RE: Renaultsport Clio 172 Cup: PH Fleet
Discussion
LordHaveMurci said:
A 172 Cup would be a pretty hardcore every day car!
About 95% of them were purchased as daily drivers 'back in the day', and happily back then most of us seemed to be happy without aircon as very, very few were specced with it.I commuted in mine for years, really no different to my current Citigo commuter, even the MPG was rather excellent with normal traffic flow.
Funny how the goalposts have moved in a relatively short amount of time, I'm guessing not too many people would buy a car with that spec as their standard road car any more.
Edited by ukaskew on Wednesday 30th November 12:28
LordHaveMurci said:
roystinho said:
I didn't think the brembos would fit behind the 15s??? Must be very tight.
Cracking car though. Well, you know I thought that anyway
I had Brembo HC discs & Ferodo DS2500 pads fitted a couple of years ago, astonishing difference! Cracking car though. Well, you know I thought that anyway
roystinho said:
I didn't think the brembos would fit behind the 15s??? Must be very tight.
Cracking car though. Well, you know I thought that anyway
Thanks Danny! They are very tight indeed, and won't fit as standard under 15s. I had to fit 20mm H&R bolt-on spacers to give the clearance needed. The stopping power is quite frankly ridiculous with DS2500 pads fitted, but certainly gives more confidence on track.Cracking car though. Well, you know I thought that anyway
Nice work Ben. Really enjoyed your articles on the Trophy and look forward to reading about the Cup.
I was the chap that bought a £1k 172 Cup 18 months ago after reading your first threads. I use it as my daily, I'm in my 30s and it doesn't bother me at all. They are astonishing fun for the money.
Another vouch for dogbone and engine mounts here. I also really rate the rstuner 98 map which has really improved drive ability and urgency under the magic 5k zone.
Can't imagine you have saved that much from selling the Trophy though given the price of low mile Cups and that array of mods
Man maths is a great thing!
I was the chap that bought a £1k 172 Cup 18 months ago after reading your first threads. I use it as my daily, I'm in my 30s and it doesn't bother me at all. They are astonishing fun for the money.
Another vouch for dogbone and engine mounts here. I also really rate the rstuner 98 map which has really improved drive ability and urgency under the magic 5k zone.
Can't imagine you have saved that much from selling the Trophy though given the price of low mile Cups and that array of mods
Man maths is a great thing!I love mine and have used it for a few sprints and hillclimbs this year. It's completely standard (except 15" wheels for sprints) but competitive out of the box, usually 1st or 2nd in the standard production classes and ahead of most of the comparable modified classes too.
I'm a bit surprised by the need to modify - the standard suspension (I replaced mine with new Renault bits) works well on track and the brakes (I use standard Renault pads for sprinting) are fine - plenty of power and modulation. The rear feels a little under-braked but not the front. I'd like the back end to be a little more adjustable, but it's an excellent little car.
I'm a bit surprised by the need to modify - the standard suspension (I replaced mine with new Renault bits) works well on track and the brakes (I use standard Renault pads for sprinting) are fine - plenty of power and modulation. The rear feels a little under-braked but not the front. I'd like the back end to be a little more adjustable, but it's an excellent little car.
Kosy said:
Nice work Ben. Really enjoyed your articles on the Trophy and look forward to reading about the Cup.
I was the chap that bought a £1k 172 Cup 18 months ago after reading your first threads. I use it as my daily, I'm in my 30s and it doesn't bother me at all. They are astonishing fun for the money.
That's great news Kosy, glad to hear it's still going strong! And thank you for your kind words, always nice to hear when someone appreciates my ramblings.I was the chap that bought a £1k 172 Cup 18 months ago after reading your first threads. I use it as my daily, I'm in my 30s and it doesn't bother me at all. They are astonishing fun for the money.
Thanks for the tips too. You're absolutely right there, but where would we be without man maths?!
@Galveston – you're absolutely right, the cars are fantastic out of the box and some of it is probably unnecessary. But each to their own and all that, I enjoy doing the work myself and feeling the improvement it makes to the car however big/small. I'll also need all the help I can get next year!
Is the gear shifter standard? Or do you have a short shifter fitted? - if so are they better than standard?
Im hankering after a 172, unsure how long values will stay as low as they are. It was the car that got me into cars so to speak back when I was 17. Once I am married next year I will probably grab one.
Im hankering after a 172, unsure how long values will stay as low as they are. It was the car that got me into cars so to speak back when I was 17. Once I am married next year I will probably grab one.
