Beginners modding - Peugeot 307

[RobinBanks]

Funkstar De Luxe said:

I spent a lot of time (and money) modifying a Fiat Barchetta. It was great fun, and really helped me learn a lot of skills.

Would fully recommend doing so.

Some of my mods: H&R Springs • Bilstein B6 Shocks • SuperSprint stainless exhaust • Momo steering wheel • full Alpine ICE install • drilled and grooved brake discs • Green Stuff pads • Goodrich braided lines • Michelin Pilot Exalto PE2 tyres • GSR Induction kit

Cool numberplate.

[Mr2Mike]

TheJimi said:

Why?

Young petrolhead, excited about his new motor and wants to tweak it a bit?

Most of us have been there, done that and can understand exactly where he's coming from.

I fully agree, and I hate to piss on anyone's chips when they are all excited about a new (to them) car, but IMO he will regret sinking money into it other than for servicing and fixing any faults. At least a tidy, standard car will be relatively easy to move on when he wants to upgrade.

[Craikeybaby]

I was beginning to think the OP was a troll, fair play for coming back.

How did you come to the conclusion that a Peugeot 307 is your best bet? My colleague had one and it was a complete POS, it regularly had electrical issued. So if you want to learn to fix them it is a good choice.

The way I see it is that mods can make sense on a car that you are planning to keep for a long time, but not as much on s temporary car, you will be hit by the cost 3 times, to purchase the parts, on insurance and on resale.

The post about upgrading the nut behind the wheel is a valid one, I'm not saying you're a bad driver, or even that you should join the IAM, something like the Caterham Experience etc would be both fun and improve your driving for when you have your new car.

[thatdude]

One thing I recommend is servicing the calipers properly and trying some differant brake pads.

For the calipers, pump the piston(s?) out until clean shiny metal is showing. Clean everything off with brake cleaner, get it all nice and clean, then smear around some red-rubber grease (vegetable-based grease, not petroleum-based grease...petrol-based will swell seals and cause them to fail). Squeeze back in the piston with waterpump pliers, and when you put things back use copper-slip or similar anti-seize compoouond on metal-metal contact surfaces. Such a service will help stop calipers from sticking and seizing (I use this method on my motorbike, where the calipers are quite exposed to weather and elements...since doing it that way ive not had a problem).

Purge through some clean brake fluid, might want a vacum device for sucking through new fluid, makes life easier.

I also recommend changing the gearbox oil; if anything this is nice for the gearbox internals. I changed the oi on my honda civic gearbox...firstly, it was low on volumne (as far as I am aware it was the factory fill) and secondly there was a noticable differance in shifting quality (for the better) with new fluid filled to the correct level.

Might want to think about different tyres (do your research) and potentially differant shocks for an improved ride (also be aware of knackered bushes)

[KM666]

Sounds like a perfect chance to do everything you want to do and experiment a bit dont hold back while you're inclined to mod most stuff is easily reversible anyway. I regret never slamming a car. Yeah its chav and ruins the handling but I always wimped out claiming all sorts to justify lowering springs and mild upgrade shocks. Do the big exhaust and enjoy every second of the shamelessness of it all. I used to love pulling into my old works car park, dodgy wheels, fogs on with illegal coloured half lights pumping hardcore for the full chav factor. For me all it lead to was talking to other guys at work about cars. It was a happy coincidence that most of the guys my age there ran vauxhalls. I've got what I did listed in the my garage section with most stuff priced up in the blog too. Although most of the stuff I did was maintainance and repairs I did get a fair amount of cheap mods done.

Edited by KM666 on Monday 9th February 19:06

[Mr2Mike]

KM666 said:

I used to love pulling into my old works car park, dodgy wheels, fogs on with illegal coloured half lights pumping hardcore for the full chav factor.

Don't worry, lots of people make themselves look like utter tts when they were younger. You'll grow out of it, hopefully.

