Clio 172 and others
Discussion
Thought it was about time I put up my current car and some of my car history.
First, my, er, first car. Looks much cleaner than it was in this picture because actually it was pretty rough to look at. Still, cost £800 when I was 17 and was better than a 1.0 Micra or a Corsa which were the first cars of choice at the time. Kept it a couple of years and flogged it while it still worked. Important to note that I got my first (and last currently) speeding ticket in this car.
Had a couple of poo cars mainly bought to turn money on in the mean time and then when I was 19 I bought my second 306 and thought it was the dogs gonads. Alloys, leather, 1.8 16v engine etc. Brilliant. Did 70,000 miles in it half of which was a a 2000 mile a month commute. Kept on top of servicing and maintained it properly with good quality parts and it never, ever let me down. Was still fine when I sold it on despite being broken into twice and rear ended/repaired twice. French cars unreliable? Rubbish....
Second picture is with what became the missus car later on.
Anywho, then I bought this - kind of by accident. Was looking at all sorts of things to replace the Peugeot from Alfa 156's to 406 coupes and even XJ6's. One productive morning at work I found this on Autotrader within a mile and with everything I wanted so stopping briefly to collect my Dad to stop me doing anything daft I rushed round in my half hour lunch break and stuck a deposit down without really looking at anything properly. Still, the exhaust sounded good, paint was in good nick, the service history checked out and he offered me a good deal on the Peugeot so sod it.
Fortunately and by sheer luck it turned out to be a good one. Previous owner was rather well off and anal so every time there's been so much as a squeak it's gone to Renault. Receipt in the service history for a service/cambelt/aux belt and a few other niggly little bits 18 months ago. Came to £3k apparently
Pictures are all from my first trackday of hopefully many more at Woodbridge
Quite glad I didn't get the cup version to be honest even though that isn't a popular view. I like climate control and leather seats on my commute with the ability to mix it on a track day when the mood takes. I would like some steelies and tyres for track though to stop me ripping my road tyres apart again. And maybe some buckets. And carbon bits...
Sorry for boring long post. Comments welcome
First, my, er, first car. Looks much cleaner than it was in this picture because actually it was pretty rough to look at. Still, cost £800 when I was 17 and was better than a 1.0 Micra or a Corsa which were the first cars of choice at the time. Kept it a couple of years and flogged it while it still worked. Important to note that I got my first (and last currently) speeding ticket in this car.
Had a couple of poo cars mainly bought to turn money on in the mean time and then when I was 19 I bought my second 306 and thought it was the dogs gonads. Alloys, leather, 1.8 16v engine etc. Brilliant. Did 70,000 miles in it half of which was a a 2000 mile a month commute. Kept on top of servicing and maintained it properly with good quality parts and it never, ever let me down. Was still fine when I sold it on despite being broken into twice and rear ended/repaired twice. French cars unreliable? Rubbish....
Second picture is with what became the missus car later on.
Anywho, then I bought this - kind of by accident. Was looking at all sorts of things to replace the Peugeot from Alfa 156's to 406 coupes and even XJ6's. One productive morning at work I found this on Autotrader within a mile and with everything I wanted so stopping briefly to collect my Dad to stop me doing anything daft I rushed round in my half hour lunch break and stuck a deposit down without really looking at anything properly. Still, the exhaust sounded good, paint was in good nick, the service history checked out and he offered me a good deal on the Peugeot so sod it.
Fortunately and by sheer luck it turned out to be a good one. Previous owner was rather well off and anal so every time there's been so much as a squeak it's gone to Renault. Receipt in the service history for a service/cambelt/aux belt and a few other niggly little bits 18 months ago. Came to £3k apparently
Pictures are all from my first trackday of hopefully many more at Woodbridge
Quite glad I didn't get the cup version to be honest even though that isn't a popular view. I like climate control and leather seats on my commute with the ability to mix it on a track day when the mood takes. I would like some steelies and tyres for track though to stop me ripping my road tyres apart again. And maybe some buckets. And carbon bits...
Sorry for boring long post. Comments welcome
Edited by StoatInACoat on Tuesday 20th December 15:54
DanielJames said:
Good cars! Garlic is good yes?
Oui 
Bit of a fan of cars that have personality and can live with the odd Iwas trying to get the wheel up! Think I managed it on turn two but t'other half wasn't allowed to go that far to take pictures sadly. Airfield days are a great way to learn how a new car feels though - plenty of space to play without hitting anything.
Little update for anybody interested
In preparation of my next trackday at Bedford I purchased some wheels and tyres off ebay. Because of the slightly inarticulate ad I managed to pick up 15 inch "rail" wheels (whatever they are) with the right offset and part worn but still ok yoko a408's attached for a mere £80.
