How did you choose your Clio

[Chris_200CUP]

I spent weeks looking for the right car, wasted trips veiling other cars up and down country. In end put up a wanted ad and luck was had it the right car come up. 1 owner and low mileage standard with FSH. Perfect

 

[Antti O]

It was only Clio 197 for sale in my country..

 

[Arran]

I'd had enough of my 182, I wanted a 200t. Had to be Lux, had to be in RRG group stock as a mate works for them. I wanted Flame red. The missus wanted heated seats and any colour other than black or liquid yellow.

Found the perfect car and drove 120 miles to see it. It was in great condition so my mate got it for me. Got to say I love it and so does my wife. She has only this week turned the seat heater off and we've had it since October!

 

[Johnny 99]

Oh dear! I have no issues with this other than that Liquid Yellow is my favourite colour! That said I would take a car by spec over colour & keep my wife sweet! Enjoy the 200T.

 

[Doga Kececioglu]

My best friend had a Clio 172 in college. I was driving a Fiat Marea 2.0 at the time which was my first car. Fiat managed to get 154hp from its 5 cylinder engine which was very well but the Clio was something else.

Years after, I bought a Yamaha 125cc and told my wife about it and she said you can not have a motorcycle. She had her concerns and I was ok with it. I didn't deliver the bike and started looking for a 182.
I found a 197 that was mint and had 29k kms on the gauge. I didn't even get the car for a checkup and acquired the ultra red 197.

Our family car is a C250 which is perfect. Our boy started school and I was dropping him with the Clio which was a pain since I had the Recaros fitted.

So I thought it was the time for a four door something. I didn't want to lose my RS so I bought the 200T. Still trying to sell the 197 unwillingly.


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[Gus]

I never really wanted a Clio 200. I drove one a few years ago and didnt really find them as good as a 182. The cabin was too sparse and the the drive was a bit mundane. The one I looked at was 12K and the reason I wanted it was a silly one. I was dropping my car off at cowboy central (clioturbo) in durham for a stage 3 turbo conversion and needed a car to get me home. I saw they had this LY 200 and thought I could buy it, drive it home and use it for a few months and sell it once I got my turbo'd 182 back. The car was too expensive for how I felt it drove etc.

Anyway back to how I chose my AG200. I was sat one sunday afternoon just chilling having a coffee and reading threads on clio forums. Up pops an advert From N0ddie who was selling his AG200. I saw the Spec was pretty fucking amazing. Bilsteins - I love these and have them on my other 182s, Michelin super cup 2 tyres ! Akrapovich full exhaust and Recaros. The price was extremely good too. I told a load of friends about the car incase anyone was interested. After half an hour I couldnt stop thinking about it so called the seller. Before I knew it I had bought the car. Hadnt seen it or driven it but had made an offer which was accepted. The car was outside Edinburgh and one of my best friends lived very close. I called @MarcR and asked if he could accept the car and check it out briefly. N0ddie drove over to Marcs house, I paid the money and had the car a couple of hours after the advert was even put up.

I must say I was nervous as I usually spend a good hour or two examining cars before buying. All was well with this one though and have had an amazing few weeks with it.

It is a brilliant car and the ride with the bilsteins is perfect for UK roads. I absolutely love it now. Only things Ive done so far are putting in 197 r27 rear seats and putting my Alpine headunit in. I plan on getting Oz ultraleggera wheels and giving it a machine polish. Future plans are a megane conversion so am keeping an eye out for the right engine and the one with the LSD gearbox.

 

[Cossers]

TBH, I'd never even drive one to I bought mine on yesterday, just liked the look of it, always have from they came out in 06

Love something a bit different is all I guess and this ticked a lot of the boxes in that department

 

[Arran]

My 197, which I bought 7 years ago was natural progression from the mk2 1.2 16v Clio I had. Had to be ultra or albi and have projectors. Ideally wanted climate but I settled for a red one with Bluetooth and projectors from Renault Leicester and picked her up on my 21st birthday! Loved it!

