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Fido The French 172


MrTatems

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Hi Guys, so I finally bit the bullet after lamenting over my written of WRX and bought a 2003 clio 172.

It looks to be dead stock with 168k kms on it and driven by an old lady so hopefully its good for a few years yet!

My plans include eventually turning this little best into a reliable daily that spends most of its free time in the hills destroying corners.

I think ill (try) to drive it as it is for the first couple weeks too see what I like and what I dont too know what to change first. 

In saying that so far Im thinking, New slotted rotors and sport pads when my current ones wear out and coilovers or some other form of upgraded suspension. Also ill probably go through the whole car upgrading the bushings and adding some thicker swaybars. Any advise about the upgrades planned or something that Ive missed would be greatly appreciated.

 

Oh and I've also been looking at an exhaust system, does anyone have any recommendations? Im mainly looking for something that will add a bit atmosphere to the drive and hopefully help free up the engine giving a little bit more power 

 

Also Im planing on putting my aftermarket headunit in, does anyone have an input as to keeping the steering wheel controls? or weather its worth it?

Cheers

Tate 

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Nice one and it should be well looked after as well. I also have a crook neck now :wink2: There are plenty of people on here who love Clio II and will have perfect suggestions to those questions posed. A greater development base for 172/182 than later examples. Enjoy Tate

 

Anthony

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Welcome and congrats on the buy! Your plans sound good. I'd look at a high-flow cat rather than a full exhaust. The gains will be negligible but you'll get a bit more noise. Try a "K-Tec Racing" style intake first too, as that might give you the noise you're chasing.

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Yeah that's the one. I'm up in the hills as well so it's the perfect car.

One problem I have found is when changing from 1st to 2nd and 2nd to 3rd at high revs (4k+) there's a loud 'thubk' sound, from what I've read this would seem to indicate worn engine/gearbox mounts, does this seem correct? Does anyone have any opinions on replacement options? I think I'll try and get some stronger ones and it seems to be a weak point especially when driven hard. So far I've found some viba technix ones on ebay and the k-tec ones for $500 for a pair, does this seem about right?

Cheers

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Congrats! I recently picked up a 172 myself and am doing much the same stuff as you plan to.

 

With your clunk, if it's when you engage/disengage the clutch (load transfer) then it is likely mount related. If it's road car, go with the uprated bushes for the lower torque link with fresh OEM mounts for the gearbox and engine ends. Good compromise between drivetrain control and NVH.

 

One of the best and easiest chassis mods is a rear arb. Most on here are using the Whiteline one. I picked up one for $300 from Peddars a month or so back. With the current exchange rate that ended up being cost effective compared to sourcing it from overseas. Oh and camber bolts for the front are even cheaper and quite beneficial, especially if you plan to lower it.

 

Regarding the noise, agree with walkie. The best noise you'll get from this engine is intake related, not exhaust. I've just got one of the airbox feeds pulled off on mine (it was split/squashed when I bought the car) and it sounds pretty tasty (OEM exhaust). Must be something to do with resonance of the actual airbox, but it's similarly loud to my mates modded DC2 Teg, which has a large metal intake pipe (loud).

 

Head to the members ride's section for more inspiration than you can poke a stick at

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Hey Mike, thanks for that info, and yes, the thuck is when releasing the clutch so I think I will look out for some new Engine/gearbox mounts. What Model white line arb did you get? that sounds like a good start for the handling mods :)

And thanks for the welcome guys, is nice asking a question and actually getting a relevant and thought out response ... unlike some forums *cough*ozhonda*cough* 

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Hi. I'm adelaide based. If you are interested I can hook you up with a local to you specialist Renault tech. Can't hurt. He's happy to come by yours. Cheers Mase.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 3 months later...

It looks to be dead stock with 168k kms on it and driven by an old lady so hopefully its good for a few years yet!

She's 54, not that old :P but she never drove it very hard. Don't think it ever saw over 4000rpm, apart from the handful of times I drove it to blow the cobwebs out. 

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She's 54, not that old :P but she never drove it very hard. Don't think it ever saw over 4000rpm, apart from the handful of times I drove it to blow the cobwebs out. 

lol was wanting to quantify old :headbang:

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