Piwoslaw's Peugeot 307sw modding thread

[Piwoslaw]

I'm finally ready to start a mod thread for Svietlana, our 2005 Peugeot 307sw. I've actually done a few small mods, mostly my driving habits, plus running the tires at 45-50psi (max is 51psi), a grillblock and folding the passenger side mirror outside of the city. My FE gauge is factory installed (is a little off, showing an average of 4.6 l/100km for a tank, when it was closer to 5 l/100km). If the buying a ScanGauge in Europe was as cheap as in the US, I'd already have it. At the moment it's about 60% more expensive here Well, soon the USD/EUR exchange rate will be such that it will cost less than the equivalent of 100EUR to buy in the US, thus allowing me to not pay customs and other import taxes.

The grill block was on the inside of the lower opening, the upper slits are harder to cover up, plus one of them is the air intake.
When it got warm this year and the A/C started to be in use I decided to uncover the part of the grill in front of the intercooler. This brought coolant temperatures down from 90*C to 80*C, partly because some air gets into the radiator through this opening. The plan is to have a closable exterior grill block with two openings: one for the IC and the other for the radiator, with a wall between them. Both will be closed by default, allowing for shorter warm-up times, the IC part would open when the coolant temps get to 80*C, while the radiator part would be open only when the fan kicks on (first speed is at 95*C, or about 80*C if A/C is on). There will also be a manual override to either. Both parts will have an LED that lights up in the dashboard when open, plus an LED for the fan (maybe different colors for different speeds?). Two things which have kept me from already making this grill block are:
(1) The wiring for the engine cooling system is complicated, I have yet to find where all of the sensors are, let alone which wires to tap into. Also, everything is covered with plastic panels which are hard to take off, impeding fooling around in my spare time.
(2) I'm not too hot with electromechanical gizmos, so if anyone knows how to (and is willing to) help, please add advice here.
The new grill block will also have LED DRLs, shaving 150-200W from the electrical load.

Another mod I'm getting around to is removing the roof rails. This week I almost broke them trying to find out how to get them off, but all is well. It's much easier than I expected, so this changes my plans. Instead of removing them permanently, I can just unscrew them in under 5 minutes, and put them back on if needed. The only problem is finding a way to seal the holes in the roof when they are gone. Since the holes are irregular, and I'm not a materials specialist, I'll probably end up asking some bodyshop for professional ideas. If anyone wants to help, I can post some pics of the workings.

[Piwoslaw]

I've been looking for coroplast here in Poland, and it appears that it isn't easy to find anywhere in Europe. It would be nice to do some aeromods though, since next month we're going on vacation to the Fagaras Mountains in Romania, a 1500km drive each way. I'd like to do that distance on one tank. So, I didn't give up and last week I finally found a company that makes 'channeled polypropylene'. If the store wasn't in a far away and hard-to-get-to corner of Warsaw, I'd already have a sheet or two. But having to do a 60km round trip in traffic jams in the middle of a heatwave is enough to make me wait (Transporting a 2x3 meter sheet in a city bus isn't an option). I am using this time to make a cardboard Kammback (yes, I will overuse Kamm's name, even though Groar's uglyback does have a ring to it ) and rear wheelskirts.

First, I needed tools. Since the top of the Kammy should drop at a 11 degree angle, I made a cardboard triangle with an 11deg. angle and taped it to a level ruler.



Since the ruler has two perpendicular level gauges, it can be held flat to check that the sides also have an 11deg inward angle.
Next, I did some math. Knowing that the top and sides were angled inward at 11 degrees, what should be the angles of anything I actually have to construct? Well, the math wasn't that bad, it wasn't anything I didn't do in high school, but I'll give you all a break. (If anyone wants to see it, please let me know and I'll write something up, it might be a good thread/wiki/whatever.) Anyway, the top piece of the Kammback is a trapezoid with a base angle of 79.2 degrees.


By measuring the base (front), you can use simple trygonometry to find everything you need. The sides are a little harder, those can be done by trial and error once the top is fitted.
So here is Svietlana in her beta-version Kardboard Kammy (the alpha, uhm, didn't exactly work, I don't wanna talk about it, okay?):



(Notice how the rear edge of the sides is an extension of the angle of rear lights. I wasn't aiming for this effect, but only noticed it after taking pictures. I think it has a rather positive influence on the aesthetics of the set-up.)





Like I mentioned earlier, those rails are going to be removed soon. That should really help airflow in the Kammy.

I'd like to coastdown and A-B-A test this set-up, but I had to take down since it rains everyday (for the last 2 months, the cardboard was damp when I pulled it out of the garage). Maybe this weekend, maybe next?

[Piwoslaw]

As can also be seen in the view of the rear in the previous post, the Kammback has a flap of cardboard across its width.



This is to keep it from sagging. Unfortunately, I used clear tape which doesn't hold cardboard too well, and this set-up isn't sturdy enough for me to feel good with it while driving. The view in the mirror, however, is OK



Hopefully the coroplast version will be stiffer (is 3mm too thin for a 50cm x 110 cm piece?) and won't require the lateral support.


A closer look at the side reveals a bulge in the front of the top piece.



This is from the center stop light. I will have to cut the front a few centimeters shorter because of this, and also to compensate for rubbing against the roof when opening the hatch.



As can be seen, there is a conflict between the Kammy and the radio antena, but removing the latter will result in an even worse conflict with the Wife...

[Piwoslaw]

I tried to put a cardboard skirt on one of the rear wheels.





This was just warm-up, with only scotch tape and nothing to space the cardboard from the tire. Instead of a cover for only the wheel well, I decided on skirting the whole section from rear door to end of bumper, Groar style. I'll have to paint it if I want it to look halfway decent.

[SVOboy]

Nice aerial shot of the kammback. I like that we are the only two ever awake at this hour

[Piwoslaw]

Originally Posted by SVOboy

Nice aerial shot of the kammback.

Kind of hiding behind the bush, isn't she? I agree, that is one of the better pics. Maybe because we don't usually see cars from that angle?

I like that we are the only two ever awake at this hour

For me it's the middle of the day. For you, well, you never sleep anyway :P

[SVOboy]

For me is was the beggining of the evening, so everybody wins

[vtec-e]

Very good work Piwo. Have you done much A-B-A testing?

ollie

[Piwoslaw]

Originally Posted by vtec-e

Very good work Piwo. Have you done much A-B-A testing?

Not yet I haven't even turned the engine on with the mods in place, so I have yet to see other drivers' reactions
I only had a few hours between rainstorms to put up the cardboard and take some pics. This weekend is supposed to be dry, but there are slim chances of being able to find enough time to do test drives. I'd prefer to do them on a Sunday morning, like around 5am, when there is no traffic. I also have to find the best road in the area for testing (no lights, straight and flat). Maybe by next weekend the more stable gamma version will be ready, and then all I'll need is good weather. And a green light from the Wife, since getting up at 4am on Sunday to go for a drive isn't exactly standard practice...

[jabb]

Nice to see some work on your car.
How much will that coroplast cost you (in PLN) and what is it called in PL? Maybe I'll find a shop here in Lodz.
That kammback - weren't you able to make a radius on upper corners to make it fit the roof curvature? Hope it works nicely. I am unfortunate to have pillar mounted rear lights (Punto) so no kamm for me.
Rear wheel sections - maybe you can make inner supporting frame out of aluminium strips, bolted into inner fender?

BTW - You've stated that DRL will shave 150-200W energy consumption. As far as I know maximum power for headlight bulbs is 55W each so it's going to be 110W max. You still need position lights. However I think that changing other bulbs for LED replacements will give you some nice gain.