Stanced TT Roadster to... not as exciting MK3 Dynamique S 1.6 VVT - Tasteful Project

[NathanSimpson]

Hi guys, I'm new to this forum.

I thought I'd skip the newbie section as to be honest, no one really reads it and let's face it, we're all nosy b*****ds who want to see what everyone else is doing with their projects :rasp: , so let's get started!

What I've got:

I've made a sensible decision to sell my somewhat adored 1.8 T Quattro TT Roadster (I'll share some pictures later down this post for those interested.) and move to something more economical, comfortable, slightly newer and just generally fresher. I liked the look of the Clio compared to all rivals within price and I know the 197's are pretty awesome too.
So, I settled for a 1.6 VVT Dyanmique S, not too slow but not so thirsty either- I've had fun with the TT so I'm not bothered about driving hard or nailing it - I've found a happy medium - Brilliant colour too and the car is mint

What I'm aiming to do:

- Stance/Suspension -
I like to have a car sitting right and historically my TT was on coil-overs running negative offset (ET-5 wide rear), 18x8.5, cambered etc etc.
I don't want to buy £600 coil-overs, or dirt cheap bone shakers either so I'll be going against my grain and putting this on H&R 45mm springs with stock shocks.
This time round I'm not bothered about the car being really low, more stock OEM/197 looking will do me.

This is the kind of stance/ride height i'm looking for (I hope the member doesn't mind)

-Wheels-
As you can see the car is a really nice graphite grey colour so I think I'm going to strike a nice contrast with some Black multi-spoke wheels, similar to the Turini's, or Supperleggera's (which i prefer as they have less spokes). I would have silver...but I've aaalways had silver wheels! 17" with some 205's/215's spaced about 30mm rear, 20 front. I'm all over offset so rubbing won't be a problem here.

Brakes - Calipers will get a spruce up with a lick of paint.
Lights - Really missing my Xenons so I'll put some HID's on, nothing too OTT/Blue either - any links to these on eBay would be appreciated, thanks.

-Interior -

• Steering wheel - Shocking quality, I question if it's actually even real leather! Ideally looking to re-trim or buya new one 1- Recommendations?
• Metal pedals
• Gloss black some interior panel inserts similar to BMW
• Seat lower - This has to be THE most disappointing thing about the Clio - The seat position is beyond awful, at it's lowest its SO high its a joke!! I know it's only 10mm but still, it has to be done. If there's any way to over come this further I'd love to know about it...

That's all I can think of for now, not looking to throw loads of money at it, just smarten things up and get them how they should of been from the factory.


Photo's of my TT (for sale now - Can't believe I'm selling it)

205/40/18 on 18x8.5 BBS LM's, Coil overs, 40mm spacers rear ET -5, 25mm spacers front ET 10

Winter mode:

Cheers for looking, all comments welcome.

 

[Stefan.]

Re: Stanced TT Roadster to... not as exciting MK3 Dynamique S 1.6 VVT - Tasteful Pro

tt is stunning!! if that was a coupe that would look even better

 

[Heez]

Re: Stanced TT Roadster to... not as exciting MK3 Dynamique S 1.6 VVT - Tasteful Pro

Plans sound good.

Moar pics off TT and the purple wheeled motor in the background of the first photae!

 

[alexr19]

Re: Stanced TT Roadster to... not as exciting MK3 Dynamique S 1.6 VVT - Tasteful Pro

Clio looks good! Sensible mods though boooo! That TT really is stunning. Shame you had to sell

 

[aucky]

I must admit, that TT looks fantastic IMO.


With all those mods planned on the Clio, did you weigh up the cost against a 197- they don't go for that much these days!

Welcome btw

 

[Sir_Dave]

Re: Stanced TT Roadster to... not as exciting MK3 Dynamique S 1.6 VVT - Tasteful Pro

You are mad to sell that TT.

 

[ekaJ]

Re: Stanced TT Roadster to... not as exciting MK3 Dynamique S 1.6 VVT - Tasteful Pro

f**k that, keep the TT

More pics of the cars on that drive too, look pretty cool.

The clio looks like its in good hands though.

 

[Eddie.]

