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Another Mondial 172 Cup Project!



  197 FF Glacier White
Yep, another one!

The car was bought September for a very good price (some cheeky bargaining went on!)

I'd driven around 16 RS Clios looking for the right one, this was the best by a long way in terms of the drive, the fact there was no mods and it was very clean inside and out was a bonus. 39,400 miles also helped in the decision along with the history file which was as concise as any car I've ever owned, every receipt from new, including the bill of sale, the original brochures, all keys, tools etc intact.

As bought.......

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I bought it as a toy, weekend use only with track days in mind as well. This didn't pan out though! I enjoy driving it, and because of this, the mileage has shot up to 43000!

I'm well aware the 172 Cup is a superb track car out of the box, but despite it's low mileage I wanted to improve a few aspects.

First job was the Dog Bone, it was knocking on HARD acceleration, not much and not everytime, but it's a quick and easy job so I got it sorted. Hell of an improvement and a snappier gear change to boot.

As is the rule though, doing this bush made the others feel a little loose! So I sourced a set of Vibra Tec mounts and eventually got around to fitting them to.

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Now, these mounts are stiff! If you think the dog bone makes your car noisy and hard to live with, these things once fitted will make you feel suicidal! I contemplated removing them and replacing them with brand new OE mounts but I liked the way they affected the cars dynamics, it felt tight anyway, now it felt rock solid! I lived with the noise, persevered and I'm happy to report that the noise has died down, a combination of tinkering with the seating of the mounts and the mounts bedding in, it's louder in the car than OE, but not too much, it's now acceptable.

Not really into wasting money on snazzy steering wheels etc, but when the group buy re-sarted for the RS Cup racer wheels, I had to have one. It took me 5 months to get round to fitting it but got it fitted recently.

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Plenty of other stuff going on at the moment.

I have a set of OZ F1s to get powder coated, they are off next week, should be back by next weekend. They'll either be the same colour or something brighter! I've yet to decide.

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Got these to fit........

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Oh, forgot, I fitted these! Superb, very pleased with them.....

Koni shocks all round, Eibach Pro springs on the front, Mark Fish on the back. Really impressed so far, very good on the road, I imagine they'll be plenty good enough on the track as well.

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Loads more probably, but it's a work in progress!

Track days are out of the window now, I've decided to sprint it, so I'm spending money on Race gear at the moment and getting the car ready for it's first event.

I'll post more as I remember it or as there is an update for anyone who might be interested!

Caio

Gareth
 
  197 FF Glacier White
Yes, they do look good! I do wish it was all black, but I'm beginning to warm to the blue bit!
 
  182 trophy
im another fan or the steering wheel! like the seats too, im tempted by some fixed buckets but cant quite decide as i use the car for work... though its only a short drive i suppose lol. what size are the oz f1's?
 
Nice car and that steering wheel does look good, good to see you at Aintree, didn't realise you were in the Cup you should have driven down the paddock so we could have a look at the competiion, looks like another wolf in sheeps clothing to contend with;), hope to see you running in the near future.

Regards Russ..............
 
  197 FF Glacier White
Nice car and that steering wheel does look good, good to see you at Aintree, didn't realise you were in the Cup you should have driven down the paddock so we could have a look at the competiion, looks like another wolf in sheeps clothing to contend with;), hope to see you running in the near future.

Regards Russ..............

Ta! I'm always in the Cup, given the choice between my Volvo and the Cup on a dry day, the Cup wins!

It's coming along Russ, it's only getting stuff done that I think will be of benefit come my first track outing. Except the wheel of course, thats just a treat! F1s are off for powder coating this week, seat should go in with the harness in the next 2, then, bar a good service and a set of brake pads it will be ready. I'm having the usual dillema of where to put the harness rear mounting points at the moment, I don't really want to use the rear belt anchor points, we'll see where they go. Is not having the rear interior in place going to effect the class I run in once the sprinting starts?

Ta
 

shiftspark

ClioSport Club Member
  R53 GR86
Hi mate,

Only just spotted this as I am always spying on Russ but dont tell him.

The Konis are great , what tyres are you fitting ? AD08 get my vote but aint cheap , not sure what you mean about the rear trim ? as the only thing you can remove is carpet and underlay otherwise you will end up in the modified production class.

If you are not sure me or Russ will help you so just ask. When do you think you will be out ?

Cheers

Colin
 
Yes just make sure all the trim is fitted, you can remove carpets but I'd leave it all in place for the time being.Coming along nicely.

Don't tell Colin anything he's already stolen all my ideas, and for your first event you may need to add weight possibly 25 kg's of lead in each footwell that's what Colin told me to do;)

Who have you used for the powder coating of the wheels if you don't mind me asking? I'm also trying to get a spare at the moment possibly 2

Regards Russ..........
 

shiftspark

ClioSport Club Member
  R53 GR86
No that's wrong Russ I use 25kg each side but told you to put 50 kg on passenger side to balance out your wallet lol
 
  197 FF Glacier White
Yes just make sure all the trim is fitted, you can remove carpets but I'd leave it all in place for the time being.Coming along nicely.

Don't tell Colin anything he's already stolen all my ideas, and for your first event you may need to add weight possibly 25 kg's of lead in each footwell that's what Colin told me to do;)

Who have you used for the powder coating of the wheels if you don't mind me asking? I'm also trying to get a spare at the moment possibly 2

Regards Russ..........

