Nicole ? Papa ! - Clio 197 F1

More updates!

DOH!

Heading up to Scotland for work a couple of weeks back I hit a patch of standing water on the M74 and aquaplaned into a lorry. My own fault really, didn't think the puddle was that deep, how wrong I was! This now meant that the company car was off the road until it can get collected. That means only 1 thing, daily the Clio!

My Little Workhorse

I'd be lying if I said I wasn't looking forward to blatting to work and back in the Clio, my commute is a 150 mile round trip across some epic country roads through the peaks. The Clio is perfect for this journey, and with the warmer weather around the car really is behaving well. The car has done around 1000 miles in the last 2 weeks and it hasn't missed a beat.

A Korean Interlude

I will now go off topic slightly to fill you guys in with a cheeky little opportunity that got sent my way. Another forum was running a little event to drive a "Mystery" hot hatch around a UK circuit and give a review on video, all you had to do was write a little editorial on yourself and your experiences with hot hatches and they might pick you to come along.

I was lucky enough to be chosen and got a phone call asking me if I could make myself available to come to Anglesey and drive a Hyundai i30N Performance, of course I could!

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We spent the day shooting the B roll for the film and then after lunch we had a session in the car with a racing driver giving us some coaching, having never driven Anglesey I was a little nervous but non the less out I went. After 1 lap to learn the track, Scott (Racing driver) began to push me so I could see what the car had to offer. By lap 4 Scott wanted me to push really hard, he said I was quite competent in car control but I could push alot harder, the next 3 laps he had me bouncing over kerbs and managing late braking and turn in with some lift off oversteer for good measure. He had pushed me way beyond what I thought my limits were and it was simply awesome.

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The car? What can I say, it is epic! 275bhp and an LSD means this car has plenty of power and can put it down everywhere, the chassis is very well balanced and inspires confidence whilst still being very fun. The brake feel wasn't the best, nor was the gearshift, but with an auto blip down shift and a sports exhaust you always had a smile on your face. If I was in the market for a new hot hatch I know where my £28k would go!

This experience now has me looking out for my next car...

But what about the Clio?

It's not going anywhere! I still love this little thing and although I want more power and an LSD I still have some fun to get out of the Clio. With saving for a house the next car will have to wait till after that purchase is made, I will most likely go to a Megane RS 250/265 but thats a few years off.

My tatty knob

Stop laughing at the back! This is a serious matter! With the more daily use of the Clio I had noticed the gear knob really was in a sorry state, the finest quality french not leather and stitching was coming apart and annoying me every time I changed gear.

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So I set about fixing this, I had some nice soft grain black leather left over from another project and I though this would be perfect for a recover of the gear knob. Disassembling the gear knob is simple, you just pop off the silver cap then cut the stitching and peel off the old cover.

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After much swearing and a few adjustments I had finished, the leather is slightly thicker so the gear knob feels chunkier and the material is lovely and soft. Stitching isn't the neatest but its functional!

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I'm really pleased with this and think it looks 1 million times better.

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In the next few months I'll most likely send the steering wheel off for a recover and get some matching yellow stitching done.

Other than that I'm just going to keep on enjoying the car, I need to get an Aircon regas and check over the brakes then it may be time to get out on track again!
 
sorry to hear about your little crash..all ok??
im well jealous of that i30N..i've seen a few reviews and it looks like a very promising hot hatch..A LSD is awesome as i can confirm having it in my converted clio..bloody superb when it comes to cornering..glad you had enjoyed yourself
 
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Yeah I’m all good, crash wasn’t too bad really!

My other option on an LSD car is to meg the clio, but I really like the newer meganes and it would seem like a logical step.
 
Great little write up! Glad to hear all is ok after the crash.

Looks like you had a great day! I saw a i30N only last week for the first time - couldn't believe how good it sounds! Not to mention a great looking car. I've actually been looking at them since and will probably go for a test drive in the next couple of months if one comes up at the right price.
 
Great little write up! Glad to hear all is ok after the crash.

Looks like you had a great day! I saw a i30N only last week for the first time - couldn't believe how good it sounds! Not to mention a great looking car. I've actually been looking at them since and will probably go for a test drive in the next couple of months if one comes up at the right price.

I'd really recommend one, they are certainly a special car that flys under most people's radar.
 
I'd really recommend one, they are certainly a special car that flys under most people's radar.

Definitely - I thought i'd looked at every hot hatch on the market over the past month or so and still somehow missed this one! Would be great to run alongside the R27.
 
Definitely - I thought i'd looked at every hot hatch on the market over the past month or so and still somehow missed this one! Would be great to run alongside the R27.

Certainly would! My only thought is that the new Megane could be better, but as of this moment in time i'm team Hyundai. (Never thought i would say that!) :tonguewink:
 
Update time!

Not a lot to report over the last few months. Changed out the gearbox oil for some MTL Redline, my box now feels a hell of a lot better and behaves when cold.

But this isn’t a boring update! I saw that there was a sprint day planned for June 2nd at curborough run by none other that kev! Signed myself up and counted down the days.

Sprint Day

Having never done a sprint day before I was excited to see how it would go. The simple answer is fantastic! The way the event is setup means plenty of time on track and as it is timed you get to learn the circuit and the car’s ability.

For the morning I was recording low 1.40s while I got to grips with everything. I didn’t think I could shave more off but got to mid 1.37s by lunch.

Must try harder!

After lunch I was determined to get quicker times. After many attempts I was down to 1.36s and struggling to go quicker.

After a few sessions of trying to hard I got into a groove and broke into 1.35s, I was convinced there wasn’t any more in it so went for a break.

