wlliams or ph1 172

[maz172cup]

A friend of mine asked me to post this tread for him
He wants to buy a cheap renault hothatch and for his budget under £3k
he has noticed the willaims and the ph1 172 are about the same market value

what wud be the better car to buy, and why?

clio wiiliams or the ph1 172

getting some feedback from here will help him make his choice

 

[Poopensharten]

Ph1, Williams are old and you need deep pockets!

 

[Nick172Cup]

It would be a decent condition Williams 1 for me.

 

[Bluebeard]

If its a daily runner, i'd buy a ph2 172 or a mint ph1..

If its a toy for the weekend, a williams.

 

[W17GLE]

My mate had a williams and i had a ph1. My ph1 was quicker and felt a lot better built. The williams was a low mileage example (63k on the clocks) first the cambelt went when the car was booked in for it to be done the next day then when that had been fixed at the cost of £700 a week later the bottom end went. So going off that i wouldn't touch one no matter how good it looks. The car ended up being broke for parts and i'm sure he just scrapped the shell.

 

[DMS]

Best of both worlds? Williams with 172 engine and running gear?

 

[maz172cup]

My mate had a williams and i had a ph1. My ph1 was quicker and felt a lot better built. The williams was a low mileage example (63k on the clocks) first the cambelt went when the car was booked in for it to be done the next day then when that had been fixed at the cost of £700 a week later the bottom end went. So going off that i wouldn't touch one no matter how good it looks. The car ended up being broke for parts and i'm sure he just scrapped the shell.

thats really putting off

 

[W17GLE]

Best of both worlds? Williams with 172 engine and running gear?

This is true. but works out expensive as you need at least a grands worth of parts on top of the purchase price of the williams.

 

[ForceIndia]

Williams is the better drive, but they can cost a fortune to run with parts etc.

 

[cliosportcraig]

Best of both worlds? Williams with 172 engine and running gear?

+

+

=:evil:

 

[W17GLE]

ha ha thats going to be fun

 

[maz172cup]

whats going on there?

 

[ForceIndia]

whats going on there?

Putting some aggressive cams in his pc iirc.

 

[Daz.]

as much as my heart disagree's get a ph1 172 - by far the best daily prospect - a cheap willy is cheap for a reason, you can get it seems some ace ph1 172's for average willy money..

 

[Alex_X93]

This is true. but works out expensive as you need at least a grands worth of parts on top of the purchase price of the williams.

This statment true comman for ph1's also, but imo as said a williams bit more unreliable due to age.

 

[EngineerD]

Williams all the way - the better looks are worth the less comfort as far and they are not really less reliable - for the money he is planning to spend he can get a good'un.

 

[Jamie]

Nothing wrong with Williams reliability. I know loads more that haven't had problems then have. Seems to be a bit of a scape goat on here tbh.

I think the problem with Williams' are the rust. They go too easily and if you want a mint one it costs alot for the arches to be cut and welded in and painted.

My ph2 172 did feel alot more solid that my Williams' though and did inspire confidence. It wasn't as good a drivers car (172) but it was decent.

I think, in this position, I'd actually go for the 172.

 

[cliosportcraig]

Putting some aggressive cams in his pc iirc.

LOL

Who need more RAM when you can have Catcam 421's

 

[Scrooge]

A black ph1 172

 

[2 live]

no competion really. williams all the way. comfier, generally quicker, and loads more fun

 

[Matt@Stealthsport]

no competion really. williams all the way. comfier, generally quicker, and loads more fun

Pity they all rust away.



Seriously I've had a Williams 1, 2 and Phase 1 172.

My Williams 1 was one of my faves:

Guess what's in front though.......

 

[sideways danny]

172 is a comfier, nicer daily drive, by a fair margin. You've got to love mk1s to live with one for any length of time. Rewarding in their own way though.

 

[rexe]

Im the lad who w17gle was on about, Still dunno why he never says REXE lol.

Mine was good fun standard form i felt it was pap and slow, so out came the interior and lowered the arse end a little which made it feelt pretty good.

