Any ITB owners from CLIOTURBO?

[Bear Head]

Anyone had their clio ITB'd from Andy?

Are they worth the money as opposed to a turbo? And what's the real world power differences and feels? Both in gear and setting off etc?

Any regrets or bad points?

Was wanting to turbo but think a bit less power might be better thus less strain on everything, plus N/A is great fun when you're on it!

 

[ADS_V6]

great post mate want to know this myself

 

[JAParker]

+1

 

[leeds_182]

Having owned a itb'd 172, is turbo every time.

Unless you're spending vast amounts of cash the gains aren't going to be that impressive.

I love bodies, I've got them on my Rallye but I'm running 50bhp over stock and the JP4 engine responds well to them. This doesn't seem to be the case with the Clio.

I'd go for the 230bhp turbo conversion.

 

[JackD]

Turbo wins in almost every aspect, including performance and price, but loses out on sound and maybe responsiveness.

 

[Martin.]

For that money you can't beat the turbo upgrade.

I've got bodies. Absolutely love them. Mine is a track car only so it gives me real pleasure when I do drive it. But I think those turbo packages are a bargain in comparison, even though I'm a N/A fan boy.

 

[Cub.]

The turbo packages Andy offers are quite frankly brilliant value for money.

If you want more power but like N/A delivery then you could look at a supercharger. Just need to budget for replacing the Rotrex at some point.

Boost over ITB's for me sadly. I love ITB's, the noise and the "rawness" of them. But bang for buck it makes no sense not to boost. And it's not like a supercharger sounds s**t when you're "on it"

 

[Goodj]

ITB's for pros. How much power do you realistically want in a Clio anyway.

Pros who like noise... but don't want to risk 'proper' blowers....like Cubs got

 

[MG cup]

You're building un-reliability into a Clio by turbo'ing or supercharging it, ITB's are simplifying things. All IMO of course and a sweeping statement but there isn't one boosted car on here that doesn't have niggling problems and are constantly needing this or that stripped or rebuilt.

 

[Goodj]

Also, if you're the kind of type that posts about "how can I lose another 2kg of weight from the Clio, becuz laptime" then a blower will add considerable weight to the nose as you'll also need to plumb in a honking great radiator and all the other boost ancillaries.

I'd imagine ITBs weigh about as much as an OEM airbox setup.

 

[leedsboy]

What's the sort of price difference between ITB'ing a Clio and Turbo'ing?

 

[JackD]

What's the sort of price difference between ITB'ing a Clio and Turbo'ing?

About £200

 

[Cub.]

You're building un-reliability into a Clio by turbo'ing or supercharging it, ITB's are simplifying things. All IMO of course and a sweeping statement but there isn't one boosted car on here that doesn't have niggling problems and are constantly needing this or that stripped or rebuilt.

I don't agree with this, as you'd expect.

So far I haven't had a single niggly problem or rebuilt anything. I can leave it for 3 weeks, jump in and it fires first time. I can drive it to work 10 miles away and back for a week and it is fine, or I can drive it up to Manchester and back and it is fine. Sounds just like it was when it was factory spec tbh.

The car my charger kit was in previously did 16k miles with no issues. I'd say the issues arise more when you forge it, as opposed to low boost turbo / charger.

But as with anything, if you get it fitted properly, then you shouldn't have issues IMO. Whether that is ITB'd or Boosted. The key OP is to do a decent job of it.

*Awaits sheepish project update when the charger lets go tomorrow :smile:

 

[Diagro]

I would love to Turbo My 172, But if im looking at spending 3k i may aswell Buy a megane 225 or a megane 175 and map it

 

[JackD]

I had an ITB'd Clio before, if I were to spend that money again it would go on a turbo kit. Though I'd happily buy a clio which has already had the ITB conversion done.

 

[brucey106]

A turbo can put extra strain on the Clio. But I know I can tickle along delicately and it's still fast. I leave in 5th and glide round them bends. Just letting it boost a little is great. So ok I want super fast? I just boot it hard for few seconds, you give it constant hard 24/7 then expect something to happen. I drive mine with what they call mechanical sympathy seems ok so far. I think there will always be something that's going to give up somewhere? But it's fixable. Cover the basics and something silly seems to fail!
I would have itbs too, wicked noise and more go than standard, smiles either way.

 

[Mr Plums]

If you are after more speed I think you would be disappointed with itbs.

Yes itbs give less strain on other things but that's because a low blow turbo gives you about 80ftlb more than standard, where as itbs give you about 10.

Nearly 3k is a lot for minimal gains with itbs Imo, if you arnt satisfied with the power after that then where do you go? Different story with a turbo set up, all Imo of course.

