Gooner II V6 - Reliable motoring at its finest*

[twosmoke300]

I would advise going for xl rated tyres for a goona v6 .

The early Saab 9-5 had normal rated tyres and used to wear the fronts heavily on the edges. Saab later changed them to xl rated

[mrbenn]

Echo the above, I have a set of 4 (actually 5, as I got another for the spare) of the Dunlops and they've been excellent. Quiet and very grippy. No experience of the Goodyears.

[SiC]

I would advise going for xl rated tyres for a goona v6 .

The early Saab 9-5 had normal rated tyres and used to wear the fronts heavily on the edges. Saab later changed them to xl rated

That is a very good point. However that also assumes that the car will outlive the tyres.

 

I don't think F1 Autocentre website diffentiates between 91/94 and XL tyres though... They do, but no stock of tyres in that size of Dunlop/Goodyear.

[twosmoke300]

The dunlops and goodyears are good tyres but very soft sidewalled and not very long lasting . Uniroyal rainsport3 is a good option

[SiC]

Uniroyal rainsport3 is a good option

According to the tyre label, they're very noisy though. Life is too short to listen to noisy tyres! Especially when cruising on longer journeys. I guess probably not much of a problem for Cornwall given the lack of motorways down your way?

[twosmoke300]

Can't say I've noticed them being any noisier than the good years . Those tyre labels aren't gospel tbh

[twosmoke300]

Goodyearsgo out of balance a lot too

[Sir Snipes]

Goodyear and Dunlop are the same company nowadays so maybe the same tyre lol.

I also have a theory about Laguna and wheel wobble. It's almost certainly wheel balancing and I reckon they cut the centre of the wheel a little bit off, maybe a couple of thou or whatever, but enough so that like 90% of balancing machines can't get them right. i think that's why people sometimes have to go to 3 or 4 garages to get their wheel balancing done before the symptoms go away. Can't prove it obvs but it's my theory. If it is the case then they'd need to be balanced using a Citroen solid-centre adaptor or some old school, still fitted to the car mechanisim.

[SiC]

Goodyear and Dunlop are the same company nowadays so maybe the same tyre lol.

I also have a theory about Laguna and wheel wobble. It's almost certainly wheel balancing and I reckon they cut the centre of the wheel a little bit off, maybe a couple of thou or whatever, but enough so that like 90% of balancing machines can't get them right. i think that's why people sometimes have to go to 3 or 4 garages to get their wheel balancing done before the symptoms go away. Can't prove it obvs but it's my theory. If it is the case then they'd need to be balanced using a Citroen solid-centre adaptor or some old school, still fitted to the car mechanisim.

Occams Razor.

 

It's probably because they cheaped out on quality to save costs.

[406V6]

Interesting to read this tyre talk. I've always put Michelins on mine because that's what you do with a Peugeot. Or at least that's what I thought. Every time I need to put a new pair of tyres on (always in pairs) the tyre model has changed since the last time I bought some. Most recent ones were Energy savers or something like that but they were much more expensive - £90 each. Never considered Dunlops. Excuse my ignorance but what does XL mean ?

[twosmoke300]

Extra load . For cars with higher axle loads . Used to be for people carriers etc but I serviced a fiesta the other day that had them from factory

[Sir Snipes]

Most budget tyres in sporty sizes are XL. Don't know why.

[rainagain]

Most budget tyres in sporty sizes are XL. Don't know why.

Higher load rating = stiffer sidewall = better handling???

[SiC]

Most budget tyres in sporty sizes are XL. Don't know why.

I noticed this. I reckon it's because if they're rated for XL then they're suitable for XL required cars and non-XL. This would mean they only have to produce one set of tyres to suit many models.

[beko1987]

The dunlops and goodyears are good tyres but very soft sidewalled and not very long lasting . Uniroyal rainsport3 is a good option

My zx wore the fronts of my set of rains port 3s down quite quickly, and that was a light car.

 

Their not even on my radar for xantia tyre choices I must say with the extra weight.

[Sir Snipes]

I noticed this. I reckon it's because if they're rated for XL then they're suitable for XL required cars and non-XL. This would mean they only have to produce one set of tyres to suit many models.

More or less my conclusion too. As to why most budgets are marked M&S when the tread is blatantly a summer pattern I couldn't decide, except for shadyness!

[SiC]

Wife called me out when she got home to look at the car.

Wipers are on and this is where they got to and stopped. At max speed they occasionally run for a bit. Moving the stalk doesn't make them park.

