I am now the proud owner of a 405 MI16 (my first red car in 40 years) which I will convert to a rally car. (They now qualify for historic). I have gotten great help from the forum's resident guru regarding the engine, and Ohlins Greece is dealing with the suspension. The box remaining to be ticked is the brakes, and it is giving me great pains. The standard production ABS unit is totally unsuitable for rallying (in my opinion even for everyday driving) so it needs to come out. The homologation offers two options, a pedal box and a Bendix Hydrovac, so in reality only one option, the pedal box. There is no supplier for that and it is a strange one: the cylinders are short and the configuration vertical. Does anyone have experience converting an Mi16 to non-ABS brakes?
Peugeot 405 Mi16 non-ABS brake options
- Thread starter ThanosK
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Removing ABS is fairly universal for every car. You can cut the exisiting hardlines and fabricate lines to reroute to a Brake Proportioning Valve. I would remove the LSPV for the rear suspension at the same time. However it sounds more like the homologation regulations are your issue where you require a pedal box vs a quick and dirty abs removal.
There were definitely Bendix ABS, Bosch ABS and Non ABS mi16s in the aust market. Could you just remove the ABS, plumb it up non ABS and say it never had it?
There were definitely Bendix ABS, Bosch ABS and Non ABS mi16s in the aust market. Could you just remove the ABS, plumb it up non ABS and say it never had it?
I've removed Bendix ABS and fitted standard Mi16 booster/master cylinder, but not pedal box. Easy enough to do. Pedal box will obviously be more difficult but nothing someone with fabrication skills couldn't solve. I can guide you on sizes though.
Thank you so much for the responses. I have not been able to locate a standard Mi16 booster, they only came with ABS that year. I have located a unit from a 1.6 405, I hope I can qualify it in place of the Hydrovac. Otherwise I may have to lean on you for the brakes as well, Peter 
I would refit that assembly back to the car. Make and tee off your front brake lines, and makes and tee your rear brake lines to a bias valve first and remove the LSPV. You dont need a 4 port MC, but im sure you could get one easily enough new. You can also mess around with Master cylinder size and booster size from other PSA cars. I would bet that 306/206/berlingo etc bolt straight up and will accept the vertical res of the 405.
A pedal box would offer you a more consistent brake feel, but they are a PITA to ballance/set up and you have to change your pads to a compound thats friendly to pedal boxes etc.
A pedal box would offer you a more consistent brake feel, but they are a PITA to ballance/set up and you have to change your pads to a compound thats friendly to pedal boxes etc.
Thank you James, I agree. I will be using a Tilton brake prop valve and hydraulic handbrake in line, simple enough. I am not a big fan of pedal boxes. They have a slight advantage when it comes to brake feel, but the one in my Works coup is a pain to adjust, especially when I adjust bias on the fly during downhill gravel etc. At list with the Tilton you can return it to the original numbered position. I typically disconnect the Booster anyway and move the pedal lever about an inch so lower brake pressure is required, I believe this gives me the best of both worlds; good pedal feel and easy fore aft adjustment. Be that as it may, I may still end up with a pedal box.
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I have a 1992 model Mi16 without ABS if you have any questions about the non ABS setup. I also have a Tilton pedal box setup from a 205/309 which I don't need, went back to the boosted setup, if you want to use the cylinders and some of the hardware. Agree about the ABS operation in the 405 , bloody dangerous. Even the ABS in my later Citroen VTS was dangerous on gravel. You can simply unplug it though and it works just like a proper brake system.
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Tried for months to get my pedal box working and spent a lot of money on special pads and things but had to admit defeat. They were OK on bitumen but on gravel they would not provide enough stopping at first, then you would panic and lock them up and go off. My ex works TE Cortina is OK with a pedal box and a 403 I had with Holden HK front brakes was great, also a road car 1600 Datsun without booster was fine. the Peugeot disc brakes have always needed a lot of pressure.
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I think the cylinder is the same length as the 205 ones. I was thinking of fitting a 405 one to my 309 to get clearance for the 16 v cam cover (RHD problem) but wasn't to be.
I fully agree with everything you wrote, Graham, I always had better results without a pedal box. But please let's keep your pedal box bits as an option while I am sorting this out.
Bosche are now doing ABS for motor sport
It is not how fast you go but how fast you can stop so you go faster for longer
www.bosch-motorsport.com
It is not how fast you go but how fast you can stop so you go faster for longer
ABS M5 Kit
With the new ABS M5 kit, Bosch Motorsport adapted an ABS system specifically for use in motorsport that offers engineers a high level of flexibility during the car setup.
www.bosch-motorsport.com