[BritishRacinGrin]

jay44 said:

First and foremost: what the actual fk? I've put a lot of time ant thought into deciding that the 307 is the car for me for many reasons, mostly bang-for buck related though - and I'm not interested in people telling me "what I should've done" that isn't the pretext to this thread. I get people bash others on the net, but there is no point saying "oh I wouldn't do this" when no one, to be frank, asked you what you would do.

(rant over)


I am not looking to get a return on the cash I put in. This will be my 2nd car, after letting my '04 hyundai getz go. This car is only intended to last me until Winter 2016/17 at which point I will be in my year in industry and will have saved a large sum of money to go towards a much nicer car - to which I've made another thread and decided on. But that's a chat for a different thread! I will only be driving this car in winter, and when I'm not abroad in summer, so I doubt I'll clock more than 2k miles on it. When buying this car, I expect to get nothing back for resell, so I know full well the mods won't help and my cash is going to waste. I'm not going to be spending hundreds, I'd say my cap will be about £300 for some cheap small mods, maybe £500 it's not fixed, time will tell

Man buys 'cheap' car, spends quite a lot of money on making it worse and then bins it two years later after 2k miles. Doesn't sound like cheap motoring to me.

You are wasting money which could've been spent on a better car.

You are trying to make a Peugeot 307 1.4 something it isn't (faster, 'sportier', 'cooler' etc).

The reason you're getting a load of stick for this is that many of the folk here have done it and later realised it was all a big waste of time and money. Those who haven't been there and done it were either the people who were either fortunate to realise that fact at the time or the people who grew up years ago when you could quite easily unleash more performance from the poorly spec'd cars of the time.

[PhillipM]

I don't think modding is a waste of time and money, I love modding cars, and I love Peugeots. But just not a 307. You'll spend so much time and money repairing it you won't have time to mod it anyway...

[Yazar]

OP- Is it to impress the girls in the Friday night cruise at McDonalds?

Honest question as not sure if this is a pimping up the 307 for 'coolness' or for actual mods. If the latter then better suspension to reduce bodyroll would be the first thing, if the former than get your large exhaust and banging stereo.

Either case, drive safely.

[jay44]

Vaud said:

jay44 said:

I will only be driving this car in winter, and when I'm not abroad in summer, so I doubt I'll clock more than 2k miles on it. When buying this car, I expect to get nothing back for resell, so I know full well the mods won't help and my cash is going to waste. I'm not going to be spending hundreds, I'd say my cap will be about £300 for some cheap small mods, maybe £500 it's not fixed, time will tell

2k miles. So let's say 50 hrs at 40mph average. So £10 an hour in mods.

I wouldn't bother. If it's winter, then a good set of tyres, a service and a decent valet and save your cash; make more back on the car (modding it will cost you more in insurance and reduced resale)

What mods could give you £10 an hour of pleasure on a 1.4 4pot?

I'm not knocking mods, just your man maths. Save it for a car you will do decent mileage in and get the benefit.

-It's not about the money it will cost p/hr - you're looking at this from completely the wrong angle. It's something I want to do, that is justification enough for me. Who cares if it's a waste, it isn't your money?

Craikeybaby said:

I was beginning to think the OP was a troll, fair play for coming back.

How did you come to the conclusion that a Peugeot 307 is your best bet? My colleague had one and it was a complete POS, it regularly had electrical issued. So if you want to learn to fix them it is a good choice.

The way I see it is that mods can make sense on a car that you are planning to keep for a long time, but not as much on s temporary car, you will be hit by the cost 3 times, to purchase the parts, on insurance and on resale.

The post about upgrading the nut behind the wheel is a valid one, I'm not saying you're a bad driver, or even that you should join the IAM, something like the Caterham Experience etc would be both fun and improve your driving for when you have your new car.

