. However with the spoiler popped up + 5mph you can hear a 'booming' noise from them It's not so much an issue in the UK as UK roads are busy and the opportunity to do that kind of speed is limited) but I could see it being a negative point on a German Autobahn. |
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tonyrome
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  Member No: #15
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Thanks for the update, Dave. I wonder what the cause of this booming is? So, there's no definitive 'better than the Michelin' tyre for the C6, which has been found by forum members yet? Disappointing, as I'm not at all convinced about the Michelins, to be honest - and they're also extremely expensive, of course. |
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