Piwoslaw's Peugeot 307sw modding thread

[Piwoslaw]

I found out recently that my power steering does not deactivate when I use the engine kill button The PS pump does not run off the engine but is electric, and if I kill the engine with the button, then I can hear it pumping when I turn the steering wheel, and the interior lights slightly dim. This does not happen if I turn the engine off by turning the key to '0' and then back to '1'. This is good news if I decide to EO(ff)C, but it will drain my battery quicker, so I should keep an eye on it. Unless I add a manual off for the PS pump.

[Arragonis]

There's one on fleabay Austria, maybe they could provide some answers, or at least if it fits.

They describe it as being for 2007-on vehicles only.

[Piwoslaw]

I found two cheaper on UK-Bay:
2006 PEUGEOT 407 1.6 HDI, 6 SPEED GEARBOX
PEUGEOT 308 1.6 HDI GEARBOX 6 SPEED 20EAO1 GEAR BOX
for 249GBP and 395GBP, respectively. (Yeah, I know, you were keeping them for yourself and hoping I wouldn't find them)

Maybe I will drop them a line. Just to get my hopes up, since this kind of investment is beyond the financial capabilities of any Santa I know (or any the Wife would want me to know).

[akwroclaw]

How do you make get this box to Poland?

I do not understand: what is your aim?
attune the engine?
have more elasticity?

I understand well your drive to make positive changes

[Piwoslaw]

Originally Posted by akwroclaw

How do you make get this box to Poland?

That will be the least of my worries. Shipping within the EU isn't expensive compared to the price of the transmission. More important is whether it will work, and whether I'll decide to go for it. If I do, it won't be earlier than in 2-4 years, maybe my P&Ging will break my tranny by then and I'll have an excuse

Originally Posted by akwroclaw

I do not understand: what is your aim?
attune the engine?
have more elasticity?

Looking at the ratios for the 5- and 6-speed gearboxes it can easily be seen that 6th gear will not reduce my rpms by much (only 4-5%) at highway speeds, but I will be able to choose a better gear at speeds below 60 km/h.

Will swapping my trans for a 6-speed pay for itself? Most likely not. Selling the old box will partially offset the cost somewhat, but I doubt I'd see big FE impact. A 6-speed trans may help the average driver, but a hypermiler is already doing quite well with what he has. So this project is more of a theoretical exercise than really getting ready for a swap. But it is nice to know, just in case I suddenly need a new gearbox...

[Arragonis]

Originally Posted by Piwoslaw

I found two cheaper on UK-Bay:
2006 PEUGEOT 407 1.6 HDI, 6 SPEED GEARBOX
PEUGEOT 308 1.6 HDI GEARBOX 6 SPEED 20EAO1 GEAR BOX
for 249GBP and 395GBP, respectively. (Yeah, I know, you were keeping them for yourself and hoping I wouldn't find them)

Maybe I will drop them a line. Just to get my hopes up, since this kind of investment is beyond the financial capabilities of any Santa I know (or any the Wife would want me to know).

Maybe, but I thought the one in Austria would be closer - maybe even collect it yourself - excellent road trip potential too

[Piwoslaw]

This weekend I had a chance to try out the new micro-mods on a long distance trip. We drove to the mountains, 400km each way, 4 people plus cargo, at speeds of 100-110km/h and PN(eutral)G 80-90km/h when I could get away with it. So here is what I noticed:

• I couldn't open the lower grille block because it froze. It was -12°C the previous night, no warmer than -7°C during the day, and our dog just loves to pee on the front of our car, exactly at the height of the grille block Once the engine was warm I manually opened the intercooler half. That didn't seem to effect engine temps too much, so the coroplast wall between the IC and radiator appears to be working
• With the upper grille blocked and the cardboard+alufoil insulation on the engine, coolant temperatures were much higher than usual: mostly 93-95°C, sometimes dropping to 88°C, instead of the 78-82°C I was seeing earlier. I didn't hear the fan turn on, even when climbing small hills on the highway, so the upper grille block seems not be a problem even at +5°C (temperature when returning).
• Air intake temperatures were about 5-6°C above ambient (compared to 2°C above ambient without upper grille block and insulation) at speed and instantly get at least 20°C above ambient when I slow down. Got to do something about that before summer.
• The Wife was happy about the internal passenger side mirror. I never used it, though.
• FC was 4.7 l/100km on the way there (much colder and more uphill) and 4.2 on the way back. Not bad, but I've done better. Winter tires didn't help. Nor did dragging brakes.

I've been hearing a squeeking/scraping sound from the front wheels for quite a while, but recently this has gotten very loud. After returning I asked my mechanic brother-in-law to have a looksy and it turned out that the brake pads were sticking to the discs. Lots of grime and rust (from salt, and from sitting outside and not driving for weeks at a time), so he cleaned each pad, filed it down a little and greased it and that made a huge difference! After I drove into his garage we both had to push to barely move the car, now I could roll it by myself. Three of the wheels wouldn't spin more than half a revolution when rotated by hand, now they do 2-3 revolutions. I haven't driven yet, but I expect much longer coasting distances. I'm sure this has been steadily chewing away at my milage.

While fooling with the wheels/brakes my brother-in-law saind I'll need some work done on the steering rack, after that I'll go and get my front toe checked and zeroed. I hope to get that done before switching back to summer tires.

[Weather Spotter]

What and how did you insulate your engine?

So when are you going to make a full boat tail for your car?

[Piwoslaw]

Originally Posted by Weather Spotter

What and how did you insulate your engine?

It's just a piece of cardboard with aluminum foil. The same piece of cardboard that I made in the summer to keep the sun out of my sunroof. It was supposed to be temporary job for one season, but it turned out to be universal and multiseasonal affair

Originally Posted by Weather Spotter

So when are you going to make a full boat tail for your car?

No plans for a boattail at the moment First I have to find out how to make my aeromods legal (for now I'm an aero guerilla), then make a second version of the kammy and skirts. I'd make it something like what Jabb is planning for his Punto. That would make it easier to mate with a cone-shaped, one-wheeled trailer. OK, I can wake up and stop drooling now...

[Weather Spotter]

So just a piece of cardboard with the aluminum foil facing the engine? If it is that easy I just might make one

What MPG gains would you say it gets you or is the point to speed warm up?