205 SI best performance modifications

Yeah but you'll need bigger rims than 14's for the discs to fit. That's the story for 307/206 conversion anyway.

I think...wait and see what others say.
 
My flatmate has an SI with gti suspension. 14inch rims with good rubber and koni shocks. Handles brilliantly on the road! There's not much effort required to change it over. Most bits would be available from this forum for not much money. Even fitting gti torsion and arb at the rear would be a start. Engine is pretty poor though unless you wind it up..

Sounds like my mates old car - doesn't happen to be white?
 
Toss the carb as well and fit an aftermarket ECU.
 
if you want some real go fast bits contact baker and bm bushings for suspension bits and pug1off for go engine/gear box
bits. they are both located in the UK but offer really good service and top notch parts.
 
No, 306 discs bolt straight on, 306s have 14 inch wheels don't forget.306 rear drums are the same size as 205 Si ones.
Graham

Yeah but you'll need bigger rims than 14's for the discs to fit. That's the story for 307/206 conversion anyway.

I think...wait and see what others say.
 
Thanks Graham,
I've been doing a lot of trawling around the net looking for info on this upgrade, and as I understand it the 306 front discs/calipers will bolt straight on while I need discs/calipers/trailing arms for the rear, keeping my SI rear beam. Can you confirm this is correct?
 
Fitting 306 rotors and calipers to 205 Si.

As mentioned by others 306 rotors and calipers are a direct fit onto a 205 Si.
The rotors are the same diameter, 247mm.
However the 306 rotors are ventilated and thicker.
306 calipers are bigger than Si and have greater pad area.
Fitting is quick and easy with the hardest part being getting the rotor retaining screws out.
Took about 4 hour but in that time I also changed LH driveshaft and LH strut and drained and refilled auto trans.
The brake changeover itself would take less than an hour plus brake bleeding time.
jse_P1040111.jpg Si front brakes

jse_P1040113.jpg 306 front brakes fitted to 205 Si.

jse_P1040116.jpgjse_P1040115.jpg rotors

jse_P1040117.jpg Calipers

jse_P1040119.jpg Pads, Si top 306 bottom.

jse_P1040121.jpg Pepperpot vs std 205 Si wheel.

Only disadvantage is that the standard 13” wheels will no longer fit.
They foul on the larger calipers.
14” pepperpots fit nicely, but change the overall gearing.
Si auto used to sit on 3k at 100 kph with standard wheels/tyres, yet to check present setup with Satnav.
By contrast my GTi series 1 which (originally fitted with pepperpots as standard now shod with 15” speedlines from a series 3), sits on 3.25K at 100 kph.(Satnav).
And of course you have to carry a pepperpot spare unless you are prepared to carry two jacks and a set of std wheel bolts.

So far I’m impressed with the greater stopping power.
Waiting for brakes and tyres to settle in before trying them out on the Gillies Range road.
I was getting brake fade on the downhill run there if I got enthusiastic.
Could have been poor pads or other problems though.
The pepperpots and larger section tyres reduce body roll and enhance the handling.

Si wheel/tyre, 12.3 kg, 175 cm circumference. (165-70-13”)
Pepperpot, 14.5 kg, 181 cm circumference ( 185-60-14”)

Si rotors 3.09 kg, calipers 2.6 kg.
Didn’t get around to weighing 306 rotors and calipers but they are substantially heavier.

Now to get the rear beam sorted.

Paul
 
Thanks for the info and photos Paul. Did you use the 306 or the SI trailing arms? Also I've noticed my rear beam is yellow, would this indicate an after market part?
 
A thread after my own heart. I run m59 berlingo front rotors and calipers (bosch 266mm same as 206gti, base 207 etc) under pepper pots with re001's. Gti front struts, Si subframe and lower control arms. Gti rear beam and lowered 30mm. Berlingo booster and 23mm mc. The later not being a direct bolt-on solution.

The brakes now are imo over assisted, need to swap back for maybe a gti booster. But they will suck the eyes out of your sockets. Standard psa pads and I machined the rotors right down to save probably x grams in weight:nownow:. The drums don't do much at the back, you can feel the car want to nose stand. I need to get them swapped over to disc's but my mechanic is lazy.

I previously ran a xud7 cam, now a unidentified 8v cam that I found to be favorable when I measured it, with a modified xu9m eprom and a exhaust. Its not fast but loads of fun through the corners and very torquey until 4kish. I also needed 5mm spacers on the rear with the re001's as they are beefy in the sidewall, but I am using si drums which are 5mm shorter than gti drums. I did notice a dulled turn in response with the higher unsprung weight of the calipers and rotors. I am used to it now and the increase in braking ability outweighs that small negative.

IMG_0441.jpgIMG_0442.jpgIMG_0443.jpg
 
Thanks for the info and photos Paul. Did you use the 306 or the SI trailing arms? Also I've noticed my rear beam is yellow, would this indicate an after market part?

Haven't done any work on rear beam yet.
I think it was Graham Wallis who suggested pressing 306 stubs into Si trailing arms and fitting 306 rear discs.
Have a spare GTi drum braked beam (with bigger brakes than the Si equivalent) that I could use but I think I would need to use stiffer springs in the front to match the stiffer GTi beam.
Not sure about the std colour of the Si beam so can't help you there.
Paul.
 
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