 

[Crazylegs]

Thought I'd add this in here rather than create a new thread.

I really like these cars and I am doing as much research as possible on them seen as I'm off ill this week. lol

Anyway, I am hoping this year I will be in a position to buy one. I've been initially drawn to the RS200 due to the Chassis and quicker rack as from what I've read, it's a superior car to the 197 however, I really like the look of the pre-facelift 197 model over the newer one (08 onwards) if I'm correct? (Still learning about these cars), and the 197 can be had for a hell of a lot cheaper.

I'm hoping to have around 10k to get one and my thinking is that even if I were to get a 200 over a 197, I'd still be upgrading the suspension etc anyway. The plan is to go for Bilstein B14's. Now I appreciate this may seem a silly post seen as I've yet to drive one let alone purchase one, and perhaps I'm doing the car an injustice; in fact I am absolute sure I am as from what I've read they handle fantastically as they are.

Can people understand where I'm coming from? If I could pick up a cheap 197 say around an 05 plate for below 5k, it would leave me with some spare wedge to modify the chassis and braking somewhat. What are people's thoughts? Go for my idea or get the RS200 and leave it as is?

Many thanks.

Marc

 

[Sean197]

Thought I'd add this in here rather than create a new thread.

I really like these cars and I am doing as much research as possible on them seen as I'm off ill this week. lol

Anyway, I am hoping this year I will be in a position to buy one. I've been initially drawn to the RS200 due to the Chassis and quicker rack as from what I've read, it's a superior car to the 197 however, I really like the look of the pre-facelift 197 model over the newer one (08 onwards) if I'm correct? (Still learning about these cars), and the 197 can be had for a hell of a lot cheaper.

I'm hoping to have around 10k to get one and my thinking is that even if I were to get a 200 over a 197, I'd still be upgrading the suspension etc anyway. The plan is to go for Bilstein B14's. Now I appreciate this may seem a silly post seen as I've yet to drive one let alone purchase one, and perhaps I'm doing the car an injustice; in fact I am absolute sure I am as from what I've read they handle fantastically as they are.

Can people understand where I'm coming from? If I could pick up a cheap 197 say around an 05 plate for below 5k, it would leave me with some spare wedge to modify the chassis and braking somewhat. What are people's thoughts? Go for my idea or get the RS200 and leave it as is?

Many thanks.

Marc

For £10k you could have your pick of any 200 you like. Plenty of good ones for sale for around £7k. Standard suspension is very good, cup suspension can be a little harsh, B14's are very good for road and the occasional track day. £650 for B14's, £140 for DS2500 pads, and £50 for some Powerflex mounts and you'll have yourself a very capable car. Don't go chasing power though, tuning the F4R engine is just not cost-effective and the gains are minimal, although a remap apparently does wonders for the drivability and power delivery.

 

[Crazylegs]

For £10k you could have your pick of any 200 you like. Plenty of good ones for sale for around £7k. Standard suspension is very good, cup suspension can be a little harsh, B14's are very good for road and the occasional track day. £650 for B14's, £140 for DS2500 pads, and £50 for some Powerflex mounts and you'll have yourself a very capable car. Don't go chasing power though, tuning the F4R engine is just not cost-effective and the gains are minimal, although a remap apparently does wonders for the drivability and power delivery.

Thanks Sean for the post, appreciate it.

Yes that would be the plan, handling and braking rather than power. I'm not focussed solely on power, just after something that handles well and brakes well and these seemingly do as standard however there's always scope for improving chassis and braking. I've never done a trackday either so the aim is to get one and track it a tad. N/A is always costly to get power from and besides, 200 brake is more than enough for me. Anything's better than the VRS Diesel I'm in currently.

In terms of pads I was thinking Pagid RS29 however they are very expensive. Any kind of camber/castor mods for the Clio at all? Castor plates, adjustable front/rear camber etc?

