recently bought a 306 GTI-6 that's been lowered at the front and presumably had the torsion bar adjusted at the back. Ideally want to put it back to standard, besides sticking standard springs on the front anyone know what's involved at the back and how difficult it is? any info much appreciated.
in news: snipped-for-privacy@l41g2000cwc.googlegroups.com, "sam" slurred :
The rear arm attaches to splines on the torsion bar, so lowering is a case of undoing the big nut, removing the funny offset washer, 'persuading' the arm off the splines with something heavy, then moving it clockwise or anticlockwise by one or more splines to adjust the ride height. It shouldn't be too tricky, but do some careful measurements before you move the arm - they normally come off in a somewhat uncontrolled manner and you need to know where it was to make sensible adjustments.
Wow! An un-modification posting!
Next week: How to make your 200SX slower...
In news: snipped-for-privacy@f14g2000cwb.googlegroups.com, fishman decided to enlighten our sheltered souls with a rant as follows
Putting a 306 GTi back to standard ride height will make it handle *better*, which in turn will make it faster round corners. So he's not making it slower at all.
The 306 GTi is one of the best handling hot hatches around in standard trim, Peugeot are probably the only mass manufacturer that makes its own shock absorbers, and having done loads of miles in a 306 S16 and a GTi - and trying in vain to make them handle better - I agree with putting it back to standard ride height for the road.
Lowered, they're better on track days, but they're very nervous on the road. Too nervous to give the confidence to use all the handling potential.
It's a similar thing to me taking the 17"s off the 4x4 estate and going back to 15"s. It handled and rode a *lot* better on 15"s. Corners I could only take at 110-115 on the 17"s were easy at 120 on 15"s.
Narrower tyres tend to be better at cornering, all else being equal. The obvious reason is that the inside edge of the tyre is not as traveling at such a different speed as the outside edge, on a narrower tyre. So there is less grip being wasted on making one side push against the other, and more can be used pushing the wheel into the corner.
In news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com, snipped-for-privacy@quickwatchsales.com decided to enlighten our sheltered souls with a rant as follows
All very logical.
Except for the fact I went from 205/40/17 to 205/50/15
I suspect it had a lot more to do with the unsprung weight of the 17"s.
Hello,
Well done that man, a sensible post about putting a car back to normal. I'm glad you decided to do the right thing. It will not only handle better, but give a better ride and be OK on standard insurance.
In news:qmE4e.11267$ snipped-for-privacy@newsfe2-gui.ntli.net, Brian decided to enlighten our sheltered souls with a rant as follows
Don't get me wrong, I like a well modified car, but a lowered 306 GTi isn't one.
Then again, well modified cars seem quite rare.
I knew this from my experience with a friend's Citroen ZX Volcane but was being facetious!
Naah you just wanted it to look even more stealth =)
The narrower the tyre, then the longer and thinner it's contact patch becomes (as opposed to the short and wide contact patch you get with a wider tyre). A wider contact patch gives more cornering grip. So you infact get less absolute grip from a narrow tyre, even though the area of it's contact patch remains exactly the same (assuming the tyre-pressure is the same, obviously).
If that was the case, then motorsport vehicles wouldn't run exceedingly wide tyres :)
We still haven't clarified why you bother to post in this newsgroup. It's not unlike reading the contents of alt.fan.disney and insisting to the denizens that cartoons aren't worth watching. D'oh.
In news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com, snipped-for-privacy@quickwatchsales.com decided to enlighten our sheltered souls with a rant as follows
Heh, I don't own anything modified at the moment :'-(, but I do enjoy a spot of modification.. like the Land Rover I'm building with a friend.
If I had the time, I'd be shoving a 5.6 V8 in Ye Olde Merc. It'd look utterly standard though.
Still enjoy the modded car scene, it's just I don't like the "show" side of things. I prefer my mods to be power / handling rather than bodykits / alloys.