- I like the shape of the hatchback, probably the most important factor for me when choosing a car: if I like the way it looks. As for the rest; it was a 85+bhp motor with leg room and 5doors. That's it. Parts are easy enough to get hold of and there wasn't really much more to it than that.

I'm doing the mods because I want to, not because it makes sense. As for the wheel nut: how can one nut make a difference, and how much so?

thatdude said:

One thing I recommend is servicing the calipers properly and trying some differant brake pads.

For the calipers, pump the piston(s?) out until clean shiny metal is showing. Clean everything off with brake cleaner, get it all nice and clean, then smear around some red-rubber grease (vegetable-based grease, not petroleum-based grease...petrol-based will swell seals and cause them to fail). Squeeze back in the piston with waterpump pliers, and when you put things back use copper-slip or similar anti-seize compoouond on metal-metal contact surfaces. Such a service will help stop calipers from sticking and seizing (I use this method on my motorbike, where the calipers are quite exposed to weather and elements...since doing it that way ive not had a problem).

Purge through some clean brake fluid, might want a vacum device for sucking through new fluid, makes life easier.

I also recommend changing the gearbox oil; if anything this is nice for the gearbox internals. I changed the oi on my honda civic gearbox...firstly, it was low on volumne (as far as I am aware it was the factory fill) and secondly there was a noticable differance in shifting quality (for the better) with new fluid filled to the correct level.

Might want to think about different tyres (do your research) and potentially differant shocks for an improved ride (also be aware of knackered bushes)

- thank you for the suggestion, like the gearbox part, that sounds like a good shout. The rest sounds a bit too detailed for a car nooby though, but will have a read about it regardless, cheers!

KM666 said:

Sounds like a perfect chance to do everything you want to do and experiment a bit dont hold back while you're inclined to mod most stuff is easily reversible anyway. I regret never slamming a car. Yeah its chav and ruins the handling but I always wimped out claiming all sorts to justify lowering springs and mild upgrade shocks. Do the big exhaust and enjoy every second of the shamelessness of it all. I used to love pulling into my old works car park, dodgy wheels, fogs on with illegal coloured half lights pumping hardcore for the full chav factor. For me all it lead to was talking to other guys at work about cars. It was a happy coincidence that most of the guys my age there ran vauxhalls. I've got what I did listed in the my garage section with most stuff priced up in the blog too. Although most of the stuff I did was maintainance and repairs I did get a fair amount of cheap mods done.

Edited by KM666 on Monday 9th February 19:06

-*******

• ******

-This guy gets it. Exactly it, I want to experiment on a motor, I want to have mistakes to learn from and even regret for the future. I'm not going to sit here wondering, just because a good lot of you are mature and looking down on me doing these chav mods. Yeah some of them are a bit chavy, but who cares!

Mr2Mike said:

KM666 said:

I used to love pulling into my old works car park, dodgy wheels, fogs on with illegal coloured half lights pumping hardcore for the full chav factor.

Don't worry, lots of people make themselves look like utter tts when they were younger. You'll grow out of it, hopefully.

I am young, relatively at least, and I probably will grow out of it. But I'm here now

[jay44]

Yazar said:

OP- Is it to impress the girls in the Friday night cruise at McDonalds?

Honest question as not sure if this is a pimping up the 307 for 'coolness' or for actual mods. If the latter then better suspension to reduce bodyroll would be the first thing, if the former than get your large exhaust and banging stereo.

Either case, drive safely.

I'm gonna disregard the first bit, old man.


The mods aren't for 'coolness' as I said before, this work is for me, not for anyone else. I couldn't care less what others think of the mod ideas I'm after. A mod is a mod to me. Some are more visible, some are performance, some are wiser moves. Yes there's sometimes overlap and many more types that I'm not gonna go into, but at the end of the day - work done on a car by means of changing out a part is a mod. And I have a set of mods I'm after

[jay44]

I really and truly did not expect this thread to be met with such negativity and hostility. Whilst I fully anticipated stupid questions like the previous post and mcdonalds, I expected a good 90% of the posts to be supportive and suggestive.

