Nimbus 197 Cup

[Adam93]

Having owned my 197 since the end of April, it was about time i posted the little updates i have done with the car. Nothing major so far but i have a few things planned for the car during the remainder of 2014.

3k miles in and it's still awesome to drive.

First job was to replace the number plates, i am wasn't a fan of the Evans Halshaw dealer plates so they had to go however i wanted a custom design so settled for the following...



Next up was to install some decent floor mats, so i purchased official RenaultSport items as i wanted to keep the interior OEM.



Thirdly was to restore the front grills which had lost their shine. 2 coats of Halfords primer and 3 coats of Halfords matt black. Tricky to remove but with patience and some swearing i got there in the end



cleaned



Primer



All done



Couple of exterior shots, love this angle of the 197/200





If possible i would like to do the following....

Steering wheel re trim
New gear gator (preferably black suede with RenaultSport stitched onto the material)
Discs, pads, fluid + braided lines
"Cup" badges for the B pillars
ITG Panel filter

 

[detail1]

Looking good mate, glad you got the grills out ok.

 

[DB_CLIO]

Beautiful looking 197 mate

 

[Adam93]

Thanks guys

 

[Jmax]

Really tempted to do this to my grills too, but my biggest fear is taking them off.

Cars looks really well by the way Adam.

 

[Adam93]

I carefully placed a flat head screwdriver behind the grill next to the headlight and flicked the grill out. Just be patient and it should work for you.

 

[Jmax]

Cheers for the tip [MENTION=50966]Adam93[/MENTION], beats me cutting my hand to pieces trying to pull them out.

 

[Jimmy]

I really like those number plates - it's a subtle little change, but looks great.

 

[Chris]

I think I'm going to do that to my grilles cos they're horrible. How long do you leave between coats? Did you sandpaper it down?

Nice car mate!

 

[Adam93]

I think I'm going to do that to my grilles cos they're horrible. How long do you leave between coats? Did you sandpaper it down?

Nice car mate!

I didn't sand it no, the grills have a fairly smooth finish anyway so I didn't want to possibly ruin this; all I did was thoroughly clean them before spraying.

the primer states it should be left for 24 hours, I gave it 4 hours and they were dry. The matt black coats were touch dry within 30 mins providing you spray evenly with no nasty overspray.

 

[Chris]

I didn't sand it no, the grills have a fairly smooth finish anyway so I didn't want to possibly ruin this; all I did was thoroughly clean them before spraying.

the primer states it should be left for 24 hours, I gave it 4 hours and they were dry. The matt black coats were touch dry within 30 mins providing you spray evenly with no nasty overspray.

Cheers bud, guna give it a go weekend after next I reken :thumbsup:

 

[Adam93]

Nothing big to report so far; just recently ordered 2 new Powerflex Exhaust mounts from Cazan Racing along with a pair of ARB Polybushes and a new Conti 3 due to a puncture Still really enjoying the Clio, so happy i went down the RenaultSport route.

 

[Joshluff]

looks good so far are you fitting a new exhaust or simply replacing the mounts ?

 

[Adam93]

No just replacing the mounts..... the left mount has seen better days.

 

[Adam93]

UPDATE - 6000 miles


So, 6000 miles into 197 ownership and its been an up and down experience so far. The car continues to excel when pressing on and never fails to impress at the amount of mid corner grip it has and the braking is excellent. Presently running the standard OEM set up however I am hoping to address this in the new year with new OEM Brembo discs, Ferodo DS2500/3000 pads, Braided lines and Motul RBF 660 fluid as I hope to possibly take the Clio on track; a new job proposition should allow me to spend more time and effort on the Clio than i presently do. A spare set of 197 wheels and some tasty rubber will also be purchased as i doubt the standard Conti 3's will last very long


Negatives; nothing except the car needed the dreaded flexi pipes replacing due to them splitting so I decided to opt for the Bosal 265-567 items as recommended by other 197/200 owners. It seems this is a common issue with these cars so i suppose it was bound to happen at some point. It's a messy job which involves removing the manifold, steering rack and subframe... total bill was £396 + the purchase of the Flexi's which i managed to steal at £45.



However the next job on the agenda is to give the car a service which will see the following......


-Engine Oil (Either Millers or Fuchs Titan Race)
-Gearbox Oil (most probably Elf as recommended by Renault)
-Gearbox Oil seal
-Panel Filter (Most probably Pipercross)
-Cabin Filter
-Oil Filter

 

[Adam93]

Pipercross panel filter arrived today thanks again Fernandez.

 

[k2100]

Looks great mate, where/how did you get the number plates? If you don't mind me asking

 

[LJohns94]

New gear gator (preferably black suede with RenaultSport stitched onto the material)

did you manage to find this style gator anywhere?