Renault Clio 197 Cup

[ChrisBuer]

Love these cars. My friend has one and its a lot of fun to drive!

I'd also love a bunch of "like minded petrolheads" to drive some good roads with. Looks like a lot of fun

[melvster]

UPDATE

Nothing too exciting; service time for the Clio.

20150214_130741 by Adam Melville, on Flickr

Engine oil, gearbox oil, oil filter, sump washer, fresh coolant and a new oil cap.

20150214_154605 by Adam Melville, on Flickr

Service time by Adam Melville, on Flickr

Also decided to upgrade the upper torque mount bush to a Powerflex item, designed to reduce engine movement under acceleration. Having now had this fitted the difference is well worth the cost; the car feels tighter to drive. I may consider upgrading the other engine mount bushes to powerflex items.

Powerflex Bush by Adam Melville, on Flickr

New CUP badges for the b pillars, previously had the Cup badges from a Clio 182, much prefer the look of these.
20150214_153645 by Adam Melville, on Flickr

Since buying the car i have never been a big fan of the wheels so when a set of the Cup Speedline's appeared for sale, i jumped on them (not literally) These are only available from Renault in White or Satin Black, so they should look great on the car in a less popular colour.

20150201_181753 by Adam Melville, on Flickr

3 of them require a bit of TLC which are presently away receiving paint.

Car is booked in again for the 4th April. Motul RBF600 Brake Fluid, Goodridge braided hoses, MOT and to have the new Speedline's fitted. Car will be all sorted for my Nurburgring trip, 23-26th may.

Edited by melvster on Sunday 15th March 17:25

[Tickle]

The Clio is looking good!

Nice upgrades you are making too.

Are the wheels off the cup racer or road car? Either way they are the best looking wheel for the 197/200 IMHO.

Edited to add: How was the triangle, pics?

Edited by Tickle on Sunday 29th March 21:03

[jbaddeley]

Nice work Adam. Where are you getting your wheels refurbished?

[jbaddeley]

Nice work Adam. Where are you getting your wheels refurbished?

[melvster]

Tickle said:

The Clio is looking good!

Nice upgrades you are making too.

Are the wheels off the cup racer or road car? Either way they are the best looking wheel for the 197/200 IMHO.

Edited to add: How was the triangle, pics?

Edited by Tickle on Sunday 29th March 21:03

They're originally off an R27 197 but not sure where the previous owner got them from. I am going the Triangle on Sunday.

[melvster]

jbaddeley said:

Nice work Adam. Where are you getting your wheels refurbished?

The wheels are done; he's done a superb job. Going to be fitted this Saturday.

Speedlines by Adam Melville, on Flickr

Test Fit by Adam Melville, on Flickr

[jbaddeley]

Where did you go in the end? Lovely wheels they are!

[jbaddeley]

Where did you go in the end? Lovely wheels they are!

[melvster]

jbaddeley said:

Where did you go in the end? Lovely wheels they are!

Top Marques in Fenton as you recommended; £230.40 all in. Bargain.

[jbaddeley]

Think they are the same colour as mine!

I used poor boys wheel sealant. Put three coats on!

[jbaddeley]

They also fitted my new tyres for nothing when I went.

[jbaddeley]

They also fitted my new tyres for nothing when I went.

[melvster]

I only dropped the wheels off; didn't leave the car with them. Having some work done this Sat on the Clio anyway so i am having the wheels swapped. I chose light anthracite.

[melvster]

Update....

Goodridge hoses, Motul RBF600 fluid and the Speedline Clio Cup wheels now fitted...

20150404_131522 by Adam Melville, on Flickr

In the air by Adam Melville, on Flickr

Wheels on....
RS vs RS by Adam Melville, on Flickr

Speedline & OZ by Adam Melville, on Flickr

In the reeds by Adam Melville, on Flickr

[melvster]

Update time for the Clio, long long overdue but better late than never i guess.

She's been a little temperamental of late but its nice to know the car is working as it should. As well as the usual annual Elf Oil and filter change as carried out at 65k miles (last one at 55k miles), car is now presently on 66k and still feels nice and tight to drive. Annoyingly towards the end of last year there was a strange "squeaking" noise when on full lock at low speeds; as i am sure Clio 3 RS owners will know, this is the dreaded ball joint tell tale signs of failure. Having read some horror stories on the potential cost and the amount Renault charge for this work which is quite frankly a piss take and eye watering, i managed to find a garage in Derby as recommended by the 197 forum who replace the lower swivel joint for £175 per side which includes a 10k mile / 12 month warranty (Renault have been known to charge £600 for this as they claim the whole hub needs to be replaced which is utter garbage). I thought for piece of mind i would have both sides done. £350 all in.

Moving on to January, the Continental Sport 3's had clearly seen better days so decided to plump for 4 new tyres. Spent a while researching which to choose and was tempted to plump for the Michelin Pilot Sports. The conti's as a road tyre are ok but they're a little "soft" and wear easily on the outer edge. I'd upgraded my wheels from the standard 197 wheels to the "Cup" Speedline items, which are an 8J width. The OE size is 215 but looked a little "stretched", so by upgrading to a 225 i thought i'd choose the RE070 from Bridgestone which is the standard tyre for the NSX R, JDM spec STI Impreza's and the Nissan GTR. £64 a corner, bargain. AD08R's were also another option but didn't think i could ignore the Bridgestones for that price.



Lastly, the front brakes were in a bit of a sorry state. I'd not touched the brakes since purchasing the car on 46k miles and the front discs were lipped slightly. New genuine Brembo High Carbon discs and Brembo pads ordered with new Pins and Clips, Calipers were also thoroughly cleaned to remove any unwanted gunk. The lines and fluid were upgraded in March last year so didn't need to swap the fluid just yet. Brakes feel superb, for road use i don't think there is a need to upgrade over the OE spec Brembo discs and pads, initial pedal bite is great and the brakes give you loads of confidence to really banzai late brake into some bends when you wish.

So that's it for now, i am thinking of a bumper re spray to tidy up the stone chips and there's a couple of minor marks from when i bought the car which bug me a little; and i'd like to have the steering wheel re trimmed eventually.

MOT is due in a few weeks, should hopefully pass. Few select pics below of a couple of wales runs from the end of last year and today.

[GTIAlex]

Looks like a tidy example and your making all the right little changes as well.

[melvster]

GTIAlex said:

Looks like a tidy example and your making all the right little changes as well.

Yeah, not really looking to modify the car just refresh and replace the necessary parts and improve where possible. It doesn't look bad for the mileage covered.

[Mike1990]

Good update Adam. Nice to hear the 197 is still as good as ever, enjoyed our jaunt out a while back when i had the Astra VXR and i'am now looking forward to trip out to Wales again, I'll have to be fully committed in the ST to keep pace! the RE070's appear to be a serious Tyre. What's the wear rate so far ? My PS3's are under 4mm now so i'am eyeing up potential replacements.

[melvster]

The RE070's are very hard, the sidewalls are much much stiffer compared to a regular road tyre. They've done about 800 miles now but no noticeable wear on them at all. They should last longer than the Conti's.