Track car - Engine preference.

[tombate911]

Ok. Been doing a lot of thinking lately,
Seen lots of people who have turbo clio's wanting to go back to NA, and lots of NA boys wanting to go turbo.

As probably a lot of you know I've got. Clio 200 which is a track project.
If you had to work with a 197/200 shell like mine what route would you prefer to go down. I'm interested to see people's opinions and experiences.

My car is primarily a track car now and I'm trying to decide which of the following options to go down.

Options.

1- Keep it as it is and enjoy it, sell it next year and buy something RWD,

2- Keep modifying the Clio, coilovers, cage, diff with gearbox rebuild and remap.

3- Look at swapping the Clio now for a 197 turbo'd car to save on the costs of doing the conversion myself and sell the car before it's stripped.

Bit of a random thread and a bit of a ramble but I do always appreciated people's opinions and experiences rather than my own clouded judgement.

 

[sevenfourate]

IMO you'll never be the fastest on track - so it's about finding something you truly enjoy driving.

And when I was doing motorbike track days - that was something I could get involved in, ring the neck of and not feel like I was sitting atop a ticking time-bomb.

So the 1000cc / 180bhp monsters went: and I ended up on a 70bhp / 400cc bike. And never enjoyed anything more

My point being: Bigger and fast isn't necassarily better. Sometimes it's JUST bigger......

So -10mph faster down the straights and a few seconds off your lap times won't always revolutionise your enjoyment, so don't go chasing bhp just for the sake of it.

Having owned a huge selection of cars / bikes (And in no way am I a Clio die-hard) I'm going for option 2 above for the reasons stated.


Good luck.

 

[paskov92]

Unfortunately I have no clue or experience lol but would be interested to hear what everybody thinks/has experienced too! Good thread [emoji41]

 

[Johnny 99]

As @sevenfourate said, bigger, more powerful ain't necessarily more fun. I think there's a lot of fun to be had working the naturally aspirated Clio engine & if you can pull away from faster, more powerful cars on the twisty bits it can be very satisfying. Depends what you want really as turbos can be fun in a different way, but option 2 for me.

 

[DS197]

I'd spend my money on a supercharger kit or turbo the 197 lump as it'll still be turbocharged but also make power at the top end

 

[nutnutwelshman]

Their is a chain of Thought that the more you have the more you want but I've had more fun in my 220T than I ever did in my 300 bhp plus Megane but iam a slow old man but it's a thought

 

[Big Ben]

Great thread! Here's my thoughts...
Option 1: The sensible choice for natural progression up the BHP ladder. Enjoy the Clio for the fine car it is having added a few nice touches to it along the way. Also will still have some resale value in a years time to a wide market for not being a complete track slag.

Option 2: Expensive list of goodies will see you part with a lot of money and gain a very very good car in the twistys but you will still be a sitting duck on the straights for anything with a turbo. That would be acceptable to me but not everyone's cup of tea

Option 3: Why swap it for a boosted 197 and not a Megane or something that was turbo'd from the box? I personally wouldn't do the conversion as not being mechanically minded I could see costs running way out of control and not being worth it unless I planned on keeping it for a very long time!

Probably not helped much but you did ask

 

[Sean197]

I'd look at it in two ways:

1. what will you primarily use the car for. If it's a daily, or not an exclusive track car, then I'd sort the brakes and suspension of the Clio first, and then move onto to thinking about point 2....

2. what kind of tracks do you frequent. if it's twisty circuits like Cadwell Park where power isn't really an issue then I'd stick with the Clio and n/a engine and enjoy the car for what it is. If you take it to places like Silverstone or Donington where the lack of power (or to be more precise the Clio's excessive weight) is more obvious then I'd look at either a more powerful car, or if you feel like the only thing the Clio is missing is more power, then I'd look at an engine conversion.
From having done the Megane conversion, I can tell you it doesn't detract anything from the overall 'experience' of the Clio, far from it. With a Megane engine and properly set-up suspension, there won't be many things likely to keep up with you this side of a supercar around most tracks.