Bilstein are supposed to be excellent and the spring rates are supposed to be an even 50/50 split front and rear which is ideal, although you can't adjust the damping with the B14's you can adjust the height and that would be fine for me. I also know a place who are very good at setting geometry up on cars, mainly Honda's but one of the mechanics does work on Clio Cup cars in his spare time so there's experience there I can turn to. There does seem to be a varied choice certainly which is good, really drawn to Liquid Yellow or the light blue colour as it's a lovely colour.

 

[Sean197]

Thanks Sean for the post, appreciate it.

Yes that would be the plan, handling and braking rather than power. I'm not focussed solely on power, just after something that handles well and brakes well and these seemingly do as standard however there's always scope for improving chassis and braking. I've never done a trackday either so the aim is to get one and track it a tad. N/A is always costly to get power from and besides, 200 brake is more than enough for me. Anything's better than the VRS Diesel I'm in currently.

In terms of pads I was thinking Pagid RS29 however they are very expensive. Any kind of camber/castor mods for the Clio at all? Castor plates, adjustable front/rear camber etc?

Bilstein are supposed to be excellent and the spring rates are supposed to be an even 50/50 split front and rear which is ideal, although you can't adjust the damping with the B14's you can adjust the height and that would be fine for me. I also know a place who are very good at setting geometry up on cars, mainly Honda's but one of the mechanics does work on Clio Cup cars in his spare time so there's experience there I can turn to. There does seem to be a varied choice certainly which is good, really drawn to Liquid Yellow or the light blue colour as it's a lovely colour.

Pure Motorsport do camber shims for the rear beam - http://www.pure-motorsport.co.uk/clio-3rs200/clio-3rs200-suspension/clio-3-rs-camber-toe-shim.html, and @tombate911 can do you a good deal on some Compbrake adjustable top mounts which will fit the B14's. Powerflex also do castor/anti-lift front bushes - http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Powerflex...00-/232174479830?_trksid=p2385738.m2548.l4275. Couple these with the Powerflex torque mount bush, the gearbox mount, and the lower engine mount, and it tightens up the car so much. Upper engine mount can be done, but vibration increases quite a bit.

If you're spending big money on track pads, go for CL 5 or 6 - https://www.kamracing.co.uk/car-tun...s/renault-clio-mk3-2-0-rs-rc5-brake-pads.html. Also spoke to a guy at Spa running DS1.11 pads and he gave them a very good review.
Standard Brembo HC discs are plenty, although there are big discs kits for around £500 if you feel the standards aren't good enough.
A good diff will also be a good additional for track, and tyres, obviously.

 

[Dmonk197]

3 years ago i was getting divorced and having a child i needed a car.....initially i was set on the R26 Megane which people just hate the arse that i love. then one day i saw a 197 come up for sale and i thought ye lets go see it.
i was shocked by how big it was, last i remember clios were small city cars. took it for a test drive and thought the boot is massive (compared to the MK2 clio, and the back seats have plenty of room for a child seat (even more room for knees with the recaro seats) then i thought i would only have to carry him to the back seat until he can walk himself which is not long, so i bought it there and then! took it to mark fish for the once over and been smiling ever since,,,i still glance at it once ive parked.

 

[Sean197]

i still glance at it once ive parked.

Every morning when I park at work I have a look back at my Clio. Even when I'm out shopping or golfing I still do it!

 

[Crazylegs]

Pure Motorsport do camber shims for the rear beam - http://www.pure-motorsport.co.uk/clio-3rs200/clio-3rs200-suspension/clio-3-rs-camber-toe-shim.html, and @tombate911 can do you a good deal on some Compbrake adjustable top mounts which will fit the B14's. Powerflex also do castor/anti-lift front bushes - http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Powerflex...00-/232174479830?_trksid=p2385738.m2548.l4275. Couple these with the Powerflex torque mount bush, the gearbox mount, and the lower engine mount, and it tightens up the car so much. Upper engine mount can be done, but vibration increases quite a bit.

