[Aus] RSC 197 daily - on-going project

[walkie86]

Hey fellas,

I sold my cup-packed 182 FF back in September to make way for my new daily. I picked up a 2008 RS 197 in Albi Blue with 29k kms on it on Saturday 3 September! It's got a K-tec cat-back exhaust, basic RS Tuner remap and tints all round, and I love it!

I was planning to keep it pretty stock but have started to do a few bits and pieces to it, so have decided to start a project thread.


This is how she was when I picked her up (previous owner didn't wash or clean the interior!)

So I gave her a quick bath a went for a spin with some mates:

That's it for now. I've got a couple of small plans for her, like silvervisions, debadge Clio, spray/wrap bullets, respray wheels in R27 anthracite, stereo upgrade etc and maybe down the track I'll look at springs/coilovers and Ultraleggeras.


I'm very familiar with the Clio scene as I have a 172 for track days and my previous daily was a 182 FF with cup suspension pack!


Cheers!

 

[walkie86]

Sep 24

First mod. Fitted the Phillips Silvervisions from my 182.


Before:

After:

 

[walkie86]

Sep 25

My Dad and I gave her a detail on Sunday arvo. Well, it really started on Saturday with a wash, vacuum and engine bay detail, and then continued on Sunday afternoon with a full clay, and then machine polish. While he was polishing, I clayed and waxed the wheels 8)


Basic wash (nothing fancy - we need a snow lance!)

Dodo juice Gentle Grey clay bar and it's actually Dodo Juice Born Slippy in the Mint Lube bottle 8)

After claying a small section of roof (don't think it's ever been done before!)

The bonnet, front wings, roof and rear tailgate were machine polished with one pass but would need something heavier (read: professional) to remove the acid rain etches. We managed to get rid of 90% of small scratches though!


After buffing we applied Duragloss 601 PBA and then Duragloss 105 TPP. I've used this combo for a while now and find it gives great results for cars used kept mainly outdoors (though mine will switch to being garaged very shortly!) and is easily topped up with some Duragloss Aquawax after each wash.

Engine bay was cleaned with mildly soapy water and Autoglym brush, and then coated in 303 Aerospace protectant

And debadged, clayed and polished 8)

The photos don't really do justice to the shine - need some outdoor shots!

 

[walkie86]

Sep 25

Also added a sticker from our Aussie forum - OZRS 8)

 

[walkie86]

Sep 27

A bit of light painting practice for the September photo comp (bridge in background!)

 

[walkie86]

Oct 13

So, even though my 197 came with awesome CL.10.SP plates, I wanted to change them over to the plates I've had since my first car, family plates that match all of our family's cars 8)


It was sad to see the 182 go after 5 years, but I'm happy it's going to a mate who will look after it and allow me to see her and take her for a spin every now and then!


A few pics:


Ben helping to remove my old plates:

Giving them a wash before fitting the new plates:

New vs old:

I also fitted a RS200 wheel trim, think it makes a big difference to the interior!

+

=

 

[Craig.]

I visited Sydney 2yrs ago when I was travelling & couldn't believe how many Clio sports I seen in the week I was there. You've got some good subtle mods planned. Cool CL10 SP plate too

 

[walkie86]

I visited Sydney 2yrs ago when I was travelling & couldn't believe how many Clio sports I seen in the week I was there. You've got some good subtle mods planned. Cool CL10 SP plate too

Haha yeh, there's surprisingly a few around. The last few meets we've had between 20-30 cars, with the biggest being close to 40 one drive last year 8)

 

[walkie86]

Oct 15/16A few cheeky photos from the last annual OZRS National meetarked in the city with my mate with a 250 - ready for a 5:30pm sharp departure! Destination: Thredbo Alpine Resort, approx. 6 hours drive south of Sydney:

Met up with an R27 and 182 on the way, after a dinner stop:

A quick breather & stretch before the last hour into the mountains:

Saturday was the big drive day, from Thredbo -> Khancoban -> Mt Selwyn -> Tumut -> back way into Canberra for the nightNew vs. Old. My mate who bought my 182 came for his first forum event - a weekend and 1800kms of driving!

Half of the convoy:

IMG_2761 copy by alex b photo, on Flickr

Petrol stop:

IMG_2779 copy by alex b photo, on Flickr

Competing in the hillclimb on Sunday near Canberra:

 

[.Adam.]

Looks awesome mate! Some cracking photos there too. Love Alibi, don't know why people knock it so much!

