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Cheers Ben. I've made up my mind as to what to do next so I'm pulling some bits together now and hopefully it will be ready before not too long. Parts may take some time to arrive / turn-up though :( Haha, very true mate! I sense a change in fortunes... as opposed to a loss of a fortune (which...

It's not been a happy time of late! 4th time lucky maybe? I wish I'd introduced a match and several litres of super unleaded to it many months ago now! Yeah, gutted Loxy. Felt quite numb to be honest mate. The ITB's and ECU are being sold as I've had enough of them despite my love for NA. I'm...

Well... sadly things haven't gone to plan. I've not even had chance to enjoy my new forged, high-comp, ITB'd build yet and it's already scrap. Looks like a low oil pressure and fuelling issue has caused problems and a new engine is needed. Only the forged conrods and valves have survived :( Back...

Phew, for a moment there I thought my car had been stolen!!! Hahahaha! :) I do believe there are a few Trophy's knocking around in Scotland. They are quite distinctive (sort of) due to their colour and also fairly rare (only 500 Trophys were made). As for the registration... yeah, we are like...

Yep, you're not wrong mate... Thankfully sunny Wales doesn't have much rain... :p Thanks mate :) Yeah, it's been frustrating but I am just about hanging onto that last strand of optimism... it WILL come good soon. Really, it will! They (RenaultSport Clios) don't half get some stick from other...

I feel your pain mate :( I really do! Sometimes I find myself questioning my sanity, "it's only a car after all..." And still I continue to torment and torture myself with the damn thing! But I can't help it; it's got under my skin and on those rare occasions where it's all working well, it...

Phew, back up-to-date and, after 2 years, I'm still waiting to enjoy my car and the work I've had done on it... :( LOL! :)

February 2015 - Update #2 Another update courtesy of my personal mechanic, Russ! :) Take it away mate... Yet again, another big thumbs up and thank you to Russ :)

February 2015 - Update #1 Here are some pics and words that Russ kindly sent through whilst working on my car... And a couple days later... So there you have it. That's where things are currently at. I'll finish this update by thanking again those that have helped and...

January 2015 - Update #2 So... where to begin... It's certainly been an emotional 7-odd years or so since I bought the Trophy; a car I instantly fell in love with simply due to the sheer fun and miles of smiles it afforded me. Those that have been daft enough to follow this thread ;) will know...

January 2015 - Update #1 It's been a little while since I've updated this thread (and a few people have been asking where things are currently at) so I thought I'd take a moment to bring you lovely people up to speed. But first a warning... it's been kinda quiet, a bit boring in fact, and many...

November 2014 - Update #5 As alluded to in my update yesterday, I took a road trip this morning to see ScottRallye in order to get the new radiator/fan fitted and to pick up the header tank (sadly the header tank will have to be fitted at a later date as I need to get hold of a suitable cap...

November 2014 - Update #4 A few things have happened over the last couple of days that have resulted in an elevation in my mood! Apart from the bit where I'm expecting the first points on my licence... s**t! Anyways, I was able to make use of a dongle, software and laptop to hook into the...

November 2014 - Update #3 Another quickie.. Not that much to report at the moment, apart from the fact that I threw my toys out the pram again after a few more issues with the Trophy. Sure, they are only small issues (and, as suggested by a friend or two, I should "man up") but after almost...

November 2014 - Update #2 Newly rebuilt and refurbed calipers... :) 005 by scottieraven, on Flickr 011 by scottieraven, on Flickr 006 by scottieraven, on Flickr

November 2014 - Update #1 Time for a quick update... As mentioned in a previous post I had a problem with one of my brake calipers a while back. Thankfully George came forward and kindly sent me his old set, and these did the job nicely. At that time, a rather kind gent by the (user)name...

October 2014 - Update #2 Over the last few days I decided to remove my grille and refurbish it. After years of abuse the once-black grille had become somewhat grey-ish in colour. Things didn't quite go to plan when I accidentally broke the top of the grille when removing it. Whilst trying to be...

October 2014 - Update #1 Just a quick update to say that the components for my new radiator / fan setup have arrived and I'll soon be getting them fitted (all being well). A big thanks to Scott Morgan for his handiwork and fabrication skills :cool: Oh, and for the photos. Ignore the fact that...

