Renaultsport Clio 172 Cup: PH Fleet
Ben's replaced one fast Clio with another, and this one's heading straight to the track
This is still standard. Mostly
But how to better the 182 Trophy? To start with, the 172 Cup is 70kg(ish) lighter thanks to Renault binning the ABS, ESP, air conditioning, sound deadening and using thinner glass too. Weighing in at nearly 200kg lighter than an EP3 Civic Type R (which I was also looking at), the Cup was looking promising on paper despite being 30hp or so down on power. The Clio squares up well to the Civic with 170hp per tonne against the Honda's 166hp per tonne, so just nips it on the power-to-weight front.
Front calipers are now from a later 197
Craving more noise, I went to K-Tec for its superb induction kit and stealth sports exhaust system. Neither will really do anything in terms of power, but they certainly make the drive audibly more exciting. Inside I've swapped the seats over too, as one of my few frustrations with the Trophy was how unsupportive the Recaro Trendlines were. Handily for me, I'm only a stone's throw away from Corbeau Seats in Kent so, a short drive later, I was heading home with a fresh pair of Clubsport seats. Given that they manufacture everything in-house in the UK, I chanced my arm at a set of custom three-point harnesses as well as I couldn't find anything on the market I liked. Lo and behold, two weeks later I had them fitted to complement the seat set up.
Proper track car now!
Once all that was done, I was itching to just get out and drive. It does feel faster than my old 182 although perhaps that's partly a placebo effect of knowing it's lighter. The suspension is firm, but with the damping in its softest setting on the road it's still forgiving enough and has a nicer ride compared to the set up I was running before. The rear-anti roll bar makes the car feel more planted - which inspires more confidence to push on through corners - while reducing lift-off oversteer in case you've overcooked it and need to back off. I'm now at the upper limit of my class for the Javelin Trackdays Sprint Series, so that's me done modification-wise for the foreseeable. Now all that's left is to rack up the miles over the coming months, and I can't wait to get out driving. Track action coming up next!
FACT SHEET
Car: 2002 Renault Clio 172 Cup
Run by: Ben Lowden
Bought: May 2016
Mileage: 32,855
Purchase price: £3,300
Last month at a glance: Trophy whetted the appetite; now time for a proper track Clio!
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@smartie93 – trust me, the back end is still very mobile on track! But it really does help with making the car feel more planted. More details to come on that in my next update
@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!
Worth changing the gearbox mount for a powerflex one, a lot of the guys on cliosport.net were changing the rather naff plastic gearshift mechanism for a brass one made by a member on there, was about £80 from memory. Matched inlets are a decent upgrade too, within regs & nobody would ever know anyway!
Hillclimbed mine for 4 or 5 seasons, may go out again next season, undecided at the moment. They do lack power compared to many others but boy are they fun to drive!
Great read and good luck with the car. Do love a well-sorted Cup but the prices seem to be all over the place and i think i'd prefer the extra toys day-to-day.
I find that my standard 182 cup needs to be poked pretty hard to get it to rotate at an alarming rate. If anything, for track use I'd want it to be more aggressive.
I'm a bit sad that this 172 Cup has been modified. My procrastination will hinder the chances, but i'd love a fairly low mileage completely stock one. My first car was a 1.2 Clio and i dreamed of owning a Cup. I had it on Turinis but never got round to owning the real thing!
I find that my standard 182 cup needs to be poked pretty hard to get it to rotate at an alarming rate. If anything, for track use I'd want it to be more aggressive.
I'm not sure how a stiffer rear ARB reduces oversteer??
For people commenting about daily driving, you'd be surprised how easy it is to live with (although it isn't my daily...). Harnesses might be a faff, but it's fairly comfortable, returns up to 38mpg on a steady drive and the clutch is lighter than my 182 for some reason. Only creature comfort I'd struggle to live without on a daily is A/C.
They're not 'too' extreme, but depends on your regs. I've long since sold the car though, so no demo here guv'.
Worth changing the gearbox mount for a powerflex one, a lot of the guys on cliosport.net were changing the rather naff plastic gearshift mechanism for a brass one made by a member on there, was about £80 from memory. Matched inlets are a decent upgrade too, within regs & nobody would ever know anyway!
Hillclimbed mine for 4 or 5 seasons, may go out again next season, undecided at the moment. They do lack power compared to many others but boy are they fun to drive!
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