That 197 engine is a tuff nut to crack.....

To date I have not read anything to suggest that getting any power gains out of this engine is worth paying for. Those that have (the utmost respect for) have had a number of nose bleeds and very deep pockets. We are taking £££££ for 25 -30 bhp. Yes, another "I need more power" thread from me....

This is the single most frustrating thing with this brill car. To make the most of it, you have to drive it hard and fast..and very illegally. The power is too far up the rev range to do anything else.
For me the megane 230 will be my next option. No where near the clio for looks but ticks the boxes, great diff, handles well, tune'able, more space, better on fuel(ish).....why put 5 grand in a clio when 10 grand buys you a 230 Meg, with change for remap and bigger intercooler, exhaust and 300 bhp......Food for thought!!!!!
 
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See your point. But the Clio is IMO so much more fun than the meg. I'm spending 3k on zaust, inlets, cams and map. But I have a strange live for my car, love it more than when I bought it new 3 years ago. For me personally I've never had so much fun in a car. I've bought coilovers and getting wheels so I've spent a fair bit but for me it's worth it for the pure enjoyment. The meg costs loads in the 1st place which wouldn't be able to afford in One hit. Although it's expensive to mod these cars I think it's worth it.
 
just run it in lower gears at higher revs - some of the roads i go on are a challange to do 30mph on :thumbsup:
 
I agree with Foxspeed.. my current car has 305bhp by the book and you're going silly speeds in 2nd gear very quickly - far too much power to enjoy on the road.

That's why I've decided fun/handling over bhp is the way forward.. just waiting for my 200 to arrive - ugh!

Rich
 
The misses 182 will stick on megane 230 bumpers all day long, why would I lie lol.



you arnt lying my old clio trophy made meganes look small specially in the rear view mirror, yeah there quicker on a straight but back roads not a chance. just too big for that sort of thing
 
Around 200bhp is ideal for our roads and although more is nice to have, it can just be wasted IMO. Like you say its another power argument but its a valid one too.

I too love the R27 more than when I got it. I know how to drive it a lot more than the first few months. I think having power you work for is much more rewarding and every time I take it to 7k I cant help but smile. If I had the power all day long it would soon get boring and I would be looking for more, as it stands I am perfectly happy!
 
The Clio doesnt "need" that amount of power. Massive power upgardes are for nubs who want to go fast in a straight line.

The Clio is so capable at going round corners quickly, its miles more fun than worrying about scrapping .1 of a second of your 0-62 times.

Id rather put the money towards maintaing good tyres, perhaps minor suspension mods and brake efficiency and learn to drive the car properly.
 
It's never going to win the motorway wars with the big coupés but I always find that on the A/B roads foot to the floor over 5k your almost on the limit of what the tyres can handle around corners and even on bumpy straights.

It'd probably handle more power with an LSD but then I'm not sure if that would change how it feels too much.....
 
Totally agree, the Clio does find the limit of the tyres if you want it to, I would also rather spend my cash on handling mods instead of extra power, truth is unless your hardcore tracking then you don't need much more if any power.

That said mine as well as some others have been mapped at TDF or RS tuning and besides the slight increase in power I got (6-7) bhp, it does also improve the midrange and overall drivability and feel from the engine. I would recommend this kind of mapping to anyone!
 
The clio isnt too bad in a straight line!! I managed to stay within a few car lengths of a flame spitting wrx, all the way to 120mph, easily reeled in a remapped e46 330d even at 100+mph when I thought the big diesel with its torque would have been faster!! I was on and off the throttle the guy in the beemer was very suprised!! His words were "that thing's fast as fook!!" 170 diesel golfs, audis etc are all beatable, as long as you are on your own in the car!! Weight kills the performance!!

But as everyone says, handling is ultimate on the right road(tight and twisty) it will outrun stuff with more power. It is an exceptionally fun car to drive my previous car was a 360bhp nissan skyline, it was fast as hell but a nuisance at the same time, clio is easy and fun. :bounce1:
 
im sometimes tempted to rip out the interior and see how much quicker the 197 would be with the reduced weight.

1240kg is quite a bit for a realistic 180bhp.

i love the engine and i dont think it does need much more power or torque. i just think if it were 100kg lighter it would be amazing.

saying that i have just been out for a quick test drive and the car felt bloody rapid in -1 air.
 
i think there was a member on here that went the weight saving way a while back. cant remember his alias. try check the progress thread area.
 
It's never going to win the motorway wars with the big coupés but I always find that on the A/B roads foot to the floor over 5k your almost on the limit of what the tyres can handle around corners and even on bumpy straights.

It'd probably handle more power with an LSD but then I'm not sure if that would change how it feels too much.....

Redline magazine used a Clio 200 for a LSD difference performance test, they found it 6 seconds faster but said the clio handled so well even without the LSD. Might be worth a little read!
 
What is more frustrating than not having more power is not being able to put down the power i already have really, I wouldnt bother going for more power because I hardly get the chance to ever build any speed up, if you paid for a re-map and got more out of it you'd only roll up next to something quicker on the way back and then want more again lol