I'm confused about some of the comments about turbo cars, is this from experience driving anything made since the 80's or were they just poorly modded ??
J
J
I miss having a turbo.......
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I took my scooby off the road when I bought my clio and made it a track car. Have recently sold it and to be honest cant wait to get another turbo. The clio is as fast in a lot of ways with the average 240bhp turbo but u have to work the box a lot harder and the tuning potential compared with a turbo jus isnt there with these cars. Theyre pretty good at what they do but in terms of ultimate power they really are lacking low down in the revs. The 350bhp scooby could be in 5th cruising and you could jus put your foot down and within 2 or 3 secs you were climbing past a ton, you could overtake anything in a much smaller gap than the clio will, mainly coz youve gotta come down the box at least 2 gears before anytihng happens. I'm gonna get an evo on the side I think fior when I wanna go out and have a rip in something properly quick.
Having said all that the clio is good at what it does and I do love it, it uses half as much fuel, the ride down a road is ten times better than a track set up scooby and the handling isnt far off as good either.
Having said all that the clio is good at what it does and I do love it, it uses half as much fuel, the ride down a road is ten times better than a track set up scooby and the handling isnt far off as good either.
Natural Aspiration, otherwise known as "The expensive way to go slow".
BUT if you are all willing to take that title, then I don't think you should own a Clio sport. Your missing the entire point of the car and if your not willing to give it a reasonable chance then so be it, go and get an oversized blower and 5 inch bore exhaust, we'll be seeing you in the twisty's
BUT if you are all willing to take that title, then I don't think you should own a Clio sport. Your missing the entire point of the car and if your not willing to give it a reasonable chance then so be it, go and get an oversized blower and 5 inch bore exhaust, we'll be seeing you in the twisty's
There's no replacement for displacement.
If you want to feel EPIC, buy a VXR8 or anything else running 6-7-8 L worth of bang.
Turbo's serve a purpose and modern FI engines are very smooth and responsive unlike the old units that were like counting down the launch of a Space Shuttle before the fun happened. The new Meganes and Imprezas will pick up from around 2,000RPM, which is much earlier than what a similarly powered NA engined car will pick up from.
But, it's horses for courses. I love that feeling of impending engine detonation as you wring her neck and the needle shoots around the clock.
Every fast Clio since the dawn of time has been built to handle well, with straight line performance coming merely as a bonus.
If you want to feel EPIC, buy a VXR8 or anything else running 6-7-8 L worth of bang.
Turbo's serve a purpose and modern FI engines are very smooth and responsive unlike the old units that were like counting down the launch of a Space Shuttle before the fun happened. The new Meganes and Imprezas will pick up from around 2,000RPM, which is much earlier than what a similarly powered NA engined car will pick up from.
But, it's horses for courses. I love that feeling of impending engine detonation as you wring her neck and the needle shoots around the clock.
Every fast Clio since the dawn of time has been built to handle well, with straight line performance coming merely as a bonus.
Think the 197 has to go....... Had a weekend playing in it but with better MPG and quicker I think I'll sell her to fund another Meggy225.
If Ive any spare cash I'll buy a jetski to play with at weekends so win / win situation.!
If Ive any spare cash I'll buy a jetski to play with at weekends so win / win situation.!
Don't do it! The 197 is far better, more fun and better built. Performance based on both cars been stock, very little in it. I regret selling my 197 cup. The Megane looks better but the 197 drives much better.
Love NA but the problem for me is its too 'all or nothing'. Love the challenge from a drivers prospective but sometimes I want to drive fast but without having to feel like I'm on the limit. Time will tell I guess.
How can anyone say a megane looks better than an RS clio! Have you never seen the rear? Wow, what a pig.
He is only jealous as been in a Clio it's the only view he'd ever get of one. =;0)
I think what your really missing is low rpm grunt rather than a turbo per se. Similar feedback occurred a few years back when a friend of mine sold his S1 135 K-Series Elise and replaced it with a Lotus Exige Toyota/Yamaha VVTL. He didn't like the way the Exige drove because its peak torque sat much higher up the rpm range with 133lbft at 6800 rpm compared to the S1 135 peak torque of 127lbft at only 3000rpm! As well as being far more accessable at very low speeds, the 135s torque band was wider as well. So his older 135 was actually much more fun to drive relative to the speed and the sensation of speed was much greater as a result due to the instant bursts of torque despite its lower bhp. A modern responsive turbo provides a similar feeling, hence I can see where your coming from.
As any typical high revving NA, the Clio demands a particular driving style mostly suited to winding roads which allow for high rpm use. Like most typical high revving NA's it's rather weak in the lower rpm range due to mechanical design and/or enviro-friendly mapping. You have to like busy gear changes and working the engine. If you've come from a turbo background this will take getting use to. If its straight line speed and the sensation of torque your interested in then probably best sell up because it just isn't that kind of car. The Clios selling point is its chassis, braking and overall balance. The engine will naturally feel underpowered compared to a turbo due to lack of torque, but once you've adjusted and, depending on your driving ability, be capable of exploiting its strong points you'll find its extremely capable of staying/dispatching more powerful cars on winding roads. You'll be very surprised at how much speed it can carry through corners safely.
Edit-Might as well chuck this vid in as an example of what I'm talking about, its what kind of made me go for the Clio :thumbup:
[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ae4RqTW5UDU[/YOUTUBE]
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