New to Renaultsport, what to do?

[Mr A Baird]

Guys, just bought a 200 with cup pack, recaros and speedlines. Sitting at 63k miles. Had the gearbox issues sorted with a rebuild, dephaser, belts etc all done recently. Its one of those cars as I was growing up I wanted a 182/197 at the time but wasn't in the position to do so. For the money it is awesome.

I know I want to change the tyres as they are on new BF Goodrich G Grip, would like something better as I will do the odd track day in this.

What I would like to know is what mods to make the car better? Looking for oem+ spec just to make it handle even better. Are lowering springs worth it?

Springs?
Steering wheel retrim?
What bushes to replace?
What discs?
Anything else?

Any help is much appreciated.

 

[Micah]

Welcome! Always good to see the words OEM+
Springs - do you want a harsher ride? H&R and Grams are low but very firm, if budget allows then you'd want Bilstein B14 coilovers, of which @suj is selling a set on here for a very good price. You'd need the later registered Mk3 though, from 07/2010 onwards as the top mounts changed.
Steering wheel - Jack at Royal is excellent, full alcantara is the way to go! Rough cost £145
Upgrade your upper torque arm and lower engine mounts with Powerflex ones - £55 all in. Gearbox mount can be done too, but the former are more common and will tighten everything up nicely, you won't regret it!
Brembo HC disks are more than capable, and some people run Mintex 1144 pads, and others Ferodo DS2500's.
A panel filter is always a good mod, not that noticeable but do a better job. @sevenfourate swears by Ramair, I like K&N but horses for course and all that.
Any questions at all, jut ask

 

[Mr A Baird]

Welcome! Always good to see the words OEM+
Springs - do you want a harsher ride? H&R and Grams are low but very firm, if budget allows then you'd want Bilstein B14 coilovers, of which @suj is selling a set on here for a very good price. You'd need the later registered Mk3 though, from 07/2010 onwards as the top mounts changed.
Steering wheel - Jack at Royal is excellent, full alcantara is the way to go! Rough cost £145
Upgrade your upper torque arm and lower engine mounts with Powerflex ones - £55 all in. Gearbox mount can be done too, but the former are more common and will tighten everything up nicely, you won't regret it!
Brembo HC disks are more than capable, and some people run Mintex 1144 pads, and others Ferodo DS2500's.
A panel filter is always a good mod, not that noticeable but do a better job. @sevenfourate swears by Ramair, I like K&N but horses for course and all that.
Any questions at all, jut ask

Thanks for the input, I shall get some parts ordered from powerflex and steering wheel retrim sorted asap. Mine is a Sept 09 car so the B14 wont do. I am not into going really low losing the damper travel, more about making it handle better if it is possible on springs alone. The previous owner just put new brembo pads on it, but I would like some new discs as they are looking like they will need changed in another 10k or so. Fresh discs look very well leaving the car as close to new as possible.

I have it booked in for a detail tomorrow to get the paintwork up to scratch.
Thanks

 

[Sean197]

Brembo HC discs with Ferodo DS2500 pads will be more than fine for a few track days, anything more and I'd upgrade the pads to Ferodo DS1.11
Eibach also make springs which lower the car slightly without the harshness of the H&R's, but it depends what you want from them.

 

[Pav]

welcome and all good advice above..
most people go standard on the discs or alternatively,you can try mtec..ds2500 pads and maybe braided brake lines while you on it..

ive done the upper torque mount,gearbox,and lower dog bone insert and i think its the best combo you can get..many will confirm this...
have fun playing with your baby

 

[Yellow Clio]

If it's a daily-drive and you can't be without steering wheel then I've got a peeling standard wheel you can send away for retrim and then let me have your old wheel once you take it off.
I'd be happy to send if you can cover the cost of postage.
PM me if this would help?..

 

[Chris]

high carbon discs with a more aggressive pad, nothing crazy but as above Ds2500 or something similar. Also as above mtec grooved are a good option..

Enjoy your new car!

 

[sevenfourate]

Welcome aboard the forum. Your car sounds a cracker !

