Suspension a bit firm?

[markj2210]

Can any tell me if Peugeot fit the same suspension on all 406s.

I have a 53 plate HDI 110 s (75,000 miles) and I feel every bump in the road. On the motorway I feel the constant rumble of the tarmac and its twitchy. The car is only smooth on the very smootest of surfaces.

I don't drive the car hard and put comfort ahead of handling (within reason).

Everyone says how silky smooth the 406 is but I can't see it with mine.

Is there a softer strut that peugeot fitted to the exec cars?

Or is there a particular part underneath that causes this?

One of the front tyres was screwed so I had Peugeot carry out a geometry check and I have had two new mich prims fitted on the front but its just the same?

[DaiRees]

Doesn't sound right to me , just a couple of questions. Is it an estate? Has it got standard sized wheels & tyres, and what size are they? Have you checked the tyre pressures?

[markj2210]

Hi Dairees

The car is a saloon and an S model, not sure if Peugeot stiffened things up from the LX because its got the chrome tail pipe leather steering wheel and alloys. The tyres are 205 55 16s. Peugeot adjusted the geometry and said its virtually spot on. After I had the tyres fitted I checked the pressures. 2.5 bar all round it says on the drivers door pillar.
All I seem to do is moan to myself about the state of Britains roads.

I was thinking of seeing if its worth changing the shocks but this isnt cheap and im not sure if it would change anything.

[markj2210]

Sorry.

They are the standard Peugoet wheels.

[Welly]

This is unusual. The one good thing about the 406 is the way it ploughs on through any road surface and stays dead ahead.

I know your 406 is fitted with 16" wheels, most of ours have 15" wheels with comedy squishy tyres and these things do a fantastic job of 'ironing out' uneven surfaces.

My ride can be firm-ish or choppy-ish at low speed but I don't think anyone here would say the suspension was 'hard'. Also I am not aware that the 'S' spec added any kind of sporting potential, more just the trim level.

I don't think that your 16" wheels will affect all this too much though. I would get the front wheels in the air and give them a good rocking side to side and up/down by grabbing the wheel at quarter to three and half past twelve postions. If there is some undue movement here then you may have a worn suspension arm or bushings causing the car to 'track' by itself and also transmit road roar into the chassis.

[puggy]

i changed my wheels from the 15" 195 x 65 to 16" 205 x 55 and i have noticed a
difference in the ride comfort. some of the bumps and holes it doesn't seem to iron
out as much as it used too

[jameslxdt]

16 inch alloys are all wrong for the 406, the tyres are just too thin, from the 406's ive had (2 salloons and 2 estates) the estate generally has a much firmer ride, and handles a million times better than the saloon

[Welly]

Sweet Mother of Jesus!

James, here, before 6pm

*faints*

[steve_earwig]

Insomnia?

Hi there Mark, have you done all the traditional things like bouncing corners etc? Do you know any of the history of the car? For instance, maybe it's some previous owners idea of a "sporty" set up.

[markj2210]

Thanks Guys.

There is a 'rattle' when going over bumps but im not sure if this is the splash guard thing because the fixings for these dont seem to do a great job.

I have just been out and changed the tyre pressures to 2.4 bar instead of 2.5 and that has made a slight difference.

I think I will have the suspension components checked properly because my knowledge is limited.

Just a thought...If everything checks out ok, how much difference do you guys think there would be if I did change the wheels for 15", would this greatly affect the handling? Would this affect the speedo etc?

I know tyres would be cheaper for a start and surely I would come off a few pennies better off.

I know i'm a wierdo for wanting smaller wheels but comfort is more important to me than handling (so long as its not like a lifeboat)

Thanks

[steve_earwig]

I know I'm being a bit cheeky here 'cos I live in another country but maybe you could borrow a set from another member to see if they do the trick, before you shell out a wad. I can't help thinking that another 8mm of rubber won't make that much difference.

[markj2210]

Your probably right Steve

I did wonder whether someone might have 'meddled' with it.

I'm gonna get it checked out and take it from there then. If it turns out to be something silly i'll let you know

[jameslxdt]

Sweet Mother of Jesus!

James, here, before 6pm

*faints*

i had the day off work for a change

[DurhamRed]

My 2.2 Sri has the 16" factory fit alloys (swame as the 'S' ones) with 205/55 tyres on and I think the ride is spot on, very fluent but sharp enough to match most if not beat most other saloons of its time. Tracking is cruical on the 406 though and I have had it done twice as I believe there is a bit of tolerance allowed on the front and it has to be bang on nominal to be correct. Bottom / top end of the allowance can cause twitchy steering.
I put 32 PSi in front tyres and 30 in the rears which seem to suit it well. Also I recently changed mine from P6000's (with 3mm tread left on) on the front to new Continentals (yesterday) and the car handles sharper than Christian Ronaldo!

[markj2210]

I've had the suspension checked out and its all ok.

Yes Durham, I looked at the tyre pressures again because on the drivers door pillar it says they should be 2.5 barr, thats about 36 psi all round and thats what I had them inflated them to.

Yeah I know, thats high but thats what Peugeot recommend!

Anyway I've let them down to 33 psi now and the ride is much better.
Thinking of letting them down a bit more to 32psi, What do you guys reckon.

Something that didn't help was the rattling underneath. I think its the tray under the engine so i've bought new fixings for that but havnt fitted them yet.
.....

Just another quick question: I had an old Toyata high ace van that started the instant I turned the key, everytime. My pug chugs for at least 5 times everytime before turning over.
Whats everyone elses like? Anything that can improve this, glowplugs??