Going from a MK4 Fiesta 1.25 to a 306 DTurbo
Discussion
Hey guys,
Currently got a Fiesta 1.25, I'm thinking of getting a 306DTurbo though. They seem like fun (especially for a diesel), theyr cheaper on insurance, should be cheaper to run (I do a 200 mile round trip motorway run every now and then, along with a few other long journeys), have the potential to be run on veggie oil, and tbh I've always had a strange liking for the 306. Anyway, the things I like about my Fiesta are the brilliant steering feel, rifle bolt gearbox, perfect driving position with really well laid out pedals (easy heel n toe) and the perky handling; how would a 306 DTurbo hold up to that? I've heard they have good steering feel and easy lift off oversteer (fun) but I've also heard the gearbox feels rubbish and the seating position isn't great; can anyone confirm or hopefully deny that? Is it worth changing? I'd ideally gain about £200-£300 in the swap. I'm also going to go look at one this sunday.
Also how easy would it be to run it on used veggie oil? I'm *hoping* to get a part time job as a takeaway delivery guy and could probably talk to my employer about using the used veggie oil? How difficult is it to filter it for proper use? Would the MPG be around the same? Would there be any repurcussions on the drivetrain?
PS there was a really good readers ride thread on a guy with a 306 dturbo who ran it on a proper bangernomics budget and had some nice mods to boot, I cant find it anywhere, does anyone remember it?
Currently got a Fiesta 1.25, I'm thinking of getting a 306DTurbo though. They seem like fun (especially for a diesel), theyr cheaper on insurance, should be cheaper to run (I do a 200 mile round trip motorway run every now and then, along with a few other long journeys), have the potential to be run on veggie oil, and tbh I've always had a strange liking for the 306. Anyway, the things I like about my Fiesta are the brilliant steering feel, rifle bolt gearbox, perfect driving position with really well laid out pedals (easy heel n toe) and the perky handling; how would a 306 DTurbo hold up to that? I've heard they have good steering feel and easy lift off oversteer (fun) but I've also heard the gearbox feels rubbish and the seating position isn't great; can anyone confirm or hopefully deny that? Is it worth changing? I'd ideally gain about £200-£300 in the swap. I'm also going to go look at one this sunday.
Also how easy would it be to run it on used veggie oil? I'm *hoping* to get a part time job as a takeaway delivery guy and could probably talk to my employer about using the used veggie oil? How difficult is it to filter it for proper use? Would the MPG be around the same? Would there be any repurcussions on the drivetrain?
PS there was a really good readers ride thread on a guy with a 306 dturbo who ran it on a proper bangernomics budget and had some nice mods to boot, I cant find it anywhere, does anyone remember it?
I run a 306 HDi 2.0, it's a very capable car - handling is indeed very good, very precise and 'feely'. In meridian trim (quite common actually) you get half leather seats which are very comfy - and for me at 6'1 the position is absolutely fine. I have done a couple of very long motorway trips and the car is both comfortable and stable well into 0.9 leptons. The engine is strong, more surging than instant but it pulls nonetheless.
I would agree the gearbox is not perfect, it could just be mine but it can occasionally require a bit of wrenching.
Don't know anything about veggie oil but I do know that remaps on the HDi engine can up the mpg and performance.
Not got round to it myself but there is a good guide here http://peugeot306info.blogspot.co.uk/2012/03/peuge...
It's a solid car, definitely a good shout.
I would agree the gearbox is not perfect, it could just be mine but it can occasionally require a bit of wrenching.
Don't know anything about veggie oil but I do know that remaps on the HDi engine can up the mpg and performance.
Not got round to it myself but there is a good guide here http://peugeot306info.blogspot.co.uk/2012/03/peuge...
It's a solid car, definitely a good shout.
Happy days- we ran 3 306Dturbos in succession in 90s. First thing to say is that they were all amazingly different for cars which in theory wee the same- and none was the HDI- all were old school PSA diesel. The earliest one sounded very dieselly and had a very narrow power band- terrific punch at 2200 rpm and all over by 3. Also felt terribly nose heavy. Second one much quieter and more elastic powerband but all over by 3500rpm. Handling excellent - very throttle adjustable but not 205 scary. Last one- a five door was astonishing- it had just absurd levels of go from 1500- 4000 revs and would leave most BMWs for dead on motorway accelearation. I remain convinced that a devious Peugeot worker had chipped it - even though it was brand new. Bonkers lift off oversteer and a cloud of black smoke evry time you floored it - big enough to obscure the car behind. Brilliant car- but they all were good- excellent seats and ride. Not as fun as a Fiesta on the bends but very French on bad roads- ie compliant.
My wife's 306 was replaced by a 206 DT - and it was a pile of utter merde from day one- never bought another Peugeot after that- thirsty , slow , godawful build quality, terrible driving position , awful seats and joke electrics .
If you can run to it get an early Mk 1 Focus TDCI though- utterly brilliant car to drive in every respect
My wife's 306 was replaced by a 206 DT - and it was a pile of utter merde from day one- never bought another Peugeot after that- thirsty , slow , godawful build quality, terrible driving position , awful seats and joke electrics .
If you can run to it get an early Mk 1 Focus TDCI though- utterly brilliant car to drive in every respect
coppice said:
I remain convinced that a devious Peugeot worker had chipped it - even though it was brand new. Bonkers lift off oversteer and a cloud of black smoke evry time you floored it - big enough to obscure the car behind.