I had it a week when the belt snapped, not the cars fault tbh. That cost me £700 to sort while it was being done i had a supersprint 4 branch fitted and a gunner chip thing. It did well on track and B roads w17gles 172 was slightly quicker and tbh i hated the engine at first as it did not rev above 6500.

I brought it back home after the track day and a few days later the crank warped i was pushing the car so this would explain why, but i dont see the point in buying a car like that not to drive it...

Best of both worlds is a williams setup with an F4r engine which is what i would of done, but at the time chris wouldnt sell his spare f4r engine Or it would of had that fitted by now.

I then got a 172 again at first it felt poo, so it had a full exhaust system and decat, home made filter with air feed and stripped. TBH this would of terrorised the williams it made 940kg iirc

for me the phs1/phs2 clios are too girly looking the williams was awesome I just hated the engine.

2nd time around a good Williams 2 shell and a f4r all day.

 

[maz172cup]

by looking at the above pic - that trophy looks so timeless - even makes the focus look slightly dated

 

[2 live]

Im the lad who w17gle was on about, Still dunno why he never says REXE lol.

Mine was good fun standard form i felt it was pap and slow, so out came the interior and lowered the arse end a little which made it feelt pretty good.

I had it a week when the belt snapped, not the cars fault tbh. That cost me £700 to sort while it was being done i had a supersprint 4 branch fitted and a gunner chip thing. It did well on track and B roads w17gles 172 was slightly quicker and tbh i hated the engine at first as it did not rev above 6500.

I brought it back home after the track day and a few days later the crank warped i was pushing the car so this would explain why, but i dont see the point in buying a car like that not to drive it...

Best of both worlds is a williams setup with an F4r engine which is what i would of done, but at the time chris wouldnt sell his spare f4r engine Or it would of had that fitted by now.

I then got a 172 again at first it felt poo, so it had a full exhaust system and decat, home made filter with air feed and stripped. TBH this would of terrorised the williams it made 940kg iirc

for me the phs1/phs2 clios are too girly looking the williams was awesome I just hated the engine.

2nd time around a good Williams 2 shell and a f4r all day.

tbh mate id be looking at whoever did the build on it. fair enough the cambelt snapping cant be helped..................but crank warping??? iv done numerous trackdays, dragstrip weekends, and general hooning around, the only thing thats ever really given me any trouble was the chocolate kent cams that exploded, and the obligatory choc box mounts and boxes. and i do like to drive them fairly hard lol

and thats been for over 7 years. every time i give it loads of abuse, it just gets better. lol.

 

[domjolly]

surely this is all about styling as usual... coz on the open road is there really much difference from williams 1, ph1 172, ph2 172, 182, cup's, trophys, 197 and 200. on a track there probably will be a hugh difference with the right driver. but my ph1 172 has kept up with all of the above be it im a better driver or they are just s**t i dont no.

personally i would go for the ph1 172 though, lets be honest the renault sports are built for people like all of us in mind to thrash them every now and again, i would be thinking an old ph1 9/10 years old has had 9/10 years of idiots thrashing them or a williams with 14+ years of thrashing. thats the only reason i would go get a ph1 1 if i was not going to spend much money on it and use it daily

 

[tezza88]

Williams is just hardcore, you get alot more engine noise inside the car which constantly puts a smile on your face! Build quality wise feels strong all through out, pulls hard for an old car, and a clean one Can be easily picked up for around that price plus you can't beat those seats, you ent going anywhere once they swallow you lol. Had a mate with a 172 cup and was identicle power upto around 80 90 where there's a slight difference! But he did have a racing cat! So there is comfort power and aslong as it's been looked after reliability aswell!!

