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New Toro Red 197 in Sydney


Stuart_Canning

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Hi All,

 

So I have taken the plunge and after months of searching have finally last weekend purchased a 2009 Toro Red RenaultSport Clio 197.

It is completely stock and in absolutely mint condition and I have to say, even having only driven it for a few days, it is hands down the best car I have ever driven.

The car will be due for it's 40K service soon and I wanted to get the input from more experienced RenaultSport owners on where would be a good location in Sydney to start getting my car serviced. Having read through allot of the topics on here recently, I seem to be reading good things about Paul @ AP Automotive? The car was previously registered in the ACT, so I will be setting up a new service relationship in Sydney.

 

I'm also looking to get four new tyres fitted ASAP. I'm leaning toward either Pirelli P Zero Nero, or Michelin Pilot Sport 3. Has anybody had experience with either tyre on the 197? Any feedback would be much appreciated.

 

Cheers all,

 

Stuart

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Welcome back!

 

Congrats on the pick up - i can vouch for Michelin PS3! I had them on my 182 Cup and loved them. They seem to be pretty popular on here, even across the models.

 

Paul V is great - you can't go wrong with him!

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A couple of guys are praising Goodyear F1 Eagle Asymmetrics so maybe worth looking into.

 

I did see a couple of posts and good reviews for the Goodyears. I've just never been a huge fan of Goodyear tyres, had them on some previous cars and always felt a little let down by them.

 

 

Paul V is great - you can't go wrong with him!

 

+ 1 on Paul V - he's a magician with French cars!

 

Seems like I'm on a winner with Paul V, have to get the car across to him when I get closer to 40K. Appreciate the input guys.

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Welcome - Paul v is your man

 

Michelin PS3 - should be a fair bit cheaper than PZeros as well

 

 

Cheers

Chris

 

Thanks Chris,

 

Curiously, the quotes I have thus far, the Pirelli P Zero Neros are actually significantly cheaper that the Michelin PS3s. I'm getting a few more quotes hopefully today. I see quite a few people here have had some experience the Michelins and only hear good things about them. If I can get the right price on them, I might be leaning toward those as the preferred option.

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Nice thing Stuart, and welcome. :)

 

Never been a fan of Goodyear's personally, mate has them on his 172 (came with them) and they are miles away (particularly in the wet) than the Kumho KU31's I have on mine. They'd do a KU39 in the right size for the 197 I'd think, would be worth a look. Nothing wrong with the Michelin's and I've always like Pirelli's, but Kumho offer a great product particularly when looking at the $'s.

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Nice thing Stuart, and welcome. :)

 

Never been a fan of Goodyear's personally, mate has them on his 172 (came with them) and they are miles away (particularly in the wet) than the Kumho KU31's I have on mine. They'd do a KU39 in the right size for the 197 I'd think, would be worth a look. Nothing wrong with the Michelin's and I've always like Pirelli's, but Kumho offer a great product particularly when looking at the $'s.

 

Thanks Matt,

 

I might take a look at the Kumho's, never considered them at all actually.

Was just looking at some Hankook Ventus R-S3 Z222.....they look very impressive too, leaning heavily toward those now.

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Haven't driven on the Hankooks so can't comment but heard mixed reviews. Been shotgun in Buddy's around Wakefield on the Federals and was impressed. I never rated Kumho's either but I saw the light. I had a chuckle to myself at the last supersprint at Eastern Creek, there were mayber 8 Lotuses running there all of them on Kumho's, but thats a whole nother story.

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I'm alternating between Michelin Pilot Exaltos and Federal 595RS-Rs on my Clio II - the Federals have more dry grip, similar wet grip, slightly better ride, aren't appreciably noisier, are wearing really well and the only slight downside is that they aren't quite as crisp and don't give quite the feedback of the Michelins. They are equally as progressive and benign at their limits. Would highly recommend them.

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Excellent, I think its great when people take a punt outside the norm, looking forward to hearing about these. Are these regarded as a full semi or an intermediate like the Yoko AD08, Kumho KU36?

 

I can't wait to run on them, a friend runs them on his BMW 135i and had good things to say about them so I'm hoping that translates to the Clio. Hankook list them as a semi-slick circuit tyre, lets hope they match that description.

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Treadwear ratings:

 

- Hankook Ventus R-S3 = 140

- Federal 595 RS-R = 140

- Yoko AD08 = 180

- Kumho KU36 = 180

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Treadwear ratings:

 

- Hankook Ventus R-S3 = 140

- Federal 595 RS-R = 140

- Yoko AD08 = 180

- Kumho KU36 = 180

 

A post almost worthy of Clio 2.0!

 

Is it just me, or are we getting close to having to do a back to back tyre test of our own?

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Treadwear ratings:

 

- Hankook Ventus R-S3 = 140

- Federal 595 RS-R = 140

- Yoko AD08 = 180

- Kumho KU36 = 180

 

A post almost worthy of Clio 2.0!

 

Come on, I didn't offer an inarguable opinion!

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Treadwear ratings:

 

- Hankook Ventus R-S3 = 140

- Federal 595 RS-R = 140

- Yoko AD08 = 180

- Kumho KU36 = 180

 

A post almost worthy of Clio 2.0!

 

Come on, I didn't offer an inarguable opinion!

 

Until you can recite fastest laps results without looking them up you're not even close to 2.0..!

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  • 2 weeks later...
Where have you disappeared to? How are the tyres mate?

 

Hey antony,

 

Was wanting to get a few more KMs on them and a track session too before commenting definitively. But initial impressions are these Hankooks are epic, just endless grip.

I can turn in with confidence and they just grip all day. With the previous tyres on the car I was suffering some front end understeer when trying to power out of turns, but with the RS3s the car just sticks, points and powers out. I was expecting them to be a little bit of a handful in the wet, but on the soaked days we have had lately they have been fine, though truthfully I was not pushing them overly hard.

 

They do produce a bit of road buzz, but not to the point of being a real pain. But it is noticeable, so if that's a pet hate it will annoy you but it really doesn't bother me, I'm happy to have that little buzz as a trade-off for that much grip.

 

Can't wait to get these tyres onto the track in the new year and see what they can really do :D

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  • 3 months later...

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