Induction Kit

[bluerxe]

I had a K&N 57i kit fitted by K&N research in Warrington (my car was the one they tested on - photos in the instruction leaflet are of my car).

Shortly after this I had a the car lowered 30mm alll round using Eibach springs brought from DemonTweeks. Since then I could not use the same path for the cold air feed.

Ive tried numerous other routes and have had to settle for an intake that sits just behind the venst on the front rubber splitter. This isnt ideal since I get loads of sh!t sucked from the road.

My car has air con fitted which fills up the normal routes from the front of the engine bay.

I dont want to cut the bonnet.

Anyone any ideas?

 

[nedbeard]

At last! A 1.6 8v owner!

Ive had similar problems with getting cold air to my filter. I too have a K&N which was sent to me by a friend in UK (Im in Spain).
The only solution I have found to work is using some lorry exhaust flexible tubing along with parts of the old Green filter I had fitted previously (which was utter sh*te) and some rubber right-angled bends. Ive managed to get the filter into the battery compartment where it gets cold air from the slat just under the LH headlamp.
Heres the result:

http://www.mgk.es/clio/filter.jpg

It works a treat although I have to test it in hotter conditions - Ive considered removing one of the foglamps and fitting some extra ducting to feed the filter in the summer.

What other mods have you done to your engine?

Ned.

 

[bluerxe]

This is the direction I was thinking of going. Where can I get hold of some rubber elbows? Ive scoured the internet but cannot find any. I was going to use Samco but its pricey and over the top for this application.

Mods I have on my clio are:
*K&N 57i
*Powerflow exhaust (straight through cat back, no centre box, very small back box, and 2.5" stainless pipe.
*Spiltfire Platinum plugs.
*Elia springs

 

[nedbeard]

I sourced some rubber bends from a local jetski shop, basically theyre part of an exhaust from a jet bike.
Samco would be your best bet as I had to muck around a lot with the bends and had difficulty finding the right angled pieces.

Ive got pretty much the same mods except that my exhaust has a devil "afrique" cat suppressor and a Prowler s/s back box. I had to ADD an extra box in the middle because of the extra racket caused by the cat suppressor. Its got an incredibly nice tone to it now, but still a bit on the loud side.
Im thinking next of getting a chip or having the ecu reprogrammed but Im not sure of what results to expect.

what sort of power do you reckon your engine gives out now? have you had it rolling road tested?

Ned.

 

[nedbeard]

Have a look in the other clio gallery for the full spec on my car (Ive left a few out here!)

Ned.

 

[bluerxe]

Dont know what power it has. I know it pulls all the way to the rev limit now. It can be a bit weak at low revs though. Second gear at 3000rpm seems to be the sweet spot. Floor the accelerator at this point and it feels great, sounds great.

After having the induction kit and exhaust I now seem to be able to hit 60mph in 2nd gear whereas before I had to change up just before.

The arbarth kit works well on the clio. Your own work?

If you find a chip that works let me know. I tried the Dastek Unichip but had problems mapping it.

 

[nedbeard]

I can get over 190kph out of the car, just under the rev limiter, but it seems to take longer than before to reach that speed. Low down torque has suffered a bit from the cat removal but it does seem to rev more freely from 3000rpm and has definately freed up a few horses.

I also have to change to 3rd to get 100kph on the speedo although I havent tested it properly with the cat off, mainly because I only do town driving. Ill go for a blast tonight to check it again.

I had the bodykit fitted in a local garage to my own spec and design (spent months deciding what I wanted as I didnt like any of the kits available) - the skirts were a bugger to fit and are slightly less prominent on the clio, had to paint half the car to get them on too! - I used the Bravo ones as the Punto skirts were shorter than the car, although they are slightly more stylish. I saw them on a saxo in Max Power and they looked da bomb!

Ned.

 

[bluerxe]

Ive been wrestling with my conscience whether ot not to buy the Race Technologys AP-22 reviewed on the homepage. Its cheaper than having to go down to your local rolling road to check if the latest mod has worked.

 

[nedbeard]

I havent got such a thing as a rolling road anywhere near me. How much more modding are you planning on doing?

 

[bluerxe]

Ive not made any external styling mods yet apart from some 15" rims. I like keeping things subtle though and I havent liked the look of any bodykits yet.

