My Insurance and Modifications

[Turvey]

Hey Guys,

I have got myself a 2002 1.2 Renault Clio 16v as my first car. Its quite nice but lacks in the acceleration...
As my insurance is already a rip off at £3600 a year I was wondering if any of you had any suggestions
on how I can improve the acceleration without it being noticeable if I did have a crash.

I am basically saying what things can I upgrade that an insurance guy wouldn't be able to tell the difference on, so far I have;

Air Filter
ECU Remapping
Splitfire Sparkplugs
Performance cambelt shaft

Is there anything else that would be discrete to change?

Thanks!
Luke

 

[B4RK3R]

Its a 1.2 its supposed to lack acceleration

 

[.Stevo.C.]

Don't bother mate it's a waste of time & money. Save your money up and buy something quicker for when you get a bit older.

 

[Revels]

Nobody is going to want to help you have an illegal insurance policy.

And those mods aren't going to make any difference. Just cost you money for it to still be super slow.

Just suck it up mate. Get some no-claims behind you and buy something faster.

 

[Turvey]

Nobody is going to want to help you have an illegal insurance policy.

And those mods aren't going to make any difference. Just cost you money for it to still be super slow.

Just suck it up mate. Get some no-claims behind you and buy something faster.

Ok that's fair enough. So stupid that insurance is so high though....

 

[Lal B3N]

I see this topic going downhill fast.

As said, suck it up. Maintain it, get some ncb built up and then move up to something faster/cheaper insurance where you can modify it legally.

I imagine you are already paying a fortune to insure it!

 

[Knuckles]

Holy f**k! Three thousand six hundred that Is ridiculous!

what have you done for it to be that high?

But as above. Performance mods on a 1.2 is pissing money away. It's upsetting but it's the truth. I had all kinds planned for my 1.4 until I realised it was pointless. So I made it look pretty, sold it. And bought a 197 when insurance was reasonable.

 

[imprezaworks]

That is mental. Like revels said, bide your time get a couple of quid behind you, don't get caught speeding etc and get a quicker car in a couple of years. I know its an arse but you will appreciate it more this way.

 

[Nicky Thomas]

It's a 1.2, don't waste your time.

 

[DaveDreads]

There are a few things cosmetically you can do to it to make it look a little nicer without increasing your insurance,
colour code the black plastics, get the alloys & badges painted a different colour etc.

You live in Aylesbury, I can't believe you're paying that much on insurance, it's not exactly inner city Manchester. :S

 

[JezzaMac]

If your going to modify your car that's fine go ahead but for the love of god declare your mods. This is part of the reason that your insurance is so high in the first place.

If you can't afford to pay the insurance to cover the mods then don't do them! Simple!

 

[Turvey]

Holy f**k! Three thousand six hundred that Is ridiculous!

what have you done for it to be that high?

But as above. Performance mods on a 1.2 is pissing money away. It's upsetting but it's the truth. I had all kinds planned for my 1.4 until I realised it was pointless. So I made it look pretty, sold it. And bought a 197 when insurance was reasonable.

I am a new driver with no, no claims bonus. These days its just stupid... its daylight robbery...

If your going to modify your car that's fine go ahead but for the love of god declare your mods. This is part of the reason that your insurance is so high in the first place.

If you can't afford to pay the insurance to cover the mods then don't do them! Simple!

I know where your coming from, but I am already paying 3.6k for the insurance and then if I put ANY mod it, it goes straight to 6k and onwards

 

[Knuckles]

I was on my parents insurance for 2 years, in that time I wrote off my dads car so I got my first 1.4 at 19 with no Ncb and a write off. It was still only £1600 :/

 

[Turvey]

I was on my parents insurance for 2 years, in that time I wrote off my dads car so I got my first 1.4 at 19 with no Ncb and a write off. It was still only £1600 :/

This just proves how completely bullsh** insurance is these days. All my friends cars are this high as well! They are really trying to discourage young drivers off the road... tarring everyone with the same brush is just not fair

 

[Heez]

I am a new driver with no, no claims bonus. These days its just stupid... its daylight robbery...



I know where your coming from, but I am already paying 3.6k for the insurance and then if I put ANY mod it, it goes straight to 6k and onwards

No mods then.

 

[JezzaMac]

I know where your coming from, but I am already paying 3.6k for the insurance and then if I put ANY mod it, it goes straight to 6k and onwards

I would rather pay 3.6K, not mod and have a valid insurance than pay 3.6k mod then realise that im not Jenson Button, bin it and have a void insurance because i tried to make a slow car not slow. In which case you have basically wasted 3.6k. No brainer really mate.

 

[wag1]

So your insurance is already illegal because you have modified it amirite?

Declare everything, when you go and run over little timmy and snap his neck your insurance will be paying for his care for the next 50 years not you

 

[Knuckles]

This just proves how completely bullsh** insurance is these days. All my friends cars are this high as well! They are really trying to discourage young drivers off the road... tarring everyone with the same brush is just not fair

I know mate its pure guess work. I had so much hassle insuring this Lol. They give me one price then changed it about 8 times because apparently a 197 and a '197 sport cup' are two completely different cars. f**king idiots

 

[Turvey]

So your insurance is already illegal because you have modified it amirite?

Declare everything, when you go and run over little timmy and snap his neck your insurance will be paying for his care for the next 50 years not you

Nooo, I haven't modded anything yet. This is why I asked for things that they wont see, like the air filter. But I think I have had a good shouting at from you guys now so I wont do it LOL!

 

[JezzaMac]

Nooo, I haven't modded anything yet. This is why I asked for things that they wont see, like the air filter. But I think I have had a good shouting at from you guys now so I wont do it LOL!

