braymond
Post #1
I've been on here for a good few years now, but never really taken the time document the changes the Rallye has been through. Arguably not a true project thread, as the changes have happened at an almost evolutionary pace, but none the less, mortgage payments and renovations to the flat have been punctuated with little tweaks here and there.I'd like to take you back to August 2008, when I first held the keys to T673 SDK in my sweaty palm. In the preceding years I had an original Williams Clio, seen here alongside the Rallye to avoid any angry die hard 306 fans, clambering atop their e-horses and having a winge.
Whilst the Williams was a brilliant car, it spent as much time in the garage being repaired as it did on the road, which was a drain on both my wallet and my patience. So I made the decision to move on to something else. Keen to get something newer, with some pedigree and a small step up in power I drew up a short list. And it was short! I deiced on either a 306 Rallye or a 182 Trophy (an obvious next step from the Williams). However the Trophy was soon scrubbed from the list as I couldn't afford one. And so began the fairly lengthy search for a clean, unmodified, unmolested white Rallye.
Eventually I found a nice one, with 75k on the clock and without any "sick rims and phat tunes". And what a lovely thing it was.
However, and this is not going to be a popular view, but *in my opinion* the Williams is a better car than the Rallye.
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Whether that's because it has a more exploitable limit, inspires more confidence or just suits my driving style better i shalln't worry about for now, but it left me feeling that the Rallye perhaps needed some improvements. Don't get me wrong, it was still fun to drive, but I couldn't help but draw comparisons to the Williams.
Until this moment, I was a fully paid up bastion for the "keep it standard" club. With the exception of a fixed bucket, I had been true to that ethos with the Williams, and indeed the 205 before that. But once I allowed myself to delve into the murky depths of modification, it opened up a whole new world of potential opportunities and temptations. The thought of creating a track capable car, whilst still retaining some practicality and comfort for the road (as the car remains my daily driver) was an irresistible one. Always a fan of machines like the R26.R, GT3RS or M3 CSL, I began creating what, for the purpose of this thread, I'm going to call the Rallye-R.
But before I had the chance to explore that much further, I found myself nursing an incontinent head gasket. Rich Walker and Lynx came to be known to me, so the Rallye went there for some clean pants and potty training. Obviously first rate service, and so it wasn't very long before it was back there again having the clutch replaced. Mindful that I'd still made no headway towards my 'R', I researched what mods made sense whilst the job was being done...and so entered the free-er revving world of light weight flywheels. A good staple mod for any car with sporting desires, providing keener and a seemingly more enthusiastic engine, with the added benefit of creating a car your girlfriend won't want to drive.
By this point, the Rallye was being noticed in the work car park. I was under no illusions that my own enthusiasm for my aging Peugeot was held by my colleagues, so I shouldn't have been surprised when I found a someone had modified his own car to capture that 'Rallye' look.
VW Polo
Back to matter in hand, and it was time to address the handling. I hadn't spent a great deal of time on the forum at this point, so didn't appreciate the wealth of knowledge it had to offer, so I sought advise from a very knowledgeable man called Julian, of Balance Motorsport. We put together a package to suit my needs, to sharpen the handling, but mindful it was still going to spend much of its life on the UK highway, tirelessly doing lengths the A23. So I took receipt of some Bilstein B8 front and rear shocks, Eibach Pro springs, thicker torsion bars and solid roller bearing wishbone bushes.
NOW WE KNOW! The car felt much more planted as a result, the back feels less skitish and b-road progress is swift.
Keen to help keep those temperatures down, A Nissens ally rad went on.
I mentioned I had a bucket seat in the Williams. Eventually I got around to installing this next. It's a Sparco Rev - perfect for the slighter gentleman, and in fact it was this that delayed it going in car. I kindly/bravely/stupidly allowed my brother co-use of my car during our trip out the ring in '09, but he wouldn't fit his fleshy frame in the bucket seat, so I waited until post ring before getting it in.
Once home, and the bucket went in. A fixed bucket is a really is a good modification. It removes (or at least lessens) that dimension of roll (for you, not the car) when cornering, and leaves the driver free to concentrate all his efforts on steering, rather than the subconcious tensing of core muscles to keep you planted and upright when cornering, and using the wheel as something to hold on to as much as steer the ship.
The Install was a tricky one. Keen to retain the carpet, but obviously needing to weld in a cross member to support the seat, meant some awkward holding of thick, plastic backed carpet, and then some clever cutting once the bar was in place. The result is lovely though, giving a factory fit look, with a very decent seat.
things that get in the way
but your can pick up these points
erm...
That incidentally, is one of her Majesty's own Royal Marine Commandos. If that doesn't help you sleep easy, seeing the calibre of soldier protecting your liberty, i don't know what will.
BOOM
The arrival of the bucket started me thinking about the aesthetics of the car. I've long been a fan of white cars with black wheels, and so I left my cyclones with 'Wicked Wheels" for them to refurb them in satin black.
Whilst Gloss is ok in my book, it doesn't have quite the style of a matt or satin finish.
Inevitably, the hunger for more power got to me. Not wanting to spank the kind've money needed for a supercharger, but wanting to see some performance gains, I opted for a pair of Kent PT81 264deg cams.
