Clio 197 Australia

[wootwoot]

Hey guys just thought i would post my car thread here since i started it on a forum in Australia.

Just thought i would start my foray into Renault ownership with a log of my recently purchased 197 from another member on here. OZ Renaultsport.

Had the car for about a month now but have not really had the chance to drive it anywhere fun with a lot of stuff taking up my time on the weekend at the moment.

I purchased the car and immediately took the car to Virage to get the belts and water pump done and waited to drive it home the next day in peak hour Melbourne traffic..........

needless to say i barely got into third gear

I was told at the pre purchase inspection that the upper torque arm was pretty much dead so that has been on the to do list since getting the car.


Here are some small additions for a upcoming hillclimb/motorkhana

Powerflex torque arm bush

Fire extinguisher bracket. I did have one form my previous car but was maybe a bout 1cm short from fitting nicely above the seat rail.

Also changed the Green cotton filter to a OEM type as i currently live on a dusty road and need all the filtration i can get.

Plans for the future

More seat time to become a better driver as the power jump from my previous car was quite alarming for me ahahaha



Wish list.

Tune

Sprint spoiler or AGP Version wing, but both are very pricey

Nice suspension upgrade such as Shockworks or MCA coil overs if i can ever persuade them to make a set

The dreaded gearbox rebuild if i ever require it, I really hope the syncros live forever



Thanks for looking

Joe

 

[Sean197]

Welcome

 

[wootwoot]

Trying to bring it up to present.
Decided to attempt the torque arm bush today.

Step
Take off wipers and hope everything is okay...... I saw that it did need a very good clean underneath all the covers

Dirty Bertie!!!!!!!

I also checked the drainage holes to make sure they were doing their thing, but noticed I had the bird swimming pool option on mine.


Took ages to clear the drain hole. It was very very blocked with dirt and looked like it had been for a while. It is such a small hole compared to the other side which i find strange



Got the mount off and one of my tools decided to not play ball and fell apart so will have to buy a replacement

 

[Johnny 99]

Welcome in mate!

 

[wootwoot]

Day 2

Went to bunnings to buy a new cut off disk holder for my Dremel only to find they don't sell them separately as a company so you have to buy the whole kit. (Thanks Dremel)

So i bought the kit and headed home.

With new cut off disc attached, it took pretty quick work of the metal bush case, once cut through the bush completely fell out onto the floor, which explains why it was a bit weird on gear changes and throttle applications.

After lots of cleaning

New bush pushed in

And all put back together and torqued up

The car drives much better with the new bush and the increased vibrations are not really noticeable to myself as i they are only when taking off from traffic lights and my previous car did this also. So i am releaved it wasn't vibrating loudly.

 

[wootwoot]

Mounted the bracket and extinguisher for a event tomorrow. These are mandatory for most car events here

 

[wootwoot]

Well did my first event in the car yesterday after having the car roughly two months and barely driving it.

I was not sure how i would go as i was really unsure of how the car would behave and i was also not used to actually flooring it and braking hard. (City driving)

Just before we started doing the the runs is started raining and it was slippery, it also didn't help i have mismatched tires front to back, but as the cool kids from 2012 say YOLO

My first run was funny as i held flat in first and second and lit up the wheels all over the place hahaha so much fun, and then the corners came up and i was very rusty and was ungraceful with my actions and just stuffed up the corners due to incorrect lines and also not being used to the braking force needed to stop the car from speed Took me a while to get used to the diving that would occur under brakes but everyone got a laugh at my hazards flashing like mad. ohh well on to the slalom.



This went a bit better and got a feel for the rear end coming out a bit, the front grips very well and the back was lively when turning sharply which was fun. Also did a skid pan and found out what it was like with the ESC off. honestly it was very stable and was good even on a wet surface.





Sadly there was a lot of sitting around which got a bit boring but the event was great and well run

 

[wootwoot]

So if you feel like you want to punish yourself for a few hours, try install this back into the car.

Faaaarrrkkkk me i had a bad time of this

 

[wootwoot]

Been a bit busy on the Clio the last week doing things i wanted for a few months now.

The previous owner told me that he would often smell fuel when he started the car but no one could figure it out and it would go away soon after, Low and behold. The connector to the fuel rail from the line was weeping at cold start but would dry up once warm. I found it when i changed the upper torque mount and clicked it in and hoped it would stop the leak but it came back a week later. Off to Virage the Clio went and they sorted it, and was luckily a easy fix with dirt making its way into the clip and making it not seal properly.


Today i took off the diffuser for paint and checked out the Akrapovic.