Final attempts

As the track became quieter I decided to have a final shot at it. I took the cameras down off the car and wanted to really focus.

First lap out felt good, was still a 1.35... Back out I go!

Next lap was messy in places but I found a section to carry a little more speed. 1.34.82! I think there’s more in it. Back out!

Next lap I was tidier but felt the car still had more. 1.34.6. One more!

Learning from the last lap I pushed harder and kept it tidy, still wasn’t happy. 1.34.6 again?!

Final lap with 10 minutes left. Now or never really! A good lap, tidy and I pushed as hard as I felt I could without scrubbing time. The result 1.34.19!

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Chuffed with it all!

I was really happy with my final time and for a bone stock 197 on road tyres I think it’s pretty good!

The day was fantastic and I’m fully back in love with the Clio! I forgot how fun the chassis is on the limit.

Tyres held up really well too, I can’t rate the PS4 enough.

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Sounds like a really good day organised by Kev and Will. Was hoping to get up there but crazy busy at work so it was always going to be a last minute impulse decision.

Glad you had a fun time, Snetterton 22nd July??
 
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Sounds like a really good day organised by Kev and Will. Was hoping to get up there but crazy busy at work so it was always going to be a last minute impulse decision.

Glad you had a fun time, Snetterton 22nd July??

Can’t do that one :worried: going to Silverstone classic! Will more than likely be doing curborough on July 27th though :smile:
 
Well quick little update about a crap weekend!

So me and the Mrs were off to York for the weekend, planned to spend a day in York then a couple of days around the countryside. Clio was the choice rather than the Scirocco as i hadn't used it in a while and fancied some countryside hooning.

Made it to around 1 mile outside York, speed limit went from 40 to 70. So drop it down a gear and go to accelerate, car just dies. So pull over to the side of the A64 and try and start the car, no joy!

After 30 mins checking coils, plugs, fuel pump my last thought was the crank sensor, quick search on here shows an issue people have had with dropping a gear then accelerating can cause some debris from the clutch to hit Crank sensor and kill it, bugger!

Called a tow truck and got the car to a local garage, they couldn't find a crank sensor on Friday but wanted to try a cam sensor too. Cam sensor was tried and no joy, i called about 30 garages,motor factors and even Renault, earliest they can get one is Monday... Weekend ruined!

So after many taxis, buses and trains we made it home and the car is still in York, waiting to hear from the garage to see if they have sourced a sensor and got the thing running.

Bit gutting really, we managed to make the most of the weekend but what a bloody annoyance. If this had happened on the driveway I could have fixed it...

Oh well, hopefully this won't cost me too much.
 
Well quick little update about a crap weekend!

So me and the Mrs were off to York for the weekend, planned to spend a day in York then a couple of days around the countryside. Clio was the choice rather than the Scirocco as i hadn't used it in a while and fancied some countryside hooning.

Made it to around 1 mile outside York, speed limit went from 40 to 70. So drop it down a gear and go to accelerate, car just dies. So pull over to the side of the A64 and try and start the car, no joy!

After 30 mins checking coils, plugs, fuel pump my last thought was the crank sensor, quick search on here shows an issue people have had with dropping a gear then accelerating can cause some debris from the clutch to hit Crank sensor and kill it, bugger!

Called a tow truck and got the car to a local garage, they couldn't find a crank sensor on Friday but wanted to try a cam sensor too. Cam sensor was tried and no joy, i called about 30 garages,motor factors and even Renault, earliest they can get one is Monday... Weekend ruined!

So after many taxis, buses and trains we made it home and the car is still in York, waiting to hear from the garage to see if they have sourced a sensor and got the thing running.

Bit gutting really, we managed to make the most of the weekend but what a bloody annoyance. If this had happened on the driveway I could have fixed it...

Oh well, hopefully this won't cost me too much.
Unlucky mate, sorry about your spoiled trip. Murphy's law (the polite way of putting it)! Hope it's sorted soon and that you were able to make the best of a bad situation.
 
wouldnt have happened on your drive way as it only happens while going down a gear..sorry to hear..
these things have their bad timing as it seems..when i broke down,i broke down in the middle of nowhere with literally no phone signal..good job some members on here were driving behind me so they could pull over and help me...

hope you get some good news soon
 
So new cranks and cam sensors, and does it run? No...

Seems the fuel pump is now playing silly buggers, its live and relays are ok its just refusing to pump.

Time for a new pump then.

I was thinking of selling up before this happened, car must have heard me and is having a hissy fit :sweatsmile:
 
So new cranks and cam sensors, and does it run? No...

Seems the fuel pump is now playing silly buggers, its live and relays are ok its just refusing to pump.

Time for a new pump then.

I was thinking of selling up before this happened, car must have heard me and is having a hissy fit :sweatsmile:
I’ve had the bottom fall off a fuel pump before and cause just this fault, not exactly common but once or twice it’s happened and the bottom of the pump effectively got blocked
 
Collected the car today, my wallet is feeling much lighter to the tune of £400 but the car runs great and seems to be having all good. Cars eh!
 
Quick little update.

Car has a few hundred miles under its belt since the repairs and its running lovely, starting to enjoy the car again and have forgiven her for the little bitch fit.

Her days may be numbered however :worried:

Will be relocating soon due to the Mrs getting a new job, she'll need a car and we most likely wont have room for 3 cars. I've offered her the Clio but fuel costs have put her off and she hasn't really gelled with it!

Watch this space...
 
its always the case..you put it right and something happens and it has to go..thats life im afraid..hope she finds a good home..
 

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