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Retired the PH1 Workhorse



  LY 220 Trophy+IB PH1
After owning a PH1 172 for nearly 4 years and covering many miles, the old dog has finally been retired after just ticking over 120,000 miles.
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I wanted something "fast" and special and after making a list of possible contenders, it came down to the Fiesta ST and the Trophy. For me the ST just didn't have the special factor and there's a million about, the MK4 RS is selling poorly over here from what I've read so...

Enter 220 trophy.
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In LY with BOSE, Akrapovic exhaust and RS Monitor options.

First order of business was paint correction and protection. Finished in Gtechniq Crystal Serum, Gtechniq EXO and G1 on the glass.
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I've been driving the PH1 and the Trophy back to back for 3 or so days now.
(It's worth mentioning I rebuilt the PH1 from the ground up 2 years ago to an OEM+ spec)

Steering:
Much quicker in the 220 trophy, probably from the rack and the smaller wheel. Much welcomed change, but took some getting used to coming from the PH1. Feels a little more assisted but all in I can't say I noticed much loss in feeling when driving in sport mode (heavier compared to normal), perhaps it would be more obvious on a track.

Suspension:
The suspension on the trophy is firm, I was surprised at just how firm. But over bumps it's far more composed and less crashy, I've found bumps that would have jarred my spine in the ph1 is soaked up rather nicely by the trophy.
I've not pushed the trophy, but I've came into corners on the brakes and I can well imagine on a track, the thing will have you in the kitty litter facing the wrong way. I got the impression of it being nervous, but in FWD land - nervous is fast.

Brakes:
The setup I have on the PH1 is very bitey, typically when I drive another car I always struggle with the brakes as they just don't bite like I'm used to. Initially I did notice the brakes reduced bite going from one car to the other, however it's not far off. And that's comparing OEM pads to a fast road pad (m1144's). I would have liked brembo's but purely for aesthetics reasons, the performance of the brakes is good.

Power:
I can honestly say the PH1 feels quicker, that said I've not been pushing the trophy hard as it needs 600 to run in and 1800 before all of the power is available (according to the book) so this will more then likely change over time.
As for the delivery, the trophy's delivery isn't as exciting as the ph1, it's much easier to overtake from low RPM but it just doesn't egg you on like the F4R does. Again this may be subject to change once the cars run in.

Update: After run in It's apparent the 220 is quicker then the ph1, especially how it carries speed through into the higher gears. I still stand by my comment of the F4R feeling more exciting, with torque boosting in higher gears the acceleration feels quite linear.
Test of the Launch Control, I've had it read as low as 6s but not sure how accurate this monitor is.
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Gearbox:
I'll start by saying I don't believe the gearboxes in these cars should be compared, it's just two different ways to skin a cat. I love the gearbox in the trophy, I equally love having a gearstick.
I imagine the manual would be better on track, but the EDC box in sport manual not far behind. On the reverse for a daily commute, the EDC is leagues ahead. I thought the lack of click in the paddle would annoy me, it hasn't.

Running costs:
Mpg is lower then my ph1 (32 vs 29 - measured at the pump), but considering the car is heavier and has more power, it's not bad. Tax is £140 if you get one registered after April, £130 before. I found my insurance to be £100 more a year (£340 to £445 - I'm 27 with haystings direct)
No timing belt, clutches should last the life of the car. Tyres are expensive though compared to the PH1.

Interior:
The interior of the Trophy is a nice place to be, seats are a particular highlight, they hug in all the right places. Cabin noise is low from the outside and the tyres. The only thing that was a little disappointing is the audio controls on the column. I'm fairly sure it's the same item they fitted to models 10 years ago. There's probably not much you can do with audio controls, but it would have been nice to see something a little different. The front of the roof is rather low if you creep forward out the seat, but this is honestly picking faults.