 

[2 live]

surely this is all about styling as usual... coz on the open road is there really much difference from williams 1, ph1 172, ph2 172, 182, cup's, trophys, 197 and 200. on a track there probably will be a hugh difference with the right driver. but my ph1 172 has kept up with all of the above be it im a better driver or they are just s**t i dont no.

personally i would go for the ph1 172 though, lets be honest the renault sports are built for people like all of us in mind to thrash them every now and again, i would be thinking an old ph1 9/10 years old has had 9/10 years of idiots thrashing them or a williams with 14+ years of thrashing. thats the only reason i would go get a ph1 1 if i was not going to spend much money on it and use it daily

tbf the ins group means most chavs cant afford em. which means the thrashing is usually done by ppl who actually know a thing or 2 about cars. so the thrashing in a williams will no doubt be less severe than that of a 172.....

personally tho, i think the williams es need a good thrashing to stay reliable. something a lot of owners wont do cos their precious......yeah.a precious drivers car....how they know if they never drive it as was intended is beyond me.

 

[Daz.]

^^^

I think most clio sport owners aren't cut out for willy ownership matey, a lot of sport owners are either too young or have bought 172's/182's purely because they're looking for something else...

going from the willy to a sport opened my eyes anyway! you need commitment these days to own a willy, which will be the case with 172's in a good few years I'll bet!

 

[das54321]

Ph1, Williams are old and you need deep pockets!

no more deeper than for 172 whats that comment based on?

 

[maz172cup]

cant be deeper then an R5 turbo surely?

 

[KungFuSpaghetti]

Had one of each and the Williams was a nicer drive and more fun. Comfier too

 

[rexe]

2live, Im not 100% sure what went wrong tbh. I know i was doing around 140 and really pushing it down to a fairly tight corner at about 60 maybe 70 it started knocking on the corner and then jus tdidnt feel right after that.

I only bought the williams to do jus tthat, drive it. It was awesome at donnington and i was just gutted when it decided to kill the bottom end.

It did ease up, once it was cool it would start and turn over again, but that only last for two starts and it refused to turn over after that

It had a good battering but cost me a lot of money for a car i had three months

 

[2 live]

Pity they all rust away.



Seriously I've had a Williams 1, 2 and Phase 1 172.

My Williams 1 was one of my faves:

Guess what's in front though.......

well we like to give the newer clios a bit of a head start to give em a chance

 

[2 live]

2live, Im not 100% sure what went wrong tbh. I know i was doing around 140 and really pushing it down to a fairly tight corner at about 60 maybe 70 it started knocking on the corner and then jus tdidnt feel right after that.

I only bought the williams to do jus tthat, drive it. It was awesome at donnington and i was just gutted when it decided to kill the bottom end.

It did ease up, once it was cool it would start and turn over again, but that only last for two starts and it refused to turn over after that

It had a good battering but cost me a lot of money for a car i had three months

hmmmm must be a manufacturing problem......mine went BANG at about 140 ish.......was errrrrrrr.......pushing an alfa up the road lol.


seriously tho mate, the bottom ends on the williams are bulletproof. i have been known to kill an engine or 3 in my other cars, minis, countless, golf, 1 or 2 lol, etc etc, due to my enthusiastic nature behind the wheel. but iv only ever fukt 1 f7. and that was in 0051, it had been stood for 4 years, with hardly any oil in, couple that to my enthuiastic drive home over the moors, and 30 mins later, knock, knock, knock, knock.....hehe.


still....£200 for a new engine sorted that out. cheaper than gettin new shells/mains/regrind.

and not my car, but me driving..round donny. was a bit slower than mine, but not by much lol.

[youtube]X-JzMDPAllM[/youtube]

u can hear the owner in pass seat telling me to give it more...surprisingly lol.

 

[Bluebeard]

Link no worky mr 2 Live.

 

[rexe]

Mine had been sat for over 12mths before i got it... there is a pattern here lol.

 

[2 live]

Link no worky mr 2 Live.

it worky for me.......

 

[mat-nos]

ive had lots of 1.8 valvers but never got a williams (yet), the 1.8 is a little more revvy but makes less power but you could get a mint valver for £1500 and spend the rest on go faster bits.........

 

[Jamie]

I have to say, ultimatley as time moves on each new model is better than the last and that's relevant with Williams and Renault Sports.

















(imo)