205si upgrades

Yes, a decent exhaust helps even an Si. Exhaust shops always downsize from standard when making up exhaust systems for these cars. Add a new oxy sensor and reset timing back to standard and these engines go exceptionally well.
 
djvu205 said:
All that's been mentioned is good advice. Ditch the si front end. Gti front end is much better design for what you want and well worth the effort. You could use all of the si strut gear with Gti springs. Get gti springs reset if you looking to lower it and maybe upgrade the struts. When running Gti front end in si body you'll need to alter front brake hose mounts.

Rear can be as simple as an upgraded arb as im pretty sure torsion bars are similar size between si and Gti. Si beams are usually pretty good condition wise and drum brakes do the job. Alternatively fit complete 306 arms inc disc brakes into si beam. That will require matching handbrake cables and in line gti compensators.

You will be surprised how much quicker the car feels with just the gti suspension upgrade.

With a 4.4 final drive it will only get better. Add to this some decent wheels and tyres, decent exhaust, and cold air induction makes a fun car.

I've added a 2" straight thru exhaust to my si and believe it's made a noticeable difference. Definitely more willing in the top end. It's got a 18" spiral would resonator and staintune rear muffler.

After all this the only thing my car lacks is acceleration in low rev range.

http://www.aussiefrogs.com/forum/technical-performance/129476-205-motorcycle-exhaust.html
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Thanks for the suggestions. Everyone that has commented has been quite helpful.

That staintune exhaust sounds really good!

I'm going to start looking for a bigger ARB, most people have suggested changing that first so that will be the top of my list. I'll keep an eye out for a gti front end but will just look for the springs to begin with. Is it hard to find gti front ends?
 
I didn't suggest fitting an ARB first, and I doubt anyone who does tarmac motorsport would. If you're committed to making it handle, you need to move up to 21mm torsion bars as your first move. Sure, it's relatively expensive compared to other mods but it's definitely the starting point. Si could be 18.1, 18.5 or 18.9. The same as GTi. The GTi has a 19mm ARB, Si is 16mm from memory.

Second mod should be the lsd/gearbox. I didn't suggest an S16/Mi16 gearbox. I suggested a hybrid made from GTi gears and an Mi16/S16 cwp. The S16/Mi16 still has wide ratios (along with the lower 4:43 cwp). You need the closer ratios of the GTi. It's still possible to pick up these boxes very cheap.

I suggested Spax because the customer support is excellent in Australia.

Putting a WTD ad below for the parts you need usually works.

C5 15x6 18ET wheels (made from aluminium) are the best entry level wheel.

Don't compromise. Do it once, do it right.
 
Torsion bars are 18.5 on the Si. The S16 box feels very close ratioed compared to the original Si box. Yes, Si ARB is 16 mm. My Si is all standard except for Koni Sport rear shocks (the big chunky ones) and is perfect for gravel and grass, I have no intention of doing any bitumen with it though.
 
PeterT said:
I didn't suggest fitting an ARB first, and I doubt anyone who does tarmac motorsport would. If you're committed to making it handle, you need to move up to 21mm torsion bars as your first move. Sure, it's relatively expensive compared to other mods but it's definitely the starting point. Si could be 18.1, 18.5 or 18.9. The same as GTi. The GTi has a 19mm ARB, Si is 16mm from memory.

Second mod should be the lsd/gearbox. I didn't suggest an S16/Mi16 gearbox. I suggested a hybrid made from GTi gears and an Mi16/S16 cwp. The S16/Mi16 still has wide ratios (along with the lower 4:43 cwp). You need the closer ratios of the GTi. It's still possible to pick up these boxes very cheap.

I suggested Spax because the customer support is excellent in Australia.

Putting a WTD ad below for the parts you need usually works.

C5 15x6 18ET wheels (made from aluminium) are the best entry level wheel.

Don't compromise. Do it once, do it right.
Click to expand...


