I own a Peugeot 309 in India. I wish to know the following:
(a) Tyre pressures -Maker says 29 psi front and 33 psi rear, as written in the car manual. But car gets real jumpy at this air pressure. Also, the radials which are necessary to look a bit "flat", do not look so. What would be the correct pressures?
Also, does overinflation cause any affect on the shock absorbers?
(b) Which are original spark plugs for the car? Alternative sparks?
(c) I run the car on LPG. Is it necessary to change the plug to a colder one and reduce the gap by 0.1 mm? Which make and type of spark plugs can you suggest?
(d) Which type of high performance air filter can I put in place of the original one? Where can I buy it from?
(e) After runnig on LPG, the engine oil is very clean even after 12000 km. Do you still recommend changing it?
(f) Is decarbonisation necessary before oil change? What are the products for the same?
(g) Can I use fully synthetic engine oils? Which ones will be suitable? What about Castrol Magnatec? While changing from semi-synthetic Total 20W50 oil to Magnatec, what is the procedure?
(h) What happens if I am told by my mechanic that the shock absorbers require to eb dismantled for repairs/ renewal, and I continue to use them for highway drive at low speed to get some more life out of them? Will I end up spoiling them more than what they actually are, and will a repairs at a later date cause more expense?
Thanking you in anticipation,
Nitin Birari
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Since mine's a 309 diesel I can't answer all your questions, but ...
(a) I run at the recommended 29/32 psi, as written on a plate stuck underneath the driver's door (may be on other side in India?). Perfectly OK, but a diesel has different handling anyway. It might be worth checking the pressures with a different pressure gauge - yours could be under-reading. I think the apparent flatness of the tyres is irrelevant if the pressures are correct. Over inflated tyres will give a harder/bouncier ride which could, over a *very* long time, cause a slight increase in the wear of the shock absorbers - but I really think the effect would be too small to notice.
(b)- (c)- (d)-
(e) Change at the normal recommended intervals. I'm prepared to believe there may be less combustion products in the oil when using LPG, but you will still get metallic wear particles.
(f) Maybe things are different in India, but in the UK nobody ever decarbs as a standard part of an oil change. Some people like to add oil additives, but there are many comments on this site saying oil additives are a waste of money.
(g) Fully synthetic oils seem a bit over-the-top for a 309. A common comment is that fully synthetic oils can do more harm than good when added to an old engine which hasn't been used to the luxury. These oils can dislodge deposits which are the only thing stopping oil leaking out of various gaskets (or the only thing holding the engine together!). There is no procedure when changing from one type of oil to another - drain and re-fill - the little bit of old oil left behind will mix happily with the new. By the way, is Castrol Magnatec fully synthetic? Maybe someone else can confirm.
(h) If your mechanic says you need new shock absorbers, get them replaced - they are a safety feature. In theory, you can run the car without any shock absorbers. You would still need the struts and springs at the front, but there's no need for anything working inside the strut, and you could completely remove the rear shock absorbers. But your handling complaints in point (a) would seem like nothing in comparison, and you would probably crash the first time you had to brake in a hurry!
Ian
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Thanks Ian... That did answer quite a few of the doubts. I am of course not sure about the tyre pressures... perhaps I should check more.
Did you ever check out the Hayne's Manual? Is it a good investment?
- Nitin
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I am of course not sure about the tyre pressures... perhaps I should check more.
See if this site helps:-
www.dunloptyres.co.uk/site/tyres/car/pressureGuide/
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