ED Low boost conversion advice

[Ross_clio172]

My Clio 172 ph2 is on 115K miles and unsure of when the clutch was done I’m wanting to do the low boost conversion is it going to be worth it with such high miles on my car
And is it really worth it power wise ?

 

[leedsboy]

MInes on 120k and i'll be low boosting mine, just getting the parts together as and when at the moment.

I'll be pulling the engine out and doing the belts, clutch and turbo bits all in one go.

 

[Ross_clio172]

Xxx

MInes on 120k and i'll be low boosting mine, just getting the parts together as and when at the moment.

I'll be pulling the engine out and doing the belts, clutch and turbo bits all in one go.

Are you going to be using yours on track or will it be a road car ?

 

[leedsboy]

Xxx

Are you going to be using yours on track or will it be a road car ?

Road

xox

 

[Clio_fool]

Neither. It'll never work again if I ever start the conversion.

xox

👍

 

[leedsboy]

👍

He's here look, the bald, short Ed China.

 

[Louis]

He's here look, the bald, short Ed China.

More like Mike Brewer with his spanner skills

 

[Clio_fool]

He's here look, the bald, short Ed China.

 

[masekwm]

Find one to drive before spending your money, some love it, some hate it.

 

[Ross_clio172]

Find one to drive before spending your money, some love it, some hate it.

Yeah I think ED have a test car

 

[Clio_fool]

Yeah I think ED have a test car

That I recall someone saying they wouldn't let people test drive!

 

[Gus]

It really does transform the car and make it more fun to drive. The one thing a 182/172 needs is a little more power.

Go for it, you can always change the clutch if it starts slipping afterwards, it will probably be fine for a while though.

 

[Thrust-Rated]

Go for it
Yolo

 

[Ross_clio172]

It really does transform the car and make it more fun to drive. The one thing a 182/172 needs is a little more power.

Go for it, you can always change the clutch if it starts slipping afterwards, it will probably be fine for a while though.

Yeah that’s what I was thinking to,
I mean the odds of it being the original clutch on 115K miles must be low so it might not be that old

 

[Fishfire]

Just finished my turbo conversion.

Fitted an OE Sachs clutch, and it's slipping already, so I'm on the hunt fore something that'll take the 240hp mine is making now.

Oh and definitely worth the effort to convert.......it's hilarious to drive now!

 

[Adey.]

its the torque that's an issue more than horsepower, most low boost are 220 to 240lbft so a mildly uprated clutch would be fine. I ran my turbo motor at 120k with what I assumed was an original clutch in it.

 

[Fishfire]

Yeah, my torque is bang in the middle at 233ft/lb

 

[Ross_clio172]

Just finished my turbo conversion.

Fitted an OE Sachs clutch, and it's slipping already, so I'm on the hunt fore something that'll take the 240hp mine is making now.

Oh and definitely worth the effort to convert.......it's hilarious to drive now!

Just read so many reviews saying they are unreliable even at low boost and it puts me off to be fair but that’s probably people who don’t even own a low boost clio

 

[Fishfire]

Just read so many reviews saying they are unreliable even at low boost and it puts me off to be fair but that’s probably people who don’t even own a low boost clio

I fitted a thicker Mégane 225 head gasket to reduce the compression ratio a little and give a little more wiggle room for saftey

 

[Ross_clio172]

I fitted a thicker Mégane 225 head gasket to reduce the compression ratio a little and give a little more wiggle room for saftey

The top end was rebuilt on my car about 5 months ago new valves and guides and the head was skimmed and a new oem headgakset should of changed it at that point

 

[-Simon]

I would definitely change the clutch as it won’t last long standard. I have a Helix organic clutch in mine and it has been faultless.

 

[Ross_clio172]

I would definitely change the clutch as it won’t last long standard. I have a Helix organic clutch in mine and it has been faultless.

Yeah think I will get ED to change the clutch at the same time they are doing the low boost conversion

 

[Ross_clio172]

its the torque that's an issue more than horsepower, most low boost are 220 to 240lbft so a mildly uprated clutch would be fine. I ran my turbo motor at 120k with what I assumed was an original clutch in it.

How long did you run it with the original clutch for please mate ?

 

[Fishfire]

How long did you run it with the original clutch for please mate ?

I've used a LUK clutch and it's barely run in...I think I've done around 1200 miles on the conversation and the new clutch was installed prior to bolting the engine back in.

It's on the limit and will occasionally slip especially in colder weather where the boost comes in harder and makes a few more ponies.

Personally, knowing what I know now, I would have put an uprated clutch from the start. Now if gotta get the box off which is a proper ball ache to do, and spend circa £300 on another clutch kit 🙄

 

[Ross_clio172]

It's on the limit and will occasionally slip especially in colder weather where the boost comes in harder and makes a few more ponies.

