New Trophy!

[MadUsa1]

Picked up my new car yesterday - A LHD trophy (number 50 of the 50 specially made for the swiss market ).

It has a roll cage, coilies (got the oe sachs dampers with it too :approve and buckets fitted and has seen a season of hillclimbs and slaloms. All seems well so far though, and despite the risk, I figured I'd trade in my 182 ff for it (it has 20k less miles on it, and will cost me an extra grand or so, far cheaper than installing all the bits myself.)

Seems to be in good health - feels a fair bit quicker than my 182 ff, keener to rev and more responsive to the throttle. With the cage and seats it's weighed out at 1080kg wet, so quite a chunk lighter...

Here are a couple of photos from the advert (seats are now both OMP). Cage is by Wiechers of Germany, and like the Safety Devices cage, allows the rear seats to be used be removing the rear cross brace. Unlike the SD cage, you don't lose the glove compartment. It's the best 6 point I've seen for the clio - the front hoop / A-pillars and door-beams are all one piece, and connect to the main hoop via burly extension tubes. The thing fits perfectly around the interior and it's bolt-in only (no need to weld any mounting plates in). Costs about €600.

Now, questions:

The previous owner disabled the ABS for track use - does anyone know what I need to do to re-install it? The ESP and cruise control don't work at the moment, I guess that's also because of the ABS right?

Also, the airbag light is on, any ideas why that might be and how to fix it?

 

[W17GLE]

The airbag light i because you have the bucket seats fitted and the abs should just be a fuse that needs reffiting unless the whole system has been ditched. traction control and cruise should work when the abs is back up and running.

The car looks great fun

 

[MadUsa1]

cheers for the comments - but the trophy comes with recaros as standard so doesn't have side airbags anyway so I don't think that would cause the airbag light to come on.

I think the guy who sold it to me reckoned I'd need to change the rear pads to get the abs back, is that possible? (I couldn't quite understand him since he only spoke french - should've bloody paid attention at GCSE!)

It's on winter tyres at the moment so can't tell what the handling's like, but I have a feeling it's gonna be good!

 

[Rudi]

Nice mate

 

[Ian_182]

Nice choice

 

[Jay_A]

Welcome to the Trophy club

What number did you get?

 

[Englebert]

Read the first line?

Looks great!

 

[Jay_A]

Read the first line?

Looks great!

have just slapped myself. Lovely mate.

Enjoy it!

 

[ForceIndia]

The ABS WON'T be due to fuse removal, that also changes the brake bias to 50/50 IIRC. There's a separate way of disabling the ABS, PM Tom as he's done it. Will need to reverse the process. That'll sort the cruise as well.

 

[ForceIndia]

Just noticed the fabric trendlines, nice!

 

[Tullyvernon]

Nice machine!

 

[MadUsa1]

cheers for the comments guys. just got an email from the previous owner - he confirmed that I need to change the rear discs to get the abs back. Apparently on the inside of the disc is a small trigger on the inside that activates the ABS sensor - does that make sense?

 

[1PBY]

WANT WANT WANT!!!That looks amazin. LEGEND!!

 

[WILLIE]

Very nice. Feeling an urge of jealousy

 

[Jay_A]

cheers for the comments guys. just got an email from the previous owner - he confirmed that I need to change the rear discs to get the abs back. Apparently on the inside of the disc is a small trigger on the inside that activates the ABS sensor - does that make sense?

yes, the discs will have an ABS ring.

http://www.k-tecracing.com/show_product.asp?id=2126

 

[Fletcher]

Just noticed the fabric trendlines, nice!

I've never seen them before.


Nice looking trophy, the only thing i'd change is the steering wheel.

 

[MadUsa1]

Glad you all approve :approve: must say it looks better now with the two OMP's up front - but does need a clean already, damn salty Swiss roads.

Warren - the Swiss market Trophies came with cloth trendlines (not as nice at the UK Alcantara jobbies tbh). Didn't get those with it though as the previous owner had already sold them on. You'll notice the Swiss Trophies got the cup spoiler too, rather than the V6 item.

Anyone know the part number for the little grommits that go in the place of the handle above the driver's door? I need a few to cover sun visors etc which came out to make way for the cage...

