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Bristol.

I appreciate it wouldn't be cost-effective when looking at factory made cars. My point of view is that its cost could be quite reasonable when compared to some of the cars I've had in the past. I'm guessing that a donor car, labour and body work would be in the region of £5-6k? That's half of...

Hi guys As you might see from my profile, I'm a bit of a blast from the past! After a 16v, Williams, 172 and a 197, I've had a decade with others (including a supercharged Golf R32, Audi S3 etc). I have a young family now and my daily driver is...one of many bicycles or our Danbury VW T5...

I got a bit more than just the cambelt and and brakes to be fair - but where are you based? Next job looks like the clutch.

Um...yes, but I have a car with 330lb.ft for that.:cool: Back on topic: any ideas on the clutch?

Our tootling-around-town 2008 Mk3 Clio 1.2 has started juddering when changing gear - notably when changing into 4th and 5th. It's on 42k miles - it's done 2k in its one year with us; it was previously owned by a granny. I'd really rather it wasn't the clutch (which I assume would be...

As in the title thread, the car's 3rd high level rear brake light has stopped working. Oddly enough, it's fresh from an MoT pass. There is also a loose electrical connector near to the left hand rear light cluster in the boot - although I can't see anywhere obvious to plug it back into. Any...

Hi, I've just bought a 2008 Clio 1.2 Authentique (5-door) - it's being used as a second car. I'm a very old school Cliosport member, having owned a Clio 16V, Williams, 172, 182, Williams and a host of "normal" Clios across all the generations. I was very active on the site from 2001 for a...

It's not the parcel shelf, because the noise is still there when I've put the seats down. It sounds like a "hollow" noise in the boot lid. Is it easy to remove the boot lid trim?

Phase 1 172s came in Titanium Silver and were quite popular, although Iceberg was introduced later I think. Phase 2 172s were Iceberg only.

Well thanks! You had a Coupe 20V Turbo for a while didn't you? What have you got now?

Wow! Just dug this thread up from the past! Yes, "Holly" was mine from 2001 to 2003. Great car - this is what it looked like when I had it:

My 197 has creaking / rattle noises coming from the boot area. They're most obvious at low speeds on imperfect urban roads. It sounds like it could be the tailgate bouncing against the locking mechanism, or something to do with the rear glass - but I can't see anything obvious! My local...

I have a Nimbus 197 with H&R springs just fitted - looks fantastic, possibly not even needing spacers. Very rare in this colour.

My 197 is an "import" and I owned a Ph2 172 import in the past. It's no big deal at all - the cars come off at the same port. One set of cars go to Renault to have an alarm, wheelnuts and etching done; the other set go to another warehouse for distribution to non-Renault dealers. It's...

I'm having my H&R springs fitted this week - I'll let you know how they ride and handle. IMO you'll be fine with a new car. Many people's experience is of fitting lowering springs to older / high mileage cars, where the combination of old shocks and harsh springs doesn't go down well! I had...

I had 3 Mk1 Clios, including Williams No.123 ("Williams 1"). Personally, I'd go for a Phase 2 Mk1 Clio - which means a Williams 2 or 3. I always preferred the subtly updated styling of the Phase 2, although the benefits are only cosmetic. Finding any 16V or Williams in very good...

Doesn't the 197 have a passenger, whereas the 182 doesn't? That won't help on the straights!

Cat - as a respected former Valver and Coupe 20VT owner, you should have a try of the 197. You'll pick up a '56 plater for £11k or so - I can't think of any reason why you'd want a 2.0 138 in its place!

All that torque will be useful for 20mph-at-a-time sprints, but add some corners or a longer straight and a 172 will be significantly quicker.

Most of the F7R engines make more than 150bhp as standard - it's not an urban myth, go see some strapped to a rolling road!

1st year deprecation is harsh on most cars - the 197, 182, 172 etc. are / were no different. Over time, they plateau and you can expect about 50% returned from a private sale at 3 years, which is actually very good!

My 197's "old" gearbox was replaced under warranty with the new longer-ration 'box. There's an improvement in refinement at 70mph, but I always enjoyed the brassy exhaust note anyway. Economy is near identical, as I don't spend much time on the motorway.

It's because 197s are "slower". ;) People who owned 16Vs and Williams (including me) were saying that 172s were slow when they came out - RS engines loosen-up a lot! R27s and the FF 197 are no different power-wise.

This talk of a "lack" of grunt is a bit silly really, especially when people often comment on the lack of 5k-kick in the 197 in the same breath! They're all variants of the same high-revving engine that at its best when above 5k revs. The 197 has continuous VVT, so you notice the torque...

I've seen a slight improvement - it's easier to get into 35+mpg territory when taking it easy on long runs now. I don't want to attribute too much to the gearbox, as it's loosening nicely with 6,500 on the odometer.

Just to update that the new gearbox that was fitted has the longer 5th and 6th ratios! I didn't realise until I'd spent some time on the motorway and it seemed a little less buzzy - a glance at the revometer at 70mph shows 3,300 rpm instead of 3,600 rpm! Trile: the symptom for me was a...

I've had / got both. The 172 is a great car and the 197 builds on its success. The main difference is more confident handling (remembering that the 172 was ace anyway) and a big step forward in perceived quality. Braking is marginally better, but again it was great on the 172. The 197...

Yes, but... Oil is running out whether you buy into the green lobby or not.

Tax is used as a tool to change behaviour. Without the current CO2-based tax system, we wouldn't have cars like the 123d (204bhp, torque aplenty, 54mpg, 139g CO2). I can see that there is some element of financial pain involved before you can change your car, but on the whole we choose to...