Leaking front suspension

[Brett]

Had a great day today,
Bought some new pads which I intended to fit myself. Unfortunately I couldn't free the calipers so I trundled down to the garage to let them loose on it with the ol' air wrench.

Fantastic, they refuse to fit the pads 'cause the discs are too worn. Oh well bit the bullet get them changed, all four

In addition, got shown a leaking seal on one of the front shocks, and a dodgey bearing on one of the rear wheels. So much for saving a few quid and doing the pads myself, at least it stops (abrubtly) now

I'm now looking for any suggestions on suspension for a '99 3.0 V6 Saloon, open to all advice on whether to go for an all round change only replace the fronts or even a "performance" lowering kit....

Looking forward to any input you guys might have.

[Benner]

God your just like me!!!

I dont think I have ever tried to do something simple on a car without it leading to something else. I've had tyres that led to discs and pads. A service that lead to strut top mounts. And 2 new tyres that lead to 4 new ones ( some plum had fitted the incorrect size on one of the rear wheels).

Luckily though all that was on my old MK2 Golf, although saying that with my 1st service at a main Peugeot stealer I was told that I needed a new engine mount, I had a fuel leak, needed a new PAS hose and needed new rear brake shoes, and all this came to £1200 without the engine mount!! This was amazing as a friend of mine did all the work for me for £40.

Anyway as for the suspension, I would stick with the factory standard ( I am sure Blue will agree with me here, and I am sure Geordieboy wont! ) as that gives you the great ride the 406 is renound for.

Ben

[Welly]

In truth, I would actually go for a lowering kit

The reason I would do this would be to expolit some of the handling. You have a nice V6 but the comfy floaty suspension prevents you from enjoying it to the full.

Does the V6 saloon have the brembo calipers or is it just the coupe?

Niz on here may have some info on springs/dampers because he lowered his by 40mm. Maybe a 30mm drop would suit yours. Possibly an eibach set up?

The other bonus would be if you wanted 17'' wheels the would look nice with the drop.

Welton

(proveyor of tuning advice )

[Blue406]

Welt, you're a traitor!

Naturally I'd say go with factory standard, but perhaps a top brand make for the shockers. something bound to last longer than Peugeot OEM?

However, I do kinda agree with Welton here. The V6 is a totaly different beast to the rest of the setups on the 406.
A lower ride might make the day to day cruising firmer and more uncomfortable, but the corners would be a lot of fun.

For gawd sake don't get lower profile tyres though if you get 17 inchers.

The 406 has a nice grip level with its standard tyres as is. Enough to get you round corners rapidly but not too much.
When your car is super grippy (as it will get with lower profile tyres) you tend to have less room to recover when it lets go. The 406 has a nice balance and it talks to you. You know when you're going to loose grip and you have plenty room to recover when it lets go.

[Brett]

Thanks for the tips. Welton mine doesn't have the brembo calipers, if they are they're very much in disguise and no brembo branding which I would expect to see!

I probably will go for a lowering kit when finances allow!!

Blue406, I totally agree that the standard 406 setup gives you loads of informative feed back. It's great when you can feel the tyres just starting to let go round some of those bends

[Brett]

Hey Welton, got any web addresses for sites that carry eibach suspension kits for 406's? I can't find any

[jameslxdt]

i saw a kit on ebay but it was over £450!