 

 

Fucksticks. It must know that the Saab is going tomorrow and it's due to rain over the weekend. Not quite sure just yet where to start looking.

 

Wife's reaction ... "Oh well. It's had a good run without having any problems."

[SiC]

Moving the stalk, I can't hear the relay click until it moves to the full speed position. Pointing to a dodgy UCH. I hope water hasn't got in somewhere that it shouldn't have!

[Kiltox]

Balls.

 

I'll have some spare parts soon I think....

[alcyonecorporation]

The dunlops and goodyears are good tyres but very soft sidewalled and not very long lasting . Uniroyal rainsport3 is a good option

That'll be why the Leonard chewed through a set of BluResponse fronts in 14,000 miles then.

[Guest Hooli]

 Pointing to a dodgy UCH.

 

I've got a completely fucked UCH if you want to swap, then you can refit yours & feel great that most of your car is working

 

Oh & everytime my UCH got wet there was water on plastic sill cover, so if that's dry your UCH should be.

[SiC]

Yeah probably be useful! Looking at the wiring diagram, there are 2 relays - one for high speed, one for low+intermittent speeds and a switch (that goes to the UCH). The high speed relay clicks into action, but the low speed doesn't seem to do anything.

 

So either must be the switch is stuck or the low speed relay doesn't work. The switch I think is unlikely, as I'd expect I'd it was stuck on or off, it'd be driving it all the time. So probably low speed relay. Unfortunately the relay for both are are non-replacible. I'll have to either solder/resolder a relay from another, or swap the fusebox part over from a known good one.

 

Luckily Renault make it reasonably easy to swap the fuse box part over without affecting the UCH.

[chaseracer]

That'll be why the Leonard chewed through a set of BluResponse fronts in 14,000 miles then.

 

That'll be your "enthusiastic driving style", Jon... 

[SiC]

So yeah, it's been a year today since I picked this up. Apart from the fixes at the beginning, it's required a £25 coil pack and a £20 second hand wiper motor!

 

Over nearly 8k miles, it been a comfortable, reliable runner. I get 18-20mpg around town, while the wife gets 22-24mpg - must be my heavy right foot. Cruised down to Devon last weekend and despite getting stuck in stop+start motorway traffic it managed 31mpg. Not bad for a 3l v6 auto!

 

Despite having it for a year, I have not got bored of this yet. Still makes me giggle when I floor it and get that v6 growl. Shame it corners rubbish - I especially notice it when swapping from the Smart Roadster to this. But then it's very comfortable over the bumps. The compromise I guess.

 

I really bought this as something for me to fiddle with and a bit of a project. As that, it's been a failure as it's been exceedingly reliable and dependable​. So much for the supposed Laguna II bad reputation.

[stripped fred]

As that, it's been a failure as it's been exceedingly reliable and dependable​. So much for the supposed Laguna II bad reputation.

Now you've said that something will go wrong!

[SiC]

Now you've said that something will go wrong!

At this point, given it's the least I've ever lost on a car per month that even if it blew up and was worth £0, I wouldn't be bothered! Very much worry free motoring. What's more, the harder you use the engine the more it seems to love it.

 

I meant to check the mileage, it's almost about to tick over to 100k and I have to catch that on camera...

[SiC]

In fact if it did blow up, it'd give me a perfect excuse to get something else.

 

However it doesn't feel or seem like it wants to properly break anytime soon.

[SiC]

It was my wife and I wedding anniversary at the weekend, so we decided to look around a big house over Aylesbury way in the Laguna. Unfortunately you can't drive up to the front of the house, which is a shame as the Laguna would fit right in.

 

Averaged 32mpg on the whole journey including plenty of full throttle blasts. Pretty reasonable for a auto V6 imo.

 

Had a bit of fun on the A41 when a new shiny bright white BMW 418d was tailgating me when I was doing the speed limit*, decided to pull out on the outside lane at the start of a dual carriageway stretch. I decided to boot it and saw him disappear in my rear view mirror. He pulled in and didn't bother me again. Fun, but a bit childish!

 

Now the final thing is that after a year and a month, I'm considering selling this. All is pretty much still working - just the tyre pressure sensors not giving a reading (despite being changing but not MOT item) and headlight washers which I'm going to try and make time to look at this weekend.

 

Still need to find something else suitable to replace it. Surprisingly not that easy given it's performance, toys and cheapness to run (parts, ease and if crusing, fuel economy).

[Guest Hooli]

How about a nice Saab?

 

 

Not mine though, I'm keeping it.

[SiC]

That's exactly what I'm thinking! One of the last new Saab 9-5.