September 2014 - Dammit update So yeah... pretty much f**ked off with the car at the moment. I'm sick of the sight of it. It now also looks like a bearing or two are on the way out and then this happened today as well. Just give me a break!!!! :(

August 2014 - Update from ClioSport Saturday Just a quick pic as it's not everyday I get to park next to RenaultSport's own Trophy #001 of 500 :)

August 2014 - Mini update #6 Blah...Just a small update to keep things moving along whilst the minor niggles and finer points on the car are sorted out... Last Wednesday saw the arrival of the infamous BurpSpeed track day at Llandow; arguably the highlight of my track day calendar! :) The...

August 2014 - Mini update #5 It's not much of an update really but I thought I'd post up a couple of vids I made today (well, yesterday). As you may have read in a recent update, one of my dampers quite spectacularly failed. Thankfully a local friend (cheers, Sean!) popped round to my place...

August 2014 - Update Trackday prep... getting ready for a shakedown!

August 2014 - Mini update #3 Today was... interesting. It didn't quite pan out as I'd expected. It was a day of lost tempers, Recaro-fuelled violence and a dash light telling me to STOP. It did end on an relative high, though. You have to take these positives when and where you can. Oh, my...

August 2014 - Mini update #2 Nothing is ever simple with this cursed car, is it? FFS... As I mentioned in an update a couple of pages back, I had ordered a few more parts and today they were being fitted (along with a bit of fabrication work in the engine bay). I was on an airport run for a...

August 2014 - Mini update So... over the last 8-9 days I've put 600 miles on the Trophy. Obviously it still feels a little tight but it's running flawlessly and with zero problems. I was expecting to have to top up the coolant and add a splash of oil here and there but, so far, I've only used...

July 2014 - Home at last! Friday 26-Jul-2014 and my beloved pink shed is finally back home. After a year-and-a-half of trials and tribulations, ups and downs, blood, sweat and tears... (that''s just Fred!) I'm happy to say that my Trophy is finally home. This update will just attempt to pull...

July 2014 - (Further) Update Wednesday 16-Jul-2014 and time to find a new home for the pink shed... So, things took another step forward today thanks to the combined efforts of Fred@BTM, Chi and RSTuning. Fred for a cracking engine and gearbox build (and last spanner check), RS Tuning for...

July 2014 - (Minor) Update The car went in for an MOT today... and it passed (somehow). That's a relief :) Time to get the tax sorted... pfft.

June 2014 I'll just leave this here for now... :) Getting there slowly... Thanks to Fred at BTM :)

March 2014 I spoke to Fred again recently and the engine has been run for a short while to check all is well. However, this wasn't done for long due to the map that is currently on there. Quite frankly, it's downright poor and very likely contributed to the very poor state of my old engine. In...

Time for an update... dating back to December 2013... December 2013 So... Fred sent me a few pics of some of the issues during the build. The overall health of the engine was terrible. Very, very annoyed considering I'd previously spent thousands trying to get it running well. Allegedly it...

Jeez, this thread needs an update. It's now been over two years and the car still isn't 100%... :(

The RS is great (although not as quick as I thought in standard form). They certainly shift well - and sound immense - but not quite as rapid as I'd anticipated. As for the thirst... well, that definitely goes with the territory. A necessary evil we'd be prepared to live with as long as the...

LMFAO! Oh mate... it might make sense... but not necessarily financial sense! My other half and I were actually looking at the R35 as they are affordable to buy these days (secondhand I'm talking) but my GOD, sod the running costs. I followed an owners costs on one of the forums over a few...

Exactly - they both have their pros and cons but I love them both, too. The EP3 is going into the workshop to have a few things done over the next few weeks. Nothing major, just new window seals, a repair to the electric window motor (passenger side), new lowering springs and a fresh FRSU. And...

:) 2006? Already?! Thanks mate :) Yep - Paul has been recommended to me many, many times so I'll be getting the car trailered up there soon. I'm not sure I'll be seeing 40mpg though! Mind you, I expect it will be better than before all the work started. I was lucky to see 22-24mpg no matter...