Don't see the point in flippy paint, huge wheels, big fins, loud exhausts and blacked out windows. Much prefer stealth, standard looks combined with big power and *properly* sorted suspension.
If it doesn't make the car drive / handle / go better, it's a waste of time to me.
Entirely agree, although this goes without saying as I drive a Scorpio and a TR7. HST almost any stick on tat would *improve* the looks of some cars, and everything I've owned seems to be somewhere on
It would be easy enough to delock the TR, I don't use them anyway as all you are doing is asking for the hood to get torn.
LOL, I only managed 2 cars, my V old Reliant Robin van that I rolled and totalled, and my Estelle, the car I first introduced myself to this newsgroup with.
I like subtle body mods - even if not accompanied with power mods :) Nothing wrong with wanting your car to look nice - even if old people don't like it. Don't get me wrong, power mods are nice too, but there's often so much more expense and effort if you're not a mechanic type (like me).
Don't forget Dan that younger drivers (i presume you're a simliar age to me) can't always afford performance mods, theres nothing thats states you can't be a car enthusiast unless you modify your car to make it faster ;)
Running a modifed car legally is expensive, as is maintaining one correctly etc etc.
Mason
But in my experience, running a modified little car with a gay little engine, isn't as expensive as running something with silly power, that blows itself apart once a week, and they can still look nice :) I refuse to join the old people of this group in declaring body mods crap and only power mods worth while. If i was to mod my 206, it would get slammed, 18's, a good ICE setup, maybe crystal rear lights, the back end smoothed, and the Pug SP arches/grills. Probly black it out too now i think about it. Maybe dig up a full blue/black leather interior as well.
I'll have a nice silly fast thing when i'm older and can afford to run/insure it. And would probly still mod it to look nice as well ;)
Aye that's what i'm saying :) hence the body mods on the bimmer, if we could afford (reasonably) to insure an M3 we could have brought opne with the money spend on the BM.
I'm simply into cars, I enjoy well done body mods as much as well done engine mods. We've had various cars wioth various combinations of the two.
Mason
In news:4257cac3$0$63399$ snipped-for-privacy@ptn-nntp-reader04.plus.net, Mason decided to enlighten our sheltered souls with a rant as follows
I just don't get it. Never have.
As for not liking body mods because I'm an old fart, my age has got f*ck all to do with it.
Power mods don't age badly, neither do handling mods.
Look at all the "looks" stuff that's been done in the past and is now utter s**te.
Cortinas with louvres on back windows, Mk2 Granadas with big, square bodykits Capris with bodykits Escort convertibles in white, with white hoods Bright yellow Astra GTEs with TSW Venoms everything else with TSW Venoms Three spoke alloys on anything that's not a Saab Novas with bodykits Saxos " " Colour coded Cavaliers / Astras and the like
I never did any of that, as I thought it was s**te at the time. Time has proved me right, they're still s**te.
I was running RS2000 Escorts at 18, with twin 40's, CD6 springs, 5 speed box, big cam, all declared. Was costing me £1500 a year, TPF&T in 1989. That's the equivalent of about £3300 now, but I managed it. Worked 50 hour weeks, but I had my RS2000.
I know what you're saying, but personally I'd have spent the extra on insurance and bought an M3. It's why I was driving Cosworths at 25. I just shopped around for insurance for weeks, got a good quote and bought a Cosworth. (admittedly it was only £768p.a. FC, and the standard RS2000 Mk5 I had at the time's renewal had come through at £1800...)
I'm a mechanical mods bloke, always have been. Only bodywork type mods I've ever done were on the Cosworth - Porsche Mint Green paintwork, Morette quad lamps and black, 17x8.5", TSW Evos.
Only did that because it had the power to get away with looking like it did.
I'd never have bought a 1.8 Sierra, fitted a Cossie kit and trim, and tried to make that look fast. I couldn't have lived with the deception.
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