172 Cup

[mattjones]

Hello everyone

I've decided to start a progress thread on my 172 Cup

The previous car I had was a pretty tidy 1.4 8V Phase 1 with a few subtle changes

After wanting an RS for a good few years I found this very nice example not far from me and went a bought it about a month ago

Like I said above, it's more of a progress thread than a project thread so I'll just keep you up to date with anything that happens when it does

Thanks for looking!

 

[mattjones]

First off, some aero wipers for the front

 

[mattjones]

A CS sticker from the member pack

 

[uk300matt]

nice car bud,look forward to seeing what you do with her.

 

[mattjones]

Shorter aerial but after fitting it realised how pointless it is

Yes it may look a bit tidier than the standard one but if don't just want to listen to Radio 1 when you're not moving, it's pretty useless

 

[mattjones]

nice car bud,look forward to seeing what you do with her.

Thanks mate

 

[mattjones]

Last weekend I also got shut of the 182 alloys which imo looked poor on a 172. I swapped them for some anthracite 2118's courtesy of danh90. I know there are a lot of mixed opinions on them and I originally wanted some Turinis but even though I wasn't too sure myself, I bit the bullet and decided to get some.

With the weather being brilliant this weekend, I washed the car and took a few pics

As you can see, the standard Cup stance on 15's isn't that good, with a ridiculous amount of arch gap on the front and only a tad on the back

However the drop in wheel size makes the car handle so much better imo, seems lighter and more fun to drive

 

[uk300matt]

i got one of them aerials too,cant get any radio station for longer than 3 seconds at a time.
but then i couldnt with the original aerial either so at least it looks better lol.

oooo loving the wheels,like mine,lowering springs required.
i love the silver turinis,only thing stopping me is they require 4 tyres too,
more exspense and thatll stop me being able to buy me lowering springs or exhaust.

 

[mattjones]

Yeah same here, glad it's not just mine haha. I don't really listen to the radio much so like you said, it looks better

 

[uk300matt]

style over function hey mate lol.
did you get tyres with 2118's then?
the turinis im after are a good deal,just wish i had the tyre money too,
as the tyres on my 172 alloys are staying on them to run as winter wheels.

 

[mattjones]

Yeah I know what you mean about the money, that's what's stopping me really. Yeah I think I'm going for some V-maxx coilovers off the KTech website when I can. I've had a look at the springs on their own but the stance is still dodgy haha

 

[mattjones]

style over function hey mate lol.
did you get tyres with 2118's then?
the turinis im after are a good deal,just wish i had the tyre money too,
as the tyres on my 172 alloys are staying on them to run as winter wheels.

Yeah you can say that again! Yeah they came with Toyos on the front and Mitchelins on the rear, both have loads of tread left.

I really did want the Turinis but again, I couldn't afford to buy a set :/

 

[mattjones]

Should be able to guess what this is. Going to attempt to fit it tomorrow as well as some fresh plates and some headlight correction me thinks

 

[mattjones]

Got the splitter fitted today, went better than I thought. Makes a huge difference imo

 

[mattjones]

Not much of an update but the car has decided it wants a few things to go wrong all at once, typical!

Left front wheel bearing has gone
Left drive shaft seems to be 'bent' ever so slightly i.e. when you spin the wheel, you can see the shaft moving up and down slightly
Front left shock is stuffed and leaking fluid - an excuse to get some coilovers in a way

I'll put some pics up if I decide to get some coilovers, I'm thinking V Maxx ones, any thoughts anyone?

 

[mattjones]

Finally got round to getting some coilovers to remove the hideous arch gap and dodgy stance I've got on 15's... Will be here tomorrow and hopefuly fitted at the weekend

http://www.a1-motorstores.com/Renau...-398-0/cat/8/sub/189/product/26729/veh/498334

Yes I know, some like, some don't but from what I've heard they are good for fast road use

 

[batesey]

Looks good mate, vmaxx are abit crashy but not bad for the price, garanteed though you'll miss the cup suspension on the country lanes!