The car cost $500 and it's a project on the side. The main focus is to learn, have some fun and do it for as little $$ as possible so I'm not really keen to drop $2000+ for torsion bars and an lsd for the first things on the car. I was going to have a rule that no one part can cost more than the original price of the car just to keep things affordable and easy to begin with but maybe I'll break that rule if the 21mm bars are really that good.

I know you didn't suggest the s16/mi16. Graham mentioned it and it sounds like a nice easy thing to try. I have an mi16 so trying out the gearbox is so easy to do compared to looking for the gti gears then swapping the gears (which I've never done before).

I'll start looking into spax now, good customer service is worth lots.

Thanks for the wheel suggestion. I have a few sets of wheels, the stock 13s, pepperpots, 15 inch mi16 wheels and the 15s from an xsi. They aren't the lightest wheels but I have them to play with.

I would usually agree with the don't compromise rule but maybe not today. I'm not looking to make the best ever si or even close to that, it just needs to be better than it is right now so surely I don't need to jump straight into getting stuff like an lsd.
 
Hi everyone. I was going to start a new post but thought it might be better to keep everything together in this one post. I have a bit of an update and want to ask a few questions.

I have been a bit slow with my progress on the 205 but some things have happened since I picked it up.

The car now has rear shocks and front struts from a 306 xsi with 205 gti springs. Most of the rubber parts in the front have been replaced and I picked up some powerflex bushes for the front ARB. These parts were really cheap and affordable and car corners a lot flatter!

There is also a 19mm rear ARB coming in the mail soon so rear beam refurb will happen and help make the car feel even more refreshed.

I had picked up some pepperpots but the tyres that are on them are 195s and it really killed the steering feel so I haven't been running them. While I was looking for tyres for the pepperpots I found some semi slicks for the stock 13s. Yokohama a050 tyres (175/60r13). The new tyres the new (for the car) suspension makes the si feel like you're glued to the road when you go around a corner.

Where do people take their pugs in melbourne for alignments? after changing stuff in the car it needs one so is anywhere good enough to do the job or do people recommend certain shops?

I picked up some 266mm brakes but since they are having slight rubbing issues with the pepperpots and I can't use the stock wheels I found some 247mm vented brakes to use. They are not on the car yet because there are some braided lines and nice pads on the way in the mail but the new brakes should be on in the next few weeks.

The car is feeling a lot nicer than when I picked it up but there are some more places for improvement such as the motor. It's had new fluids, spark plugs and a few other things but what else can be done to give the motor some more life?

Where is a good place to pick up an oxy sensor and what one is right for the si? replacing the sensor has been suggested a few times so that will be the next purchase for the car.

What's the chance of anyone having a reconditioned si motor lying about? I would like to freshen up the motor and just have a peace of mind that it will just keep going in the future but if someone happens to have one around that might be an easier option than pulling apart the current motor. What are your thoughts on that?

I'm moving to Canada in April and would like to take the car with me if I can find a decently priced way to ship it. It would be cool to get the car feeling a fresh as it can before then too.

Thanks for your time reading this :)
 
Any 4 wire sensor will do the job. On line is probably cheapest. Callum has my old Si engine, you could get that rebuilt then drop it in. It will need valve guides and stem seals, was quite smoky, but apart from that just rings I would think.
 
ARB is on its way to you, enjoy the rebuild. Use 306 beam kit and bearings, ask if you need to.
 
apitiser said:
[...]

I'm moving to Canada in April and would like to take the car with me if I can find a decently priced way to ship it. It would be cool to get the car feeling a fresh as it can before then too.

Thanks for your time reading this :)
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Grows on you, eh?

Shipping can be easier ten times what you paid to buy it. For that money you should be able to find a half decent one there?
 
schlitzaugen said:
Grows on you, eh?

Shipping can be easier ten times what you paid to buy it. For that money you should be able to find a half decent one there?
Click to expand...

Yeah it really does.

I don’t think 205s exist in Canada unless they have been privately imported. If it ends up costing too much I’ll just sell it on and someone else can enjoy it :(

Today the car got its air con regassed and it’s blowing cold air again. The guys at the garage put the dye in and it doesn’t appear to be leaking from anywhere so that’s promising too but it’s going to go back in after a few days and get a double check. Pretty happy to have cold air!
 