When we arrived it was a bit damp so stuck with road wheels for the morning before switching. The difference on the semi slicks is amazing and the drop from 15" to 16" makes a HUGE difference. The best mod I have ever done to any car. Went with a mate who had a new set of similar semi slicks and neither of us had ever used them before. Both of us have decided never to use road tyres on track again.
Still didn't manage to get a photo of the back wheel up although I am ASSURED by my friend in the Integra that I was managing to get some tripod action Bedford was awesome - can't recommend it enough if like me you have no idea what you're doing. The little Clio is flattering me I think as I was definitely starting to feel faster and less out of place as the day went on.
Plans now are to replace disc's, possibly fit a strut brace (!) and remember to remove foglights as I don't use them anyway and hopefully the brakes will cool a bit better. Other than that the car has been rock solid over the 10k or so miles I've had it and the novelty of commuting in the same car I've spent a weekend hammering round a track hasn't worn off yet.
In preparation of my next trackday at Bedford I purchased some wheels and tyres off ebay. Because of the slightly inarticulate ad I managed to pick up 15 inch "rail" wheels (whatever they are) with the right offset and part worn but still ok yoko a408's attached for a mere £80.
When we arrived it was a bit damp so stuck with road wheels for the morning before switching. The difference on the semi slicks is amazing and the drop from 15" to 16" makes a HUGE difference. The best mod I have ever done to any car. Went with a mate who had a new set of similar semi slicks and neither of us had ever used them before. Both of us have decided never to use road tyres on track again.
Still didn't manage to get a photo of the back wheel up although I am ASSURED by my friend in the Integra that I was managing to get some tripod action
Bedford was awesome - can't recommend it enough if like me you have no idea what you're doing. The little Clio is flattering me I think as I was definitely starting to feel faster and less out of place as the day went on. Plans now are to replace disc's, possibly fit a strut brace (!) and remember to remove foglights as I don't use them anyway and hopefully the brakes will cool a bit better. Other than that the car has been rock solid over the 10k or so miles I've had it and the novelty of commuting in the same car I've spent a weekend hammering round a track hasn't worn off yet.
Edited by StoatInACoat on Tuesday 20th December 21:07
Good stuff! Me and the wife have had a couple of 306s and they never let us down ever either. In fact our emergency 306 HDi car purchase (we needed a car ASAP after my wife wrote off my Astra SRi) was kept for almost 5 years!
And funnily enough I now have the same Clio as you, a 172 non-cup in silver on a 52 plate as my daily driver. I love mine, though like you I was lucky to get a good one. Details are in my profile if you are interested
And funnily enough I now have the same Clio as you, a 172 non-cup in silver on a 52 plate as my daily driver. I love mine, though like you I was lucky to get a good one. Details are in my profile if you are interested
bakerstreet said:
I've done a couple of TDs at Bedford and I thought it was great. I'd go back if I had something suitable to put on the track!
Surely if you remove the fogs, it will only benefit the brakes if you put some kind of ducting in?
Pulling the arch liners out for track. I switch wheels when I arrive so will only take another 10 mins to pull them out Surely if you remove the fogs, it will only benefit the brakes if you put some kind of ducting in?
I Hope Grenpayne - Does sound nice although your piccy isn't working. I find the ride a bit crashy on the 16's? I thought mine had something wrong with it to be honest but the 15's I used made it sublime and I'm used to it now I think. Shame they're semi slicks and would equal death on the road I expect! and the 16's do look good and I'm a tart anyway.
Rather like the yellow beasty in your garage. At woodbridge I nearly crashed trying to follow one of them and brake when he did in the corners. He didn't brake
Edited by StoatInACoat on Tuesday 20th December 15:52
Edited by StoatInACoat on Tuesday 20th December 21:12
Thanks for the heads up with the picture not working, all fixed now
Interesting what you say about the ride though, I came from a lowered Fiesta ST which on a nice road was great, but on a poor road was the very definition of crashy. The Clio positively wafts along in comparison!
Thanks for your comments on the Caterham. They certainly do handle
I've got the upgraded 4 pot APs on mine and its scary how late you can brake into corners, or indeed not brake at all!
Interesting what you say about the ride though, I came from a lowered Fiesta ST which on a nice road was great, but on a poor road was the very definition of crashy. The Clio positively wafts along in comparison!
Thanks for your comments on the Caterham. They certainly do handle
I've got the upgraded 4 pot APs on mine and its scary how late you can brake into corners, or indeed not brake at all!Edited by grenpayne on Wednesday 21st December 13:08
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