Wheels are with a company in Wrexham at the moment Russ, I'll let you know how they look when I get them back.

I'm going to put all trim back anyway, I can't bare it sounding like a van! I've only had it out to see if there was any weight savings to be had behind them. Im waiting for a mate to come back off holiday, I'm hoping he can build the turrets I'll require for the cage.

Having read the Blue book cover to cover now, I'm fairly sure of what I can and can't do with the car now!
 
  197 FF Glacier White
Nothing much to report.

Wheels aren't back, only as I haven't picked them up yet!

I haven't touched the car since my last post, other than to top up the washer fluid and check the oil. I shouldn't say this but I'm amazed how reliable this car has been. No oil use, at all, I'm having the oil changed next week, but thats only because the change is overdue, I normally do it every 6 months, it hasn't used a drop of what it had in it when I picked it up (Mobil 1).

Only thing niggling me is the condition of the Turinis which have gone downhill recently, despite only being refurbed a month before I bought it (at a fair lump of a price too!). They'll be next to the powder coaters, as soon as I have tyres to put on the F1s.

Ownership has been good, I'm really pleased with it, I've only lost interest the once with it so far which is good by my standards (this is car 51!).

Sprinting may be out of the window this year though, the year is racing on, I'm stupidly busy with work and I have to go abroad a couple of times in the next two months, but I'll do a few ad hoc track days to get the car how I wan't it and if I don't end up moving abroad (which IS on the cards) I'll be sprinting next season for sure.

G
 

shiftspark

ClioSport Club Member
  R53 GR86
Its a pity you may not be out , I think Russ is winding his events down and Jonny is taking forever to get another so only me left.

I am at Aintree on the 25th and 3 sisters on 3rd july if you are around.

Cheers
 
  197 FF Glacier White
Its a pity you may not be out , I think Russ is winding his events down and Jonny is taking forever to get another so only me left.

I am at Aintree on the 25th and 3 sisters on 3rd july if you are around.

Cheers

I'll pop to Three Sisters for sure, much better place to spectate. See you there.
 
  197 FF Glacier White
No real updates, just more stuff in the garage waiting to be fitted when I get the time!

Just a bit of tidying up done, a thorough check and a mini service.

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  197 FF Glacier White
Well worth it, but note the recent discussions on after market wheels and the MOT test! I'm due MOT on the Cup in a few weeks, I won't change the wheel, lets see what happens.

G
 
  197 FF Glacier White
Well, MOT this weekend, naturally it flew through with no advisories, despite the steering wheel.

Had my BTB fitted post MOT and an oil change while it was there.

Still running well, stil loving driving it, still piling the miles on it! 46k now, I need to give it a rest! It may be going into the garage over the winter for some underbody tidy up jobs (new bushes, clean, treat and paint the underbody mechanical bits etc.

Sprints still on the cards but I'll wait until next year now, I'm planning on a couple of cheap track days over the winter, just depends on how long it's up on sticks in the garage!

The BTB is pretty impressive, superb build etc, the guy who fitted it said it was the easiest exhaust he'd fitted for a very long time, which is annoying as I WAS going to do it myself, but for £15 fitting, I can't grumble.

The outstanding bits to fit are,

Stiff shift and uprated gear linkage bush

Seat (Sparco Sprint)

Belts (Sabelt Renaultsport)

Just trying to decide what tyres to fit to the 15" F1s, the Toyos were favorite but seem hard to get, and expensive all of a sudden! I may just go for the S Drives I recently fitted to my road tyres, I took a risk on these as I've had indifferent Yokos before, the S Drives however are very good indeed, and, they were cheap.
 

shiftspark

ClioSport Club Member
  R53 GR86
There's still time to enter Longtons Anglesey events on 8/9 oct !!
And if you are going to sprint it next year I'd definitely fit Yoko AD08's not cheap but the best tyres for sprinting.
 
  197 FF Glacier White
Anglesey scares me!

The reasoning behind road Tyres Colin is I'm thinking maybe track Tyres on my first foray onto a track for a long time may be less forgiving if I go into corners too hot! Certainly not a cost issue, just thinking I could do with finding the limits on good road Tyres first and then moving up to track Tyres when I've found my feet! Anyway, I've found out I need to change my license before I can do track days so have to get that sorted soon.

I'm also a coward in the wet! October on Anglesey, good chance of rain!
 

shiftspark

ClioSport Club Member
  R53 GR86
AD08 are a road tyre (list 1a) and brill in the wet just have a look at my aintree video besides we are having a late summer for the next 3 weeks!!!
 
  197 FF Glacier White
Car now gone, to a good home it seems.

Regretting it already so I'm 197/200 hunting at the moment.

G
 
  197 FF Glacier White
Now replaced with this..........


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Jury is out at the moment, it's a world away from the Cup in every aspect, including performance, although the grip is phenomenal!

And since buying it I've noticed a couple of typical 197 mechanical issues that I didn't pick up initially, hopefully will be easily rectified when it has it's service in a few week, and hopefully, cheaply!

Nice place to be mind you, and the extra toys are welcome!

Interior pics taken today after a thorough deep clean, it was a bit grubby when bought but now other than a few annoying trim issues is as new inside which is how I like things, the colour of the water after cleaning the seat belts and headlining was horrible!

I may start another thread about the car, but as it's unlikely to be modified or tracked, almost seems pointless!

G
 


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