Experience:
Much like looks, this is probably a personal preference thing. For me the PH1 is capable and wants to go fast everywhere all of the time. The trophy is a bit more of a split personality, stick it in drive and the car is quiet, easy to drive and rather reserved (yellow paint aside)
Engage sport and you get a higher idle, more exhaust (the Akra pops a lot!) heavier steering, more aggressive pedal response and a broader rev range on shifts.
One thing I've noticed where the trophy clearly excels over the PH1 is putting it's power to the ground while cornering, it's very difficult to get the trophy to spin a wheel with it planted - I suspect this is down to the E-Diff.

Issues:
It's not all been perfect, I've had a few teething issues with the trophy. Issues thus far include:
1. Low pitch static constantly coming through the front left tweeter and speaker
2. The touch screen on the nav unit stopped responding after day 3, unit still functions fully - just the touch aspect has stopped rendering the device almost useless
3. Discovered damage to rear alloy, done before I picked the car up (I should have scrutineered the car more before leaving with it)
Hoping to get these sorted at the weekend.

Getting a test drive was arduous, and to any prospective buyers - please persevere with the dealerships to get a test drive.
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Cheers
Paul
 
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The Chubby Pirate

ClioSport Club Member
  Golf R
Looks great - the wheels on the Trophy i just can't come to terms with, awkward looking things.

That aside, i'd have one. Its the car the 200 EDC should have been to begin with.
 
  LY 220 Trophy+IB PH1
Looks great - the wheels on the Trophy i just can't come to terms with, awkward looking things.

That aside, i'd have one. Its the car the 200 EDC should have been to begin with.

The alloys are rather weird, agreed they do look a bit naff in photos - but in persons they work really well - especially when clean !
 
  V6 255, 172's, JCW,
Interesting write-up, thanks for sharing your comparisons of the 220 Trophy to the ph1 172. Most write-ups compare to the previous model, or two.. neither of which I've owned. So it's great to read it being compared to a car I'm far more familiar with.

Enjoy..!
 
  LY 220 Trophy+IB PH1
That ph1 though :hearteyes:

Great write up and comparison though. It was good to read.
Cheers :) I'll be keeping the old gal, I'm unsure what direction to go down though - had the idea of going down the track route but I'm not sure I have the heart to gut it out !
 

c4pob

ClioSport Club Member
  A terrible one
Looks very nice and like the write up. Good choice of colour!

If you're having a wheel repaired why not get all of them done in a slightly lighter colour? In every photo I've seen of the 200T all you can see is a black hole where the wheels are. They are so dark!
 

gambit

ClioSport Club Member
  182 Trophy
Great choice ! Shave to say a remap is a must in these cars. The factory set them very safe and almost lazy. After a remap the car comes alive even more so and feels very responsive, torque everywhere.
 
  Rs200t lux
Disconnect and reconnect your battery and you may find your touch screen starts working again
And don't go for the Superchips remap it's rubbish
 
  LY 220 Trophy+IB PH1
Disconnect and reconnect your battery and you may find your touch screen starts working again
And don't go for the Superchips remap it's rubbish
Weirdly the touchscreen has sorted itself out and is working again, it's still doing silly things mind like occasiaonally resetting itself and reloading the maps SD. It's also threw the Audio around the speakers. I think it needs a firmware update !
 
  LY 220 Trophy+IB PH1
Now the car is over the 600 mile run in I thought I would try the launch control, fair bit of wheel spin and fighting the wheel but an impressive time. I'd imagine with a wider wheel, the time would come down some.

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Also gave the car a clean for the first time to see how the Gtechniq EXO responds. I like !
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Darren S

ClioSport Club Member
Great write up - nice and up front opinions about both cars.

The one thing that I can't now un-see regarding the Mk4's is the front appearance. It must be driven by aerodynamics, but it looks like the result of a very bad face-lift. If the car was human, it would look about 5 seconds after this...

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I honestly don't know if I could look beyond that if I had one. I'd rather sacrifice a few MPGs for the sake of lesser wind-tunnel performance and have a more rounded, perhaps slightly flatter nose. Just IMO though.
 
