First MOT and some money to spend - advice

[justjamie]

Heya peeps.

Right, the clio has got its first mot on 9th september, so wanted to start gettin it ready an givin the car some attention.

Anyways, ive basically set myself a £400 limit to spend on the car.
now i dont wanna be spending that on any mods, i want it to go towards the maintenance on my car, to make sure its gona be runnin sweet as a nut an back up to scratch.

Now obv first thing is a good service, bt im not takin it to renault, im sendin it to midland vw as my brother works there an they no their stuff when it comes to performance cars of this caliber, and theyve had R8s an all sorts in there an theyve never let me down in the past 3-4years.
Its £130 for there full service to me, bt on top of that, what else should i be lookin at gettin replaced whilst there wrkin on the car. its the engine i think im mostly concerned about tbh.

To cut a long story short, how could i best spend that £400 to make sure the car is back up to scratch :thumbsup:

sorry for the wafflin lads, i know what i mean lol but any help appreciated.

 

[Roy]

have you done anything at all?
if not first thing ITG panel filter:thumbsup:

 

[Paul]

As Roy said, panel filter; ITG are the most popular by far (I also have one)

Decent oil for the change during the service - I am no expert but Im sure other people can give you an opinion on what is best.

As it the first MOT and 3yr service Ren have told me the spark plugs need changing, while you are ordereing the panel filter you can order these from Camskill aswel (cheapest place I have found for both, by some margin).

I know it is not under the engine, but I have just changed my discs and pads and the 'bite' is unbelievable compared to how it was previously - and even before they were very good. So I would definitley recommend that if it is needed but that depends on how worn yours are really, as there is no point doing it if they don't need it IMO.

 

[justjamie]

Its got an itg filter in it lads :thumbsup:

Defo spark plugs will be done, jus seems like the car is runnin a bit bumpy an flat at times. Hopin a gd oil, filter an plugs change will sort that. Any other bits will be done. Cambelt service not due for another 12,000 miles.

As for brakes, the back pads need replacin as i can tell the fronts seem to be doin ALL the work, i know theyre always biased to the front bt i feel the back goin twitchy under brakin is cuz the rears arent wrkin properly.

What pads wud u recommend?

 

[Foxspeed]

as said service and engine bits

good brake service as the pads seize in to the calipers - even if the fronts arent that worn get them removed/cleaned/lubed/re-fitted :thumbsup:

as for pads - standard are very good or for an up-grade go to ds2500 :thumbup1:

 

[justjamie]

Im runnin the ds2500s at the moment mate.
I'll go for a set of those an a brake service then

Anything else?

 

[Graeme GTR]

if your gonna have the wheels and brakes stripped down why not replaced the brake lines with some nice braided lovelys,and some carbon lorraine brake fluid to finish it off. :bounce:

 

[Mike]

My 197 failed it's first MOT on emissions lol!

Totally standard too!!!

Passed in the end, just took it to a Renault dealer, and miraculously it passed!

 

[BenW]

Make sure the brake fluid is changed, this should be done every 2 years but the Renault handbook says every 4 years

 

[stormbringer]

Back goes light on mine when braking hard ,you need a cup spoiler to help keep the back planted.

 

[Arran]

I'd keep you money and spend it if something NEEDS doing to pass it (other than the service). Get the place you are having it serviced at to do a pre-MOT check and then you should know if it's likely to fail on anything silly like a tyre or something for example!

 

[BenW]

Also worth mentioning that you can have your MOT done up to a month before the renewal date. Do this!!! If you have any unexpected failures, for example a leaking shock absorber then you can get this replaced under warranty as there is still a month remaining

 

[justjamie]

thanks for all the good advice lads, much appreciated :thumbsup:

Ben, i thought that myself, but the car went to renault not too long ago and they said it was no longer under warranty but i thought myself that they come with a 3year warranty. however, my car isnt standard so i presume this would void it anyways.

if the warranty was still running, ive got a couple of things they could get workin on tho which include doors droppin and the door seals split.