 

[walkie86]

Oct 29

Fitted the K&N panel filter.

It's a fair bit thinner than the stock one:

In the housing ready to slip back in the airbox:

Done. Easist air-filter to change, ever:

 

[walkie86]

Looks awesome mate! Some cracking photos there too. Love Alibi, don't know why people knock it so much!

Thanks mate. I love it too, though think it can look a bit girly with standard ride height and silver wheels. Really needs darker wheels or a better stance to look a bit more aggressive

 

[walkie86]

A bit more pic whorage. My apologies...

IMG_2809 copy by alex b photo, on Flickr

IMG_2811 copy by alex b photo, on Flickr

 

[.Adam.]

Thanks mate. I love it too, though think it can look a bit girly with standard ride height and silver wheels. Really needs darker wheels or a better stance to look a bit more aggressive

I agree, with some simple mods it can look really special. My Megane 225 is Ultra Blue, similar to Alibi, and cleans up nicely. Stunning colour in the sun.

 

[NorthloopCup]

I thought it was warm in oz!! The weather in them pictures looks shite - just like the uk weather! Lol!

Nice car though mate. I have a proper soft spot for 197's but the missus won't have any of it! Maybe one day!!

 

[walkie86]

I thought it was warm in oz!! The weather in them pictures looks shite - just like the uk weather! Lol!

Haha yeh we were up in the mountains where rain is common. In Sydney we actually get a lot more rain than London but it's delivered to us much less often, though it's in much heavier doses

 

[walkie86]

Dec 18

Only a couple of photos of mine from the recent OZRS drive day - she's the one at the end with the silver wheels.

IMG_4140 copy by alex b photo, on Flickr

IMG_4138 copy by alex b photo, on Flickr


Next mod at this stage was to get wheels refurbed in R27 amphasite, which should toughen up it's appearance a bit 8)

 

[walkie86]

Dec 24

While my wheels were in for a refurb I borrowed my Dad's R26 track wheels - black ph1 225 17s.


Please excuse the shoddy iPhone quality...

photo (1) by alex b photo, on Flickr

photo by alex b photo, on Flickr

photo (5) by alex b photo, on Flickr

photo (3) by alex b photo, on Flickr

Thought it actually looked alright, with the darker wheels making it look a lot more aggressive.

 

[walkie86]

Feb 11th


Finally - freshly painted stock wheels in R27 anthracite 8)


Still on OEM Conti3s.


Need to fit the diamonds back to the centre caps and re-fit.

IMG_4861 copy by alex b photo, on Flickr

 

[walkie86]

Feb 22nd


I couldn't leave it sitting pretty with just the R27 coloured wheels, so I tracked down some mint R27 suspension, courtesy of Adam Johnson in Perth (thanks again mate!). A price was agreed on and shipping to Sydney was arrange. Adam dropped it off at Pack n Send in Perth for me and was a pleasure to deal with through the whole process. The box arrived yesterday and my lovely wife collected it for me and here's what was inside:

IMG_5005 copy by alex b photo, on Flickr

IMG_5006 copy by alex b photo, on Flickr


The suspension is is great condition, very clean and has only travelled 9000 kms (before Adam went nuts on his Clio and turned it into a tarmac rally car!). Pretty excited to fit it and have my own blue (almost) R27! Just need some Recaros now...

 

[walkie86]

But wait! There's more!


No, Adam didn't throw in a free set of steak knives, but in the mean time I couldn't help myself and ordered a set of H&R lowering springs (from Juice Motorsport, thanks Anthony!) to go with the Cup dampers. I was close to getting some of these anyway but that turned into a definite when I found the R27 suspension, as they'll be more closely matched than the springs would've been with the standard dampers:

IMG_5008 copy by alex b photo, on Flickr

IMG_5009 copy by alex b photo, on Flickr

IMG_5011 copy by alex b photo, on Flickr


The photo below shows the stock Cup springs (with the red and blue markings) versus the H&Rs:

IMG_5014 copy by alex b photo, on Flickr


I found it interesting that the H&Rs have less coils and are much lighter in the front springs, but more coils and are much heavier in the rear. Overall the weight difference between front and rear is almost reversed, but the H&Rs combined are slightly heavier.


