My Peugeot 205 GTI

Lopéz · 24 Dec 2011 at 17:03

[TW]Fox;20871698 said:
Have you moved to Austria? Snowtrac are a bit extreme, no? Wouldn't Quatrac be a better choice?

I could go for Snowtrac, Quatrac or Hi-Trac to be honest.

I'm torn between the Snowtrac, which gets very favourable reviews, and the Quatrac, which also gets good reviews. My concern with the Snowtrac is the wear rate, although on a light car like this I don't suppose it would make a huge difference.

[TW]Fox · 24 Dec 2011 at 17:07

Quatrac is an all-season as well so probably better suited to your aims than Snowtrac.

Lopéz · 24 Dec 2011 at 17:20

Disco Boy said:
Is the 1.9 a straight swap for the 1.6 or is there a big difference between the two?

Straight swap, 15bhp increase but you lose the eagerness to rev that the 1.6 has. Not really worth the effort in my opinion.

kaiowas · 24 Dec 2011 at 22:22

Lopéz said:
Next on the list: Tyres! The tyres are horrendous, so I think I'm going to opt for a set of Vredestein Snowtrac 3. Performance summer tyres are virtually unheard of these days in this size (185/60/14) but premium winter tyres are in plentiful supply.

Tell me about it, exact same size as the MR2. I'm glad I don't have to buy road tyres for them anymore as there really is no choice out there. You can still get R888s or A048s when the weather is nicer though

Lopéz · 24 Dec 2011 at 22:45

I could live with expensive but good choice, or cheap with rubbish choice, but this size is neither. They're expensive and average!

aproctor · 25 Dec 2011 at 20:57

Lopéz said:
I could live with expensive but good choice, or cheap with rubbish choice, but this size is neither. They're expensive and average!

Yokohama C Drives are about as good as you can get in this size without spending loads.

The Michelin PE2s are hard to find but availible at £100~ a corner.

Lopéz · 26 Dec 2011 at 14:03

Not tried C Drives but my experiences with the A Drive have put me off a bit.

I'm not paying £100 a corner for Michelin's so I think I'm actually going to take Fox's advice and opt for the Quatracs.

Clarkey · 26 Dec 2011 at 14:21

Why not go for the Conti PremiumContact2? They are the clear winner in that size.

[TW]Fox · 26 Dec 2011 at 14:38

Clarkey said:
Why not go for the Conti PremiumContact2? They are the clear winner in that size.

Are you insane? It's WINTER! You have to fit a winter tyre or you'll have no grip. Even though it's England. And 11c.

Lopéz · 26 Dec 2011 at 14:52

I've never been a big fan of Continentals, although I haven't tried any for a few years admittedly.
Everyone seems to think the Falken ZE912 is fantastic on the 205 forums, but I was pretty underwhelmed by them on the Manta. A few years ago I was using Avon ZV1s and then ZV3s and again I didn't think they were great in the damp. The Yokohama A539 is okay when you get some heat into it but in the damp and cold they can be pretty disastrous.

I hate buying tyres. It's not even like you can road test them yourself first.

Clarkey · 26 Dec 2011 at 15:00

PC2 are brilliant in wet/damp conditions. Can drive like a loon in a 230hp/1200kg e36 with little 205 wide ones on anyway. Going to be on donington park in that on Wednesday so will be able to report back on how they cope with serious abuse.

aproctor · 26 Dec 2011 at 15:01

THe c drives are nothing like the a drive thankfully.

Lopéz · 26 Dec 2011 at 15:02

Clarkey said:
PC2 are brilliant in wet/damp conditions. Can drive like a loon in a 230hp/1200kg e36 with little 205 wide ones on anyway. Going to be on donington park in that on Wednesday so will be able to report back on how they cope with serious abuse.

Please, I'd be interested.

MikeHiow · 26 Dec 2011 at 15:25

I've always seen the A539 recommended in these smaller sizes.

Nice buy - I looked for one before I got the Clio but all I found was overpriced, crap examples :/

kaiowas · 26 Dec 2011 at 15:29

MikeHiow said:
I've always seen the A539 recommended in these smaller sizes.

There has been no stock of A539 in this size for a few years now. They were never the grippiest tyre out there but were always nice and predictable for when you wanted to drive like a hooligan. I've actually still got a pair kicking around with plenty of tread on them but they're a few years old and not currently mounted on rims so will probably not get used now.

Lopéz · 26 Dec 2011 at 15:39

Yeah it's a shame about the A539, they were quite predictable and had nice stiff sidewalls too.

Clarkey · 26 Dec 2011 at 16:48

While you're here Lopez you might be able to answer a query of mine, considering your rally knowledge. A car fitted with a hydraulic handbrake, what implications does this have when changing/bleeding the brake fluid?

Lopéz · 26 Dec 2011 at 16:53

It can be a proper pain in the arse to bleed through initially (ie once you first set the system up)
When I plumbed mine in it took a long time for any fluid to come through but after a lot of pumping on the handbrake the fluid started coming through.

If you use a vacuum bleeder or pressure bleeder it should be a lot easier. If the hydro is already fitted you should just be able to bleed conventionally without too much bother.

Clarkey · 26 Dec 2011 at 17:35

Yeah it's already installed and works fine, wanting to change the fluid though before the track day as the pedal is a little spongy. You reckon just bleed through the calipers in the normal fashion then and just disregard the handbrake? That sounds excellent to me.

saitrix · 26 Dec 2011 at 18:53

kaiowas said:
There has been no stock of A539 in this size for a few years now. They were never the grippiest tyre out there but were always nice and predictable for when you wanted to drive like a hooligan. I've actually still got a pair kicking around with plenty of tread on them but they're a few years old and not currently mounted on rims so will probably not get used now.

Last time I saw A539's was on my Dolomite about 3 years ago. They were nice pushable tyres to be honest. Shame they stopped them really.