Nicole ? Papa ! - Clio 197 F1

Small update!

Here to stay

Seems that we cant find a house we both like so that means the Clio is safe :sunglasses:. I haven't really dont anything with the car in the last few months other than rack up some road miles and give it a full wash and wax.

Tittivating

Now that the Clio was here to stay for the foreseeable i want to address a few little things i had picked up on. These are:

* Seating position - I"m 6"4 and leggy we all know the Recaros in these cars are mounted far too high and being tall means the driving position is terrible

* Exhaust - I've a blow in the mid section, i'll attack with firegum at some point

* Tatty steering wheel - Its a bit melty in places, i need to get it re-trimmed

* Wheel refurb - I want to get the wheels refurbed and go back to gunmetal

I'll address these one at a time, first on the list has to be the seats.

An item had been on my watch list for quite some time, pay day has been and these arrived today!

yHktQvPS.jpg

They will let me lower the seat by 30,40 or 50 mm. I'll report back once I've got them on.
 
Small update!

Here to stay

Seems that we cant find a house we both like so that means the Clio is safe :sunglasses:. I haven't really dont anything with the car in the last few months other than rack up some road miles and give it a full wash and wax.

Tittivating

Now that the Clio was here to stay for the foreseeable i want to address a few little things i had picked up on. These are:

* Seating position - I"m 6"4 and leggy we all know the Recaros in these cars are mounted far too high and being tall means the driving position is terrible

* Exhaust - I've a blow in the mid section, i'll attack with firegum at some point

* Tatty steering wheel - Its a bit melty in places, i need to get it re-trimmed

* Wheel refurb - I want to get the wheels refurbed and go back to gunmetal

I'll address these one at a time, first on the list has to be the seats.

An item had been on my watch list for quite some time, pay day has been and these arrived today!

yHktQvPS.jpg

They will let me lower the seat by 30,40 or 50 mm. I'll report back once I've got them on.

Glad to hear that the R27 is staying!

Sounds like a nice little list you've got there.

I've just had my steering wheel re-trimmed by Royal Steering Wheels and I can honestly say it's one of the best things I've done since owning the car, that coupled with the RS style gear knob really makes a difference to the cabin.

Keep us updated as you do things from the list, always good to see a fellow R27 being treated well!
 
Get Low

So yesterday i tackled the new seat mount, they weren't too difficult to fit but as they came with no instructions it was a case of remove bits until it looks right.

After some swearing and head/arse scratching i had a pile of old removed bits.

ApQe9gSI.jpg

New mounts essentially fit like a traditional bucket seat mount, but they retain the factory runners so i still have the slide adjustment.

Once the seat was in the car you can see how much of a difference the 50mm makes.

5obIjOkt.jpg

aUtnBUq1.jpg

A quick test drive review, this mount is flipping amazing! I feel much more at home in the car and the seating position makes the car feel 100% better.

I'll get chance to properly test it out as i have another day booked at Curborough in the next few weeks.
 
Good news on the clio staying! Which mounts did you get for the recaro by the way? I like the idea of it being adjustable as i think 50mm may be too much for me personally (6ft) so having the 30/40 options there to choose from would be ideal!
 
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Time for some more ramblings!

I'm pleased to report the new seat mount is awesome, the car feels a lot better and more importantly i'm much comfier when driving.

More Track Time

A kit car club dad is part of was running a members day at Curborough, they needed to make up the numbers so i managed to sneak a place for the day. I really love this place as its good for learning car control and there's nothing to hit!

Dad was also running his GBS Zero on the day:

Obonziq4.jpg

The new seat mount has also made a huge difference when on track, i feel much more at home in the car and it means i can really throw the car around without feeling like i'm going to fall out of the thing.

I had about 20 runs around the course and the car as usual performed great and never missed a beat!

pFkfgiJ4.jpg

Here's an in car video to show the fun i was having!


Dad was enjoying his car but he's still not quite at the stage where he's really pushing it, the cars running 170bhp and 600kg so it is quite lively compared to his daily Golf GTE.

You can have a go, just don't hit anything!

Dad is quite protective over his baby and he hasn't let anyone else drive it, towards the end of the day he gave me the keys. I was a little shocked, but i jumped straight in. Dad looked a little worried as he knows I'd give it hell or as i call it, using the car to its full potential.

I managed to get 2 runs in the car and what can i say? WOW, bloody hell does it shift! After the first run i was feeling pretty confident so went back out, dad forgot to tell me he'd left the go pro running... I advised him not to watch the footage as he might faint.

Said footage:


I didn't break it however, and i think its sparked Dad's inner racer. Now he's seen his car in action he wants to thrash it. Hopefully he'll still let me have a go!

So all in all the Clio still feels great, but i want to go back to rwd...
 
Great stuff, seems like that seat positioning is a worthy upgrade, thank you kindly for providing the feedback. You rock!
 
A brief but important update!

After looking at a number of different cars to replace the Clio, I'm................................... Giving up, nothing I can find gives the blend of fun, chassis quality and cost that the 197 gives. So it's staying!

With that in mind i've been cracking on with my list of things to improve.

Remap time!

After spotting a super cheap RS Tuner i decided to look into the remaps FastChip offer. After some research and pricing it all up i realized for about £170 I could really improve the car.

I went for the standard stage 1 remap which is used to reduce the flat spot and increase the mid range a little.

After a few emails and files sent to the guys over there i had successfully Backed Up, Upgraded and Flashed my ecu. It was a little gut wrenching thinking i could lunch the ecu but Henk was a pleasure to deal with!

Test drive!

I can confirm this remap is amazing! I no longer have any kangarooing and the flat spot is greatly reduced. I currently have a tank of regular fuel to burn through before i can try the map on some higher octane fuel. Henk recommends running a 98 octane so i'll get some in the next few weeks and report back with a full review.
 
Been a busy few weeks but I've finally drained the tank of 95. I've filled up with some more potent juice and the car now really pulls from lower revs. Running 2nd through to 4th really does now feel great, no bogs in power at all. The tune should have picked up 5bhp and 5nm but if you take a look at the graph from Fastchip you can see what its done to drive ability:


Clio3_Rxx_197-200_STG1%20(xRxx_197-200_STG1.jpg
 
It's been 2 years but it's time to say goodbye...

I've secured a new job which means i'll be getting a car allowance to fund something to run around in, with that in mind i cant justify having the Clio as well so she'll be up for sale soon. I'm gutted as i really love the car and i know i'll miss her like mad but right now it makes more sense for me to move the clio on and get a nice solid daily that i'll still be able to use on roadtrips etc.

Advert will be going up soon :sob:
 
sorry to see you selling up but that's life..good luck and hope she finds a loving home..
 

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