2.1 SED Progress Report
Posted: Thu Sep 29, 2011 11:00 pm
Hi Folks,
Following the first long journey since the rebuild I thought I'd report back on the SED. For this years holiday we flew from Gatwick so the XM carried 4 of us and our luggage there and back (after a week away). Before the trip I checked over the usual items, tyre pressures, fluid levels, etc. replaced the last few unfitted pieces of interior trim, got the fuel gauge working and put £50 of biodiesel in the tank and 15 litres of SVO - this according to the fuel gauge pretty much filled the tank (it wasn't empty to start with). The journey there and back was uneventful, great comfort, enough power and after 400 miles there was just under half a tank left. Cruise control and working A/C would have been nice though. Currently the XM is running on a bizarre mix of spheres that I happened to have in the garage already and a couple I bought specifically. It's a long story but currently I have the proper front spheres on the back and a pair of front comfort spheres on the front. This gives a very soft ride that is good on most roads though I wouldn't recommend going fast (60+) on a undulating road. Because of the type of hydractive system fitted I can switch the XM into hard mode (it does stay in hard mode according to my status LED) and tighten up the handling if needed. I don't know as yet as to whether I leave the XM's suspension like this or not but currently it's still running on Hydraflush and I think the softer and subsequently increased suspension travel helps the flushing process. She's now up to around 150,000 miles with 1,600 miles since the rebuild, so I think it's time to give her another oil change before long. Same for the gearbox too.
Steve
Following the first long journey since the rebuild I thought I'd report back on the SED. For this years holiday we flew from Gatwick so the XM carried 4 of us and our luggage there and back (after a week away). Before the trip I checked over the usual items, tyre pressures, fluid levels, etc. replaced the last few unfitted pieces of interior trim, got the fuel gauge working and put £50 of biodiesel in the tank and 15 litres of SVO - this according to the fuel gauge pretty much filled the tank (it wasn't empty to start with). The journey there and back was uneventful, great comfort, enough power and after 400 miles there was just under half a tank left. Cruise control and working A/C would have been nice though. Currently the XM is running on a bizarre mix of spheres that I happened to have in the garage already and a couple I bought specifically. It's a long story but currently I have the proper front spheres on the back and a pair of front comfort spheres on the front. This gives a very soft ride that is good on most roads though I wouldn't recommend going fast (60+) on a undulating road. Because of the type of hydractive system fitted I can switch the XM into hard mode (it does stay in hard mode according to my status LED) and tighten up the handling if needed. I don't know as yet as to whether I leave the XM's suspension like this or not but currently it's still running on Hydraflush and I think the softer and subsequently increased suspension travel helps the flushing process. She's now up to around 150,000 miles with 1,600 miles since the rebuild, so I think it's time to give her another oil change before long. Same for the gearbox too.
Steve
Thankfully its the least urgent.