First Clio - 2014 Mk4 RS 200 EDC

[thebigmoose]

First post on the forums for me!

I've been surviving since covid without a hot hatch and this year, decided to take the plunge. Most of my car experience has been with VW but my requirements list at this point of my life was:

• Fun to drive
• Quick
• Auto gearbox (commute about 1-1.5 hours a day in stop start traffic with some country lanes at either end)
• fit 3 isofix seats in when needed

The mk4 RS cropped up in my Autotrader searches, and I test drove one in Liquid Yellow fairly quickly. Loved it but the interior was a bit ratty and I couldn't get the dealer to come down to my budget so I moved on and ended up buying the below in August with 63k on the clock.

It's in good nick, but has I put new pilot sport 4's on the front as the tread was at 2mm, as well as some new interior mats with a red trim to match the excessive amount of red trim already in the cabin. Breaks are fairly new and bite well. I've put 4k miles on it from commuting since August, a few long journeys to see friends as well as a couple of trips to the Caffeine and Machine Hut and Torque Motor Cafe.

Next plan is some new alloys as the originals are scuffed and both fronts have cracks on the inside of the wheel. Currently looking at Oz Superturismo's or Alleggerita's (18" and 7.5" wide) in graphite, but would appreciate any suggestions! Also, the driver's side wing mirror has a high pitch whistle when you get over 60mph that is starting to drive me nuts so i need to get organised after Christmas, order a replacement and swap it out.

Long term, I'd like to drop it a little, remap, induction kit and potentially a Scorpion exhaust, as well as take it on a track day or 3 round the south.

 

[Danith]

Underrated cars. @Adey. has gone to town on his.

I found mine to be better behaved on the track than I expected and I dare say it, in true Renaultsport fashion it felt more at home on track than the road.

Get the RS monitor added if you haven't already. Wheel wise they're a pain to find for, being Jap 5 x 114.3 PCD and a super high offset.

 

[thebigmoose]

Underrated cars. @Adey. has gone to town on his.

I found mine to be better behaved on the track than I expected and I dare say it, in true Renaultsport fashion it felt more at home on track than the road.

Get the RS monitor added if you haven't already. Wheel wise they're a pain to find for, being Jap 5 x 114.3 PCD and a super high offset.

I've been making my way through his project thread, even asked him if he's got a link for the RS power button that I think came from you. Unfortunately, I have absolutely zero mechanical skills in comparison, but have a good mechanic round the corner for the serious stuff. He inspired me to get this thread started.

I'll check out the RS monitor, thanks for the tip.

It feels far better engaged with the road than any hot hatch I've driven before (Fabia VRS, Golf R, Cupra 290) so can't wait to get it out on a track.

 

[Danith]

I've been making my way through his project thread, even asked him if he's got a link for the RS power button that I think came from you. Unfortunately, I have absolutely zero mechanical skills in comparison, but have a good mechanic round the corner for the serious stuff. He inspired me to get this thread started.

I'll check out the RS monitor, thanks for the tip.

It feels far better engaged with the road than any hot hatch I've driven before (Fabia VRS, Golf R, Cupra 290) so can't wait to get it out on a track.

I've gone from the mk4 220 trophy to a 7.5 gti performance. It's a miles nicer car but yeah definitely less engaging than the clio. I actually preferred the clio's clunkier box too. Don't regret the move though, the clunks and rattles in that clio got on my nerves.

 

[thebigmoose]

I've gone from the mk4 220 trophy to a 7.5 gti performance. It's a miles nicer car but yeah definitely less engaging than the clio. I actually preferred the clio's clunkier box too. Don't regret the move though, the clunks and rattles in that clio got on my nerves.

Oddly, i'm already looking at my next car and want to go up a size for family space. I'm thinking of the 7.5 GTI TCR or a Megane RS 300 Trophy (this time in LY), the GTI exactly for the reasons you've said. My clio does have an odd rattle pop up for a day or two, then it goes quiet again. And the auto needs persuading to shift up too often so getting decent mpg is tricky. But then I hit the RS button, fling it through some bends and come out with a giant smile on my face so at the moment, that's outweighing the niggles.

 

[leeds_182]

Nice use of paragraphs, commas and full stops in that first post.

I’m guessing you voted remain (if you were old enough).