Cheers, Ben. I have to admit that my patience is wearing a bit thin now! It doesn't help that the Trophy is so close to actually being finished. As for the V6... it's a very, VERY special car and I'm tempted to see if Fred will sell it to me! LOL!

And that just about brings things up to date with regards my 182 Trophy. It's now been in the workshop for over a year and, due to another setback, it might be another few weeks before it's finally home. I've now been driving the Clio V6 as a daily driver since July and, despite falling in love...

21 October 2013 Oh dear, it's looking sorry for itself... ...but a good clean and it'll be 'right! Thanks to CB for the pics! Not long now.

11 October 2013 So then... today I put on my RenaultSport Specialist head and got to work on the V6. I thought it only fair considering the amount of effort Fred is putting into mine. It can't be that difficult, right? As mentioned a handful of days ago, I basically soiled my undercrackers...

July 2013 - Saturday 27th I attended my first French Car Show today at Castle Combe. Having bought my tickets a while back I was hoping to go along in the Trophy. Obviously circumstances dictated that this wasn't going to happen but having such a cool French car available I was always going to...

July 2013 - Friday 26th Firstly, a HUGE thanks to Fred for the loan of his incredible Renaultsport Clio V6. Having had my trophy for 6 months (no fault of his own mind!) I am now struggling without a car and I cannot continue to share my partner's Type-R as she needs it for her own commuting...

July 2013 - Friday 26th Picked up the courtesy car. As the build was/is taking so long the owner/builder has let me borrow his own car in the meantime (until the project is finished!)

02 July 2013 I finally got my hands on my old ITB kit the other week and I'm currently working through the list of people who are interested in buying them. Due to one reason or another the healthy list of interested parties has reduced somewhat! LOL! Anyways, out with the old... and looking...

March 2013 - Monday 11th It's getting there... ;) Also saves quite a bit of weight without the engine holding things back. The Quaife LSD is also in the process of being sorted/ordered pretty much as we speak, too. Happy days.

Cheers, Lee :D It's taking longer than hoped but I don't mind for a job properly done. As for RS-Tuning, the guy you spoke to would be Paul. He's certainly well respected in RenaultSport circles and I've heard only good reports.

Just a small update. Since the last update I've also decided to have the gearbox rebuilt, new clutch and a Quaife LSD fitted. February 2013 - Friday 22nd Not much of an update I'm afraid - just a progress report really. The bottom line is that we're still waiting on parts... but BTM have given...

You're welcome, mate. To be fair I had no idea that most examples out there were Cup-packed. But then again, I've not looked into it in any detail as I'm more than happy with my Trophy. :) I would imagine the non-Cupped flavour would perhaps be a little more forgiving with the mildly softer...

Hi John, thanks for the reply. The 200 I drove was the 'regular' flavour without the Cup suspension. :)

Thanks Bud - appreciate the kind words and I'm glad you enjoyed the read. In terms of fun... yeah, still makes me grin like a looney when taking out for a spirited drive. :D As for the 197 and 200, yes - I finally had the opportunity to try them out the end of last year. I didn't give them the...

Agreed and agreed, Lee! No more mess-ups from now on (I hope!) :D No need, chaps - already got an EP3 as a stablemate ;) I might love my Trophy but I'm still a massive Type-R fan as well. :D As for the boiling fluid... yep, I've boiled a fair bit as well! When these engines are highly...

I know mate - in all truth not all that long ago really! PMSL! :D

I have considered it but they're too much fun and relatively cheap to run. Admittedly they aren't to everyone's taste but I'm not everyone. :D

Stu, you're not wrong mate. At times the little sh!t has really tried my patience but I just can't get rid of it. Even with the problems it's had it is such a great car and the drive is exceptional. I'm still yet to drive anything better if I'm being brutally honest. I think it's just a case...

January 2013 - Wednesday 23rd Just a quick one... I've just had word through that another issue has been found that certainly wouldn't have helped the car's performance over the last year or so. If you hadn't already guessed, Fred has found that the cam timing is out. *sigh* Without wanting to...

January 2013 - Monday 21st So I got a call from Fred at BTM today explaining how he was checking a few things over on the car prior to taking out the engine in the near future. It would seem a few issues have been identified already. The first issue is something that should perhaps be a concern...