If your looking for mods - perhaps have a look at the 'Progress threads" section ? The guys posting about their cars in there are always upto something. And the possibilities are literally endless. These must be second-only to the Saxo in its prime in terms of parts available !

Uprated Engine gearbox bushes - cheap, firms gearchange + protects manifold flexy joints.
Steering wheel retrim - either 'Snappy' or Royal steering wheels do a great job.
Brembo High Carbon disc - with pads as suggested !

Would be my first choice of upgrades that really make a difference......

Suspension wise - the World is your Oyster.

Enjoy !!!

 

[Mr A Baird]

Guys, thanks very much for the input. Great advice. Its been a long time from being on any forum with this level of advice and enthusiasm.

Its not a daily, I have a MK7 Golf R for the daily. Basically I have wanted one for a number of years and now see the newer car is a 1.6T having lost the rawness I knew I had to buy one soon. I have just had an eye out for one for the last 12 months ready to buy when the right car showed up. This one came up not to far away from me with the spec I was after. I also have an Exige S1 with the idea of a few track days. With their prices going through the roof I have now not even taken it out on the road.

A few bits ordered and will get the wheel off and away for a retrim this week. I bought the Recaro sticker for the passenger seat and put it on today. Will post some pics after its detailed. Many many thanks

 

[Johnny 99]

Welcome! As said Brembo High Carbon discs & DS2500 pads. Work well for me. Fast road & 2-4 track days a year. Royal steering wheels are great. Send them your old wheel & get a newly refurbished one back. Personally I would go full leather, perforated at sides like originals, but others (like @Micah) disagree. All down to personal preference really. Apparently their leather is much nicer than oem, but I have no experience of this. You've bought one of the most fun cars pound for pound, so above all enjoy it!

 

[Antti O]

You now have one of the greatest hot hatch ever made - Clio 200 including 5 star cup suspension.
Are you sure that lowering would make it better handling compared what renault sport engineers developed for years?

If you are interested of steering wheel re-trim, i am sure royalsteeringwheels will help you and i am sure you like your new wheel. See my project thread. http://clio197.net/threads/clio-197-ultra-red-2007-from-finland.54848/page-10

For front brakes i recommend:

Brembo hc front discs (09.8904.11)
Brembo oem brake pads (P68 036)

 

[Big Ben]

Welcome aboard

Jack at Royal steering wheels

Brembo HC & DS2500

 

[Mr A Baird]

Also guys, how many post or what is it to see forsale items etc.

 

[sevenfourate]

Also guys, how many post or what is it to see forsale items etc.

Hi there,

Post count doesn't matter here.....you just need to sign up for a full membership.

Opens up the sales section, the fabulous "How to's" etc.

And starts at just £5 a YEAR !

http://www.clio197.net/account/upgrades

 

[Mr A Baird]

Hi there,

Post count doesn't matter here.....you just need to sign up for a full membership.

Opens up the sales section, the fabulous "How to's" etc.

And starts at just £5 a YEAR !

http://www.clio197.net/account/upgrades

Thanks, done.

 

[kevlar]

Jack at Royal did my steering wheel its now full alcantara - it was a painless process, except I had someone else change my wheel over as im mechanically useless.

As im sure many on here will confirm there are a number of things you can do to the clio & usually money is the main limitation, you need to have a bit of a plan of where its going ie track day car, daily driver, show car etc etc, then you can plan the upgrades!

 

[sevenfourate]

Jack at Royal did my steering wheel its now full alcantara - it was a painless process, except I had someone else change my wheel over as im mechanically useless.

Ditto.

I'm far from mechanically useless. Some of my lack of participation myself on my car is due to 'bus-mans holiday' syndrome; due to my everyday job.

In reference to the above however - it was a deep fear of airbags !

 

[kevlar]

Ditto.

I'm far from mechanically useless. Some of my lack of participation myself on my car is due to 'bus-mans holiday' syndrome; due to my everyday job.

In reference to the above however - it was a deep fear of airbags !

Having had the pleasure of a car accident where I was hit in the face with an air bag, indeed it would put you off doing this. Always makes my chuckle when you see people driving right over the steering wheel or passengers with their feet up on the dash they very obviously have never been hit in the face by one.