Test report DS 8962 BX 78 — page 5: measurements of car on wheels without front shock absorber

In this document

This sheet is the continuation of a test report ("DS 8962 BX 78 -continued"), page 5 of the STE AME A. CITROËN form p. 9.

First measured configuration

The car is on its wheels, without front shock absorber, with the 2 steering ball joints on the right side disconnected, 2 new Ø 12.7 ball transmissions connected, the roll links on the R & L sides connected and mounted (spring ball joints tightened to 2 mKg then loosened by 1/8 of a turn), and the 2 steering ball joints on the left side connected p. 9.

A table of measurements accompanies this configuration, two columns of values alternating essentially 81.5/73.5 for the first column and 8 for the second, linked by a brace indicating a synthesis at 8 p. 9.

Second measured configuration

The car is then measured on its wheels, still without front shock absorber, but with the complete front axle reassembled p. 9.

The associated table shows similar values (82 to 83 for the first column, 8.5 to 9.5 for the second), with a synthesis brace indicating 9.12 p. 9.

The page ends with a simple separator "-o-" p. 9. A small illegible handwritten mark appears at the top right of the title; it is not usable p. 9.

Context

Generally speaking, this type of sheet belongs to the test campaigns conducted at the Citroën design office on the prototypes of the future DS, whose hydropneumatic suspension was developed under the responsibility of Paul Magès, who joined Citroën in 1925 and was assigned to the design office from 1939-1940, where he drew the first plans for hydropneumatic suspension on 17 February 1944 (hydropneumatic suspension plans) before the presentation of the DS on 6 October 1955. Measurements of play and friction on the steering and front suspension components (ball joints, transmissions, roll links, shock absorbers) were part of the routine checks aimed at isolating the influence of each component on the car's behavior.

These contextual elements are based on general historical knowledge about Citroën and are not stated in the document itself.

Archivist's perspective

This sheet is part of a series of methodical measurements: it follows a previous page of the same report and continues the same "by elimination" test logic, by varying one part at a time — here the front shock absorber removed then the complete front axle reassembled — to isolate the effect of each component on the measurements taken p. 9.

The fact that the document is the direct "continuation" of another page suggests that it complements the Test report DS 8962 BX 78 — page 3: measurements of car on trestles, dedicated to the same test car but in a different configuration (on trestles rather than on wheels).

The absence of a precise date and the highly technical nature of the tables make a broader interpretation difficult without the rest of the report; it is likely an internal working document, intended for immediate use by the test team rather than for external distribution.