New Here, Looking For A Trophy / Advise

[182David]

Hi everyone, Im David from Essex and am looking at getting a Clio Trophy in the next couple of months. Been trying for a few days to register, but couldnt for obvious reasons, so here I am now. Ive not 100% decided on the Clio yet, its either that, or keep my current car. I test drove Trophy number 89 on Monday and was very impressed by it, the ride was very reasonable for a car that handles the way it does. The seats were lovely, although too high, and the fact torque steer was hardly evident was nice. Straight line performance I didnt really test as the car had only done 200 miles, but from what I revved to (around 5500) the car struck me as being unbelievably fast for a little hatchback.
I love my current car, but its getting a bit now (X-reg) and the maintenance costs are unbelievable. I do a lot of trackdays, and require the Clio to be quick around the corners. I know its very good, but Im not totally convinced it will be as good as the FRP, it has an LSD for starters.
Ill obviously have an extended test drive before I make the change, but chances are I could well be in a Trophy quite soon.
Couple of questions about it:
Has anyone fitted an LSD, where, and which one, would you recommend it?
Which exhaust system is best, Ive been thinking Supersprint?
Which replacement filter element would people go for? Does an induction kit provide any more power or response? As coming from the FRP, they actually reduce power.
Anyway, I think thats enough questions, (for the time being, anyway) so hi everyone!
David.
My current banger:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v153/David87/_DSC7330v2.jpg

[Edited by 182David on 7/20/2005 6:50:24 PM]

 

[Mike@Rentech]

Get a trophy, great cars and keep it standard as its a limited edition.

 

[thedoc]

yeah, keep it standard... even in standard form it should be a bit quicker & handle better than the FRP.. which looks nice in the piccy by the way.

 

[Rich]

Welcome to CS, a few off the Trophy guys on here have been out on track. It seems to have faired well.

It;s the ideal 182 choice for the trackdayer...

Get one!

 

[msa197]

Super sprint exhaust is very loud even the quite on ask laurance! Alot of people have prospeed but if you want quality go for H & S.

If youve got the money go for a IK, but IMO id go for a panel filter as they cost 1/5 the price and have a gain of about 5bhp, where as the IK has a 8 bhp gain!

LSD not sure about but I think they are available, try a search (if it works)

 

[182David]

Excellent for the welcome, thanks guys.
Im not too worried about modding (not in a Barry Boy way lol, no Lexus lights around these parts!) a limited car, its never going to be a genuine classic, so I see no harm in it. The FRP was also limited to 500 units.
Im not sure weather to go Trophy or hold out for the amusingly named ClioRS?
I fear the Trophys prices will be abused by the RS, and the RS looks better IMO.

 

[Chili Red]

Hi David and welcome to Cliosport!

Sounds like youre the type of person whod love a Trophy - Im sure the people whove had them on track will confirm how great they are (and they look fantastic).

The new Clio RS wont be out for another year, so Id say go for the Trophy!

 

[Lee]

Welcome to Cliosport.

Im really pleased with mine. Took it to Oulton Park last week and loved every minute of it. I did a fair few track days in my previous 182 and found the Trophy to be even better still. Theres a video in the Media section of someone following me.

As MB says, the new RenaultSport Clio wont be out until roughly September of next year. Plus the Trophy is a little more hardcore than a mainstream model. I dont expect the new one to be quite has hard riding or aggressive. But Im sure it will handle incredibly and be fun to drive.

 

[182_blue]

hi david from essex , get a trophy, you wont regret it

 

[aaronc]

Hi 182David, welcome to the club.

If your a fan of the FRP, you will love the Trophy. Am i right in saying the FRP uses Sachs dampers?

The Trophy will be alot quicker round a lap than the FRP, especially in a straight line with the power to weight ratio obviously being alot more in the clio.

Theres no denying it the FRP is a great car and handles like no other road car i know of, but the trophy will be faster overall and would be a wise choice.

I wouldnt bother waiting for the New RS as as usual it will be designed and built for the average driver whereas the Trophy has been designed with a real track theme with its specialist dampers and external reseviours. Being in it this week at brands it is smoother through the corners than its RS clio predecessors but not neccessarily faster overall round a lap but certainly not slower .

I wouldnt bother with a lsd, and yes the most popular exhaust for performance is Supersprint. I use a Viper with front bumper air feed on my 172cup and it sounds great and gives probably 2-3bhp if that.

Its quite strange, a mate of mine who had a FRP was raving to me this week about how good the Trophy was and that he would seriously consider one due to the similar suspension setup as the FRP.

 

[paul g]

i would love a racing puma. that will be more of a collectors car than a clio

 

[182David]

Cool, excellent.
Aaron, the FRP uses a similar set-up to the Trophy, although the made by Eibach. The ride is much firmer than the Trophy, meaning over bumps the Clio is miles faster. Bumps really upset the Puma.
It will definitely be more collectable than the Clio, but to be honest I dont really care when having it around a track lol!
Thinking about it financially I think Ill leave the Trophys to depreciate a little first, will probably look at getting a low-mileage one in March time.