Peugeot 205 Si

natumbri

natumbri

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I purchased a 205 Si from @PeterT (who was incredibly helpful when it came to getting it down to me in Melbourne).

The car is intended to go on the road, with club plates, and then be used for entry level motorsport.

I have never owned a 205, or been in the owner's/driver's seat of a car used for motorsport (I've been talking ballast in other people's Hyundai Excel rally cars, but that's it). So I have been busily reading aussiefrogs.com (and elsewhere), to help me learn what a 205 Si is, and how I should approach preparing it for its new life.

There is a lot of learning on this website, scattered - like confetti in the wind - through the many, many threads. So, I was looking for somewhere to organise and write down what I learn. Turns out, 205.si is a valid internet domain name and was available for registration.

I couldn't resist. Twenty bucks later, here we are: https://205.si

205.si is intended, mainly, to be useful for me (so I don't forget things, or where I heard them). Hopefully, will be useful for others. I don't (yet, or probably ever, given what is out there already!) have anything new to add on the topic Peugeot 205s, so all the content will come from elsewhere: I will do my very best to make sure that original authors are acknowledged and that links are provided, so people can check out the full context, if they want to.

Comments, suggestions?

Cheers,
nik
 
Well done Nick. 205.si is very cool!

You're fortunate that one of the best knowledge bases on Si's and their use in motorsport, is close to you, in Graham Wallis. I'm happy to help out too.
 
Thanks @PeterT! Yes, it looks like the 205.si website will be mostly technical data and quotes from you and @GRAHAM WALLIS !

Anyway, I've had the car looked at by a local (non-Peugeot-specialist) mechanic (couldn't get out to Keysborough) for a roadworthy, and he has listed the following main items:

Front end:
Front lower control arm bushes - can these be replaced? Or is a whole new lower control arm required? Preferable? He reckons the ball joints are ok.
Brake hoses, front and rear - for the front, I'm thinking if I have to replace the hoses anyway, I might as well also upgrade to early 306 callipers, rotors, pads, wheels and matching hoses. Rear, simple enough: just replace the hoses. Are braided worth getting (front and rear)?
Tie-rod ends, CV boots - seems pretty straightforward: replace them.

Is there anything else that I should do at the front, even though it isn't on the list? ARB bushes? Would it be a good idea to take the front subframe and running gear out and refresh it out of the car, or is it just as easy to do that under the car?

Back end:
Rear shocker bushes - can these be replaced or are new shocks required?
Rear wheel cylinders - can these be renewed or better just to replace them?
Rear muffler - not sure what the problem is here, will need to have a look; but should be pretty straightforward, in any event.

The other thing he has said is that I need to get the tailgate fixed, or replace it with a straight one.

Full list at 205.si: "... without too much hassle ..."

Any thoughts? The aim is to get the car on club plates ASAP, before upgrading for motorsport use; but if there upgrades that make sense to do now, rather than down the track, might as well do them now, hey? I'd prefer to do repairs once, correctly, but at this stage I'd prefer to 'do' only the things that I need to do (or that it just doesn't make sense to put off).

Cheers,
Nik
 
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You can get cheap after market arms complete with bushes from O/S, thry work well. Get Powerflex ARB bushes 23mm, makes a big difference. Don't use SASIC bushes, way too soft. REar wheel cylinders have inbuilt compensators, I bought a couple on line from local source.
 
As Graham says, Sasic is junk these days may as well be eBay China spec. You can still get genuine arb bushes also.

I wouldn’t use 306 Callipers they would be well beyond their service life now. Look for Bosch 266mm rotors and callipers from later model psa vehicles. 206gti, berlingo, xsara etc. braided lines make a significant improvement. You will need 14inch wheels and I did find that only Italian pepper pots fit over these not the French ones. However, you will still have the small booster/ master cylinder combo of the Si. I ran a berlingo master and booster in mine. You may notice the extra unsprung weight of these callipers, but it will be offset by never experiencing not being able to stop the car down a mountain run again. Braided lines are also a must if chasing braking perfection

If you are going to replace shocks may as well upgrade to gti items. I ran gti front struts/coils with an si subframe and control arm/arb setup and gti rear drum beam. It made a significant improvement over the Si items. I also upgraded the bushed si subframe mounts to gti style soild mounts.

The xu5 also benefits from a larger less restrictive exhaust the standard item is puny maybe 2inch.
 
