Citroen XM Forum

A couple of weeks ago i messing about with streamlining the XM, i got some of that aftermarket door seal rubber (8mm) and set about filling the panel gaps, so far ive done the bonnet shuts all round, drivers side panel gaps including the gap between the scuttle panel and the wing mirror casing.
The result has been a massive reduction in noise, actually thats not totally correct, what i actually notice on the motorway is a huge amount of wind noise from the passenger side (which i have not done anything with yet) in comparison to the drivers side, this is rather annoying as it isnt general noise all round the car, its now coming from one place.

I will post some pictures friday for opinions on what you think of the appearance with the panel gaps filled as im not sure what i think of it but it certainly makes a substantial difference to wind noise above 60mph.

Ive also had the O/S door cards off and added more closed cell foam, also silicone and super glue to remove any creaking and rattles from the cards and cubby boxes, hitting the modified door card now feels solid like a wall, the passenger side rattles when hit and sounds hollow so the N/S will be getting the treatment next week.

Anyone else tried this sort of thing on theirs or other cars?

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I found rustproofing my W210 Mercedes made it very quiet.
The other week I had the nsf doorcard off the Cobalt car and found it had no foam liner so after painting rust proofing wax inside the door I added polyethelene membrane and then some thin rubberised carpet underlay stuck to the polyethenene. That door now clunks more deeply when tapped and is quieter.

I can understand the panel gaps making a noise, the door seals are poor on XM.

interesting Will, citroen used a double seal and in places like the top of the door three seal layers where most cars of the era made do with one, i would add more but there somany already there isnt room to seat another.

ive also seated the plastic A and B pillar trims on blobs of high temp black silicone, this takes the echo and cheap sound out of them and stops rattles dead, it is very poor at actually sticking though so they should come off fine in the future.

Is that a W210 with 17" monoblock alloys? nice looking car if it is.

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Interesting idea Dean. Always thought the panel gap between the front and rear doors was a bit too big. A fill in job on that would help.
Can't wait to see the pics.

Dean wrote:
Is that a W210 with 17" monoblock alloys? nice looking car if it is.

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My W210 rode on 16" wheels, firstly the Avantgarde sports ones, then some W211 five spokes. The only W210 with monoblocks should be an E55, with 18" wheels.

The W210 is a great car and actually gets quicker as it ages, due to the body gradually lightening, using the Mercedes patented system.

I do love a monoblock, nice looking car though anyway, its got what in my mind is the iconic Merc shape but it flows well, doesnt have that boxy awkwardness of the 80's models.

Pictures tonight, im going home to unwrap it ready for tomorrows foray.

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Ok, opinions?

photo(14) by Deanxm, on Flickr

photo(13) by Deanxm, on Flickr

photo(12) by Deanxm, on Flickr

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Where did you get the trim strip?

You might need to put some clear vinyl tape onto any rubbing areas.

Looks like a good mod, let us know how it performs once it is all completed.

I got it HERE Will, it was cheap enough for an experiment and the right size.

Rubbing is a good point, the only rub point is the wing to front door joint but i may remove that if its an issue.

I will need larger seal to do the door bottom to sill gap and the A pillar behind the doors but the smaller tape was fine for adding to the existing plastic weather strip between the front and back doors.

I will let you know how it goes, i had 72db @ 70mph before installation but using a horrific free app on my piephone so its not accurate.

What made me do it was (do this when nobody is looking) when you blow across a panel gap the noise is pretty substantial, whith the gap filled there is significantly less noise, try it and you will see what i mean.

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Dean wrote: doesnt have that boxy awkwardness of the 80's models.

I much prefer the 80's designs to anything Merc have done since. The modern stuff is mechanically good but the design lacks any kind of character.