If you're spending big money on track pads, go for CL 5 or 6 - https://www.kamracing.co.uk/car-tun...s/renault-clio-mk3-2-0-rs-rc5-brake-pads.html. Also spoke to a guy at Spa running DS1.11 pads and he gave them a very good review.
Standard Brembo HC discs are plenty, although there are big discs kits for around £500 if you feel the standards aren't good enough.
A good diff will also be a good additional for track, and tyres, obviously.

Awesome mate nice one, that is a fantastic post. I will favourite the thread so I've got them all.

Seems like plenty of suspension related mods out there that will tighten the car up and having adjustable camber/castor etc always helps.

Thanks again mate I appreciate it! Cheers.

 

[link]

I've had a long-standing history with the clio so here goes... Clio Williams was an almost zero mileage minter, it was a no brainer really, longest car I've ever owned and the most B-road fun you could ever ask for, hitting the limiter in 5th was always fun! :excited:

Mk1 172 was a total sleeper when it first came out, was so much faster than the 106gti, being somewhat young and foolish I couldn't help but waste a few "faster" cars and see the disbelief on the owners face as a CLIO swooped by, lol. Its interior was horrific but the seats had nice stitching, didn't own it for long...

Mk2 182 was a FF in RB with recaros... Need i say more, was a great little car although I found the recaros a bit uncomfortable after a while, would have bought another one but couldn't find a mint low mileage example, which brings me on too...

Mk 3 197 FF in RB with xenon's, climate, auto lights/wipers, cup spoiler, parking sensors, sat nav (added earlier this year) etc. I'd have prefered recaros but mines an early one and it was never an official option at the time, given the state they get in kinda glad now but that's not to say I might not end up with a set one day. Although it might be cheaper to buy an F1 and swap the seats then sell the car lol.

After driving a cheap run around I was getting bored and excessive motorcycle speed was getting me into trouble so I just happened to come across the 197 for sale nearby, getting into another clio felt special, low fat and wide so I just had to have it, drove it home same day.

What I wish I'd known: the fuel filler cap was stuck closed, hence much bemusement at the services with my hand stuck up its arse trying to flick the solenoid open, that's also how I found this forum BTW.

 

[mannors007]

Easy - it was cheap, local and the bits which looked tired (wheels, exhaust etc.) I wanted to upgrade anyway.


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[Nick197RS]

10k is over budgeting haha. As said above 7k should get you a good 200

The 200 and 197 are very similar, I wouldn't say far superior, yes there were a few revisions but no change in reliability.

My dad has a 200 I have a 197... we've had to replace similar parts when worn or failed. The 200 had a more refined engine producing more power... my 197 pulls better than his 200 (mine has filter and milltek, his is standard. Must have a very strong engine in mine)
The gearbox in the 200 has better ratios for motorway driving etc, but if you want short gears and want to do track days...197.
Brakes are the same... brembos.
If you buy a cup you have the stiffer suspension. Stock setup is fantastic!! I put eibach springs on mine and it made even better... slightly lower at the back so it sits level and abit stiffer. Handling = phenomenal!!!


With your budget though... you could have a 200 for daily, and a cheap 197 for track use, and still have change:excited:

 

[Nick197RS]

I would also like to say...
I come from the VAG communitity, my brother bought a Megane 250 cup... I loved it. My parents then bought a 200 and I just fell in love and had to have one... so I bought my 197, and I will never go back to VW (with the exception of having another Mk2 golf as a toy)
I love my car and throw money at it as if it grew on trees. No regrets!!!
Love it, love it, love it! Smile on my face all the time even when it breaks, because I enjoy fixing it too.

I have just purchased a Megane 225 engine and parts to convert mine

You will not regret joining the community! This forum is full of great people who are all friendly and helpful... I haven't come across a single numpty on here (excluding myself lol)

 

[nutnutwelshman]

Most of you guys will never drive these fantastic little rockets at Spa @Sean197 @johnny @-Eddie- they are the most amazing cars to drive at full chat they go round corners at at 100 plus on rails and embarrassing more expensive stuff tx Kevin