New 197 Owner

Hi folks, bought myself a 56 plate racing blue 197 with 73000 miles on, cambelt done and something called phasers (I think) too.

Without going into much detail here, I bought an Evo X FQ-330 last year, and a three months later the engine suffered catastrophic failure. Long story short, I'm having to go to court about it (there's a whole thread on the Lancer Register forum).

Been into jap cars for last 10 years, and with having to use my lad's 1.2 Fiesta (his first car) for 6 months, I thought to myself I should buy a runaround to see me through my court case. After running high powered jap cars, I thought I just wanted to get back to a bit of fun, and after remembering the 1.8 16v Clios in the mid 90s, I thought there was no better choice than a 197 and the test drive proved that I've made the right choice in putting a smile back on my face.

Quick question, how do I go about getting the seat trim repaired? I'm just wanting a simple retrim, not anything fancier or leather, just wanting it to look original.

cheers, Daz.
 
tiny tear on my non recaro seats too. would be interested to hear what the options are for such a repair aswell. if even possible at all. i fear the seat may have to be reupholstered.
 
Welcome mate.

Dephaser pulley is probaly what you mean!


If they are recaros, then you can get them repaired. If they are non-recaros, you can pick them up on eBay or a breakers for not too much cash, probaly cheaper than a re-trim.
 
They're non-recaros, but I'm going to prioritise the steering wheel getting re-trimmed. I assume a main dealer can do that?
 
I think a main dealer would want to offer you a direct replacement, which the same thing would happen. Guy on CS who does steering wheel retrimming, have a search on the forum and you will find some topics about it/him.

Also these guys, I saw a thread on DW about this company and he had his 197 wheel done, looked good!

http://royalsteeringwheels.com
 
Welcome along!

A main dealer won't offer a retrim on a steering wheel. As Chris says it's would be a new steering wheel they will sell you. As for the seats, I would do a search of nearby specialists who do retrims or repairs, it shouldn't be too difficult for the right person :smile:.
 
Thanks folks. What about oil? I've read it's 5w40, but for the purposes of topping up, does it matter about mixing brands? I'm not very good on the mechanical/technical side of cars, but I used to use Millers on the jap cars (as advised), or should I just swing by a dealership to pick up some elf?
 
The standard Elf oil is more than up to the job :smile:

just get some from the dealers, you can buy just the 1L top up oil too from the dealers. Which is also Elf.

Its best to to keep all the oil the same.
 
Depends if you know whats in the car, the previous owner might have put a different brand in there. If its 5w40 then I can imagine it'd be ok, but if it were me, id stick to the same brand. Check when it last had an oil change it might need one.

Ive just bought fuchs titan race pro s for mine.
 
Ouch... Thats done properly, sorry to hear about this but welcome along. How you finding the Clio after the Evo and Scooby?

Fun! And a surprisingly satisfying exhaust note! When I test drove it I had to ask if it's been modded as the sound was a real surprise, in a good way.
 
Fun! And a surprisingly satisfying exhaust note! When I test drove it I had to ask if it's been modded as the sound was a real surprise, in a good way.

You may have an aftermarket exhaust, the oem exhaust has one massive flat rear silencer which you can just about see from some obscure angles under the rear of the car. All other aftermarket ones generally have 2 smaller silencers each side.
 
Welcome aboard mate, like you I've come from a Jap car (DC5) to a 197.... Lot of fun these cars, enjoy it pal.
 

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