20-06-2016, 11:36 AM
It's not that the HDi's can't make power, its the effort and expense you have to go to for it.
You can buy a PD130, get a £45 map from blacksmoke.com and have 180bhp/380Nm instantly with a nicer powerband. Sure it's probably not the best map around but I've flashed their maps to quite a few cars that are still going strong 3/4 years later!
To do the same with a HDi you've gotta buy a GT1749v, make up adapters for it, fit an intercooler and piping, fit a better clutch, have it remapped at what I guess is around £200 nowadays... And you still don't have the comfort, refinement and spec of a modern car. And the truth is, most 306s handle like crap these days which is meant to be their redeeming feature...of course you could replace every piece of suspension and steering with new genuine stuff (not ebay shite) but that's a lot more time and expense on a car that's still worth sod all when you come to sell...
Also have to think about insurance, Admiral group won't cover intercooler mods for youngsters at least, and they may struggle to get modified insurance.
I put a lot of thought into it back when I bought the first GT TDI 130 back in June 2011...for me it's still what I'd buy today. I don't mind the rough engine note as VW know how to sound deaden cars (unlike Peugeot or Ford it seems!) and tbh the DV6 sounds doesn't exactly sound refined lol. Granted they don't handle like a NEW 306, but no worse than the knackered old ones these days lol. Oh and the air con usually still works in them lol.
You can buy a PD130, get a £45 map from blacksmoke.com and have 180bhp/380Nm instantly with a nicer powerband. Sure it's probably not the best map around but I've flashed their maps to quite a few cars that are still going strong 3/4 years later!
To do the same with a HDi you've gotta buy a GT1749v, make up adapters for it, fit an intercooler and piping, fit a better clutch, have it remapped at what I guess is around £200 nowadays... And you still don't have the comfort, refinement and spec of a modern car. And the truth is, most 306s handle like crap these days which is meant to be their redeeming feature...of course you could replace every piece of suspension and steering with new genuine stuff (not ebay shite) but that's a lot more time and expense on a car that's still worth sod all when you come to sell...
Also have to think about insurance, Admiral group won't cover intercooler mods for youngsters at least, and they may struggle to get modified insurance.
I put a lot of thought into it back when I bought the first GT TDI 130 back in June 2011...for me it's still what I'd buy today. I don't mind the rough engine note as VW know how to sound deaden cars (unlike Peugeot or Ford it seems!) and tbh the DV6 sounds doesn't exactly sound refined lol. Granted they don't handle like a NEW 306, but no worse than the knackered old ones these days lol. Oh and the air con usually still works in them lol.