Anyway, it's all getting fitted on Friday at East Coast Suspension in Taren Point (thanks Teki!) so I will report back after that. Can't wait :mrgreen:

 

[walkie86]

Feb 25th


Well ,it's all fitted... and feels GREAT! Not too harsh (much less than I was expecting) and a proper drop in height too! 8)


Some comparison shots:

IMG_5021 copy by alex b photo, on Flickr

IMG_5023 copy by alex b photo, on Flickr

Before:

IMG_5025 copy by alex b photo, on Flickr


After:

IMG_5038 copy by alex b photo, on Flickr

 

[Gray]

That looks very nice, a perfect subtle drop

 

[Silent_Scone]

Nice touch... lovely looking car

 

[walkie86]

March 1

Finally got out to take some photos!

IMG_5045 copy by alex b photo, on Flickr

IMG_5047 copy by alex b photo, on Flickr

Unforunately, one of my low beam headlight globes blew, so it sped up the process of upgrading the bulbs. I ordered Osram Nightbreaker Plus H7 online, for both low and high beam.

 

[Gray]

I cannot believe how much cleaner cars look outside of the UK!

 

[Bloooor]

Looks nice mate, can't believe how many RenaultSports are over in Oz now! I only saw a few last year...

I cannot believe how much cleaner cars look outside of the UK!

UK has like 99% cloud coverage a year! lol

 

[walkie86]

March 7


Well, one of my main beam globes blew, so I ordered some Osram Night Breaker plus H7s.

IMG_5067 copy by alex b photo, on Flickr


Was a pain in the a$$ to fit without taking the bumper off, but I got there! Ended up swapping out both main and high beam globes 8)


L: stock globe, R: Osram Night Breaker plus:

IMG_5074 copy by alex b photo, on Flickr


They're definitely brighter and whiter:

L: stock R: Osram Nightbreaker plus H7 by alex b photo, on Flickr


The finished product:

IMG_5090 copy by alex b photo, on Flickr


I also bought one of the gloss black plastic diamonds from eBay:

IMG_5070 copy by alex b photo, on Flickr

IMG_5071 copy by alex b photo, on Flickr


It is a very good fit and well made. The only thing is the plastic seems to be a bit soft as it has swirl marks on it now from when I gave it a clean. As I haven't stuck it on with the tape yet, I'm thinking I might wrap it in some left over CF vinyl that I have.

 

[Gaz_]

Lovely that, albi is so under rated. Used to love mine under petrol station lights, always looks a different colour

 

[Keith185]

Perfect ride height, looks so nice.

 

[walkie86]

Thanks fellas!

I love Albi too - it's bloody hard to photograph though! Sometimes it's almost violet, sometimes it's mid blue, sometimes it's a bluey silver!

 

[walkie86]

March 12

Went for a decent early morning drive on Sunday. Here're a few pics.

The full report is in the media section: http://www.cliosport.net/forum/show...ontent-Blue-Mountains-Drive-Day-Report-Photos

IMG_5102 copy by alex b photo, on Flickr

IMG_5128 copy by alex b photo, on Flickr

IMG_5133 copy by alex b photo, on Flickr

IMG_5162 copy by alex b photo, on Flickr

IMG_5169 copy by alex b photo, on Flickr

IMG_5193 copy by alex b photo, on Flickr

 

[Christopher]

Superb mate. Looks really nice.

 

[Gray]

Brilliant, the scenery looks simply amazing.

 

[walkie86]

Thank you

 

[walkie86]

Sneak peek from a drive last night:

IMG_5195 copy by alex b photo, on Flickr

 

[Christopher]

Love it.

You've convinced me to get some H&R's for the 200 now. Looks like a perfect drop.

 

[walkie86]

Love it.

You've convinced me to get some H&R's for the 200 now. Looks like a perfect drop.

Cheers mate. I couldn't be happier. Perfect drop and only slightly bouncier than stock. Not crashy at all, just a little bouncier (which if you've had coilovers, you can live with)

EDIT: I know you've had coilovers, was more figuratively speaking

 

[Christopher]

Yeah I know exactly what you mean. Do you lot get the Twingo 133 over there?

Now that's a hard-riding standard car. Lol. Huge fun though. Gutted to be selling it.

 

[Sir_Dave]

You've convinced me to get some H&R's for the 200 now. Looks like a perfect drop.

I must admit, i've been swaying towards KW V1's as of late, but these do look like the perfect ride height.

My only concern is that i've never really been a fan of using uprated springs on standard dampers, as they tend to pogo a little - never brilliant for ultimate handling.

Goes off to see if Bilstein sell dampers for the 197 ...