MS 200 fun road and track car - and other car stuff!

[Matt Scarbro]

After such a warm welcome to my introduction post it's time to pop a project thread together.

I've had the car for a couple of months so the first few posts will introduce the car, my plans and what has happened so far.

In order to provide some variety I'll pop in the odd post about my other cars, I enjoy reading about all sorts so maybe you will too!

I bought the Clio as a second car for my partner and I that would be fun to drive on the road and not too fast. I'm becoming increasingly aware that in order to enjoy the quicker newish stuff you have to be travelling at quite dangerous speeds on the road.

A couple of pics of what I bought...





It's a full fat 200 so happily has all the creature comforts I've become a bit used to. It has the Cup pack, Recaro seats and I think it must also have something aftermarket in the exhaust as it's quite rorty!

First impressions of the car are very good, it's such an eager little thing, more muscular than I had expected and it feels like it's trying to bite into the road to find traction where other cars might slide across the surface.

The ride is hard, perhaps more so than expected but that's not a problem - it's dynamic talents are worth a bit less comfort. I was expecting the brakes to feel great but the pedal is a bit long, rear pads were marked as an advisory on the recent MOT so they will be the first port of call. I've bought some genuine pads and a caliper wind back tool, I just want to find a good touch up pen for the calipers as there are a few small chips I want to correct at the same time.

More to follow...

 

[Matt Scarbro]

So, the plans! Where things will undoubtedly get carried away with themselves!

For me this needs to be a useable and enjoyable road car, but I love trackdays and so I will try to build something that improves both the useability, comfort and enjoyment on the road, and can be used on the track when I want to.I have a couple of track toys so this won't end up as a stripped out racer.

I genuinely want to make the interior feel special so that I can enjoy it every time I use the car and want to keep the outside smart and standardish.

Dynamically I want to improve it without jeopardising comfort and useability in any way. So no buckets or harder suspension and no squealing brakes hopefully!!..

 

[BenAG200]

Looks nice and clean Matt, good spec too by the sounds of it.

 

[Matt Scarbro]

The first job was the rear brake pads,
I think they were about ready to be changed!.. I also bought a touch up pen and touched up the rear calipers at the same time.



Brake pedal still feels a bit long but maybe it will just take a little time for the pads to bed. Or maybe it wants some new fluid and a bleed.
Going to try and find a punch that's the right size for the Brembo pins and get the end machined concave to make pad inspection and replacement a little easier, I have a feeling if I try it with a normal punch the caliper paint will soon be a mess!

 

[suj]

Lovely car mate, I nearly bought this when my 197 F1 was rear ended and wrote off, but it was just outside of my budget.
It was a complete bargain for the spec!

Yeah the cup suspension is a bit stiff, but you'll get used to it and actually enjoy it.

I ended up with a 197 in the end, and it also had a longish pedal, I had the brake fluid changed and it made a big difference also, so it might be considering that also mate.

 

[BenAG200]

In line with what Suj has suggested, fluid change and braided lines would probably make a big difference to pedal feel. Parts that don't break the bank either.

 

[Matt Scarbro]

One mod con that I couldn't live without was Bluetooth connectivity and factory sound system could definitely be improved upon, so I put together this budget sensitive and discreet upgrade:

Head unit £67 (when I bought it)
http://www.halfords.com/technology/car-audio/car-stereos/pioneer-mvh-390bt-bluetooth-car-stereo

Steering wheel control harness and patch lead £40
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/271990994706

Mini amp £73
https://www.caraudiocentre.co.uk/product_m-pioneer-gm-d1004_p-32858.htm

So £180 total for parts including delivery.

In theory it was an easy installation and happily it was very much so. A quick google told me how to remove the glovebox which made the job so much easier. I routed the microphone wire up the passenger A pillar to save messing about under the steering wheel and affixed the mini amp behind the glovebox.