 

[PP200t]

Hi and welcome. Very nice car and good choice! Always liked them in white.
Sadly you can’t get rs monitor fitted because I don’t think you have the correct radio in yours, the lux pack came with the rs monitor enabled screen. (You look to have the cup pack on yours though which is a bonus.) But when I coded it to mine it was more of a gimmick to me as I didn’t do any track work and once I’d recorded some 0-60 times etc I wasn’t that fussed with it.
Get the hot side pipe from airtec fitted as the original one will break at some point, being plastic and if you want more noise have the 2nd cat removed and either an exhaust or depending where you are get the rear box modified. It made a massive difference to mine!
I fitted h&r lowering springs which was a good mod too I found.
The whistling I think might be the seal around the window. Mine had a slight whistle and was If I remember correctly because the rubber trim had separated slightly. If you look at yours it might be the same.

 

[thebigmoose]

Hi and welcome. Very nice car and good choice! Always liked them in white.
Sadly you can’t get rs monitor fitted because I don’t think you have the correct radio in yours, the lux pack came with the rs monitor enabled screen. (You look to have the cup pack on yours though which is a bonus.) But when I coded it to mine it was more of a gimmick to me as I didn’t do any track work and once I’d recorded some 0-60 times etc I wasn’t that fussed with it.
Get the hot side pipe from airtec fitted as the original one will break at some point, being plastic and if you want more noise have the 2nd cat removed and either an exhaust or depending where you are get the rear box modified. It made a massive difference to mine!
I fitted h&r lowering springs which was a good mod too I found.
The whistling I think might be the seal around the window. Mine had a slight whistle and was If I remember correctly because the rubber trim had separated slightly. If you look at yours it might be the same.

Thanks for the tips. I'll check the seal before I go swapping out the wing mirror and then will bear in mind the rest for down the line.

 

[thebigmoose]

Finally got round to putting some new wheels on - 18" Calibre Suzuka's. Saw another MK4 with these on in silver and I liked how they were so decided to go for them in black. They sit a little wider in the arches and overall I'm happy with how they look and drive.

Next things I'd like to get sorted are changing out the head unit to something that supports wireless android auto and upgrading the speakers whilst I'm at it. Tempted by an under seat sub to as I feel the setup is lacking base.

Then I think perhaps removing all the external grey/silver trim (badges, side panels, rear diffuser and front blade) and going all black. Unsure if wrapping or painting or replacing are the best options so would love to hear recommendations or experience?

 

[PP200t]

Those wheels look really good actually, I like them. They sit better than the standard wheels that’s for sure.
I painted my side strips, diffuser and tailpipes black. I liked how it blended in (mine was black). I didn’t do the best job because A I’m an idiot and B I’m not an expert, but it looked decent. I also got the black over badges for the diamonds off eBay. They stick on and never had a problem with them.
Not the best photos but you can see what I managed to do.

 

[thebigmoose]

Looks smart! I'd seen the badges on eBay so will pick those up. Just found a thread on here that says the front blade just pops off so will do that and give it a respray. Did you take the rear diffuser off to respray and how easy was it to do? Same question with the side trim?

 

[PP200t]

Thanks, I miss that car the most!
The side trim the entire angled section comes off (slide off I think) and then the silver trim I think just clips in.
The diffuser I took off to do, it wasn’t too bad but the screws get rusty and hard to remove. Could be easy, could be hard. I know the screws holding the tips on could not be removed, so I had to mask to paint the tips. (As they are mounted to the splitter, not the exhaust)
I also fitted phase 2 rear lights which was a nice upgrade to do.

 

[thebigmoose]

Thanks for the tips, I'll see how I get on with getting that trim off.

Lights are something I've been thinking about for down the road but from a quick Google they'll get expensive quick!

I think swapping the aerial to a sharkfin type would help tidy up the silhouette too so might hunt one of those down and see how much of a job it is to swap.

 

[PP200t]

Yes the headlights get expensive, but the rears if you buy wisely off eBay etc you can pick up bargains. Then you need a loom which pop up on the mk4 Facebook page. They were about £30 back then but I don’t know now.
I also fitted the genuine Renault shark fin. It wasn’t too bad of a job, drop the rear headlining and then swap them over, it was a straight swap.

 

[massiveCoRbyn]

Wheels look nice! I'm not a fan of any of the OEM wheel options, so these are a big improvement!

 

[thebigmoose]

I also fitted the genuine Renault shark fin. It wasn’t too bad of a job, drop the rear headlining and then swap them over, it was a straight swap.

I've seen some third party ones that screw into the same aerial hole and then the shark fin just sticks over the top with some 3M tape. Feels a bit cheeky but reviews and how long they last seem good.

 

[PP200t]

You might get away with one of those to be honest, they just stick over the top of the existing aerial mount. Mine was a lux pack so had a larger aerial base hence having to buy a genuine shark to replace the whole thing as non of the stick on shark fins would fit over it.