YES, life again in Ph1 Track Machine

[Leslie Graham]

Woohoo, just bought a fresh Ph1 172 engine (belts and dephaser done), also has ARP rod studs.
Looks like the Clio will breathe a new lease of life from an engine that's a lot fresher (half the mileage) and shouldn't have lost as many ponies as the 160000 mile lump it is replacing...
Question 1: Is it worth lightening the flywheel in these (while engine is out)
Question 2: Haven't done the engine swap in Clio before, any guides available to refer to? (should be fairly straight forward)
Question3: I'm a weight freak. Any further reduction available when engine is out (pretty stripped already)?

 

[sburrell93]

Don't lighten the standard flywheel. There's not enough material on them to safely machine them down and it tends to end badly.

A lightweight flywheel is an option though. Just fitted one to mine while the engine was out. It certainly revs quicker, but I've not driven it to see how it feels yet. Whether or not it was actually worth the money remains to be seen.

An engine swap isn't too difficult so long as you're methodical. Take lots of photos of where things went and how it all looked while coming apart and it will help loads.

The engine loom splits from the rest at the fusebox and you can lift all the fuses, ECU and engine loom out with the engine. That's probably the easiest way then swap the loom onto the new engine while it's off the car

 

[Leslie Graham]

Cheers bud, much appreciated. How much did the flywheel cost? This is a budget motor but i'll stretch out what I can with machine shop wizardry and an angle grinder!!!

 

[sburrell93]

Cheers bud, much appreciated. How much did the flywheel cost? This is a budget motor but i'll stretch out what I can with machine shop wizardry and an angle grinder!!!

Can't remember exactly what I paid, @NorthloopCup can supply them for around £250 iirc though. I was slightly less as I got a group buy price (not on here).

Mine started out as a budget track car too. That went out the window fairly quickly 😂

 

[Leslie Graham]

Cheers bud, more than I'm willing to pay though. I'm keeping this strictly as a budget car and a huge believer in power to weight, ie weight loss. Kills me having to spend but can be persuaded at times..

 

[Rubicon_]

You'll be fine with the engine swap as long as you can use a spanner, just work your way through removing the ancillaries and then it's pretty much just lift out. I just unplug all the sensors from the engine etc and leave the loom in the bay, it's taped together in a way that's self explanatory for putting back together.