Naturally aspirated - upgrade options.

J

James1470

I was wondering what performance increasing mods i can do if I don't put the meg engine in, basically I have a cat back and a remap with a panel filter atm
And I was thinking along the lines of cams, matched inlets, throttle bodies decat/sport cat etc but I'm not really sure what to look at as I just keep picking up on little bits of what people are talking about!


I've been looking into the possibility of buying a donor car and getting boost for my clio, but I'm not 100% sure I want to swap the engines out etc or spend a huge lump of money on something that could easily go wrong, although it is still a option, any opinions, recommendations or thoughts, let me know! Cheers.
 
Prob the next best to a meg lump would be ITB's,I have had these thoughts and come to the conclusion that im happy with maxogen decat catback remap setup as the only real time i put me foot down is on the twistys and i dont feel i need more power there.
 
Who actually has made a full itb kit available to the Clio 197/200's?

Ive always wanted ITB's, went to do it to my Corsa, and I think the 200 would be a beast on them in the future.
 
Gez said:
Who actually has made a full itb kit available to the Clio 197/200's?

Ive always wanted ITB's, went to do it to my Corsa, and I think the 200 would be a beast on them in the future.
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Ben had his GW197 on ITB's think it was pushing around 230bhp
 
The good thing about a Meg engine conversion is that the Meg engine is reliable and has bags of torque
 
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smoggy mark said:
Ben had his GW197 on ITB's think it was pushing around 230bhp
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Just reading his slot on performance French car, would love to go for itbs! Can't you reliably use nitrous (sounding very fast and furious) but iv seen a few guys ran it on here once Havnt they?
 
jakehewitt said:
Just reading his slot on performance French car, would love to go for itbs! Can't you reliably use nitrous (sounding very fast and furious) but iv seen a few guys ran it on here once Havnt they?
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Yeah few have run nitrous and IMO standard internals it would go pop.
 
I wouldn't be figure hunting. I think 230Hp combined with screaming ITB's is more than enough for the Clio to be the ultimate hot hatch. 230Hp, wouldn't have you fighting the car or wheel spinning through gears.

Ohhhhh, the sound would be epic.
 
Boost isn't really my thing, unless it's something like a cosworth, something special.

well it is my thing, but I just love a screaming na, and the bodies noise is amazing
 
ITB is fraught with problems. I did loads of homework before going down the meg route and the issues are endless and its stupidly expensive. You'd need to really want them and I'll question whether you'll actually see 230 bhp. Ben R1 had around 30k in his car!!!!!
 
I don't think there is anyone out there fitting itbs on our Clio (197/200). Ben's was done by TDF but as far as I'm aware they don't deal with road cars anymore. That said, Ben's was for the committed enthusiast, he had the vvti cancelled (so that means even less torque at low end), different dash because the stock one wouldn't work etc. Still, there is not enough space in the engine bay for fitting itbs, I remember that Ben wanted to fit some longer trumpets because the short ones would not work properly but couldn't due to the aforementioned reason.

If power is what you are looking for it has to be a megane engine. Quite common now so you shouldn't have a problem. If you wish to retain the N/A nature of the engine then cams, and headwork job will do it, don't expect miracles though.

I'd have to agree with Mark here, I'm only going flat out on the twisties at a hardcore b road run where 200bhp is more than enough so I certainly do not need power. That said, 300bhp Clio (with an LSD obviously) must be a weapon at the track!
 
I think with a set of a bit more lairy cams, arp bolts and raised limit. With the ITB's. 230Hp will be achievable
 
smoggy mark said:
Yeah few have run nitrous and IMO standard internals it would go pop.
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Nitrous is fine on standard internals as long as you are sensible and have the system set up correctly.

My system was 50bhp (at 100% delivery) running through a Max Extreme progressive controller. With the controller a multitude of parameters were programmable and the system took readings from revs, throttle position and gear selection.

The system was set that it would only activate if the throttle pedal was at 90% above and then it would only activate within a defined rev window, I had this set at 3750-7000rpm. It was also set not to come on in 1st gear.

The delivery of gas was also progressive throughout the rev range depending upon the gear you were in, for example in 2nd and 3rd gear delivery started at 30% at 3250rpm upto 70% at 6000rpm. in 5th and 6th gear delivery was 100% through the rev range. The full 50bhp was only ever delivered when you were fully nailing it.

Nitrous can be reliable but it is very expensive, a full bottle can cost £70 and can be wasted in 6 minutes on full throttle in 5th ad 6th. saying that its great for traffic light GP's as you only use it for 10 secs. You could also spend 2k upwards on a Wizards of Nos kit professionally installed.

The drawbacks are the cost, and that its not permanent power. To work with maximum efficiently the bottle also needs to be at the right pressure and temperature. My system was optimised to be run with a bottle heater so it had to be up to temperature before i would use it.

Overall I loved my time with it, it doesn't give a kick like in the fast and furious but it does make a noticeable difference. Maybe one day when the my meg engine is forged I may return to the dark side of gas to hit 600bhp but until then I say spend the money on a Meg conversion.

As for staying N/A I was always an advocate for keeping it natural as I loved the high revving nature of the Clio, now Ive got the Meg conversion I can honesty say I wouldn't go back, it still revs near enough to 7k but the power delivery is ferocious and I don't have to drop a gear or 2 to get past someone. Having boost in the Clio really is the way forward
 
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I had a 210bhp cammed engine, and I can say, for fun and satisfaction, it was absolutely superb (really miss it at times). The Meg conversion gives you much more but def no more fun. The Meg conversion means the world isnt just about the twisties, you can live with the big boys on the open roads, and I mean the big boys!!! Dont get me wrong, I'm not going to tell you stories about overtaking Porsche turbo's or anything equally as daft but trust me, you will never be embarrassed by anything under 50 grand or less that 400bhp.
 
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Gez said:
I think with a set of a bit more lairy cams, arp bolts and raised limit. With the ITB's. 230Hp will be achievable
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no body seems to have done any head work.....

think I would run different rods if after more revs and power!

having said that the f4r isn't really a "high rev" configuration due to bore/stroke so your always on the back foot abit :tongueout:anic:
 
Yeah, they're actually an under developed engine, when you compare the likes of a K20 engine and what the s2000 is standard for a 2.0, they're much more advanced.

The F4R engine actually suits a turbo better. The 172/182 more so with the lower ref range.
 
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