Clio Renault Sport 200

[Advan]

Wife is buying a 200 Clio
The question is do we add the Cup chassis to the spec ?
Is it essential for track work ( which i want to do )? But does it make
the ride too hard for everyday driving ?
The question is , what is the best compromise spec ?
Anybody else in the same quandary ?
Sorry for all the questions !

[GingerRob]

Hi I have a 200 with cup pack it is a hard ride, it's alot harder than the 197 / r27 but it's a hard thing to say more down to personal pref. Have you thought about any other options, I personally would recommend the Bluetooth and tomtom sat nav. If you have any queries about options just ask, if ur local to me ur more than welcome to pop and have a look

[Robert C]

GingerRob said:

Hi I have a 200 with cup pack it is a hard ride, it's alot harder than the 197 / r27 but it's a hard thing to say more down to personal pref. Have you thought about any other options, I personally would recommend the Bluetooth and tomtom sat nav. If you have any queries about options just ask, if ur local to me ur more than welcome to pop and have a look

I also have a 200 with a cup pack the ride is hard but I don't really find it a problem. Personally I prefer the firm ride. Having also previously owned a 182 with a cup pack. I had Recaro's fitted as well and they do hold you in place.

I would go along with GingerRob about the bluetooth and Sat Nav a really useful addition.

Robert

[Jez O]

I would think if you've registered on this forum and you intend to track it, the cup chassis is a no brainer at £450. For the times on track, you'll probably wish you had it and if the road's too rough if you do have it, slow down or go find a smoother one! You probably wouldn't drive a non-cup'd chassis car hard if a road was that rough for fear of damage.
Mine's due end of January (non cup with cup chassis) and having test driven on some bumpy roads with cup chassis, it was comfortable. Although I come from an Integra R and Exige which aren't known for being soft rides!!

I have not driven the non-cup version for a comparison, but I didn't think twice- it won't be a daily drive so not a consideration anyway for me. I reckon on a smooth road in Wales in July, you'd regret not having spec'd it

[fartootall]

No brainer as far as im concerned. I have just ordered an RS200 (non cup) but with the cup chassis £400. The other advantages of the cup chassis are a better stance as its lowered and you get the anthracite wheels instead of the silver standard ones. As far as ride is concerned, I found it surprisingly good on normal roads, I also like a firm ride.

Having the cup chassis is also good when selling it on.

Edited by fartootall on Wednesday 23 December 09:34

[simonlong]

There's an article in the current Performance French Cars magazine (Jan edition) comparing the Clio 200 standard and Cup chassis.



In summary their opinion is the Cup's chassis is excellent but very firm and on uneven/wet roads the standard car is a better setup. If you're going to take the Clio on track the Cup chassis is a no brainer but for normal everyday road use the standard car is probably the better choice.

Personally for the extra £400 I'd go for the Cup chassis and take out dental insurance. The Cup is probably a little more resaleable too.

[Advan]

Decided to go with Cup chassis + Recaro seats in the Racing Blue
Wife is only going to use it for local shopping trips , no long journies so should be ok.
Does anybody here go on the Renault Sport track days ?

[kikiturbo]

I found the 200 with the cup chassis to have a better ride than R27, however it can soon become tiresome in day to day driving (and my daily driver is an EVO 9..) and when pushed on the road, you really have to be stupid fast to get the chassis to play with the rear end..

having said that, it is excellent on the track, and probably the only car on sale to be track ready direct from the showroom.....
I would not go for recaros, better save your money and get a specific race bucket just for the track.. In the standard car you sit too high as it is, and standard seats are excellent for day to day driving..
I would also go for manual AC..

[Jez O]

kikiturbo said:

and probably the only car on sale to be track ready direct from the showroom.....
I would not go for recaros, better save your money and get a specific race bucket just for the track.
I would also go for manual AC..

Hmm, not sure the likes of Porsche (some models) and Lotus would agree.

Surely you wouldn't buy a £16K Clio purely for trackdays so a specific race seat would be daft if you had to use it on road too.

Climate control is standard on the FF200. Manual aircon is only available on the Cup model.

[GingerRob]

The manual ac looks horrid on the dash and with the climate you can still turn it off as you can with manaul ac

[kikiturbo]

Jez O said:

kikiturbo said:

and probably the only car on sale to be track ready direct from the showroom.....
I would not go for recaros, better save your money and get a specific race bucket just for the track.
I would also go for manual AC..

Hmm, not sure the likes of Porsche (some models) and Lotus would agree.

Surely you wouldn't buy a £16K Clio purely for trackdays so a specific race seat would be daft if you had to use it on road too.

Climate control is standard on the FF200. Manual aircon is only available on the Cup model.

ok, but porsche is not in the same price bracket...

as for the aircon, it has to do with our local market.. Automatic climate control is an option over here.. I prefer the manual one, personally..

As for the seat.. .I was thinking about a race seat that you would install just for the trackdays.. It is 4 screws only and makes a world of difference on the track.. I just took our CS200 for a couple of days and still find the optional recaros to be way too high..

[GingerRob]

I agree with you about the recaros they do seem high