Yay! its not worth it man. Stick the money in a savings account and get a really nice car in 2 years time

 

[Adam.]

THREEE POINT SIX K??????

Spoiler

Holy shite.

 

[Turvey]

Yay! its not worth it man. Stick the money in a savings account and get a really nice car in 2 years time

That's the way forward I think, thanks for letting me see the light! HAHA

 

[DaveDreads]

Fair play to you Turvey, you've asked our advice, we've given you some and you've listened to it,
so many get the right arse when they're told it's not a good idea to mod a slow car when you've just passed your test.

Bide your time, get a few years driving experience, a few years NCB, save your money and get a quicker car in a few years time. :approve:

 

[Turvey]

Fair play to you Turvey, you've asked our advice, we've given you some and you've listened to it,
so many get the right arse when they're told it's not a good idea to mod a slow car when you've just passed your test.

Bide your time, get a few years driving experience, a few years NCB, save your money and get a quicker car in a few years time. :approve:

I don't see why you wouldn't listen. I have about 8 guys here all telling me the same thing. You would be stupid not to listen, especially as you all have excellent knowledge in this field

 

[DaveDreads]

You'd be surprised tbh mate, there are alot of threads that ask the same questions as you have,
just passed their test, got their first car and they're really excited about getting out there and belting about,
and they get proper pissed off when they're told the realities of modding a 1.2 and declaring it to your insurers.

You seem a bit more well balanced than they are mate. :approve:

 

[Steven103]

Whilst not anywhere near 3.6k, I do sympathise. However it's expensive for everyone and people seem to forget driving is not one of your human rights.
The amount some of my friends wasted insuring modified cars 1.2s etc whilst I sat their patiently saving my money was incredible. However after 2 years of solid saving & NCB-aquiring I had a 182 :race:

 

[barker22]

As people have said above buddy, don't waste the money. It really isn't worth it. Whether or not you listen and take this advice is another story but I can guarantee that you will not regret having saved money, and having extra to put towards something you really want in the future.
You could spend upwards of a grand on making a 1.2 'faster' and it wouldn't even be able to keep up with the 1.4 equivalent clio. Now how would that extra grand look against a deposit on a newer model in a year or two, or towards paying that insurance off in one so you don't have to worry about paying monthly for at least a year

 

[Turvey]

As people have said above buddy, don't waste the money. It really isn't worth it. Whether or not you listen and take this advice is another story but I can guarantee that you will not regret having saved money, and having extra to put towards something you really want in the future.
You could spend upwards of a grand on making a 1.2 'faster' and it wouldn't even be able to keep up with the 1.4 equivalent clio. Now how would that extra grand look against a deposit on a newer model in a year or two, or towards paying that insurance off in one so you don't have to worry about paying monthly for at least a year

Generally I am pretty good with saving, I spent the last year saving for my insurance so that's paid off now! I will take your advice as I rather fancy getting me a better model when I have the NCB

 

[TheEvilGiraffe]

I am basically saying what things can I upgrade that an insurance guy wouldn't be able to tell the difference on, so far I have;

Air Filter
ECU Remapping
Splitfire Sparkplugs
Performance cambelt shaft

You think that an assessor would not know what a standard Clio airbox looks like and what £20 worth of Chinese special eBay airfilter looks like ?!

I'm also intrigued what a 'performance cambelt shaft' is ?

Basically, anything more than a Magic Tree in there, your insurance will know about it. It's not worth it.

 

[skyinsurance]

:clap:

 

[Chapster5]

Its a 1.2 its supposed to lack acceleration

I LOL'd

 

[Knuckles]

I'm also intrigued what a 'performance cambelt shaft' is ?

.

a ploy to rob naive teens of their money

 

[Addicted]

Sigh, posting up to intentionally find ways to secretly void your insurance, perhaps you'd be better off sticking to Scalextric for the time being.

 

[Turvey]

Sigh, posting up to intentionally find ways to secretly void your insurance, perhaps you'd be better off sticking to Scalextric for the time being.

a ploy to rob naive teens of their money

To be fair at least I am asking before I actually do anything. Obviously you all feel strongly against it, therefore I now know not to do it. I'm only 17 and have passed a month ago, I'm not an expert on cars by any means, I joined here to gain some knowledge.

 

[Knuckles]

To be fair at least I am asking before I actually do anything. Obviously you all feel strongly against it, therefore I now know not to do it. I'm only 17 and have passed a month ago, I'm not an expert on cars by any means, I joined here to gain some knowledge.

a rule of thumb with modifying

if its from ebay/halfords it wont give any performance gains, same with standalone mods. i wasted £200 on an induction kit (student loan money ftw) it sounded great, but didnt do anything lol.

you're one of the few new people on here who actually listen to advice lol! its laughable the amount of people who join up for advice then get wound up when people give it

 

[Naith]

your 17. ride around and enjoy a car for being a car before you play with the big boys.

rome wasnt built in a day and all that crap. kids want the world these days...

 

[hilldawg172]

f4r lump + box and ecu. Can be picked up pretty cheaply. Everyone loves a good sleeper.

 

[Toby]

£3600! My good god!

 

[hilldawg172]

£3600! My good god!

That is insane that like! I pay £630 on a 172 cup and i thought that was bad.

 

[Dan@M.A.D]

I was getting quotes for the newly purchased 172 yesterday, It's going to be just a trackcar so i got a few quotes for my dad, me & a few with both on the same policy.

On his own it was £220
On my own it was £2300
Together on his policy was around £1800.

Looks like i will either be getting a trailer or just insuring him to drive it there.

I have been driving 2 years now aswell!