Wheels for New Clio

[BenFromOz]

Hi,

Im proud to say Ive just bought a brand new black Clio Sport 172 Mk2(called a Clio RenaultSport here in Australia). Unlike Europe (where I understand they are very popular) they are new to Australia - in fact I have only ever seen one (!) on the road. I have to wait to April for it to arrive and am counting the days.

For some reason they are only fitting 15" wheels to the Australian model. In Europe it appears to come with 16" wheels so I wanted to know what type/size tyres the European model comes with. I want to upgrade to some 16" OZ or Momo wheels and appropriate tyres to bring it up to spec with the European model.

I have read some of the other posts re tires and wheels in this group but any other comments or suggestions would be helpful. Are people finding larger wheels help with handling or do they screw up the Renault setup?

Thanks.

Ben.

 

[GR7]

Hi and welcome BenfromOz! Bet you cant wait for your new black 172, it will look gorgeous, I have one also.

I am also thinking of changing my wheels and like the look of the OZ Super Ts or wheels like the pictures someone posted a short while ago on the general forum under "Clio V6 can be beaten" I wonder what exactly they are?

 

[AaronMihe]

Hi Ben..

Wait until April? You poor guy! I waited less than a week for my Monaco Blue.. (saw it in the Dealership on the Monday when I test drove their Silver one, picked the car up the Friday)

I wouldnt bee too keen on running 16s. With our rougher roads etc you will probably get to be great friends with your alloy wheel refinisher!

Where in Oz are you?

 

[BenR]

um, just saw pics of the aussie 15" wheels, and no offence mate, but they are skank......i really dont want to offend, but go out and get some new wheels..stick with 15" as it handles best....i have had both the mk1 172 and mk2 172 and the 15"s are better. then you can swap tyres! or get new ones and use the old ones when you leave it with the missus....so no kerbing nice wheels!! haha....sorry

 

[mrt67]

Agree on the 15s. I have a blue 172 here in Aus as well(took a few days but not my first colour choice, though now with the probs I wish I waited for an order and got a better quality car).
The car tends to dart around a fair bit on the crap roads here, especially out of the C. If the overal height change is negligible the profile of tyre for a 16 may make the ruts rougher. But the standard 15s are no plus point for the car, thats for sure. Might be me but I think they highlighted on other colours more so (especially the black) - they just dont look big enough.

 

[AaronMihe]

Yeah theyre not the best looking wheel!
But from what Ive looked at the spare (full size alloy) they are quite light which is a good thing.

increasing wheel weight is never a good thing.

 

[BenFromOz]

Thanks for your responses.

AaronMihe - Im in Sydney and my local dealer (Waitara) only had blue and red available. I wanted black so Ill have to wait (no other dealer in Sydney had one).

mrt67 - what problems are you having with the car? I agree that the 15" dont look big enough.

I agree that our local roads are crap so Ill probably stick with 15" - perhaps this is the reason Renault put them on here?

 

[Black Clio]

Hey Ben from OZ, If I was you I would use Simmons as they are Hi performance wheels made in Australia and only available in OZ!!! They have pretty trick wheels which a lot of Aussie race car (group A and N) drivers use. Also if you want to be a little different you can go for Speedline Corse (SL434) Wheels which makes a 15" wheel for the Clio Cup. (It comes in silver and black)

 

[AaronMihe]

*grins* I can tell you about the 13 items I had listed for looking at and/or fixing at the 1000km service if you like.

None of them detract from the cars ability merely the ability for the maker to screw them together properly.

Overall Id say my Chryslers (1997 and 2000) were better off the showroom floor in terms of quality.

 

[mrt67]

Ahh probs with water leaks, airbag lights, cold-start (so far !). Hard to wear when the car hasnt been driven properly yet (

 

[BenFromOz]

Now this concerns me.

Are you getting these problems sorted?

Its still not too late to get my deposit back.

Any other Australian owners want to comment?

 

[GR7]

mrt67 Where was/is your water leak? I am interested because I too am having problems with water ingress as Renault call it.

I have had my car for just a few weeks and have only done 370 miles so far, 100 of those were up and down from the dealer, which is where it is again at the moment as the last time it was in they couldnt fix the leak, although they thought they had!

 

[AaronMihe]

Dont be too concerned - my problems are mostly fixed.

The main irritation is the door trims and window channel being replaced becuase they werent screened out by quality control in the factory for the very poor fit/finish (and are on backorder).

The cold start stall in the morning is an annoyance, as is the rough idle - but thats getting better as the car gets more kms on it.

The loose front suspension that made the clunk noise within 300km of the car being picked up was fixed at the 1000km service.

The numbnuts that mounted the compliance plate didnt do that properly and it was snagging clothes etc as people got into the back seat.. Fixed by the dealer.

I did up a few loose screws around the interior (like where the CD changer mounts) and most of the interior big rattles have gone.

The paint is good, but has a few minor inclusions that Im not going to bother trying to get fixed.

Really too an extent this car is still better finsihed than the Citroen Xsara VTS or Pug 206 GTi we were comparing it too in terms of purchase so I cant complain. Add in the value of the package and Im happy.

 

[AaronMihe]

BTW, mrt67 - drop me an e-mail some time - I wouldnt mind finding out a bit more about your cold start hassles.

aaron@neon-owners.org

 

[AaronMihe]

BTW, mrt67 - drop me an e-mail some time - I wouldnt mind finding out a bit more about your cold start hassles.

aaron@neon-owners.org

 

[petrolhead]

I agree with the looks of the original 15s. They just look puny under those arches. Been thinking to upgrade mine to 16s too. What do you guys reckon?

 

[Black Clio]

For performance dont go more than 16s, otherwise for looks you can fit 17s with no problem

 

[PaulD]

Are all these aus clios in Sydney??
I have had no probs with water leakage, but the front headlight washer has spat itself somewhere, and the passenger seat rattles.
Anyone here changed oil by themselves before the 10K service? I have done 4K, and want to do it. Just dont trust that oil from 0K.
Cheers

 

[BenFromOz]

Im finally picking it up on Friday exactly 2 months after I ordered it.

Good things come to those who wait eh?

What should I look for on my pre-delivery inspection? Any clues?

Cheers.

Ben.

 

[Fred@BTM]

Check the paint work!!!!!!!!!! A lot of clios over here are having quite a few problems