Re: Stanced TT Roadster to... not as exciting MK3 Dynamique S 1.6 VVT - Tasteful Pro

That TT is literally amazing.

I actually think it works better as a soft top, suits the almost "poser" look they have.

10/10.

 

[Matt W]

Re: Stanced TT Roadster to... not as exciting MK3 Dynamique S 1.6 VVT - Tasteful Pro

Love that TT.

Why a 1.6 clio out of interest? They aren't the best on fuel iirc.

 

[Rob]

Re: Stanced TT Roadster to... not as exciting MK3 Dynamique S 1.6 VVT - Tasteful Pro

Weirdest change ever. Love that TT, really really awesome. I bet the Clio's worse on fuel too

I'd personally have gone for a 197 as it wouldn't have felt like such a step down!

Are you selling the summer wheels separate?

 

[ksykes23]

Re: Stanced TT Roadster to... not as exciting MK3 Dynamique S 1.6 VVT - Tasteful Pro

Euro household liking the look of the decked civic? (cant see much of it).

Looking forward to seeing what you do to the clio

 

[Wick]

Re: Stanced TT Roadster to... not as exciting MK3 Dynamique S 1.6 VVT - Tasteful Pro

Can appreciate the TT but not a roadster or a baseball man myself.

Like the summer wheels and V6 style diffuser though.

 

[bmh.01]

Re: Stanced TT Roadster to... not as exciting MK3 Dynamique S 1.6 VVT - Tasteful Pro

You are nuts. You'll hate that clio, there are no redeeming features in a Non-RS clio once you are older than 17.

 

[ksykes23]

Re: Stanced TT Roadster to... not as exciting MK3 Dynamique S 1.6 VVT - Tasteful Pro

You are nuts. You'll hate that clio, there are no redeeming features in a Non-RS clio once you are older than 17.

Cheap insurance

 

[Scrooge]

Re: Stanced TT Roadster to... not as exciting MK3 Dynamique S 1.6 VVT - Tasteful Pro

That tt was awesome!!

 

[Nafoff]

Re: Stanced TT Roadster to... not as exciting MK3 Dynamique S 1.6 VVT - Tasteful Pro

that TT was pretty much fully built by G-werks down in Littlehampton wasn't it?
can remember seeing it up for sale,

 

[Lawro]

Re: Stanced TT Roadster to... not as exciting MK3 Dynamique S 1.6 VVT - Tasteful Pro

Yes, that TT is awesome!

Enjoy the clio though..

 

[TomGarvie]

Re: Stanced TT Roadster to... not as exciting MK3 Dynamique S 1.6 VVT - Tasteful Pro

Completely agree about the 'nice graphite grey colour'..guess i'm a bit biased though, mines a 06 1.4 version of yours, same dynamique S spec and colour

Will be watching this thread, hope to see some nice mods after the way you transformed your TT, looked awesome!

I'll put my project thread up soon, can't recommend my AP coilovers and Eibach 20mm spacers enough really, transforms the car, but i'm sure you'll like h+r's too

 

[NathanSimpson]

Re: Stanced TT Roadster to... not as exciting MK3 Dynamique S 1.6 VVT - Tasteful Pro

that TT was pretty much fully built by G-werks down in Littlehampton wasn't it?
can remember seeing it up for sale,

Hi guys, sorry for not replying back to very quickly

• Afraid not buddy, I bought this and just did the work on my garage, nothing major but I think it makes a nice impression and I suppose it also shows you can do a lot of things on a budget. No £1,000 set of coil-overs of £3,000 wheels on the TT, all done on budget with good research from forums like this one, just VAG obviously.

• The house is not mine - it was the private dealer's house - HUGE!

My reasons for changing from the TT to Clio
I'm looking to buy my first house this year so need to get my out-goings down. The Clio is cheaper on fuel / insurance / tax and also has half the mileage (63k) plus it's comfortable, just not fast - (But I've done "fast" with the TT)

• TT is still on the drive but up for sale in the next week or so

 

[NathanSimpson]

Re: Stanced TT Roadster to... not as exciting MK3 Dynamique S 1.6 VVT - Tasteful Pro

UPDATE: Wheels!