I attempted to paint the rear diffuser but i stuffed it up so will not be posting pics until i fix it hahah





The lower engine mount insert has made a fair difference to the shift feel, but has made more vibrations. They are not too bad once driving but is a bit loud on cold start. Apparently it will calm down in 1000kms or so, which i am looking forward to but the shift is much nicer at higher RPM now.



Thanks for looking

 

[wootwoot]

Spam....

Cleaned the tips as they were a bit filthy. Came up nice with some wd40.

Have a tiny bit of rust on the inside of the tip though which is poo, due to having cheap tips welded on


Aldo did the grills and the diffuser which still looked fairly average but better than before so will redo it when it gets faded again


Also painted the wheel nuts ad they were fairly crap looking

 

[wootwoot]

This brings us up to date hope you enjoyed the read


Went on a drive with some oz Renault owners, was good fun actaully and felt the car did excellent even with non cup suspension and weird knocking noise over bumps.





I am in two minds about getting coil overs now, as i really like how the car handles and rides over crap roads i live on and was thinking about lowering springs and cup shocks but from what i have read it seems to be bouncy and ride poorly. Any recommendations?
Was looking at whitelines lowering springs which are stiffer than the cup shocks but are progressive otherwise will just wait untill something pops up that i like

Also wanted to polybush the control arm and do the balljoints with those upgraded raptor items but worried about the squeeks

Anyone done it and not had any noise?







Gave the car its first official wash under my ownership using woolen mits and also auto glym.

Came up so nice but i stopped and had lunch and then had the wax dry on the car and made it look shit with swirls. Ohh well was really bummed about it hahahahha




Will fix i up and also the side seals as mine are very ripped.

 

[suj]

Lovely car mate, bet they are super rare in Australia!

And all put back together and torqued up

The car drives much better with the new bush and the increased vibrations are not really noticeable to myself as i they are only when taking off from traffic lights and my previous car did this also.

Just to let you know, the purple bush is on the wrong way, rotate it 180 degrees mate:

(Stolen off @AmosMoses ' thread on here)

 

[Pav]

lovely start to your thread mate..looks like she is in good hands..glad you are making all the amendements so she feels like she is still in game..

 

[wootwoot]

lovely start to your thread mate..looks like she is in good hands..glad you are making all the amendements so she feels like she is still in game..

Thanks, i am just refreshing it as i see things that need replacing.
Small items i will try tackle soon include tint for the windows as it gets super sunny here and my man tan does not need that much work.
Fix my steering wheel and possibly get a CD player with Ipod and bluetooth control as the audio box from factory does not seem to work

Bigger items i am planning for include redo the bushes and ball joints in the car, they are 10 years old and possibly painting the wheels a color that no one else really has and also painting the calipers a unique color and then suspension mods if i have any money left hahahaha

 

[Doogle]

Welcome! Great looking car! Powerflex Torque mount is a great mod, makes it feel much more direct. The vibrations will reduce, they will always be there when pulling away but fairly smooth when driving.

Having come from standard suspension to Cup shocks (early 200, stiffer than 197 Cup) I am happy with the upgrade. They dont take small bumps as well but they do take larger ones as well. Depends how good the roads are! Alot of people say Bilstein B14's are surprisingly comfortable as coilovers go as well.

 

[wootwoot]

Welcome! Great looking car! Powerflex Torque mount is a great mod, makes it feel much more direct. The vibrations will reduce, they will always be there when pulling away but fairly smooth when driving.

Having come from standard suspension to Cup shocks (early 200, stiffer than 197 Cup) I am happy with the upgrade. They dont take small bumps as well but they do take larger ones as well. Depends how good the roads are! Alot of people say Bilstein B14's are surprisingly comfortable as coilovers go as well.

Ideally I would get the b14 kit but they are so expensive to get shipped here sadly. I had them in a other car I owned and loved them but they are close to 2k delivered here and think it's a bit much consider ing the price point they are in.

Thanks for the info on the shocks. I am still keen on cup shocks and lowered springs. But I will do the bushes and ball joints first as they probably need a refresh.

I found the springs rates for non cup, cup, and springs and it is a huge difference in spring rate and will decide if I can get more info




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[LOCKE]

Nice write up mate. Enjoy.

 

[wootwoot]

One of my headlight bulbs died.
Can anyone tell me if it's a h7 or h1?

It's a non projector

Was planning on led replacements but decided on Osram nightbreakers, but need the correct size

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[Dumdum]

H7 i think, just whip out the broken one and it will say on it in future though

 

[wootwoot]

Yeah that's was the plan. But wanted to take the bumper off also to change the Parker bulbs also

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