Id like to get some nice sport seats and an internal retrim as I hate the Renault fabric.

 

[nedbeard]

Luckily the interior on my model isnt that bad. The seats could have a bit more side support but with the funny steering wheel angle Im not sure if sport seats will adapt well, especially if youre sitting a lot lower. Ive heard of a lad that had Cobra sidewinders in his 1.2 but that was a bit OTT - nice seats tho!

Im thinking of getting an Ecotec soon (when the club sorts out the discounts - cmon!!), thatll sharpen up the ride and save a bit on fuel - running a 1.6 around town is not very economical, even with Spanish prices.

Ned.

 

[bluerxe]

Im also thinking about getting one seeing as everybody has so much praise for it.

What sort of fuel economy are you getting with an induction kit fitted? If I thrash mine around town it can average as low as 25mpg over a week. On a steady cruise on the motorway I get about 38mpg, and if Im really just plodding along on country b roads taking in the view then I can get as much as 48mpg.

 

[nedbeard]

Ill have to do some maths Im afraid.
ptas-€-£ (still confusing!) litres-gallons, etc.
I dont even know what price I pay to tell the truth, just that I use BP Eurosuper 98.

Ill have a bash later.

 

[nedbeard]

Right, been doing some calculations:

Ive worked ot that Im averaging some 23 miles to the gallon (!!) at the moment which means I do to much blasting around town IMO, not good!

Ive been keeping an eye on the speedo too and worked out the following speed to gear ratios:

1st

 

[nedbeard]

whoops, pressed wrong button!

ok...

1st - 49km/h - 30mph
2nd - 95km/h - 59mph
3rd - 125km/h - 78mph
4th - 160km/h - 99mph
5th - 192km/h - 119mph
(cut out at 6.200rpm)

Not bad considering the mods Ive done up to date although Ive been comparing to another 1.6 Si and in 2nd gear I get nearly 20kph more, wierd!! - have a look at these results from a french page:
http://membres.lycos.fr/renaultsport/site2/zcliochif.htm

The mpg Im getting are roughly the same as the standard car so the mods dont really affect it that much. Since I took the cat off Ive been getting varied results although this might be due to the exhaust not being fitted properly (as per usual, take the car in for one thing, leave with it needing another).

How does this compare?

Ned.

 

[bluerxe]

Yeah thats Julian Paternis site esnt it? Not been in contact with him for a while now. Last I heard he was going to trade his Clio in for a diesel Seat Ibiza! I think the speed in 2nd gear is wrong on Julians site (78km/h?).

Im not sure, but I think my rev limiter cuts in before 6200rpm. This fits in with a problem I had when trying to fit a Unichip on my car. The mechanic told me then that it seemed to cut in early (below 6000). I know my car is still pulling strong when it cuts in. Know an easy way to up the limit on the Siemens Fenix 5 ECU without a chip?

Are you reading the revs from the rev counter? What dials do you have? Sagem with the half-circle rev counter?

Julian lives in Spain I think, maybe theres a difference in the way its set up compared to the UK spec.

How do you find the car with the decat pipe? Better or worse or no change? Is it legal in Spain to have no cat?

 

[nedbeard]

Yeah, Julienne has been off the scene for ages now... still hasnt replied to an e-mail I sent before xmas.

I got the rev limit of Juliennes site... Im sure mine cuts out just over 6000 tho. My dials are the half circle ones (dunno reference) - Juliennes look like the ones from the 1.6 16v (240+kph) so Im not that sure that theyre acurate. I wanted to get the 240kph ones but the scrappy wouldnt sell them to me for that reason.

I didnt know that he lived in Spain.. just that hes abandoned the his web site.

Ive found the car to rev more freely without the cat, although the noise levels are a concern. It definately goes quicker from 3-3500 rpm and pulls quite hard up to 5500 rpm. Ive lost a bit of torque in low revs and the idle seems to be a bit erratic (but not much). The motor seems to run better when cold so I would reckon that I need more fueling to compensate the mod. Maybe a FSE PBV would do the trick? Apart from that Im quite happy with the results. It is illegal to take the cat off in Spain, as it is for most european countries.
I decided to take it off after not being able to find somewhere that can fit a chip and it was considerably cheaper. Juliennes own experiences helped me decide too.

Ned.