Engine mods

Discussion in 'General Motoring' started by Carl Collins, Feb 2, 2004.

  1. Carl Collins

    Carl Collins Guest

    Ive got a Peugeot 306 xs and am wondering if anyone could tell mem how to
    increase performance?
    I am more interested in torque rather than top end speed

    Any help appreciated.
     
    Carl Collins, Feb 2, 2004
    #1
  2. Carl Collins

    Andrew Kirby Guest

    If you are keeping the same displacement, then you can't really increase
    torque without forced induction (turbo/supercharging). O.k. you could
    install nitrous, but that's an extreme option.

    When most people 'tune' thier engines, they allow the engine to rev more
    freely - this gives more power, but no extra torque, unless the original
    intake/exhaust was very restricitive (which it isn't on the 306).

    Alternatively, you can make the car lighter, by stripping out non-essential
    items. By removing the spare seats/wheel/running a half full petrol tank,
    you can pretty easily loose 10% of the car's weight, thus increasing the
    power-to-weight ratio. Done carefully, it's completely reversible, so the
    car is still saleable, it's free and it doesn't put any extra strain on the
    drivetrain, so reliability should be unaffected.

    If that doesn't appeal, then from a purely pragmatic point of view, it will
    almost certainly be cheaper and easier to sell your existing car and buy a
    quicker one - insurance on modified cars is usually expensive and the
    resale price will probably drop, so you get no return on your investment,
    whereas if you spend the same buying a faster car then it will be worth
    more at resale.

    All the best,
    Andy
     
    Andrew Kirby, Feb 3, 2004
    #2
  3. Carl Collins

    Carl Collins Guest

    So I could add a forced air induction kit and lose some weight in the car..
    The spare wheel can be removed but not the back seats as I need them.

    I havent brought 17"alloys etc because of weight but have bought a
    suspension kit to improve handling (40mm drop)..

    My engine is tappety recently and there is a clinky noise from the exhaust
    which I think is amy cat converter going/gone

    If I have my cat replaced and my tappets realigned should I expect some
    gains..
    I dont want to remove the cat because of MOT etc..

    Ive got a powerflow exhaust on
    And its going to be lowered with the weight reduction
    The Induction kit can be fitted soon.. Should I buy one of them chips for
    the engine to improve erformance and to go a bit bwetter on handling maybe a
    strut bar?
     
    Carl Collins, Feb 3, 2004
    #3
  4. Carl Collins

    Andrew Kirby Guest

    I havent brought 17"alloys etc because of weight but have bought a
    It's not my place to argue, but are you sure that's a good idea?
    On many mainstream models dropping the ride height tends to improve
    handling at the expense of ride comfort, but the stock handling of the 306
    is very well sorted to start with, and it is quite possible (even likely)
    that altering the suspension geometry (e.g. by lowering) will make the ride
    AND the handling worse.
    Um. By 'forced induction' I meant turbocharging or supercharging, not an
    'induction kit' of the K&N / pipercross cone-filter variety (which make a
    nice noise, but don't improve performance). Installing a turbo is
    possible, but it requires significant engine mods, and isn't cheap.
    Performance chips for non-turbocharged cars don't really do anything, and
    aren't worth the several hundred pounds they cost.

    If you want to tune a 306, I'd recommend you get a 306 TurboDiesel - they
    are MUCH more tuneable that the petrol variants. They have 150lbFt of
    torque as stock (compared to 119 for your car), and can pretty easily be
    tuned to give 200+ lbFt.
     
    Andrew Kirby, Feb 4, 2004
    #4
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