206 bouncy bouncy
Discussion
Hi all,
Rather new in this forum as my 8 years of driving experience have always been in Germanic vehicles but I harboured a secret desire for the fun drive of a French hatch (if not so much the quality or durability)...
Anyway here we are, I have a X-plate 206 1.6 GLX, which I really love and find the torquey 90bhp plenty to move it along at good pace. It's a good drive and the only thing detracting from it currently is bouncy suspension. I'm not sure if it's normal or I need new dampers (do you replace springs as a wear item??). It takes away your confidence going quickly - though the car is amazingly grippy it's when you hit undulations that I worry. It feels like the wheels stay planted fine but the body is not with it! By contrast my old C-reg Mercedes, though heavier and on soft suspension, never was an issue over undulating roads - in fact it was a pleasure as it dealt with them so beatifully.
Is that normal 206 setup? On the plus side the ride is excellent. Perhaps that is the trade-off? I'm not really keen to fit aftermarket sports style suspension as I don't want to lose the otherwise good ride/handilng balance. The car has 77,000 miles now so maybe needs new dampers?
Also how wayward is the back end of the 206? I figure it's not as bad as the 205 (in the only one I've driven, I had oversteer in whilst trying to demonstrate what understeer was... scary moment) but presumably the 206 will oversteer (it feels like it), unlike, say, a Ford Ka which is nigh-on impossible to get oversteer out of, no matter how truly crazy you go and hard you try! Let's say I pile on the power out of a wet roundabout then realise it's too much and I'm understeering, if I come off the power will it snap round?
thanks all
Russell
Rather new in this forum as my 8 years of driving experience have always been in Germanic vehicles but I harboured a secret desire for the fun drive of a French hatch (if not so much the quality or durability)...
Anyway here we are, I have a X-plate 206 1.6 GLX, which I really love and find the torquey 90bhp plenty to move it along at good pace. It's a good drive and the only thing detracting from it currently is bouncy suspension. I'm not sure if it's normal or I need new dampers (do you replace springs as a wear item??). It takes away your confidence going quickly - though the car is amazingly grippy it's when you hit undulations that I worry. It feels like the wheels stay planted fine but the body is not with it! By contrast my old C-reg Mercedes, though heavier and on soft suspension, never was an issue over undulating roads - in fact it was a pleasure as it dealt with them so beatifully.
Is that normal 206 setup? On the plus side the ride is excellent. Perhaps that is the trade-off? I'm not really keen to fit aftermarket sports style suspension as I don't want to lose the otherwise good ride/handilng balance. The car has 77,000 miles now so maybe needs new dampers?
Also how wayward is the back end of the 206? I figure it's not as bad as the 205 (in the only one I've driven, I had oversteer in whilst trying to demonstrate what understeer was... scary moment) but presumably the 206 will oversteer (it feels like it), unlike, say, a Ford Ka which is nigh-on impossible to get oversteer out of, no matter how truly crazy you go and hard you try! Let's say I pile on the power out of a wet roundabout then realise it's too much and I'm understeering, if I come off the power will it snap round?
thanks all
Russell
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