Once again, back to Lynx for fitting, and then the following the day a very lumpy run north to Rochdale, for Wayne Schofield to get it mapped in on his rollers. A funny bloke Wayne, and I did enjoy his 'no bo***cks' attitude and leisurely approach to his days work.
So the cams - My motivation was never chasing big numbers, I was just keen to extract a little more power from the old girl, and bring her slightly more inline with newer machines. We saw a modest 184bhp, which resulted in lovely power curve. The car, as before starts to find its stride around 4,000 rpm, with the higher lift cam really bringing home its advantage at 5k+. The cams, coupled with the flywheel makes the engine very willing customer, and the power compliments the handling and braking nicely.
The brakes incidentally are stock discs and Mintex 1155 pads up front, 1144 on the rear, and that works well, with little or no fade when working them on track.
Next up began the search for elusive Citreon C5 "steelies". I've always loved the way the 106 Rallye looks on its white Steelies, so when i began research for a second set of wheels for a more track focused rubber, i was delighted to learn that about these wheels, being both light and harnessing the 'Rallye' look of old. EVENTUALLY I found a set at the other end of the country in Durham, but mercifully a mate of mine was studying up there, so got him to check them out, and check to see that had the appropriate "these are very light" code (PS815011 - fact fans).
Once in my custody, i stripped them back to bare metal and sprayed them up white.
I know what you're thinking; white wheels just don't look quite right without a small amount of animal fur on then. Well luckily for me, the pet rabbit was on hand to make some kind of home/nest in wheel number 2.
Unacceptable!
With rabbit ejected, a got a set of of Toyo R888's on them. It's worth noting; that originally I had these balanced using the 'stick on' weights common today. However, these just grazed the front calipers so had to go back and get some 'bang on' weights on the front lip instead.
I'd always hankered after a suede steering wheel too. So I began my search for one i thought looked good. Many of you may fall into the same camp as my girlfriend, in that "they all look the same" but in my humble (and by humble - i mean well informed and right), this is neither true nor worthy of saying. For me, the size and balance of the Sparco 323 was the one, and so on it went.
Whilst inside, it was time to address another little niggle. It had quietly pained me that pretty much the entirety of the Rallye interior was black, with the exception of the centre console surround, which was a kind've faux metalic grey. highly unconvincing, and generaly out of place, so I found a black replacement from willing XSI at the local breakers.
Before
After
Jim Davey helped me install the passenger side bucket. (I say helped - he just did it all...).
Its a 'Sparco Evo Plus', the wider cousin of the 'Rev', and a less antisocial choice for the broad spectrum of power-to-weight ruining passengers I shall now doubt be carrying . With that now welded in place, and staying true drivers side fixed install, it had rendered the rear of the car somewhat obsolete, so out it came.
Another trip to see Jim and his magic welding fingers, for a harness bar to slipped in between the rear arches, to anchor my LUKE 4 point harnesses. Another showroom weld, doughnut and lengthy chat with Papa Davey saw the car taking on a beautifully focused, yet useable look.
By this time, the 2011 'Ring trip was fast approaching, and having seen eyebrow raising oil temperates during the last visit, I was keen to get an oil cooler on. I sourced a 16row Mocal item from a gentleman who largely deals in Cosworths (Matt Lewis Racing), along with a thermostatic sandwich plate - ever mindful that this car needs to stay cool when being punished on Armco framed tarmac, but also stay warm and slippery during those winter commutes. Kris B was instrumental in fitting this, and did a fine job, locating it nicely in the second rad fan space, with some pleasant fabrication.
Time for a picture break folks. Heres the Rallye on foreign soil, during a little (well actually just over 1000 miles!) tour of some picturesque villages across France. Drink it in people...
Blangey le Chateux
An MOT failure on the rear beam mounts came at the perfect time to herald in the era of solid Baker B&M replacements. Removing the passive rear steer makes a marked difference in the cars behavior when loaded, particularly on long progressive bends. I know I mentioned the tail felt more planted before, but it's all relative, all degrees. Peugeot have often been celebrated for the passive rear steer, but for me, the removal of that 'play' makes for much better back end communication (I never thought I'd be promoting "back end communication"!) and gives a more confident rear.
The proof was in the pudding, when back out on the Nordschliefe. The now cammed, semi-stripped car felt quick, light and exploitable.
What more do you need?
Putting my dancing shoes on (and drying my towel..)
Rolling on the GG R888 shod steelies, made for some significantly improved corner speeds, and the package came together to keep in touch with/embarrass some far more extravagant machines. Straight-line gusto was admirable too, following a S2000 out the gates, and all the way up to about 120 and the first braking zone, saw the performance identical, gear for gear. I'm not suggesting for one minute the S2K is the performance benchmark, but it's not a bad car for Peugeot 306 to count among its contemporarys.
Now that pretty much brings us to present day, and almost everything I want to do to the car, which leaves me with emptiness and satisfaction in equal measure. Ultimately I intend to replace the exhaust for a slightly less boomy customer, and am leaning towards one of Miles' systems (so my stainless Powerflow will be up for grabs in the not too distant), and I'm dithering about some form of carbon enclosed, cold air fed induction, but Im not at all convinced it's entirely worth it...[discuss]
If anyone has made it this far, I doth my 'endurance cap' to you, and will reward you with a few final pics.
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