Would you spend £3000 on mods for your clio track car?

[Wests Renault]

As the title says really.......

I'm at a stage now where I have removed most things I can for free and bought the seats/cage/suspension i budgeted for.

The next stage in my track car project is to remove the a/c, remove dashboard and relocate speedo and heater controls, remove all unnecessary wiring and spray the interior.

Engine wise I want to get the JMS manifold/engine mount/remap kit.

And finally just need to finish it off with a smaller steering wheel.

Now a quick add up shows these parts/jobs will cost me around £3000. My question to you (and myself) is, it is worth spending that sort of money on a car only worth that amount (or less).

Now I'm thinking, I'm spending £3000 on top of the £3500 i've spent already. When i look at what car's I can buy for around that sort of money (vx220 and megane RS are my main options) I start to wonder what to do..........

This thread sort of follows on from my previous thread here http://www.cliosport.net/forum/show...-of-the-ph1-track-car-already......&highlight= but going down a slightly different road.

What I know is this

• I want to do track days (probably one a month)
• I want more power
• I want a car that feels complete (rather than what I have at the moment which is a bit of a mess)
• I have a motorbike for my daily commute, so the car is purely a weekend toy

So do i carry on and complete the project or get something like a vx220/megane rs which would still be fun on the track but more useable on a daily/weekend basis. Input would be great

Cheers

 

[Mcaff]

if it makes you happy go for it i have spent 4 figures on my 1.2 and its made me happy no regrets

best of luck

 

[Dangerous_dave]

I don't rate the vx220t personally others may disagree.
At the end of the day you can spend what you like on any car, what you should consider is will youmake the most of that extra investment or is it really worth the extra spend. I plan to keep my Clio forever and give it to my boy when he is 21 or something assuming it hasn't rusted into a pile of dust. So at 21 he will have a top boy fully kitted cup which will b like my old man giving me a mint top spec r5gtt now or well a few years back...
Probably be driving water powered fairy cars in 20 years anyway thinking about it...would petrol still be around?

 

[edewer]

have you actually done a trackday in the car yet?

I'd go out on a day and decide from there. I've started hanging around with a few people who've been involved in motorsport for a loooooong time, and having gone in with ideas of loads of engine mods and chasing bhp figures, they've convinced me that spending money on weight saving, chassis tweaking and braking is gonna be money better spent.

Get the suspensions professionally set up, get it corner weighted, as you run a cage maybe some lightweight panels, sort a brilliant brake setup and do a few light engine mods such as inlets and remap if not already done. Run it like that for a while, see if you get bored of running rings around most things you come up against on track, and only then shell out on expensive engine work.

myself and a mate are gonna be running some rear chassis mods over the coming year that should make some very big differences to the handling, and at the end of the day will probabaly make up for the performance you'd gain by running a JMS manifold (no offence to tom or james, the product looks awesome)

 

[sideways danny]

100% depends if you want to modify for the love of modifying. I've spent WAY more than that on cars that have cost less than half what your base vehicle did. Completely enjoyment based. It's called a hobby, and for me built not bought always comes out on top. The same isn't true for everyone though, some people are just better to go and buy a faster car to start with.

I'm personally safe in the knowledge that my car is completely unique. There's definitely not another one with the same selection of parts. Individual

 

[Bluebeard]

I'd do a track day first...

I'm struggling to comprehend why you're spending all this money on a track car thats only ever on the road??

 

[172Ben]

Have you done a track day yet?

You dont need to spend £3000 for it to be quick.

 

[Sym0n]

Now I'm thinking, I'm spending £3000 on top of the £3500 i've spent already. When i look at what car's I can buy for around that sort of money (vx220 and megane RS are my main options) I start to wonder what to do..........

This reason alone was why I didn't get past the point of thinking about getting my Ph1 S/C'd. Maybe I'm getting old, but wasting a s**t load of money on a 10 year old car when I could go out spend the same, possibly slightly less, and get something that 5-6 years old kicking out the same amount of BHP standard and more reliable - it just doesn't make sense. I love my Ph1, but I'd also love a Meg RS just as much.

That said though, if you've got the money (as in actually have it spare and not a loan or card), can justify it to yourself and it will make you happy then do it. If not walk away and make do with what you've got.

Although, as above...I'm not sure about building a track car just for the road. :S

 

[mark123]

I've probably spent more than you and done less!

The reasons I think its better to mod a clio than spend the money on something else:

When you're done with it you can break it to get more money back (more than the modified car all in one piece).

With a relatively cheap shell like a clio if you stack it you can get a new one and hopefully most of your mods will just bolt on the new one.

Clio parts are cheapish...

What can you get for 6.5k that will beat a stripped 190+bhp clio?

If you get another car you'll probably only want to mod that too.

