Clio 200 Part Deux - yellow alert
Discussion
In advance of displaying the car at the PH 25th Anniversary event at Bicester tomorrow it had its first wash for quite a while, after which I noticed that both scuttle drains were blocked and there was a lovely pool of water a few cm deep on each side!
Some quick research showed this is a common Clio issue, and if left water can eventually enter the cabin and soak the carpet and wiring as well as drowning the wiper motor! So I set about removing the wipers and scuttle trims to get to the drainage points and cleaned them up. They weren’t badly blocked and I flushed them through with some hot water. It was quite satisfying watching the pools of water disappear.
After cleaning the areas up a bit:
I also took the top mount covers off and cleaned up underneath - near side shown
After finishing cleaning I put everything back together and cleaned up the engine bay a bit more
|https://thumbsnap.com/oh2d2xcq[/url]
I then finished off a bit of more detailed cleaning before I leave early in the morning - hopefully it will stay dry for the 100 mile journey there!
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Some quick research showed this is a common Clio issue, and if left water can eventually enter the cabin and soak the carpet and wiring as well as drowning the wiper motor! So I set about removing the wipers and scuttle trims to get to the drainage points and cleaned them up. They weren’t badly blocked and I flushed them through with some hot water. It was quite satisfying watching the pools of water disappear.
After cleaning the areas up a bit:
I also took the top mount covers off and cleaned up underneath - near side shown
After finishing cleaning I put everything back together and cleaned up the engine bay a bit more
|https://thumbsnap.com/oh2d2xcq[/url]I then finished off a bit of more detailed cleaning before I leave early in the morning - hopefully it will stay dry for the 100 mile journey there!
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My good friend with the Trophy and I went to Derbyshire earlier this week for a couple of days road trip driving in the Peak District and Staffordshire Moorlands.
My wife’s family have a farm near Ashbourne so we stayed there and then used a brilliant navigation app called Calimoto, which is designed for motorcyclists, to plan round trip driving routes that largely stayed off the (mostly 50 mph) A roads and used the brilliant B roads that are still nationals. It’s really easy to use and you just tell it how far you want to drive and in what direction and it does the rest. You can also opt for either winding or twisty routes!
After driving up from Kent early enough on Tuesday to miss the rush hour M25 traffic we had a wander round the farm to stretch our legs and planned a 55 mile route for the afternoon. Amazingly, the weather was kind the whole trip and the roads so empty compared to the South East. The road surfaces are generally much better too!
Parked up at the farm and meeting some cows
That first afternoon run was awesome. We were using walkie-talkies to keep in touch and warn of any hazards, and the roads were fast and quiet. It certainly would have been trickier in the wet, and any thought of going through a dry stone wall, Forza Horizon 4 style, was fortunately kept at bay
Dinner with a couple of pints at the Bowling Green pub in Ashbourne was very welcome after a long day, and following a good nights sleep we planned a huge 140 mile loop, made so easy to do on the Calimoto app. This understandably took in a few more towns and villages linking the country roads, but the app showed over 11,000 feet of climbing and there were epic ascents and descents with hairpin bends, incredible well sighted straights and fantastic scenery.
Near The Mermaid pub and towards Leek (what a road).
My wife’s family have a farm near Ashbourne so we stayed there and then used a brilliant navigation app called Calimoto, which is designed for motorcyclists, to plan round trip driving routes that largely stayed off the (mostly 50 mph) A roads and used the brilliant B roads that are still nationals. It’s really easy to use and you just tell it how far you want to drive and in what direction and it does the rest. You can also opt for either winding or twisty routes!
After driving up from Kent early enough on Tuesday to miss the rush hour M25 traffic we had a wander round the farm to stretch our legs and planned a 55 mile route for the afternoon. Amazingly, the weather was kind the whole trip and the roads so empty compared to the South East. The road surfaces are generally much better too!
Parked up at the farm and meeting some cows
That first afternoon run was awesome. We were using walkie-talkies to keep in touch and warn of any hazards, and the roads were fast and quiet. It certainly would have been trickier in the wet, and any thought of going through a dry stone wall, Forza Horizon 4 style, was fortunately kept at bay
Dinner with a couple of pints at the Bowling Green pub in Ashbourne was very welcome after a long day, and following a good nights sleep we planned a huge 140 mile loop, made so easy to do on the Calimoto app. This understandably took in a few more towns and villages linking the country roads, but the app showed over 11,000 feet of climbing and there were epic ascents and descents with hairpin bends, incredible well sighted straights and fantastic scenery.
Near The Mermaid pub and towards Leek (what a road).
We went almost as far as Sheffield to the East and through Macclesfield to the West at the top of the loop, had a great brunch in a cafe in Prestbury, and ended up at Monsal Head view point on the return leg. I said to the ice cream van driver in the car park that he must have the best view of any similar van in England, and he agreed but then said it was probably the most expensive ice cream in England as well! At £5.25 for this he wasn’t wrong…
On the third day we squeezed in a final 50 mile drive over some of the best southern end bits in the morning before having breakfast and heading back to Kent.
The cars were brilliant over the 650 miles and we had no issues with either of them. After swapping a few times the differences between the Trophy and my 200 were interesting. The Trophy’s more sophisticated damping was obvious when the road surface was bumpier, and the longer gearing in 2nd - 4th was sometimes welcome where more changes were needed in my car. The change itself is shorter throw and faster in the 200, and overall it felt much stiffer and more modern. Nothing really between them in a straight line, and the braking was perhaps slightly better in the lighter earlier car.
We had a great few days and I would recommend the area, especially out of peak season and during the week when no doubt the roads were much quieter than they would be in mid summer. The Calimoto app which is free on trial, then £50 for a year if you don’t cancel after 14 days is very clever.
The cars were brilliant over the 650 miles and we had no issues with either of them. After swapping a few times the differences between the Trophy and my 200 were interesting. The Trophy’s more sophisticated damping was obvious when the road surface was bumpier, and the longer gearing in 2nd - 4th was sometimes welcome where more changes were needed in my car. The change itself is shorter throw and faster in the 200, and overall it felt much stiffer and more modern. Nothing really between them in a straight line, and the braking was perhaps slightly better in the lighter earlier car.
We had a great few days and I would recommend the area, especially out of peak season and during the week when no doubt the roads were much quieter than they would be in mid summer. The Calimoto app which is free on trial, then £50 for a year if you don’t cancel after 14 days is very clever.
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