205 as track day car without PAS
 

Do you reckon it would be a disadvantage to have a 205 GTi 'without' PAS as a trackday car.

Which would you prefer, with or without PAS?

Without - steering feel and weight advantages.
Cman

ours is non ps & is fine, just a bugger getting out of tight spaces :D As Chuck says, very good steering feel as well.

Simon

Its fine without PAS. I personally think it sacrifices very little steering feel even with PAS as its quite weighty etc. Turn is is quicker too.

However, there is the weight as mentioned, ideally - for a track car - I'd say non PAS with PAS rack.

So either get a PAS car and remove the assistance or buy a PAS rack and fit to a none PAS car as you'll then get the quicker rack/turn in without the assistance, best of both worlds..........

Thanks for the replys' :)

Scoobyjawa, how difficult/expensive is it to fit PAS to a non-PAS 205?

I'm thinking your idea might good and then I can remove the parts as and when required for the track.

i tend to disagree with what others have said but i use my 205 for road rallying not trackdays, i recently fitted PAS to mine and it transformed how the car drives.

You could get all the bits to retro fit PAS from a scrappy from either a 309 GTi or a 205 GTi that had PAS.

If you pop on over to 205gtidrivers.com I'm sure there are a few threads on there discussing whats required, its not expensive!

TBH though, you won't be able to just disconnect it when you go to the track. You really have a choice of going with full time PAS, keeping the non-PAS, or substituting only the steering rack itself from the PAS car into the non-PAS car for the quicker rack/turn in (but without the assistance).

TBH for a track car I'd be inclined to stick to non-PAS with the quicker PAS steering rack fitted.......

As an aside, my 205 has PAS, and I wouldn't get rid of it (but mine isn't a track car).................

Mine has PAS and I have got rid of it, but I haven't tried it yet as still rebuilding the engine.

The PAS system didnt really detract from the driving sensation when pushing on, but it was actually a pain when parking as it makes loads of noises and can be notchy.

Mine's a track car as well, so I wanted to rid some of the weight associated with it, plus its one less thing to go wrong.

Its easy to remove/add (with the engine out anyway), but like Scoobyjawa says, its not something you could do all the time, you need to decide from the off.

As far as PAS goes, the Pugs is quite well balanced, weighty and not over-assisted. (especially when compared to scoobs ;) ).

I suppose it will depend on what wheels and tyres you have plus suspension mods (although I have driven a 205 full Dimma without PAS and didn't find it a problem, although weaker armed people might struggle).

Personally, I may be inclined to try it without as I have fairly strong arms and enjoy a good work out. :D

Gonna have to have a think about what I actually want. At the moment the car has no PAS.

It will be used for trackdays and then the occassional ride when needed. I am contemplating leaving it as no PAS but am going to investigate the cost of the conversion and make a judgement from there

Did you do it yourself or get somebody else to fit it??

How much did it cost?

Do it yourself, you'll learn a lot :)

It consists of a shorter PAS rack, ram pipe, 2 high pressure pipes that loop underneath the car, a PAS pump which sits on the gearbox, then a PAS reservoir that sits on the bulkhead.

I would sell you my setup, but having not tried it without PAS yet, I may not like it.

I've been hunting 205gtidrivers.com for a 'how to' guide. If you do want to sell yours let me know :)

Will let you know, but at this rate it will be 12 months by the time mine is back on the road again :D

Are you sure??? :D

12 months + I should have said :D

Its 9 months now since I started stripping it :rolleyes: I will get motivated when the sun/warm weather starts arriving though.

I won't hold out for it then :D

Good luck with the car, it'll be worth it in the end :)

i done it myself, quite easy to do actually, i bought the whole lot, rack, pipes, pump, reservoir bottle and all the bolts etc for £100 off a guy on 205gti drivers.com and fitted it all in a few hours, its a loads closer rack cos the standard ones are something stupid like 4 turns lock to lock and the PAS rack is about 2.4, if your after a closer rack without using the power just fit a rally quick rack, £120 new