 

[Sir_Dave]

Considering you havent even done a track day i think you're bonkers!!

The clio is actually fairly effective as standard, & you have essentially just changed things for the sake of it/via heresay at the moment ... personally, id leave it well alone. Some tuition will make you far quicker/a better driver than spending another £3k on engine mods.

Just for the record, my track vts cost less than £2.5k to build. And was just as quick (if not quicker) than many of the 1*2's at my last track day, & most importantly, just as much fun.

:star:

 

[Iain C]

I wouldnt bother tbh. Just get some better tyres and get some track time.
Nowt worse than all the gear no idea

 

[fUbAr]

Which 172 do you have?

Personally, I would buy a Ph1 172 and uprate the brakes, get some sticky tyres, loose some weight and go and have fun.
Spend the money on some tuition and you'll be able to enjoy beating most things on track in the little Ph1.

 

[jablitt]

I think a lot depends on how long you think you'll be keeping the car for. If your the sort of person that gets a new one every 6 months i'd say its too much money. However, longer than that and its ok.

 

[b33fy172]

Do a trackday FFS!!!

 

[calum001]

as said before you think about anything else or go any further do a track day or 2, then you'll be able to make a more informed decision to what you want, your just second guessing at this point

oh yeh and your looking at more than £6.5k for a half decent VX220

 

[Rob]

It is a ph1 he has Fubar, but he's spent a small fortune on making a track car, but never taken it on track... lol!

Then he asked why he was getting fed up with it!

Before asking/doing any more at all, get the car on track.

 

[Sir_Dave]

You live near snetterton, do this:

http://www.focusedevents.com/car_event_info.asp?ID=141

All the JMS/Failsport lot are going ...

 

[edewer]

oh yeh and your looking at more than £6.5k for a half decent VX220

Not quite true. I know of an awesome one for sale for £6500 at the minute :rasp:

 

[Greeny.]

Ive not spent that much on my Clio as I know its kinda pointless in the wrong areas, I was very tempted to do down the ITB/JMS RS2 route but after thinking about it for weeks I really didn't think the gains where worth the money even though the JMS/Tour De Force kits are awesome and if I had money to burn id go with one without a doubt. Because of this though ive done/doing the standard decent breathing mods (de-cat/2.5" system/Rstuner/Matched Inlet/V6 box/Race filter) and have only recently spend a few hundred pounds to tidy it up inside to stop me wanting to scrap it! Im hoping to do my first trackday in the next month or so, September probably as the car will finally be ready then

 

[gashead1105]

No, I wouldn't. I'd go and do a couple of track days and then decide what (additional) changes I wanted to do, if any - so in my case, that would be nothing!

In particular, I think you'd be bonkers to remove the air con - you get extremely hot in car on a track day in the summer, and the a/c is a god send. You'll lose about 10 kg and 3 bhp by having it. You're not racing anyone on track, so is it really worth removing it?

 

[skiptontweed]

Bank the £3k and use it to pay for things that break........and drive the arse off it. Done.

 

[Steve]

Do a trackday as is, then assess what needs doing.

Typical CS spend 000's & never go near a track

 

[word_easy]

I'd save the money and buy a better car. 3K on mods is 3K down the pan in the long run.

 

[FlameR]

I spent about £2k on my 172 (coilovers, exhaust, turinis and a few other bits and bobs like cup spoiler and CF splitter)

It was worth it, because I made it what it was. It looked/sounded awesome! That was 2 years ago, and I don't regret it.

I suppose the ultimate question is, do you have £3000 to throw at a car? Is everything else in your life financially secure etc etc. If yes, then why not! you only live once and you can always earn more money

 

[word_easy]

I spent about £2k on my 172 (coilovers, exhaust, turinis and a few other bits and bobs like cup spoiler and CF splitter)

It was worth it, because I made it what it was. It looked/sounded awesome! That was 2 years ago, and I don't regret it.

I suppose the ultimate question is, do you have £3000 to throw at a car? Is everything else in your life financially secure etc etc. If yes, then why not! you only live once and you can always earn more money

And how much of that 2k did you get back?

 

[nathanH]

IMO

If your using the car on the road too... cut your losses, sell up and get a Trophy plus another set wheels for track days, the car is perfect for track as is and if you want it 'stiffer' you can buy some adjustable rear shocks and unpin the front dampers yourself for under £250 quid!

Dont get me wrong its loads of fun building a track car but you dont need to to get enjoyment out of the day!

Trophy will hold its money alot better than a modified ph1.

Nathan

 

[Sir_Dave]

IMO

If your using the car on the road too... cut your losses, sell up and get a Trophy plus another set wheels for track days, the car is perfect for track as is and if you want it 'stiffer' you can buy some adjustable rear shocks and unpin the front dampers yourself for under £250 quid!

