Post #3
Welcome along. I am in a verbose mood after a couple of Heinies, so here goes. There is a lot of good advice on here and I've found it a superb resource in the almost-6 years I've owned a 306.
Timing belt etc. There are reputable aftermarket makes around (Gates, Contitech) but I just go OE, and an OE water pump and seal. Cheap water pumps are a waste of time as if the impeller comes loose or they leak you are in for another bill and cheap parts suddenly don't seem so cheap. The rule here is: do it nice or do it twice. There is a thread on here with a list of parts to replace while in there - just do all of them. I would do accessory belt and crank pulley was well if they are not in perfect condition. Then you know where you are. There are billet alloy crank pulleys available which lighten the reciprocating mass but you are doing away with the harmonic damping. Your choice. I stuck with OE. Rich W on here does these and billet flywheels which you could consider if doing the clutch. Depends what you want really.
You can also get a limited-slip diff (LSD), for road use the Quaife ATB is good, others like plate types for the track which may need more maintenance. Best to combine with a gearbox refresh if paying someone else to do it to save on potential labour charges - take it apart once etc.
Clutch. Depends what you are doing with the car. For road use stick with OE or quality aftermarket (by OE manufacturers such as Valeo).
Oil. OE is 10w40 semi-synth. On a 18-year old car with 100K miles I would not go thinner. Any quality make will be OK but I choose to over-spec it and go for a high-end fully synth 10w40 such as Millers or Gulf. The extra cost of the oil I save on labour by doing it myself. Do the gearbox oil as well, as who knows how long that stuff has been in there. Use OE Peugeot gearbox oil - not expensive and give the best results according to experts on here.
Exhaust. There was a Blue Flame stainless on here that apparently sounds OK but I will defer to others on the best alternative.
K&N filter. The factory airbox is a good design and avoids the potential K&N cone filter issues of sucking hot air into the engine or, if mounted too low down, dirty water. I changed mine back to OE, although it made a nice burble. Factory airbox FTW.
Brakes/suspension. The best thing you can do is make sure it is all up to scratch. Calipers all working properly (rears prone to seizing) new discs and pads if needed. Lots of threads on here about brakes, but the OE brakes are good if not worn out or seized. Suspension and bushes are a prime area for attention depending on the history of the car. Mine felt fine until I renewed worn bushes and the improvement was incredible. Well maintained the handling and driving experience is superb. In my case new OE shocks, springs and bushes were a massive improvement on 13-year-old ones.
Check the rear axle for excessive camber or noises. Check FAQs on this.
Other upgrades to consider are upper and lower strut braces, Bilstein B8 dampers/Eibach springs -35mm (lower rear axle to suit), Xsara VTS faster steering rack (brilliant upgrade).
You don't need to stray too far from original spec as Pug got it largely right at the outset, but some subtle enhancements are good.
The FAQs on here are excellent, and use the search function as well, there is a wealth of info.
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Cherry Rallye SOLD
Rimrod
Posted 13th Dec 2016 at 18:22
