172 Ph2
As a few of you know I recently bought a 172 phase two and have set about doing a few 'upgrades' to it. The first two things were the suspension and exhaust system. A few PPl wanted me to do a little review of these and I was planning on posting a few vid clips but the car is covered in 4 inches of snow at the moment! Anyway, here's a few pics and comments for the time being, I'll pop some sound clips up later
!
K-Tec stealth mk2 with sports cat:
When I got the car off of Danny the cat had completely broken and the back-box was a bit of a nasty twin 3" job anyway so I went on the look-out for a new complete system. Having looked at a few options I decided that the only tail-pipe I liked on the clio was the 182 style twin exit style and although k-tec do one of these for the 172, I didn't really think it was 'right' to try and make my 172 look like a 182!
After having a chat with the guys at k-tec my mind was made up and I went for a mk2 steath system. The new system is increased diameter (now 2.5") and has been developed to be quiet at cruising speed but 'rorty' when you put you foot down. The sports cat looked a nice piece of kit and was only £300 so worked out cheaper than a new cat from Renault.
When the system arrived I was pleased to see that there was a lot of adjustablilty built In and all of the hangers were able to be moved, the build quality was fantasitc too. I dropped it off at my local garage and they popped it on for me, commenting that is was 'a joy to fit'. Brilliant!
First imressions were great. The exhaust sounded awsome under full boot and gave the car a real 'race-car' like sound, even better than any group 'n' exhausts I've had on previous cars. It didn't look chavvy either with the zorst tucked under the bumper! I later drove over to try my Dad's house to try his standard 172. The gains from the zorst/cat were very apparent! There was noticably more pull from low-down and my car felt noticably more lively and responsive, It made a way way better sound too
After establishing that there was a difference in performance and noise, I was interested in what it would be like on the motorway. I'm pleased to report that it's perfectly liveable and not very intrusive at all when cruising at 80ish, mind you I used to do that trip in an S1 Elise
The only downside so far is the rattle. I took the car back to the garage who fitted it yesterday and they thought I would be a straight-forward 'tweak'. It turns out that the middle box is rattling internally! I rang K-tec and this is the 2nd one they've had do this and they've discovered what the problem is. The two skins on the centre box are a bit too close together and when the exhaust get hot the catch on each other. They are addressed this and the new batch with not suffer this problem. To give them credit they were very helpful and have send me a new centre box out under warrenty! We'll see if this one does the same!!
!K-Tec stealth mk2 with sports cat:
When I got the car off of Danny the cat had completely broken and the back-box was a bit of a nasty twin 3" job anyway so I went on the look-out for a new complete system. Having looked at a few options I decided that the only tail-pipe I liked on the clio was the 182 style twin exit style and although k-tec do one of these for the 172, I didn't really think it was 'right' to try and make my 172 look like a 182!
After having a chat with the guys at k-tec my mind was made up and I went for a mk2 steath system. The new system is increased diameter (now 2.5") and has been developed to be quiet at cruising speed but 'rorty' when you put you foot down. The sports cat looked a nice piece of kit and was only £300 so worked out cheaper than a new cat from Renault.
When the system arrived I was pleased to see that there was a lot of adjustablilty built In and all of the hangers were able to be moved, the build quality was fantasitc too. I dropped it off at my local garage and they popped it on for me, commenting that is was 'a joy to fit'. Brilliant!
First imressions were great. The exhaust sounded awsome under full boot and gave the car a real 'race-car' like sound, even better than any group 'n' exhausts I've had on previous cars. It didn't look chavvy either with the zorst tucked under the bumper! I later drove over to try my Dad's house to try his standard 172. The gains from the zorst/cat were very apparent! There was noticably more pull from low-down and my car felt noticably more lively and responsive, It made a way way better sound too
After establishing that there was a difference in performance and noise, I was interested in what it would be like on the motorway. I'm pleased to report that it's perfectly liveable and not very intrusive at all when cruising at 80ish, mind you I used to do that trip in an S1 Elise
The only downside so far is the rattle. I took the car back to the garage who fitted it yesterday and they thought I would be a straight-forward 'tweak'. It turns out that the middle box is rattling internally! I rang K-tec and this is the 2nd one they've had do this and they've discovered what the problem is. The two skins on the centre box are a bit too close together and when the exhaust get hot the catch on each other. They are addressed this and the new batch with not suffer this problem. To give them credit they were very helpful and have send me a new centre box out under warrenty! We'll see if this one does the same!!