[FONT=&quot][FONT=&quot]Hi everyone. Been messing around with the car a bit so now it has vented brakes! [/FONT][/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot][FONT=&quot]Picked up a set of 247mm brakes from a 306. Got new rotors, braided lines and some qfm a1rm pads (I have them on another car and really enjoy them).[/FONT][/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot][FONT=&quot]The car can stop really well but there is a bit of an issue with wheel options. The stock 13s have really nice Yokohama a050s on them but they don’t clear the caliper enough. There were some washers floating around the house so I tried a few combinations spacing them out and they can work if the wheel is spaced out 3mm. I really want to keep running these wheels so would a spacer and longer bolts be safe to use or is that a silly idea? The wheel would still sit in the centering thingy with a 3mm spacer. [/FONT][/FONT]
[FONT=&quot][FONT=&quot][/FONT]
[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot][FONT=&quot]There are also pepperpots that work on the car but they currently have some rubbish maxis tyres so I’m on the search for some better tyres that could be used as a daily tyre and leave the stock wheels for motorsport stuff. What tyres do people here use?[/FONT][/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot][FONT=&quot]Thanks[/FONT][/FONT]
 
I have Peugeot 3mm spacers for sale and would do your job however please remember that spacers are illegal even though Porsche etc have them on as factory items. Your call.
PS: with 3mm spacers idoubt if you would need longer bolts.
 
jr20516v said:
I have Peugeot 3mm spacers for sale and would do your job however please remember that spacers are illegal even though Porsche etc have them on as factory items. Your call.
PS: with 3mm spacers idoubt if you would need longer bolts.
Click to expand...

Yes i’ll grab them off you please, will send you a message.

The stock wheels and spacers combo won’t be getting used on the road very often so not bothered that it’s illegal. More concerned about safety with running them and I doubt the police would suspect there are spacers run with stock wheels.
 
The BX16V wheel bolt is approx 8mm longer than a 205/405 bolt and works well with 3-5mm of spacer.
 
Hey everyone.

So I've had the si for a wee while now and really enjoy it but the want for more power is still there.

I have been reading through all the forum posts I can about si's trying to figure out what options there are with getting some power.

What do you think is the best option to get a bit extra go in the car? once at speed the car it's fine, it carries momentum really well but if you have to slow down then accelerate again it's lacking. I would love to have my mi16 motor in the si but that swap is above my skill level so my idea would be to pick up another BDY motor, build that up then bolt that in when it's ready. so the car is off the road for minimal time and the work would be a little more straight forward.

After reading through a bunch of old forum post I put together a bit of a list of what I think might help but any insight or previous experience working on this motor would be helpful.

-Rebuild then leave as it is
-DKZ cam
-crank and pistons from a 1.9
-thinner head gasket
-gti intake and ecu
-carby set up

I'm retarded with electrical stuff so I don't really want to mess with wiring so I have kind of eliminated doing the gti intake swap unless i could find a whole loom that is plug and play. What can be done to the motor without having to change ecu's and is it worth doing anything to the motor if the ecu is standard?

I'm not looking at making this a race car. It's pretty ideal how it is, all the comments I read through some of the posts about leaving the car how it is are sinking in so I'm just looking at doing that but maybe livening it up a tad.

Would a rebuilt motor be what i'm after maybe? I'm not sure, my lack of experience with pugs doesn't help so hoping you guys can give me the answers. :)

Thanks
 
The ignition has been reset from the normal -8 degrees? Replaced Oxy sensor? I have a rebuilt engine in mine, maybe time to do another comparison.
 
a comparison would be awesome graham

I changed the ignition to -2 degrees i think. There wasn't an option to have 0 or maybe I didn't use it correctly and haven't changed the oxy sensor yet.
 
There is an option, two actually, for 0 degrees. The red car I bought recently is terrible, needs to go to Alpine Affair for the timing treatment.
 
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