172 Track car

[Adam G]

Hi everybody, I'm starting my midlife crisis and want to get a 172 for trackday use. My initial budget will be about 2k and I'm thinking get the car for about 1500 then put the rest to initial mods and make further changes as the cash allows. What's the best parts available for about £500 that will make the best track based improvements. I'm thinking probably brakes,air filter and exhaust unless the car comes already with them then what?
Thanks in advance.
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[mr.pink87]

Brakes, tyres and a fresh suspension i would say.

 

[Dan]

Brakes, tyres and a fresh suspension i would say.

get all that for 500 quid and im shopping where you go lol

 

[Porkie]

Forget the air filter and exhaust. Will just make it sound better. Not go any better really.

Get it serviced. Make sure its reliable. No point having fastest car in the pits....

Make sure the Brakes are working correctly. If you have the budget get some better fluid, DS2500 or 3000pads and Brembo HC discs.

Standard suspension in GOOD order is fine. Just make sure the Geometry is all set up. A good geo set up is KEY. All the fancy parts in the world wont work if just bunged on!

If budget allows get some R888's or similar Tyres. If not some good road tyres will be fine.

A 172cup for £1500? are they that cheap now? with belts done and ready for track work? I REALLY doubt it!

 

[Christopher]

Sound advice. ^

 

[Adam G]

Hi Lee saw one that looked really clean on autotrader so they are about yeah but it's only for base to upgrade gradually as cash allows cant afford your league yet lol. (Know you from PF) but if cup not available I would settle for others like I say it's only for a weekend thrash about so as long as it looks ok and the engine seems looked after I'd go for anything really. Saw the vid you posted at Bedford that's what started the ball running as I was going to get another RS2k but was blown away by how quick yours was. Was yours the Clio at Ford Fair because that put the final nail in the coffin and settled the Clio decision.

 

[Porkie]

The silver one? no was going ok though.

That was a Phase 1 172. That might be what you should look for rather than a 172Cup actually. Bit older and a good one will be a bit cheaper.

Mine looks like this

 

[Adam G]

Yeah it was a silver one. Be a couple of months away yet anyway as I'm looking at hopefully stripping/doing it up over the winter ready for next year. Thanks for coming back with the answers I needed.

 

[Porkie]

Just because a car looks clean and the engine looks shiny doesn't mean the car is gonna be sound.

The cambelts on these cars NEED changing by a specialist and they need the CORRECT tools.

Its a time consuming and expensive job. Alot get bodged. They will break the engine sooner rather than later. I cannot stress this enough.

These Clios are great little cars... but they need looking after. They are old french hatches, they were built s**t when NEW! ... engine and gearbox mounts will be breaking if not done properly, suspension bushes etc etc

Don't buy one because its looks good. Buy one thats been looked after PROPERLY and has had the work done by someone like Fred at BTM or Mark Fish.

You really could be buying a whole load of trouble.

You are SOOOOO much better off increasing the budget and buying a GOOD well looked after and maintained car to start with. Look on here or pay someone who KNOWS these cars to inspect the car you wanna buy...

 

[jon_r]

I'd go along with most of whats been said here really. All I'd say is the cambelt doesn't need to be done at a specialist if you have access to the proper tools and are a competent mechanic.

You'll struggle to find a good 172Cup for that money, but you will find a decent Phase1 for that money.

 

[Dan]

tbh PH1s seems better for track use anyway thats where i would be looking if i wanted a track car

 

[Dan]

and one with clean seats and so on will make you extra money for mods when you sell them off after you strip the insides

 

[Christopher]

tbh PH1s seems better for track use anyway thats where i would be looking if i wanted a track car

Not really. I'd take a 172 Cup over a Ph1 if I was building a track car.

Let Renault do half the work for you.

 

[Dan]

Not really. I'd take a 172 Cup over a Ph1 if I was building a track car.

Let Renault do half the work for you.

personal pref then i guess :S but i do like the thought of cable throttle on a track car tbh

 

[Adam G]

Yeah might use the extra couple of months to save for a better one as I'm not in any rush and don't want to buy £1500s worth of hassle.

 

[imprezaworks]

You can get a nice ph1 for that money mate. Mines close to being a track car but cant bring myself to stripping it. Good luck with whatever you do.


Dan.

 

[Adam G]

Think I'm gonna go for a standard 172 and modify it gradually as funds allow as I can't go the whole hog straight away so just do brakes and tyres at first then progress to other odds and sods over the following months. As Lee rightly pointed out a good Cup is out of my league at the moment so just a tidy standard one will do in all honesty as it's only for my bit of fun.
Thanks
Adam

 

[essexdon]

You would be better getting a Saxo VTS and doing the mods, more bang for your buck if your only looking at 2k, plus they are just as fast as a 172, dare I say more fun?

 

[imprezaworks]

I had a vts many moons ago and loved it. Not as good as the clio but good value for money non the less. Still prefer the clio as an over all package.


Dan

 

[Russ_16v]

For that cash you could only do a few things and what id do is:

Decent matched tyres - nothing too grippy, as you need to learn the car first, so some decent road tyres (Yoko Advans as an example)
Decent brake pads and discs - G172 off here sells Brembo front discs for £45 a pair which is a steal, then a decent set of pads (Ds2500/Mintex 1155)
Newe brake fluid - it is amazing how overlooked this gets

That will take up your budget, but should make a good fun car even more fun

 

[imprezaworks]

Sound advice as allways


Dan.