New Clio 172 Owner needs advice

[wrightc23]

Hi all,

I test drived a Clio 172 today and duly bought it. What a terrific car! I drove the following cars back to back at the same garage to decide which one to buy...

Toyota MR2 VVti
Audi S3 - disappointing actually didnt feel any quicker than the 172
Audi TT - ditto
Clio 172 mk2
Clio 172 Cup

I decided on the 172 although it was a close call between the 172 and the 172 Cup in the end I wanted my gadgets as well! Strange thing was that although I could just tell that Cups handling was slightly more resolved its engine was no where near as strong as the regular 172. Is there a big difference in engine quality from Clio to Clio?

Anyway my 172 looks great and the only thing thats wrong with it is the exhaust appears to be concealed by design. A car like the 172 deserves a decent visible exhaust. Im not mechanically minded so can anyone recommend a decent stainless steel exhaust I can get from a fitting shop that will look good, improve the performance a little bit but doesnt cost a huge amount. Same things goes for the standard suspension.

The car Ive bought is an 02 Clio 172 with 21,000 miles for £7,750!


[Edited by wrightc23 on 10 July 2005 at 1:56am]

[telford_mike]

Nice one. Engines do seem to vary. Easiest suspension mod is an Eibach Pro spring kit, which will cost about £120 + fitting. There are loads of exhausts to choose from, heres my Magnex:

http://homepages.tesco.net/~mmikee/zorst/zorst1.jpg

[Justin]

thats mint mate, love that exhaust!

[Clarkie172]

does that exhaust rattle on your bumper?mine sits lower than that and still manages to rattle on back bumper!

[fUbAr]

my exhaust...

Twin 3" K-Tec Racing system.

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y21...k/IMG_1349.jpg

[gazcaddy]

How come you didnt go for the 182? as i assume you wouldnt have been able to buy the TT or S3 for 7.75k hence you must have had a bigger budget

[Turkish]

i think a single round 3 or 3.5 inch looks great. I would suggest a supersprint race system with de-cat but sadly you cant get them anymore. If you dont want off the shelf you can get a good quality system made to your own spec (tailpipes number of silencers for your prefered noise level) by Hayward and Scott or pro-speed.

[wrightc23]

Quote: Originally posted by gazcaddy on 10 July 2005

How come you didnt go for the 182? as i assume you wouldnt have been able to buy the TT or S3 for 7.75k hence you must have had a bigger budget

Thanks for the advice, the pictures of the exhausts above look spot on.

I test drove a 182 and could see it was a bit better car than the 172 but I didnt think it was worth the extra cash over the 172. Im not an expert driver and the car wont be used on the track. I also felt having driven a 172 and 182 that I preferred the 172 because although it wasnt quite as well resolved as the 182 I preferred it as it seemed a slightly more raw experience. Strangely the engine of the 172 Ive bought does seem to be a real peach and the car is in absolutely perfect condition. The previous owner had gone to the expense of giving the car a full renault service every 6,000 miles even though it was only used for commuting!

I was very disappointed with the S3 in particular, its steering was dreadful and its 1.8T didnt seem that quick. Quality motor inside though.

The MR2 was fun but again I was expecting it to be a bit quicker.

[Rob669]

Welcome to the club. Lots of threads on here about exhausts. I replaced my 172s exhaust with a custom made jobbie from Prospeed in Cardiff. Well worth it. Charlie will make whatever exhaust you want and they have a good reputation.

[Evandim*]

I can also recommend Charlie at Prospeed Cardiff excellent job..

[stu8v]

Magnex is good, I have the twin round

Its not loud but just raspy enough!