Dont get me wrong its loads of fun building a track car but you dont need to to get enjoyment out of the day!

Trophy will hold its money alot better than a modified ph1.

Nathan

What he said, & what i did :star:

 

[Tony Hunter]

We got to the point with Jays old car it wasn't worth spending any more money on it unless we went racing.So we went racing,even so we were going to race on a standard engine but were offered ITB's as a sponsorship deal,so we took it.No need to spend loads on a "track car",just go out and have fun.

 

[maynard]

already have and more.

put's a on my face anyways.

 

[Wests Renault]

Thanks for all the comments

Firstly let me start with the 'do a track day first comment'. I've got 2 track days booked (August 14th - Mallory and September 1st - Oulton). I know I enjoy doing track days from the one I did late last year in my old 182.

Building a 'track car' is something I've always wanted to do, but since writing this and the last thread, I don't think it is for me. Main reason for this is the lack of luxuries and the amount of rattles/noise inside the cabin.

I know now I can answer my own question, no I won't be spending anymore on a 'track car' that I drive on the road. I've enjoyed it while I've had it and don't regret it in any way (as, like i said above, its something i always wanted to do). I think I will quit while I'm ahead and make the money back to put towards another car.

I still want a car that I can do the occasional track day with (once a month maybe) but I want the luxuries back for when driving on the road. I also want a car again with 4 seats so that I can go out with more than 1 mate!!

As most people have said, you can enjoy a track day in whatever you drive so I now can accept that a stripped out clio is not for me in the real world

 

[Revels]

Stick it all back in. Everything.

No offence, but I doubt you're Lewis Hamilton and the very slight difference than an interior will make doing a trackday a month isn't worth the day-to-day hassle really. It might get you a few more mph or a second or two, but would you even notice? It's just the noise that makes you seem like you're going faster! Lol.

Have a spare sat on wheels maybe, but I'd call that it. Then you can enjoy the car on track and not have to put up with the s**t inbetween.

 

[ForceIndia]

Was coming to be fair! It's typical in all honesty, you went too far. That's why I kept the AC/stereo/sound deadening etc etc, but uprated suspension/brakes/steering wheel/seats. You genuinely don't need to ruin them (which is what this does to a road car) in order to enjoy it on track.
I won't say who, but someone on here went this extreme with a car, and looked miffed when I went past him rather quickly. With the AC on lol.

Get out there with a standard car, decide what needs improving and what needs keeping, and go from there!

 

[ForceIndia]

Stick it all back in. Everything.

No offence, but I doubt you're Lewis Hamilton and the very slight difference than an interior will make doing a trackday a month isn't worth the day-to-day hassle really. It might get you a few more mph or a second or two, but would you even notice? It's just the noise that makes you seem like you're going faster! Lol.

Have a spare sat on wheels maybe, but I'd call that it. Then you can enjoy the car on track and not have to put up with the s**t inbetween.

Completely right.

 

[Wests Renault]

i sold all the original parts, so I will jus break it for parts

 

[jenic]

Pointless post really since you have already made a decision...

Might aswell continue with this one imo, you can get something different later but you have already invested in this.

I'd also get ITB's rather than the JMS kit, JMS kit in my mind is more aimed at daily drivers which want to keep c/c, fbw, slam panel. If its a full on track car get some big f.off trumpets and bonnet pins lol

 

[ForceIndia]

Sorry if I'm being dense, but are you suggesting breaking this one and starting again? Would the sensible thing not be buying interior etc from ebay, and putting it into the car you have, with the suspension etc already sorted?

 

[Wests Renault]

Was coming to be fair! It's typical in all honesty, you went too far. That's why I kept the AC/stereo/sound deadening etc etc, but uprated suspension/brakes/steering wheel/seats. You genuinely don't need to ruin them (which is what this does to a road car) in order to enjoy it on track. QUOTE]

Agree with that, and i'll learn from my mistakes. When i did the track day in my 182 i loved it and that was a standard car + exhaust. I thought that it make a big difference with the work I have done, and I think it has but I'm not man enough to put up with it on the road

 

[ForceIndia]

What suspension are you running?

 

[Rob]

Ph1 interiors can be had for pennies, get yourself one, carpet, door cards, seats, the lot, and just bolt it back in.

 

[Wests Renault]

Pointless post really since you have already made a decision...

Might aswell continue with this one imo, you can get something different later but you have already invested in this.

I'd also get ITB's rather than the JMS kit, JMS kit in my mind is more aimed at daily drivers which want to keep c/c, fbw, slam panel. If its a full on track car get some big f.off trumpets and bonnet pins lol

I've only made the decision today after thinking about it and considering what i really want, and that is something that is better to use on a daily basis but still useable on a track every now and again. I'm not going to do / cant afford the amount of track days that it takes to justify an out and out track car