Ph1 Flame Red 172

[sussex_gti]

Hi all,

just picked up my first 172. Have owned a Williams in the past, so not too alien to Clio! Had an Eunos Roadster before this (import Mx5). Was at the Surrey Rolling Road day in January if anyone remembers it?

Well here it is. Phase 1 Renault Clio 172. Is in rare Flame Red. I personally think its the best colour for them. Paid a bargain price for it, have been offered a good deal more for it already, but dont think anything else could match it for the price. Has full history, every Mot, belts done and is very low mileage for the year. Is relatively standard apart from a cat back exhaust, panel filter and Sparco steering wheel.

Whats it like to drive? Is great fun, nice to have the extra torque over the Eunos. Steering feels great. Has quite a hefty clutch and the throttle is a little stiff, but once on the move it all comes together well. The gearchange is much improved over my old Clio Williams. Interior is nice, seats hold you well, although i cant understand why they chose to use blue plastics inside! But i can live with that. Is definately a rapid little car, loads of shove in any gear, gets to the wrong side of the speed limit much quicker than the Eunos!

Only a few future plans, 40mm drop, braided hoses and a re-furb of the wheels. Unless someone offers me a 172 Cup in p/x....

Heres a few pics, not the best, havent wielded a camera for a while! Is in great condition for a 10 year old car.

 

[danzel]

She looks lavvlyy mate! ph1s are cool as feck

 

[sir--fox]

Looks clean. Steering wheel and rear lights let it down a little.

 

[Paul.M]

Is it just me or does that steering wheel look huge?

looks like a very nice example there though pal

 

[Djw John]

Another flamer Looks nice mate. BTW you can get the centre caps from Reno for about £4 or so last time I checked, would make a big difference

 

[AlexG]

Looks nice.

Centre caps are a little bit more than £4 each from Renault i ordered some today.

 

[Djw Dave]

Loves it!

 

[The Chubby Pirate]

Centre caps and gloss black callipers and its a goo un

 

[Focie]

The flame red shines up a treat especially under fluorescent lights! nice car

 

[sussex_gti]

Cheers folks. The original steering wheel has the usual peeling. Was replaced by the previous owner with a Sparco dished suede number. Makes a huge differance to the way it drives, steering feels more direct and in contact with what the front wheels are doing. Its slightly bigger than original, but its nicer.

Whats wrong with the rear lights? As far as i'm aware they are original.

Driven over 700 miles in the last week due to various reasons, and its been great. Nice to have a car thats happy to sit on motorways doing 42mpg, then as happy blasting down B roads. Going from RWD back to FWD has made my driving much smoother, but maybe thats just me.

 

[Brookie.]

Looks a really clean example that bud. I like it.

Whats wrong with the rear lights? As far as i'm aware they are original.

Nothing is wrong with them at all, and they are the original lights. However you'll find that a lot of people on here prefer to upgrade to the Phase 2 rears to improve the look of the rear end. I personally agree with this but, the same as anything you do to the car it's all down to personal taste

Look up 'Aluco'. He's got the PH2 rears on his PH1, plus a few other cheeky treats

 

[leeds_182]

That steering wheel looks massive in that pic!

Mint motor, just not keen on exhausts that sit under the bumper personally.

 

[ForceIndia]

Ah ffs. I have a Flame red ph1 172. I want a Eunos.

 

[sussex_gti]

Exhaust is being changed to a standard system when the nipper arrives, then once its a bit older, going for something small with a 2" tailpipe, Group N style. I was tempted by Ph2 rear lights, but like to keep things looking quite standard as these seem to be getting rarer. The steering wheel does look huge though! Its a 350mm iirc.

Really enjoying the car, feels quite special to drive, makes every journey enjoyable.

 

[sussex_gti]

Ah ffs. I have a Flame red ph1 172. I want a Eunos.

Shame you didnt see my Pistonheads ad a few weeks ago! Buy one, as long as its rust free they are spot on. Still getting used to being pulled, not pushed anymore! Such a well balanced car. Get over to www.mx5nutz.com . Great forum.

 

[ForceIndia]

Seeing this tomorrow

 

[Rob]

Car looks really good, I'd personally change the steering wheel for a smaller number, depening upon your preference on material, I think the leather ones look a look better, and a lot more standard.

The reason everyone is commenting on the wheel is that most find the origial clio wheel to be too big, so going bigger seems insane!

Ph2 rear lights do modernise the rear end a lot, and in my (and many others) opinion they are a big improvement.

 

[sussex_gti]

Is that an Import? Seems to have UK spec seats. 1.6 or 1.8? The 1.8's have a Torsen lsd, more chassis bracing and bigger brakes. Mine was a 1.6, but for road use the diff and brakes wernt a problem, and the engine was a peach, loved revs and sounded superb. I'd also advise a full 4 wheel alignment asap, as there is so much ajustability as standard. Wheels In Motion are experts with these cars.

The steering wheel is lovely to use, i prefer a bigger wheel. Think its the same diameter as the original one.

 

[tandino]

Having seen this car under fluorescent lighting (which shows everything) on Friday i came to the conclusion that its immaculate!.
Real Gem you have there Chris.
And thanks again for Friday matey, really appreciated.

Cheers Pete.

 

[sussex_gti]

Cheers Pete. Am itching to play with it, but Missus say no. Hope the new boots are ok!

 

[tandino]

Cheers Pete. Am itching to play with it, but Missus say no. Hope the new boots are ok!

Yes mate, all good although i havent driven it since Friday, picked up another engine on Sat, had a brand new VAG head fitted in 2002 along with new chains and tensioners,spotless inside with no sludge whatsoever so thatll be going in this week.

As for the missus, you just have to be clever and sneak things on there! :rasp:

 

[sussex_gti]

Good work. And trust me, shes clever and can tell if i've lowered it etc. In my infinate wisdom, i thought it would be clever to tell her how to spot these things. This was great when we were young'uns, going to Brands, Lydden etc. But it has bitten me in the arse now!

 

[tandino]

Good work. And trust me, shes clever and can tell if i've lowered it etc. In my infinate wisdom, i thought it would be clever to tell her how to spot these things. This was great when we were young'uns, going to Brands, Lydden etc. But it has bitten me in the arse now!

thats very foolish of you Chris,
I managed to fit Koni's to my Mk1 gti back in the day but i decided to stick the little badge just above the rear bumper, she spotted that and went mental!, i learnt from it though.
I even managed to fit a Supercharger to my MK3 VR6 Highline a few years back without her noticing:rasp::rasp::rasp:

 

[sussex_gti]

Havent updated this as havent really done much to it! Chopped off the rocket launchers from the back, and welded in a 2 1/4" tailpipe and painted it black. Looks so much better and has lost the annoying boom at 3k. Just been keeping it clean, paintwork was a bit neglected but getting much better. Keep looking at the Detailing World website and getting lots of ideas on machine polishing etc, may invest in some better equipment soon. Getting very tempted with painting the wheels and badges, but quite like it looking nice and original.

 

[Alex_X93]

Sabelt cliocup steering wheel, itg pannel filter caf, eibachs and standard exhaust imo keep it original looks tidy

 

[Stefan.]

Sabelt cliocup steering wheel, itg pannel filter caf, eibachs and standard exhaust imo keep it original looks tidy

If he still has it...

 

[Mr Plums]

Bump