MikeGoodwin said:
Is the gear shifter standard? Or do you have a short shifter fitted? - if so are they better than standard?
Im hankering after a 172, unsure how long values will stay as low as they are. It was the car that got me into cars so to speak back when I was 17. Once I am married next year I will probably grab one.
I've left it standard on this car, I've just changed the gear knob as I didn't like the standard one. I did fit an Engine Dynamics short shifter (around £35 from memory) on my Trophy which made a huge difference; standard set up feels like you're reaching into the engine bay for 5th.Im hankering after a 172, unsure how long values will stay as low as they are. It was the car that got me into cars so to speak back when I was 17. Once I am married next year I will probably grab one.
Another popular product on the market is the Pure Motorsport shifter, which is much more expensive but is very popular from what I've seen. I haven't actually heard of or seen the Yanoo shifter before that a couple of others have mentioned, but there's certainly options out there!
Edited by BenLowden on Thursday 1st December 11:32
BenLowden said:
@H20DJY – I'm currently looking at options, although the rear seats have to go back in for my sprint class which makes it tricky. I've since been informed that the rear harness strap should be at around 90 degrees to the spine, so locating the fixing further back should help. And thanks!
You could use a rear brace between the turrents (bracing the car shell not across strut tops) and maybe run the harnesses thru the seats somehow? I am sure you will find a solution.The moment I saw the harnesses I was excepting the forum backlash!
Ideally they should be between 0 and 20 degrees from horizontal, but MSA guidelines say as much 45 is acceptable, will still keep you much more secure than inertia reel jobs.
As for the rear ARB, be careful as ive noticed they can actually reduce rear end grip, by lifting the inner wheel rather than pulling the car level. Very noticeable at places like Thruxton.
Ideally they should be between 0 and 20 degrees from horizontal, but MSA guidelines say as much 45 is acceptable, will still keep you much more secure than inertia reel jobs.
As for the rear ARB, be careful as ive noticed they can actually reduce rear end grip, by lifting the inner wheel rather than pulling the car level. Very noticeable at places like Thruxton.
Nice work on doing this trade Ben.
I've never understood the premium over the cup when you can fit seats better gripping than trendlines and arguably equal to or better than the sachs struts (which is very old tech nowadays) with some decent coilovers.
The rawness of the cup isn't to be overlooked as part of the rewarding drive.
Could it be the last great hot hatch with zero driver aids?
I've never understood the premium over the cup when you can fit seats better gripping than trendlines and arguably equal to or better than the sachs struts (which is very old tech nowadays) with some decent coilovers.
The rawness of the cup isn't to be overlooked as part of the rewarding drive.
Could it be the last great hot hatch with zero driver aids?
loggyboy said:
The moment I saw the harnesses I was excepting the forum backlash!
Ideally they should be between 0 and 20 degrees from horizontal, but MSA guidelines say as much 45 is acceptable, will still keep you much more secure than inertia reel jobs.
As for the rear ARB, be careful as ive noticed they can actually reduce rear end grip, by lifting the inner wheel rather than pulling the car level. Very noticeable at places like Thruxton.
Thanks for the info, I'll be looking into alternative solutions in the new year for mounting the harnesses. And like this you mean? Ideally they should be between 0 and 20 degrees from horizontal, but MSA guidelines say as much 45 is acceptable, will still keep you much more secure than inertia reel jobs.
As for the rear ARB, be careful as ive noticed they can actually reduce rear end grip, by lifting the inner wheel rather than pulling the car level. Very noticeable at places like Thruxton.
DoubleTime said:
Nice work on doing this trade Ben.
I've never understood the premium over the cup when you can fit seats better gripping than trendlines and arguably equal to or better than the sachs struts (which is very old tech nowadays) with some decent coilovers.
The rawness of the cup isn't to be overlooked as part of the rewarding drive.
Could it be the last great hot hatch with zero driver aids?
Thanks DoubleTime. Having owned both I still appreciate the appeal of the Trophy and having a limited edition car. I'm just in the process of going from an R56 Mini GP to an R26 Megane 230 F1 for my daily, so there's certainly a trend for special stuff!I've never understood the premium over the cup when you can fit seats better gripping than trendlines and arguably equal to or better than the sachs struts (which is very old tech nowadays) with some decent coilovers.
The rawness of the cup isn't to be overlooked as part of the rewarding drive.
Could it be the last great hot hatch with zero driver aids?
But with regards to the Clio, I had exactly the same thoughts as you which is why I ended up chopping the Trophy in. I couldn't justify the additional premium now, but it was a decent price when I bought it.
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