In my quest for wheels, whilst still keeping an eye on my tight budget (I'm not looking to spend £1,000's hence why I downgraded from the TT) I found my self on eBay looking high and low for something alright to put the Clio on.

So I've bought some HRS H-290's - 17x7 with some 215/40's ready to go.
The Wheels turned out to be in worse shape than I thought so I'll be booking them in for a full refurb very soon and I'm probably going to go gloss black as 1. I've had silver wheels on the TT and 2. I like the contrast with the graphite body colour.

Picture of the wheels

NEXT STEPS - Stance/Suspension/Lowering

Aside from having the wheels refurbished I'm really keen (and anal) about getting the car sitting right and reducing the arch gap as much as possible -Not necessarily slamming it to the floor - this is the difference a lot of guys miss.
Obviously I could have gone for coil-overs which is the easiest thing to do here but I'm on a realistic budget - Whilst I;m not spending £800 on decent coil-overs i also don't want cheap bone shakers either.

Stance/Arch gap
So, 45mm H&R springs seem to be the only choice I have asides from custom springs. Now 45mm is not that low, we all know that and I've done some research into it.
Let me explain.

The car below is on 18" wheels with 215/35 tyres, lowered 30mm rear and 45mm front - to achieve this arch gap (this is about as much as I can cope with before it looks jacked up) I'd need an over all diameter of 23.9"
My current set up on 17" with 215/40 tyres will be 23.8" so almost identical.

However, I looked into this a bit further, I realised the RS tyre spec is 215/45 so a radius of 24.6" - So if i use 215/45's instead then I can further reduce the arch gap to arrive at this - Just what I want!
(Slight variation as its a RS but its also only 30mm not 45mm, so should be very similar)

Similar pictures to what I'm looking to ahchieve (this is on 18's again) but I can get close to it with the 45mm springs and RS spec tyre sizes. My car will be spaced pretty wide with some interesting
offset too

That's all for now!

 

[ksykes23]

Re: Stanced TT Roadster to... not as exciting MK3 Dynamique S 1.6 VVT - Tasteful Pro

Good ideas mate, its good that your properly looking into what kind of set up want instead of purchasing cr@p coilys and slamming it.

 

[NathanSimpson]

Re: Stanced TT Roadster to... not as exciting MK3 Dynamique S 1.6 VVT - Tasteful Pro

Cheers buddy

 

[maybs 71]

Re: Stanced TT Roadster to... not as exciting MK3 Dynamique S 1.6 VVT - Tasteful Pro

My dad is the car dealer , i will try and upload some pics of the other cars on the drive for u to look at

 

[Heez]

Re: Stanced TT Roadster to... not as exciting MK3 Dynamique S 1.6 VVT - Tasteful Pro

I concur.

 

[ksykes23]

Re: Stanced TT Roadster to... not as exciting MK3 Dynamique S 1.6 VVT - Tasteful Pro

Hmmm im not sure that went to plan

 

[maybs 71]

Re: Stanced TT Roadster to... not as exciting MK3 Dynamique S 1.6 VVT - Tasteful Pro

Heres the link with all the pics on my Flickr page

http://www.flickr.com/photos/92783238@N03/

Enjoy

 

[ksykes23]

Re: Stanced TT Roadster to... not as exciting MK3 Dynamique S 1.6 VVT - Tasteful Pro

Ek is sick

 

[NathanSimpson]

How weird is that, the dealer's son is on the forum too lol - small world!

 

[NathanSimpson]

Daughter even

 

[welshname]

Re: Stanced TT Roadster to... not as exciting MK3 Dynamique S 1.6 VVT - Tasteful Pro

That TT is stunning. Done really well, not stupidly unuseable low. Just looks right.

Not too keen on the wheel choice for the clio though.

 

[NathanSimpson]

The TT could have gone an inch lower at the front but it was just too unusable, scraping on country roads.

As it is now its absolutely fine so makes me laugh when people lower their car 40mm and say omg speed bumps, can't go lower lol SAKE.

The wheels I have won't have the red bit.

 

[haimsey]

Re: Stanced TT Roadster to... not as exciting MK3 Dynamique S 1.6 VVT - Tasteful Pro

TT was nice, love the caddy!