Personally, knowing what I know now, I would have put an uprated clutch from the start. Now if gotta get the box off which is a proper ball ache to do, and spend circa £300 on another clutch kit 🙄

ok thanks mate yeah from what most people say the original clutch won’t last long at all so think it’s worth changing before even boosting it

 

[Adey.]

How long did you run it with the original clutch for please mate ?

about 3k before a rod played a cruel knock knock joke on me and said hello to the outside world

 

[Fishfire]

about 3k before a rod played a cruel knock knock joke on me and said hello to the outside world

Your engine let go??

 

[Adey.]

Your engine let go??

Yes. don't take it as a common issue though. My car was a development mule for testing/mapping. Had 100+k of very hard miles on it, sure it had 18 owners too. I actually had a big fuel leak and ran it lean causing the issue.

 

[sugbug]

I done my low boost conversion on 109,000 miles

 

[Yarp]

I low boosted mine on 99k and have done about 5k miles on it now on the original clutch with no issues. A lot of the reliability issues come from badly mapped or badly built cars. Do it to a good standard and it’ll be fine within reason. Just bear in mind they are old and french so things will break, turbo’d or not.

 

[Ross_clio172]

I low boosted mine on 99k and have done about 5k miles on it now on the original clutch with no issues. A lot of the reliability issues come from badly mapped or badly built cars. Do it to a good standard and it’ll be fine within reason. Just bear in mind they are old and french so things will break, turbo’d or not.

I will be getting mine done at ED, where did you get yours done ? The clutch seems to be a weird one some people are fine on the oem clutch some it slips straight away so not sure what to do

 

[Ross_clio172]

I done my low boost conversion on 109,000 miles

What mileage is the car on now mate ?

 

[sugbug]

What mileage is the car on now mate ?

113k had converson last year october.... only drive car couple times a month. but no issues

 

[Fishfire]

I low boosted mine on 99k and have done about 5k miles on it now on the original clutch with no issues. A lot of the reliability issues come from badly mapped or badly built cars. Do it to a good standard and it’ll be fine within reason. Just bear in mind they are old and french so things will break, turbo’d or not.

Steve, did you get your cars map tweaked?

First pull on EFIs Dyno on their off the shelf flash made 211hp on mine. Chris 'found" a further 29hp and sorted the bad idlle which turned out to be a duff injector. Defo worth doing.

 

[masekwm]

Just read so many reviews saying they are unreliable even at low boost and it puts me off to be fair but that’s probably people who don’t even own a low boost clio

In 3 years with track use, mine only ever had an exhaust gasket fail.

 

[Ross_clio172]

In 3 years with track use, mine only ever had an exhaust gasket fail.

Yeah that’s really good to be honest can’t be that bad if you’ve used it that hard over 3 years and still is good. Did ED do your conversion ?

 

[Yarp]

I will be getting mine done at ED, where did you get yours done ? The clutch seems to be a weird one some people are fine on the oem clutch some it slips straight away so not sure what to do

Mine is a home brew of a few different bits to get where I wanted with it. My turbo is a gt28 so bigger than the ED one but I’ve got the EFI boost control module which is the same as their kit uses.

Steve, did you get your cars map tweaked?

First pull on EFIs Dyno on their off the shelf flash made 211hp on mine. Chris 'found" a further 29hp and sorted the bad idlle which turned out to be a duff injector. Defo worth doing.

No, I didn’t in the end. That’s a pretty decent chunk to find hiding down the sofa! That’s a really good result.

My plan was to get it in over the winter but I’ve just bought a set of Meg 250 pistons and rods so going to rebuild with those and wind the boost up. They aren’t a direct fit and need a bit of work but saves the issues that come with having a forged engine and they’ll happily run the 280-300bhp the high boost setup goes to… and plenty more with the right supporting mods!

 

[Fishfire]

Mine is a home brew of a few different bits to get where I wanted with it. My turbo is a gt28 so bigger than the ED one but I’ve got the EFI boost control module which is the same as their kit uses.



No, I didn’t in the end. That’s a pretty decent chunk to find hiding down the sofa! That’s a really good result.

My plan was to get it in over the winter but I’ve just bought a set of Meg 250 pistons and rods so going to rebuild with those and wind the boost up. They aren’t a direct fit and need a bit of work but saves the issues that come with having a forged engine and they’ll happily run the 280-300bhp the high boost setup goes to… and plenty more with the right supporting mods!

Had a good chat with Chris at EFI about a similar route but for me 240hp is plenty for the lil' Clio, but I'll watch for your new build with interest!

 

[Ross_clio172]

Had a good chat with Chris at EFI about a similar route but for me 240hp is plenty for the lil' Clio, but I'll watch for your new build with interest!

240 in a little clio mist feel insane let alone 300 haha

 

[Fishfire]

240 in a little clio mist feel insane let alone 300 haha

It's hilarious to drive.....I'm very much enjoying it. More so once I fit a clutch that can handle the extra oomph lol