  LY 220 Trophy+IB PH1
It's been about a month now, a little update on how things are going. Car is a smidge under 2000 miles and is fully run in.
I've been tracking my fuel usage and it's certainly not as frugal as the 172.
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Still having issues with the speaker static and the Nav unit occasiaonally rebooting itself, also found another owner with the same issue. Cars booked in to be checked over on the 12th.
No mods done yet other then fitting proper RS mats, some pressed plates and fitting a small yellow CS sticker to the rear window.
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Engine and box are almost out of the PH1, still undecided on what diff to go for when I get the box rebuilt.
 
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Coops Mk1

ClioSport Club Member
  Lots of Scrap...
i'd go some form of ATB diff, M factory or Quaife, fit and forget type for sure. Avoid Gripper if its a primarily road car as they are harsh and high maintenance
 
  LY 220 Trophy+IB PH1
Did you buy the mats with the red piping on the edges?
Yeah the red with the RS badge, pretty steep for what they are !
i'd go some form of ATB diff, M factory or Quaife, fit and forget type for sure. Avoid Gripper if its a primarily road car as they are harsh and high maintenance
Cheers for the diff recommendations, it's going to be purely a track car but I don't want to have to keep pulling it out and rebuilding it :)
 

Ricardos

ClioSport Club Member
  LY 200 EDC
Yeah the red with the RS badge, pretty steep for what they are !

Cheers for the diff recommendations, it's going to be purely a track car but I don't want to have to keep pulling it out and rebuilding it :smile:
Tell me about it! Then found out days after they do the mats without the red!
 
  LY 220 Trophy+IB PH1
Had the car into the garage to have the speaker issue looked at, issue has not been fixed as it's a "natural phenomenon" with the Rlink unit... something to check for any prospective buyers, it seems to be the ones with the BOSE - an audiable flickering static from the speakers down the left side of the car.

Took delivery of the new alloy aswell, felt light for a 18" - 11kg ! An OZ F1 is around 9kg.
Part number: 40 30 016 30R
 
  B9 Audi A4 Sport
Love both of these cars. It's a nice 2 car set-up actually. It's pretty mental how frugal the 172's can be. To think that a big 2.0 N/A petrol engine fitted in such a small, light car can be so good on fuel, especially in comparison to a modern down-sized 1.6 turbo engine. I presume it's the weight and the gearbox that drops it down a bit?
 
  LY 220 Trophy+IB PH1
Love both of these cars. It's a nice 2 car set-up actually. It's pretty mental how frugal the 172's can be. To think that a big 2.0 N/A petrol engine fitted in such a small, light car can be so good on fuel, especially in comparison to a modern down-sized 1.6 turbo engine. I presume it's the weight and the gearbox that drops it down a bit?
The 172's are exceptionally good on fuel for what they are, 350 miles to a tank wasn't uncommon for my ph1.
I'm looking forward to finishing up the PH1 over the summer and getting it back on the road :smiley:
 

rs 1an

South East - Essex
ClioSport Area Rep
  172
IMG_1213.JPG
Hi Mantis change your car set on the track monitor in sport mode, push settings, car setup, change your steering from n to s and throttle to extreme. The screen freeze can be sorted by disconnecting your battery and reconnecting. If your tyre low pressure warning comes on don't inflate to any more than 32 they don't like it.
 
  LY 220 Trophy+IB PH1
View attachment 191326 Hi Mantis change your car set on the track monitor in sport mode, push settings, car setup, change your steering from n to s and throttle to extreme. The screen freeze can be sorted by disconnecting your battery and reconnecting. If your tyre low pressure warning comes on don't inflate to any more than 32 they don't like it.

Yeah I've already set it for sport on the throttle, thought extreme was a bit too bitey :) the screen sorted itself out the day after weirdly and it's not done it since, it does ocasiaonlly reload the maps still though when skipping tracks on my phone.
Tyre pressures was an odd one, I checked mine and they were all set to 45 from the factory ! The pressures coupled with the steering speed was like riding a knife edge when I first got it.
 
  LY 220 Trophy+IB PH1
Nice writeup. Shame to see it's still a Renault electrically 😞
Yeah a smidge annoying about the speakers, it seems to be only the BOSE items affected mind, but from early investigations it's down to the Rlink headunit. Apparently France are investigating it as it's affecting other models aswell.