Yeah I think the black smoke is a definate result of chipping, must have been fiddled with 
RE The Vegetable oil question, the 306 TD came with either a Lucas or a Bosch fuel pump. You can only run on vegetable oil if you have the Bosch fuel pump. I don think there are any modifications required.
I ran a Phase 2 306 1.9TD Meridian as a daily hack for 18 months, putting 40k+ on it in the process. It was a brilliant car! Sure it was slow in terms of acceleration but it was perfectly happy at motorway speeds and great fun down the B roads. Unfortunately mine expired in a cloud of accrid smoke on the M4 when it lunched the turbo. I did absolutley cane the thing though
so cant complain.
I ran a Phase 2 306 1.9TD Meridian as a daily hack for 18 months, putting 40k+ on it in the process. It was a brilliant car! Sure it was slow in terms of acceleration but it was perfectly happy at motorway speeds and great fun down the B roads. Unfortunately mine expired in a cloud of accrid smoke on the M4 when it lunched the turbo. I did absolutley cane the thing though
so cant complain.Ran many cars on veggie oil. Was doing it when you could get 3 litres in asda for a quid lol. With used oil you need to filter it. Just to get any bits out. So really need something fine to fillet it with. However with winter fast approaching you have to mix diesel with it to get it started in the cold. I usually ran a 80/20 mix in the summer and the other way round in the winter.
Seating position is a little high. And imo they feel a little old and tired now compared to modern diesels. Depends on what you want. Cheap motoring yes. Fun? Not really.
Seating position is a little high. And imo they feel a little old and tired now compared to modern diesels. Depends on what you want. Cheap motoring yes. Fun? Not really.
I'm a little bit confused though because some people say they had no problems running with just simple particle-filtered WVO (waste veggie oil) whereas some other people are saying you need chemical filters and cleaning and it's very complicated to run WVO etc etc, I'm not really sure what to do. I'm at uni halls so no space for a major filtering operation, if it's just particle filtering thats needed then I could do that but full on chemical cleaning and filtering is beyond my reach, unless I manage to rope in the science department to help me.
Plain filtering to get the bits of batter and chips out is all that is needed for an XUD with a Bosch injection pump to use WVO (changing the fuel filter on the car every year might be expedient as well). Mixing with pump Diesel to varying degrees is recommended this time of year, as posted elsewhere on this thread 
.
Unfortunately if the XUD has a Lucas injection pump the WVO will need "the full monty" of chemical treatment in batches (although from what I can remember, self-contained machines to treat WVO are available for a couple of hundred quid but you'll still need somewhere to put the machine).
You won't know what type of injection pump is fitted for certain until you've seen the car, that is the only immediate problem at this stage. I couldn't comment on how to identify the two types at this moment (off the top of my head), although they are different to look at even without looking for LUCAS or BOSCH writ tiny upon their bodies and I am sure the answer will be on google pics etc
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Incidentally, one can use 2500l of WVO duty free p.a., but I think this needs to be declared to HMRC anyway (again, google it) - it's cheap fuel even if it needs to be "chemically treated" and you buy a machine to do it (and have the space)!!!
.Unfortunately if the XUD has a Lucas injection pump the WVO will need "the full monty" of chemical treatment in batches (although from what I can remember, self-contained machines to treat WVO are available for a couple of hundred quid but you'll still need somewhere to put the machine).
You won't know what type of injection pump is fitted for certain until you've seen the car, that is the only immediate problem at this stage. I couldn't comment on how to identify the two types at this moment (off the top of my head), although they are different to look at even without looking for LUCAS or BOSCH writ tiny upon their bodies and I am sure the answer will be on google pics etc
.Incidentally, one can use 2500l of WVO duty free p.a., but I think this needs to be declared to HMRC anyway (again, google it) - it's cheap fuel even if it needs to be "chemically treated" and you buy a machine to do it (and have the space)!!!
You can run both on WVO, but the lucas pump is Cr*p. They say they will fail if run on WVO for lonf periods of time. Saying that I know of people who have run Lucas pumps with no problems.
To be on the safe side I would hold out for a Bosch. They are also easier to tune.
I filter WVO for my van. This is how I do it.
First i filter it through a sieve to get the large parts out. I then filter it through a 10 micron filter sock(you can buy them on ebay for about £6)into a large metal drum which i have fitted a tap to 1/3 from the bottom. I then let the stand for 2 weeks. The idea is the water in the oil will sink to the bottom and I can drain of the top 2/3. You can heat the oil which makes this process quicker and you don't waste as much oil, but I get the oil for free and was looking for the cheapest way.
I mix it with diesel depending on the time of year. I have done this for 2 years and about 25,000 miles with no problems. I carry a spare diesel filter in the glove box because it would sometimes get gunked up. I have to change it about every 4-6 months.
To be on the safe side I would hold out for a Bosch. They are also easier to tune.
I filter WVO for my van. This is how I do it.
First i filter it through a sieve to get the large parts out. I then filter it through a 10 micron filter sock(you can buy them on ebay for about £6)into a large metal drum which i have fitted a tap to 1/3 from the bottom. I then let the stand for 2 weeks. The idea is the water in the oil will sink to the bottom and I can drain of the top 2/3. You can heat the oil which makes this process quicker and you don't waste as much oil, but I get the oil for free and was looking for the cheapest way.
I mix it with diesel depending on the time of year. I have done this for 2 years and about 25,000 miles with no problems. I carry a spare diesel filter in the glove box because it would sometimes get gunked up. I have to change it about every 4-6 months.
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