Its not too bad when things brake on these cars anyway, a gearbox only costs £100-£200, plus Andys after care is great if things do go wrong.

 

[SharkyUK]

You're building un-reliability into a Clio by turbo'ing or supercharging it, ITB's are simplifying things. All IMO of course and a sweeping statement but there isn't one boosted car on here that doesn't have niggling problems and are constantly needing this or that stripped or rebuilt.

Hmm, not sure I agree as I'm now on my 4th engine/rebuild after incessantly chasing NA goodness in the Clio. I've had nothing but trouble Any deviation from stock will inevitably incur some increased risk but I'd say a decent ITB setup is no more or less risky than, say, a moderately boosted Clio setup.

About £200

The difference can be a fair bit more depending on what levels you realistically want to achieve. "Realistically" being the keyword. If you want a genuine 220bhp and 175lbft from an NA ITB setup then budget for 10k in my experience. For 10k you can get a stonkingly capable boosted setup.

I love NA but keeping the NA revvy-goodness and high-compression to the K20 in the Type-R now Boost for the Clio.

 

[MG cup]

There is of course cars that run for longer periods of times without troubles and I have no doubt that yours was built with thought and time @CUB which can't be said for most in here.

I still stick by my initial statement that you're building unreliability into a car by turbo'ing/supercharging and simplifying it by putting on ITB's. An N/A car will take much more abuse like switching it on and off hot/cold, thrashing it cold whatever, a lot more than a turbo would.

 

[Dan@SJM]

Problem is the F4R is not designed to do high revs. Which is what bodies need really. It's designed to give 40mpg and 180bhp. Which it (near enough) does, it's designed to work bloody well at 5krpm and that's about it. The bottom geometry is totally wrong for high revs, as is the roller rocker design up top. With the crap rod ratio that these have it hangs the piston around at the top and bottom Of the bore, which you don't want with an NA Screamer. It's perfect for boost though.

 

[Bear Head]

@SharkyUK

I've noticed on your Type R forum the fantastic and amazing write up on your car, I've read most of it but it's epic! Reading the rest tonight over some Pepsi haha!

 

[Mr Plums]

@SharkyUK

I've noticed on your Type R forum the fantastic and amazing write up on your car, I've read most of it but it's epic! Reading the rest tonight over some Pepsi haha!

Pepsi?

 

[Bear Head]

I just really don't want any unreliability whatsoever as it's such a long way down to andy!

To me reliability is more important than power I think.

@MrTom car is unreal and mega quick but to me, 200 ish bhp is huge in a clio and the sound is awesome too!

 

[Bear Head]

Pepsi?

I don't drink haha!

 

[Mr Plums]

I just really don't want any unreliability whatsoever as it's such a long way down to andy!

To me reliability is more important than power I think.

@MrTom car is unreal and mega quick but to me, 200 ish bhp is huge in a clio and the sound is awesome too!

Its your decision mate I was just giving my opinion /2p worth :smile:

Go with what is best for you mate, everyone is different, I want mine reliable but if it brakes fix it, its all a part of the fun.

 

[leeds_182]

I just really don't want any unreliability whatsoever as it's such a long way down to andy!

To me reliability is more important than power I think.

@MrTom car is unreal and mega quick but to me, 200 ish bhp is huge in a clio and the sound is awesome too!

Is it a daily? If not, strip the hell out of it and that'll make it feel rapid.

 

[Mr Plums]

Is it a daily? If not, strip the hell out of it and that'll make it feel rapid.

Does it make much difference mate?

I'm thinking of removing a few things as the car is only used for me.

Does it do anything just removing basic things like stripping the back out?

 

[masekwm]

I just really don't want any unreliability whatsoever as it's such a long way down to andy!

To me reliability is more important than power I think.

@MrTom car is unreal and mega quick but to me, 200 ish bhp is huge in a clio and the sound is awesome too!

Long way from Selby to Andy?!

 

[masekwm]

Does it make much difference mate?

I'm thinking of removing a few things as the car is only used for me if it does anything just removing basic things like stripping the back out.

It depends how far you go, I doubt you'd see that great an increase until you're at barebones of the car - especially if you remove the weight and then add a cage

 

[leeds_182]

Does it make much difference mate?

I'm thinking of removing a few things as the car is only used for me.

Does it do anything just removing basic things like stripping the back out?

I went out in this one;

Totally stripped, fibreglass bonnet, no door cards, headliner, minimal dash etc and it felt mega.

Obviously that's extreme but I felt it made a big difference.

 

[mark123]

I just really don't want any unreliability whatsoever as it's such a long way down to andy

I'd look for a closer specialist. With a modified car you will get issues. If the only guy who knows how it was put together is miles away it'll be a real PITA. Have you thought about RS Tuning much closer and still a reputable specialist.