Headunit aside, all of the other electrics are sound... until the warranty runs out I suspect ha
 

rs 1an

South East - Essex
ClioSport Area Rep
  172
IMG_1160.JPG
Yeah I've already set it for sport on the throttle, thought extreme was a bit too bitey :smile: the screen sorted itself out the day after weirdly and it's not done it since, it does ocasiaonlly reload the maps still though when skipping tracks on my phone.
Tyre pressures was an odd one, I checked mine and they were all set to 45 from the factory ! The pressures coupled with the steering speed was like riding a knife edge when I first got it.
Haven't had a problem with the Bose and Suzanne has it on very boom boom :) if you get a chance grab a ride with Mr Townsend at a Renaultsport trackday it's an eye opener.
 
  LY 220 Trophy+IB PH1
Haven't had a problem with the Bose and Suzanne has it on very boom boom :smile: if you get a chance grab a ride with Mr Townsend at a Renaultsport trackday it's an eye opener.
Yeah it's a bit of a weird one and something I noticed when I collected the car, it's been into the garage twice and both times it's not been fixed. Eventually contacted Renault customer services who informed me it's a known issue. Basically flickering static down the whole left channel of the car, I've found a few other owners with the same issue after posting a video on the official RS forums.


I do fancy getting a RS track day booked, rather drive one of their cars then mine on the track ha
 
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The 172's are exceptionally good on fuel for what they are, 350 miles to a tank wasn't uncommon for my ph1.
I'm looking forward to finishing up the PH1 over the summer and getting it back on the road :smiley:
Hey what are the reasons for poor fuel consumption? My 172 does since I bought it doesn't do as good as what you state. Interested in knowing what is my problem.
Could it be my cat converter?

Sent from my ONE A2005 using Tapatalk
 
  LY 220 Trophy+IB PH1
Hey what are the reasons for poor fuel consumption? My 172 does since I bought it doesn't do as good as what you state. Interested in knowing what is my problem.
Could it be my cat converter?

Sent from my ONE A2005 using Tapatalk
Hmm could be any number of things, I would say I've fully rebuilt mine so it has all new injectors and oxygen sensors. If servicing etc is all fine, those are the places id start. I noticed a the injectors smoothed the engine and idle, the oxygen sensor noticeably improved my mileage per tank.
I've also got the cup setup so the aircon is removed, less inertia on the belts but also the inability to use the aircon which in itself uses less fuel.
 
Hmm could be any number of things, I would say I've fully rebuilt mine so it has all new injectors and oxygen sensors. If servicing etc is all fine, those are the places id start. I noticed a the injectors smoothed the engine and idle, the oxygen sensor noticeably improved my mileage per tank.
I've also got the cup setup so the aircon is removed, less inertia on the belts but also the inability to use the aircon which in itself uses less fuel.
Thanks

Sent from my ONE A2005 using Tapatalk
 
  LY 220 Trophy+IB PH1
Cars just ticked over 10,000 miles and in for its first service, dealership advised after I put it in there’s a recall on the Mk4 clio’s - apparently the rear seats are launching luggage out the boot in the event of a crash. I didn’t get a recall letter so it’s worth checking your VIN online to see if you need this done.

Criteria : (RENAULT CLIO IV) for the date range 01/Jan/1992 to 01/Jan/2018
Launch Date 29/01/2018
Recalls Number R/2018/024
Make RENAULT
Model(s) Clio IV
Concern central hinge in rear seats may fail under load
VIN Start VF15R010K56666440
VIN End VF15RKJ0A58207837
Build Start 09/05/2012
Build End 11/07/2017
 
  LY 220 Trophy+IB PH1
12,000 mile update, just so happened to check the front tyres today and glad I did. I’d seen the reports of premature tyre failure on the Supersports but never thought to check as my service was only 2000 miles ago and was given the all clear.
The very insides are down to strings !
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The actual tyre has 5mm across the tread even, it seems to be affecting a few of the 17 plate cars.
Worth checking if you have a trophy with the supersports as it’s not something that stands out until you have full lock on.
 


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