If you aren't here to help, just leave it out? I get most of the PH community thinks it a s*** idea. Great, you've made your point, don't need to post more about it.

- added to original post for new posters

[BritishRacinGrin]

jay44 said:

Craikeybaby said:

The post about upgrading the nut behind the wheel is a valid one, I'm not saying you're a bad driver, or even that you should join the IAM, something like the Caterham Experience etc would be both fun and improve your driving for when you have your new car.

As for the wheel nut: how can one nut make a difference, and how much so?

Think about it- 'the nut behind the wheel' is the nut driving the car i.e. you. As R U LOCAL and a few others have said, upgrading the driver is one mod which will universally fit onto any car or bike you ever own, it is the single most important factor in how effectively you can drive the vehicle- so consider some experiences or additional training to make you more observant, smoother and safer.

You're right in saying that most people here will think what you're doing is a bad idea. I think that's primarily due to your choice of car and your choice of mods. If you hold onto your cash a little longer you'll be able to afford a better car and more effective modifications for it, so ultimately you end up with maybe a hot hatch with carefully upgraded suspension and brakes rather than a 1.4 shopping trolley with a bean can exhaust and overly bright, misaligned headlights.

If you think I'm being hostile you need to google the word 'hostile'

You have no obligation to give my opinion any credence but this is an open forum for opinions and guess what, you're going to get opinions.

Edited by BritishRacinGrin on Tuesday 10th February 05:39

[Vaud]

jay44 said:

-It's not about the money it will cost p/hr - you're looking at this from completely the wrong angle. It's something I want to do, that is justification enough for me. Who cares if it's a waste, it isn't your money?

If you want to waste £500 or £5000 or £50000 on a bunch of pointless mods for 2k miles then knock yourself out.

This is PH, not Max Power - which is why you are getting the reaction you are. Most people here love their cars and even selective/extensive modifications. It's a broad church.

If you want a bunch of people saying it's the best idea in the world and sending you links to £100 fart can exhausts, claiming 10HP gains and "sounds great" then this probably isn't the ideal forum to get that response.

[CarAbuser]

ey bruv get urself on of dees

http://www.stxstyling.co.uk/StxStyling/Cars/showit...

i got one best 100£ i spent ever, i recon i gettin 10hp at least innit and sounds sik bruv.

all my mate said ey yo ur zorst is wikkid respekt

[Vaud]

CarAbuser said:

ey bruv get urself on of dees

http://www.stxstyling.co.uk/StxStyling/Cars/showit...

i got one best 100£ i spent ever, i recon i gettin 10hp at least innit and sounds sik bruv.

all my mate said ey yo ur zorst is wikkid respekt

[anonymous-user]

Of all the options out there, why a 307?!

You can't polish this turd. Well you can, but it'll still be a turd.

[scarble]

I don't think you can polish a turd, it'd just smear everywhere.
God forbid you actually try a power buffer, it'd spray.

Op, like a few people have said, you're better off spending the money on keeping it in good order and/or putting it towards something else.
There's just no love for the 307, so no one sells any parts for it. Unless maybe it's got a common engine with something else which people do like to mod, which I'm fairly confident it doesn't.

[Mr2Mike]

scarble said:

I don't think you can polish a turd, it'd just smear everywhere.
God forbid you actually try a power buffer, it'd spray.

Mythbusters polishes turds

I think even Adam and Jamie would struggle with a Pug 307 though.

[Bennet]

Make sure you keep a link to this thread and re-read it in a couple of years' time.

Your OP doesn't make it clear if you've actually bought a 307 yet or not. If there's still any chance of rescuing you from this folly, consider an MG ZR. 1.4, 105 hp. A "+" model will have skirts and 17" wheels. A good car for learning about handling and steering feel and still just about looks good.

Edited by Bennet on Tuesday 10th February 09:26