Some SASIC is ok but not those bushes. Get the brakes from the base model 206. You need to set the timing to zero with a TAD100, Alpine Affair have one.
 
I have replaced way to many failed sasic items to call them ok. You would be lucky if you get 2 years out of an engine mount. Brakes from base 206 is too generic. For example the 1.4 will have 247mm solid fronts. You need at least a 1.6 model . Also early model 206 can have funky disc offsets. Best it to look for multiplex 206 ones as they will have the Bosch items not ATE. Timing advanced can also be changed with a PP2000 or diagbox, but don't expect any noticeable performance increase- that was my experience with playing with both settings.
 
Most sis have ignition retarded to run 91, setting to zero removes a flat spot. New oxygen sensor also helps. I fitted 247 mm Bosch brakes from 4 door 206.
 
GRAHAM WALLIS said:
You can get cheap after market arms complete with bushes from O/S, thry work well. Get Powerflex ARB bushes 23mm, makes a big difference. Don't use SASIC bushes, way too soft. REar wheel cylinders have inbuilt compensators, I bought a couple on line from local source.
Click to expand...
Thanks @GRAHAM WALLIS and @James504 - I've ordered the Powerflex ARB bushes.

I found some of those new LCAs for $70/side on eBay; I assume that's what you meant (and that's the kind of price we're talking?).

Regarding the wheel cylinders, I take it that inbuilt compensators means replace, not renew? Would someone be able to confirm part numbers? When I search, a couple of different kinds come up:
- Protex Wheel Cylinder Peugeot 205 87-94 ($100/side)
- a bunch similar to this DELPHI Wheel Brake Cylinder Right Rear For PEUGEOT 205 Box II 83-98 4402.66 (with various P/Ns: 4402.65/.66, .73 /.74, etc etc - there are heaps of left/right pairs) (all about $40/side landed in Australia)

thanks for the assistance!
Nik

PS @James504 I'm still keen on the tailgate, and promise selling it to me will not be a PITA!
 
Keep in mind there are two styles of tailgate mounts. If you get an Si you'll be fine but early 205 is different.
 
Hey mate. Looking through your posts and have a list of suggestions that might help ya.

First off, I replaced those rear cylinders in my car recently and used P/Ns: 4402.65 66.

Those cheaper LCA from ebay are in my si and are pretty good so far.
When I was looking at getting new brake lines it was about $40 more than standard lines to get braided so ended up getting them from Hel performance. Any of the 4 hose kits for non gti 205s (with rear drums) should fit.
Steering rack boots might be worth doing if you have the car apart.
If you need to replace the rear shock bushes, You can just throw in some 306 xsi or gti6 rear shocks. they bolt right in and are cheap.
xsi or gti6 (think they are the same) front shocks are also a cheap upgrade. use the shock, put a 205 gti spring in, new bearing, later series 405 solid rubber and your 205 top hat. That and the rear shocks together is the set up that's in my car and it's enjoyable. Graham showed me the ways.

Like mentioned above, the 247mm vented front brake is a good upgrade. I went with that because I can still run my stock 13 inch alloys and pepperpots. You're in Melbourne I'm guessing from this post so Traction Tyres out east sell used yokohama a048 for $50-100 a tyre which is good value and really good for for when you do motorsport stuff. that's the main reason I went to the 247 vented rotor and not the 266mm. You do need to run at least 4mm spacer at the front so the stock 13 inch wheel doesn't touch the calliper.

Everyone here has more experience with 205's than me but I have my one that I'm learning more about so if you want more info feel free to message me.

Cool car and looking forward to seeing what you do with your 205
 
PeterT said:
Keep in mind there are two styles of tailgate mounts. If you get an Si you'll be fine but early 205 is different.
Click to expand...
Different as in will not go on, or will go on but with extra work?
 
The hinges are completely different. You'd need to cut them off the donor car and weld them to your car.
 
Haha thanks - I guess you can do just about anything with a bit of extra work
 
Thanks @apitiser - that's useful info re the wheel cylinders! Appreciate the suspension advice too; will look into it.
 
Regarding the brake upgrades, to 306/206, 247mm/266mm, are 205 Si hoses ok, or are different hoses required?
 
Given their age get new braided ones, do yourself the favour of firm responsive brakes.
 
Braided it is! I was more wondering if there are different lengths? Or can I just do as @apitiser suggested and get any 4 hose set for a non-GTi 205 with rear drums?
 
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