 

[matt9566]

Their is a chain of Thought that the more you have the more you want but I've had more fun in my 220T than I ever did in my 300 bhp plus Megane but iam a slow old man but it's a thought

What's your reasons behind this mate ? I've been considering a meg and a 220T recently that's all, is the 220 a better car ?

 

[youngarthur]

Owning a Megane 225, running 288/310,(now for sale), and now having Litchys shed, running 320/340, i don't know which is the better car. Both have their merits. The Megane is completely reliable, but the Clio?. We have yet to see.Doing track days next year should show one way or another. If i had a starting base for a track car, i would start with the Clio, as i seems more compact, and generally better built.

 

[nutnutwelshman]

What's your reasons behind this mate ? I've been considering a meg and a 220T recently that's all, is the 220 a better car ?

Hi Matt first Cost the 220 is like running a Dev low out lay for big smiles the car handles brilliantly the quality is better than previous Renaults the engine is Nissan so should be very reliable.I've done 2 Spa and Ring trips and UK track days with no problems but just ask you self one question how much track time how many miles a year are you going too drive.The down side well Spa is to far away but the car at over 100mph though corners is Sublime and it's my 10th RS

 

[Sean197]

@nutnutwelshman

Do you have any problems with oil surge going through fast corners, or have you heard of anyone having issues? I'm a bit worried about oil starvation with the oil swilling around the sump through high speed corners.

 

[nutnutwelshman]

@nutnutwelshman

Do you have any problems with oil surge going through fast corners, or have you heard of anyone having issues? I'm a bit worried about oil starvation with the oil swilling around the sump through high speed corners.

No Sean no problems ever

 

[Sean197]

No Sean no problems ever

ah ok, good to know. I've noticed the 197/200 sump has 'ridges' inside (not really sure what to call them), presumable to stop oil sloshing to one side during cornering. Don't know if the Megane is the same but I'd presume so. I'll maybe just put an extra bit in to make sure.

 

[matt9566]

Hi Matt first Cost the 220 is like running a Dev low out lay for big smiles the car handles brilliantly the quality is better than previous Renaults the engine is Nissan so should be very reliable.I've done 2 Spa and Ring trips and UK track days with no problems but just ask you self one question how much track time how many miles a year are you going too drive.The down side well Spa is to far away but the car at over 100mph though corners is Sublime and it's my 10th RS

Thanks for that mate. I doubt the car would see much (if any) track time to be honest, it's not something I've ever done or looked in to - but I wouldn't rule it out as it looks really good! Probably less than 10k miles per year

I wan't something a bit easier to live with, the 197 is a brilliant car and I love it but climbing over the Recaro bolsters, poor mpg etc and it slowly starting to have problems - I think it's time I got something a bit newer and want to stay with the RS brand!

I'm swayed more towards the meg because of the price, you can pick a decent 250 up for 12k but I'm yet to find one with the spec I want. On the other hand I love the 220T, think it looks great and seems perfect for what I want however it might be slightly over budget but they are starting to get a bit cheaper. Time will tell and thanks for your help!

Apologies for the thread hijack!

 

[Daverb]

NA is probably enjoyable just now. Turbo could be good but might not if it introduces problems like heat issues, traction issues etc...

 

[tombate911]

Cheers for taking the time to reply. It's good to hear what other people think and there experiences. Option two is probably the best one I think. Got a good solid reliable N/A base to work with now that's got s good history. Like you say NA is fun and more reliable hopefully. Little upgrades as we go over the next year.

Keep coming with your opinions though!

On a side note, back on track st Snetterton on Saturday! Can't wait.

 

[Pav]

may be able to tell the diff next year..bare with me

 

[sevenfourate]

may be able to tell the diff next year..bare with me

Tease....

 

[tombate911]

Really interesting to listen to everyone's views on here and tell me there ideas. Once I'd read a few comments it's set me back towards keeping it NA and staying with options 1/2. Probably option two next year after having an expensive month last month buying an exhaust for it and a trailer to tow it with.
Bled the brakes Friday ready for the track days at snetterton this weekend and took it for a blast tonight to check them, have to say after not driving it for two weeks id forgotten how fun it is, sounds great with the exhaust now and catching the shift light and limiter every now and then. Think I would miss that with a turbo.