 

[mattjones]

Looks good mate, vmaxx are abit crashy but not bad for the price, garanteed though you'll miss the cup suspension on the country lanes!

Thanks pal Yeah I've heard they are like that, my last Clio was on Apex springs :l so I reckon these won't be as back breaking as those were! Yeah to be honest the Cup suspension is really good, firm but not uncomfortable but I really want a better stance!

 

[batesey]

yeah it'll be fine, main thing is to get the camber/alignment set up correctly

 

[Jordi17]

Preferred the 182 wheels, not sure how they looked poor on a 172 when visually the only difference is the twin exhausts lol.

 

[mattjones]

yeah it'll be fine, main thing is to get the camber/alignment set up correctly

Yeah a place who sort of specialise in Clio's are fitting and setting up the alignment for me so should be sweet when I get it back

 

[mattjones]

If anyone from the North West region needs parts or work doing, check this place out

http://www.northwestperformance.co.uk/

 

[mattjones]

Preferred the 182 wheels, not sure how they looked poor on a 172 when visually the only difference is the twin exhausts lol.

Personal choice I suppose but when you know they're off a 182, it doesn't have the same effect

 

[mattjones]

These arrived this afternoon, fitted tomorrow morning, can't wait

 

[mattjones]

Got a few more things done recently, not much but its a bit of progress

Removed the awful RS badge

 

[mattjones]

Lowered the car on VMaxx coilovers a few weeks ago

Stance isnt perfect but had loads of scrubbing originally so had to raise the front a bit

 

[mattjones]

Also got a mate to photoshop the wheels in some different colours. Only bad thing is the pic I sent was before the coilovers were fitted

Any opinions?

I think silver looks good

 

[Daniel]

Keep them grey.

Maybe some 10mm spacers?

 

[liam172cup]

They look best as they are I think mate.

 

[mattjones]

Keep them grey.

Maybe some 10mm spacers?

The grey is growing on me now but they do need a refurb. That's the reason why I was considering other colours. Yeah I would like some spacers definately, have you got a link for some good ones?

 

[mattjones]

They look best as they are I think mate.

Lots of people are telling me to keep them anthracite as well. I think if I do keep them as they are, Im going to spray the badges a similar colour

 

[tommy g]

Looks nice mate. Looks alot better with the coilovers on. Keep up the good work.

 

[mattjones]

Looks nice mate. Looks alot better with the coilovers on. Keep up the good work.

Thanks mate!

 

[mattjones]

Update time, finally

Got the Cup booked into BTB on Monday next week for a well needed new exhaust. The current original exhaust has been bodged as if there was an aftermarket backbox on earlier in its life. The joint between the centre section and the backbox hangs so low that on some speed bumps it scrapes really badly and the knocking on the rear beam is becoming unbearable!

Ive heard very good things about the quality of BTB exhausts and with the additional hanger they put on, there should be no more problems with it. I've even spent a fair amount on a solid competition rear mount from the Prima Racing website so hopefully the exhaust should be nice and supported.

I'll put some pics up as soon as and let everyone know what its like

 

[.Stevo.C.]

You will love the BTB mate. I had their stealth system fitted to my 172 and the fitment and sound were excellent really second to none.

 

[mattjones]

You will love the BTB mate. I had their stealth system fitted to my 172 and the fitment and sound were excellent really second to none.

Thats good to hear! Im expecting the fitting to be very good because Ive heard a lot of good stuff about them but im hoping the sound has a bit more umph when you put your foot down

 

[mattjones]

Update

Got this fitted last Monday

It was a bit of a long drive but was well worth it. The fitment is perfect, no more scraping or rattling and now that its been worn in, sounds really good

 

[mattjones]

Not really an update but sort of a how things stand post. Photos taken using a Galaxy S3 so not perfect and im no good at detailing or taking professional looking photos as you can tell.

The main things that ive done to the car so far:

Speedline 2118's
Fabia splitter
VMaxx coilovers
BTB catback exhaust

Thanks for looking and any comments are welcome

 

[Matt S!]

Very nice! ​

 

[tommy g]

Looks really nice mate!