New guy - North Wales

C

Crazylegs

Hi all,

Not yet an owner however I'm looking into Clio 197's and RS 200's, really like the little Clio they look a cracking car. I'm a Honda man myself, well not at this present time as I'm in a Skoda Fabia VRS diesel however my last few cars have all been Honda's. DC5, EK9 B20 and 2 CRX's and I'm missing the revs. Looking at clips of the Clio's on Youtube and dare I say it, they actually sound better than a Type R.

I've had a read through the buyers guide and they seem to be quite a decent reliable car and I have a Renault Independent Specialist literally up the road from me which is handy for serviving, as above I really like the stance and look of them too - great looking cars.

Imagine if/when I go for one it will be an 08 onwards model with the Cup chassis and improved rack as they're seemingly better. Can any pre-08 owners confirm what the steering is like on the 197 as there is a large gap in price between pre and post 08 cars and it seems you can get the 197 for a lot cheaper. Does the electric steering and different rack really affect handling that much?

Many thanks.

Crazylegs.
 
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Cheers guys for the welcome, thank you. :smile:

Yes I've read about the steering rack can be changed over. I've seen this one which is perfect and I love racing blue but sadly I'm not in a position to get one at the moment. :worried:

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classif...nesearchad=Used&onesearchad=Nearly New&page=1

Can I ask, with Honda's you can do a few mods to help improve handling such as adjustable camber arms, adjustable castor plates. Can you do the same with the Clio? Appreciate they are already good out of the box.

Also what about shorter final drives? I've had a look on M Factory's website and they list a shorter FD for the older Clio model but not the 197/200?
 
I've seen that above clio for sale on FB... it's been available for quite some time...

There's plenty around.
 
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Welcome to the forum!

There is a difference between the racks from the 197 to the 200, but I don't believe it's night and day. If you see a pre-08 car with a good spec/condition/history, then don't pass it up just on the rack.

Quite a few mods available to improve and enhance the handling, despite them being good as standard. The track addicts are the ones that will have the lowdown on that though!

Good luck with the search!
 
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Jimmy said:
Welcome to the forum!

There is a difference between the racks from the 197 to the 200, but I don't believe it's night and day. If you see a pre-08 car with a good spec/condition/history, then don't pass it up just on the rack.

Quite a few mods available to improve and enhance the handling, despite them being good as standard. The track addicts are the ones that will have the lowdown on that though!

Good luck with the search!
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Cheers dude!

I will take the advice on board thank you. I need to do more research into them firstly so I've a good understanding of the car and faults they may have. They do seem to be a cracking handling car which is what I'm missing at the moment as the Fabia is woeful, so so bad.
 
Crazylegs said:
Cheers dude!

I will take the advice on board thank you. I need to do more research into them firstly so I've a good understanding of the car and faults they may have. They do seem to be a cracking handling car which is what I'm missing at the moment as the Fabia is woeful, so so bad.
Click to expand...

There's a lot of very knowledgeable people on here, so feel free to ask any questions you might have! All happy to help!
 
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Welcome. Super cool having a member of the Rock Steady Crew on board!

Best of luck with the search.
 
Welcome! You've had some cracking cars so far, great taste. I've a massive soft spot for EK9's and other 90's R models. That B20 must've made it a monster. I came very close to buying both an EK9 and DC5 previously, myself.
IMO, it's worth buying a 200 with the Cup Chassis over either a 197 or 200 non-Cup. I drove both a LOT before I ordered mine and the difference is more than you'd think. The 200's just feel a little less inert (relatively) and more adjustable. That super quick rack helps too.

Looking forward to seeing your choice!
 
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Christopher said:
Welcome! You've had some cracking cars so far, great taste. I've a massive soft spot for EK9's and other 90's R models. That B20 must've made it a monster. I came very close to buying both an EK9 and DC5 previously, myself.
IMO, it's worth buying a 200 with the Cup Chassis over either a 197 or 200 non-Cup. I drove both a LOT before I ordered mine and the difference is more than you'd think. The 200's just feel a little less inert (relatively) and more adjustable. That super quick rack helps too.

Looking forward to seeing your choice!
Click to expand...

Sorry for the late reply!

Thanks mate, I've owned some really nice cars to be fair and have been very lucky. The EK9 was a blast but I never managed to get it spot on and traded it in for the Integra. Do I regret it? Kind of, it needed a manifold and a better ECU tune as the guy who built it did a really poor job but it had loads of torque and sounded great as it was stripped, literally two seats and that was it. The DC5 on the other hand felt quite lardy, I'd say the B20 EK9 with the less weight would have the jump on the DC5 but the K20 had better revs and a fantastic 4th gear so it would probably pull away in the end, it was also nice to drive with the LSD. It took a while to get the handling sorted, I had to ditch the Tein Coilovers that came on the car from Japan as they were knackered and ended up going back to second hand OEM dampers with Eibach springs, you really had to push the car to get it to feel planted on UK roads. I never took it on track and supposedly the DC5 is at home on track but the Eibach's felt too soft. They're quite a progressive spring so you need to be on the limit to get the most of out of them and that just isn't possible most of the time.

What are these little Clio's like then, any good?
 
Crazylegs said:
Sorry for the late reply!

Thanks mate, I've owned some really nice cars to be fair and have been very lucky. The EK9 was a blast but I never managed to get it spot on and traded it in for the Integra. Do I regret it? Kind of, it needed a manifold and a better ECU tune as the guy who built it did a really poor job but it had loads of torque and sounded great as it was stripped, literally two seats and that was it. The DC5 on the other hand felt quite lardy, I'd say the B20 EK9 with the less weight would have the jump on the DC5 but the K20 had better revs and a fantastic 4th gear so it would probably pull away in the end, it was also nice to drive with the LSD. It took a while to get the handling sorted, I had to ditch the Tein Coilovers that came on the car from Japan as they were knackered and ended up going back to second hand OEM dampers with Eibach springs, you really had to push the car to get it to feel planted on UK roads. I never took it on track and supposedly the DC5 is at home on track but the Eibach's felt too soft. They're quite a progressive spring so you need to be on the limit to get the most of out of them and that just isn't possible most of the time.

What are these little Clio's like then, any good?
Click to expand...

I've heard that DC5s are a nightmare to set up on non-OE suspension, hence most people going for the OE dampers/Eibach route, like you did.

Having driven both, I'd say that the 200 is a weird hybrid of the EK9 and DC5... but y'know, French.

They feel really "tippy toe" and pointy like the EK chassis does, as well as being lightweight but they have the refinement when you want it, like the DC5. Being quite short wheelbase and wide-tracked, they do like a bit of lift off oversteer but I like that. Keeps you on your toes and you can trim your line by lifting a touch. Cracking cars.
 
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