 

[midge]

Ive had both (in a mk1) i ditched the turbo for a good itb setup and imo it was better, sure it wasn't as fast in a straight line but it was much more responsive and just awesome, with the turbo it would spin the wheels in 3rd when it came on boost (high boost setup) it was utterly useless.

The biggest problem i had was the engine temp, with an intercooler taking up over a third of the space in front of the radiator and the only area that is open to air your car will run hotter, i had temp problems constantly with my clio turbo.

ITBs for everyday/track and Turbo for straight line hero. (All imo of course)

 

[Bear Head]

There is some pretty awesome advice in this thread! Really enjoying reading it all, still heading towards ITB'S I think.

@leeds_182 car isn't a daily but I don't want it unusable so stripping it isn't really an option as occasionally it will be taking passengers etc.

I'm not too bothered about straight line power but it is the main reason to hunt for power.

As mentioned, I don't want reliability problems and feel the ITB'S are probably more foolproof!

@masekwm the way work is at the minute mate I don't have anytime to get down there whatsoever. If the car broke it'd probably be parked up for a month before I could get back down to him so it just doesn't work in my situation!

 

[Bear Head]

@midge I just want power and lots of it but power that will be transmitted to the road and not lost chewing tyres or raping the drivetrain and clutch.

@cub, how reliable is your supercharged set up and how much power are you making? Does it feel a lot quicker than the standard car and what's the supercharger feel like compared to the turbo? How often and why do they need rebuilding or changing and how dear/ big of a job is this? Will it break anything when it dies? I've been out in @MrTom Clio which is hugely fast I think his is over 275bhp, is it similar in a straight line and in gear acceleration etc?

 

[Bear Head]

I'd look for a closer specialist. With a modified car you will get issues. If the only guy who knows how it was put together is miles away it'll be a real PITA. Have you thought about RS Tuning much closer and still a reputable specialist.

Ah okay, never really hear much about them on here anymore, can they fit ITB'S and turbos and all that sorta s**t? I know they're obviously highly reputed on here anyway

 

[Mr R.]

Yes RS Tuning can do it all.

 

[masekwm]

@masekwm the way work is at the minute mate I don't have anytime to get down there whatsoever. If the car broke it'd probably be parked up for a month before I could get back down to him so it just doesn't work in my situation!

I think you've got to make a call on it, I drove Leeds182s bodied Clio before driving to Durham to drive another, it wasn't that far. If I go for a turbo next year, it'll be with Andy who is a good 200 miles away.

My cars belts were done in Somerset, which is 3 hours away, if it needed belts tomorrow, it would go back. It had some suspension work done last month, it took 2 hours to get home.

The cars we drive need someone who knows what they are doing, you & I could fit bodies on our drive, it's very easy, but they'd need mapping, again, I'd be off to EFI rather than RS tuning

Perhaps for you the best would be to look at an RS2? With that you can advance the cams, retain the cruise and A/C and get 190bhp without issue. I'd not be spending £2500 on bodies, bodies are cool but they aren't worth the similar spending over boost.

 

[Bear Head]

I think you've got to make a call on it, I drove Leeds182s bodied Clio before driving to Durham to drive another, it wasn't that far. If I go for a turbo next year, it'll be with Andy who is a good 200 miles away.

My cars belts were done in Somerset, which is 3 hours away, if it needed belts tomorrow, it would go back. It had some suspension work done last month, it took 2 hours to get home.

The cars we drive need someone who knows what they are doing, you & I could fit bodies on our drive, it's very easy, but they'd need mapping, again, I'd be off to EFI rather than RS tuning

Perhaps for you the best would be to look at an RS2? With that you can advance the cams, retain the cruise and A/C and get 190bhp without issue. I'd not be spending £2500 on bodies, bodies are cool but they aren't worth the similar spending over boost.

Haha I know what you're saying buddy, you just like driving by the sounds haha!

How much would the RS2 cost me? I swear they'd stopped making them though? I want as near to 210 bhp bhp as as near to 5.5 seconds to 60 as do able to be honest.

Mine went to Donny DDC for the belts and I tell you they are amazing guys. Know these cars frighteningly backwards, every pissing nut and bolt XD

 

[Dooby]

You will destroy the jc5 fairly quickly launching a boosted car ..

 

[SharkyUK]

@SharkyUK

I've noticed on your Type R forum the fantastic and amazing write up on your car, I've read most of it but it's epic! Reading the rest tonight over some Pepsi haha!

Haha, yes - I tend to get around a few forums. The latest and most up-to-date version of my car / project thread is on this site though! Thanks for having a read through and I hope it was a large Pepsi!