 

[C.J]

Looks lush! Very nice car.

 

[Kula197]

That looks awesome!!! Look after it!

 

[Jaws]

Strange that it doesn't have a V6 rear spoiler too.

Lovely car though.

 

[scott1205]

Strange that it doesn't have a V6 rear spoiler too.

Lovely car though.

thats wot i was thinking it got a cup spoiler

 

[Paul.]

i want

 

[MadUsa1]

yeah, there are some small differences to the UK spec Trophies and the cup spoiler is one of them - www.cliotrophy.ch alot of the guys here switch them out for the V6 item - not sure if I'll bother though.

Some of the plastics in the cabin are a little different to the 182ff as well - different shade of silver on the dash strips and different materials on the gearknob. Not sure if these are random renault parts bin related, or if it's a case of different spec for the Trophy parts.

 

[Si]

love this! great buy mate.

cup spoiler looks better imo.

 

[1PBY]

love this! great buy mate.

cup spoiler looks better imo.

boooooooooo. Love the V6 spoiler

 

[MadUsa1]

yeah, I like the V6 spoiler too - not sure it'd be worth the cash though, how much are they?

Any trophy owners wanna swap?

 

[Leeshez]

Looking real good .

 

[BSC 182]

I want .

 

[sean_d]

very nice trophy mate

 

[Peperami]

The airbag light is likely caused by a resistor under the seats not being in place. Will trick the system into thinking airbags are fitted and switch it off (even if you have cup seats/ recaro's as standard)

Are there loose wires under your seats?

Car looks ace mate

 

[GarethM]

very nice

 

[Pete80]

Nice car mate..........

Don't suppose you want to sell me the Sachs dampers

 

[MadUsa1]

The airbag light is likely caused by a resistor under the seats not being in place. Will trick the system into thinking airbags are fitted and switch it off (even if you have cup seats/ recaro's as standard)

Are there loose wires under your seats?

Car looks ace mate

thanks for the advice - I'll take a look under the seats. What kind of resistor do I need and what exactly do I need to do with it??

 

[Brett]

Thats an awsome car tbh. I thought the Swiss hated performance cars?

 

[MadUsa1]

nah, complete myth fortunately for me - the Swiss are pretty into their motors and they have the money to pay for them.

They have some strange rules regarding motorsport though; you can only race against a clock, not against another car (they had some nasty accidents in the 50's and 60's).

Question on the airbag light issue - which of the connectors under the seat do I need to play with, the grey one or the black one? I've noticed that my seatbelt warning beaper doesn't work, could that be connected to this issue?

 

[clio_luke]

car looks great mate!

 

[MadUsa1]

right, had a look under the seats - airbag resistors are indeed missing.

I'll pick some up after work and stuff them in the black connector in the two wires other than the black one, right?

Question: do I need to disconnect the battery before I stuff these resistors in or is that not required? If I do need to unplug the battery, what's the protocol for it?

 

[MadUsa1]

New Trophy! - First REAL Drive

Managed to get off work early last night and take the long route home via some awesome mountain roads for my first real drive of the Trophy.

I'm very impressed with the chassis to be honest - I had feared the KW's would be too stiff but actually they add alot of composure. When you hit a bump or jump in the 182, there's a slight delay before it gathers itself up again, but with the coilovers the tyres are able to bite straight back into the tarmac.

It corners much flatter than my cupped 182 FF, which appears to increase maximum cornering G, and you don't get the same weight transfer when you lift off. While this robs you of a little mid-corner adjustability, it also makes for more stable and predictable handling.

The seats make an enormous difference to the feel of the car, there's no more hanging on to the steering wheel in tight bends and no more bracing yourself into position with your legs. It took a few turns to realise, but you can actually relax completely in the seat, confident that you'll be held firmly in place whatever the road throws up at you... It's a massively more stable platform from which to control the car.

Not having ABS is fun and the Clios are stable and predictable enough for a bit of lock-up not to feel scary (not so an elise for example!) I'm having second thoughts about re-instating the ABS now...

Oh, it's pretty damn quick too :approve:

 

[PeteCup]

Nice looking motor. LHD no good for overtaking though

 

[kevo66]

Mint mate!! I love these!