camarda 0 Posted April 28, 2021 Hey, What are the main differences with a 205 SI and GTI other than the engine and brakes. I found one for sale with 306 brakes installed and was wondering how hard an engine/ engine and transmission swap would be. Is everything else handling wise etc. on the car the same? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Gohn 62 Posted April 29, 2021 it helps if you indicate what you're looking at year model, auto/manual etc the 205Si came out from '90 on, whilst the earlier version of the GTi was sold here from '87 I think? so you'd need to be getting GTi bits from similar later model cars for any conversion you could draw up a list of things for yourself then go thru and compare part numbers on here to double check: https://catalogs.ssg.asia/peugeot/?lang=en for engine assuming you are referring to the GTi 1.9 litre (XU9) I think the Si has the same XU5 engine as the GTi 1.6 litre (which we never got in aust) its a good engine and you dont really need to get the more powerful XU9 engine mounts same you'll need to get all the engine ancillaries, air ducting, expansion tank, hoses, etc as many are different the Si has a good radiator, think same as GTi exhaust on the GTi is more expensive but no need to change from Si peddles same the gearbox both same BE3/5 but the Si also got a nice little ZF auto 4 speed (thought I'd hate it until I drove one, its very cool) you can put the auto box on the XU9 engine no problem I think the GTi ratios are very similar except for maybe 4th and 5th where they're more racier so going along highway its doing a few hundred more rpm recommended: helical/torsion limited slip diff brakes Gti has front ventilated disk and rear disks, Si has solid disks front and drums for rear Si rear drums I quite like, but the Si front brakes are kind of s*it, its such a light car they should have no problem pulling it up on the spot, but seem to labour probly why the one you're lookin at has been uprated with GTi disks you'll need Gti calipers swapping to GTi front end will mean you probably need to move/fabricate the Si front brake line brackets as they foul the droplinks they're located in a diff spot on the GTi apparently some Si conversions can get away with where the brackets are but I'd plan for some welding.. I did a topic on it but cant remember the name, all pics and info is on it rear end torsion bars Si 18.9mm, GTi same I think ? same shocks, keep the originals if you have them they're great Anti roll bar ARB may be thicker on GTi, pretty sure the rear beam is same also front end you'll need a GTi subframe, wishbones, GTi ARB, GTi struts and shocks and GTi hub carriers (they have larger wheel bearings), same drive flange (hubs), and different vent disks see the section in technical so you could chop and change by removing the drive flanges off the hub carriers but they'll just be sold as one and called GTi hubs and GTi has different driveshafts Si interior is direct swap, just less contronting red everywhere front and rear GTi bumpers are slightly wider, front Gti quarter panels are wider to make it look a bit faster think the rear Gti quarters are wider also and someone said the GTi bonnet is different, but I think its the same ? ..not owned a GTi so there could be a few mistakes Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
petert 549 Posted April 29, 2021 (edited) Most people on here wouldn't be familiar with an Si, as they were only available in Australia from memory. The engine whilst a 1.6L, is similar but not the same as the GTi. It's called an XU5JM, having single point injection, less compression and a smaller camshaft. The manual gearbox ratios are quite wide with a long final drive. So fairly relaxed cruising. The rear beam is smaller in overall diameter, so you can't fit huge ARB's in. Not that's an issue unless you race it. You can fit larger brakes on the Si front hubs easily. They call them "base model" in the UK and take the same driveshafts as early 1.9L GTi's in Australia. The body panels are different, because they don't have flares. Gohn has covered just about everything else other than the power steering. The Si rack is highly sort after in Australia as it's the fastest ratio available (2.7:1), other than the early Xsara rack (2.4:1). Edited April 29, 2021 by petert Share this post Link to post Share on other sites