The short-case mechless head unit meant there was plenty of room for all the cables which can be a headache with normal units, it went together very simply and worked as it should first time!




The beauty of this sort of amp is that it requires no traditional 'amp wiring kit' and instead fits between the car loom and the head unit harness. It's nice and compact too which makes finding somewhere to mount it easy.



For fairly modest outlay I've brought the cars media system up to date and the sound output is now very respectable, I'm chuffed with the results.

 

[Sneydster]

Maybe a silly question but @Matt Scarbro where did you get the touch up pen for the brakes from? My O/S rear calliper has a chunk of red missing from it and every time I see it it annoys me more and more

 

[Matt Scarbro]

Lovely car mate, I nearly bought this when my 197 F1 was rear ended and wrote off, but it was just outside of my budget.
It was a complete bargain for the spec!

Yeah the cup suspension is a bit stiff, but you'll get used to it and actually enjoy it.

I ended up with a 197 in the end, and it also had a longish pedal, I had the brake fluid changed and it made a big difference also, so it might be considering that also mate.

Thanks Suj (and Ben), I think I'll try some ATE fluid first, I'd like to avoid braided lines on this car if possible so fingers crossed the fluid does the trick!

It was certainly a well priced car, but needs some TLC. Unfortunately a bodged exhaust mani flexi has now revealed itself so not quite so much of a bargain!

 

[Matt Scarbro]

Maybe a silly question but @Matt Scarbro where did you get the touch up pen for the brakes from? My O/S rear calliper has a chunk of red missing from it and every time I see it it annoys me more and more

I used the Halfords 'Toolbox Red' pen. It's not perfect right up close but is much preferable to the chipped calipers before that were instantly noticeable.

 

[Matt Scarbro]

Some servicing goodies came shortly afterwards, I've done the engine oil and will do the 'box soon. In fact I might get that done at the same time as the manifold.

 

[Matt Scarbro]

Now this is where it all went wrong and I got carried away...

 

[Matt Scarbro]

I had been considering a seat refurb so when these stunners popped up I couldn't resist. They really are lovely, I'm delighted with them.







I have also bought a spare steering wheel that I have dropped off at Snappy's for him to work his magic. I'm going for plain leather with silver stitching and a black alcantara centre marker to match the seats.

 

[Matt Scarbro]

Another consideration when I bought the car was that it had budget tyres fitted. Why on earth do people do this on driver's cars, such a shame!

So I knew I needed to buy a new set from the outset. The alloys were also in poor condition so I reasoned that this would be an excellent opportunity to get them refurbed at the same time.

I was caught between going for ContiSport 5s, Toyo R1Rs and AD08rs. In the end I chose the Yokos as I don't think the others would stand up to dry track sessions. I was a little concerned that the AD08rs might be a little louder and harsher riding but I was hopeful having spent time in other cars with them.

Old vs new...





And on the car with the wheels powdercoated gloss black:

 

[Sean197]

ooooh those seats are lovely

 

[Matt Scarbro]

I've now caught up to date and I'd love to tell how great the new tyres are and how much fun I'm having!

...Unfortunately as I alluded to above, this manifold flexi issue has revealed itself and so I'm trying to find a solution to that and not using the car much!!

 

[Cossers]

Lovely, what's with the castrol and Honda oil?

 

[Sneydster]

Lovely, what's with the castrol and Honda oil?

Presuming the Honda oil is for his Honda powered mx5 track car? If I've got that right from memory?

 

[Matt Scarbro]

Lovely, what's with the castrol and Honda oil?

Good thinking Sneydster but they're both for the Clio. I read positive and negative things about a number of different gear oils in the Clios so went with what I know. The Honda MTF is a good GL4 oil that was always good from cold in the Hondas I had and I will add some Syntrans (also GL4) so there is at least some fully synthetic oil to provide better protection at higher temps on track.

 

[///M]

Awesome seats Matt. We'll do ours like that at some point.