Time for a little update rather than just lurking around the place... So here we go, then. This is what I've got planned for the Trophy in 2013... The Plan: To rebuild the engine with forged internals throughout whilst throwing in some fairly lairy cams and retaining the ITB's. In short, a...

:lol: Cheers, mate! Yeah - that damned pink car getting in the way of those scenic shots is annoying. It's great to be able to just drive it at the moment and simply enjoy it. It needs a remap and sounds like a bag of spanners... but it it's running safe and the economy is actually the best...

Still in September... September 2012 - Update Despite flying through the MOT the other week the inspector did notice a slight leak from the rear dampers. It wasn't bad enough to fail the MOT but definitely needed to keep an eye on it. Unfortunately the week between then and now has seen me...

Rolling into September... September 2012 It's all been a bit quiet on the Trophy-front over recent months. Bad weather coupled with an extremely busy time in work means that I haven't had as much opportunity to get out in the T as I would have hoped. However, the miles are still adding up and...

Later on in June... June 2012 - Small Update I attended a BurpSpeed organised trackday at Llandow and Dan kindly took a few photographs of me in my Trophy. Here they are... It made a nice change to be caught on camera rather than the one taking the photos to be honest! :D

Hi folks - hope you are all well :D Time for a bit of an update... Back at the end of May / early June I took the car for a drive around my local forest area. Cwmcarn is only a few minutes away, and popular with MTB'ers, but also has a nice driving route for cars. I took a few pics...

*thumbs up* Very nice, mate. Good choice! :D

Likewise, mate - it was good to see you too (after a good handful of years since the last time we spoke). I'm sorry I couldn't have chatted for longer but I had to be elsewhere to meet a couple of folks. By all means feel free to venture over to Wales and give me a shout. I'd be happy to...

It's coming along nicely, mate. And a good call on the braided lines and DS2500's. I have the same setup on the Trophy (with Brembo HC 280mm discs) and they are great for both fast road and track. I've not had that combination fade yet.

Niiiiiiiiiiiice - what a fantastic motor! I had one rumble up behind me on the A470 only a month or so back. I deliberately rolled down the window as he went past and - as hoped - he floored it. What a sound! Anyways, I do hope that the suspension fault is not serious and easily remedied. I...

Thanks for the reply, mate - glad you enjoyed the read. As far as I am aware the crankcase pressure is fine. I've not experienced the dipstick lifting but it does fit nice and firm. The RenaultSport Clio's are known to leak a bit from around the rocker cover (it can be difficult to get a good...

May 2012 Something very strange is going on with the old fuel economy at the moment... as some of you are aware, I'm having a few running issues whereby I'm getting hesitation under acceleration (i.e. the power delivery is stuttering). It's got better over the last few days but it's still a...

March 2012 (Yet another update) Why don't I just keep my mouth shut?! :lol: As some of you may already be aware, I had another problem with the Trophy last Monday. I was on my way to work and pulled in for some petrol. Filled her up and then got ready to drive away. But no, I couldn't get a...

March 2012 (Another update) As some folks may already know (or have read previously) I had a little issue over the weekend just gone. It's true what they say... engines, electrics and water don't really go together all that well. On Saturday I had planned to open up the engine bay and give it...

March 2012 (Update) I went along to a joint RenaultSport meet last weekend in South Wales and had a really enjoyable day. It was the first time that I'd had a proper chance to get the Trophy out and have a bit of a blast since I picked it up from the workshop a month or two back. The good...

January 2012 (Update) Happy days! I am chuffed to be able to say that I have got my car back and that it is driving beautifully! How I have missed it. Now, whilst I don't want to tempt fate I will say that the car is really 'together' now. It's driving well, the newly rebuilt Sachs are an...

In my last update I had just discovered a rather nasty oil leak (or three) and was taking it in to get it looked at and fixed... I'll pick the story back up from January 2012 having been waiting for 5-6 weeks to get my car back... :roll: January 2012 A small update... and some good news! I...

Sorry about the delays guys - I'll bring things up to date shortly including the 'issue' I had a couple of months back with water in the engine... :( Don't laugh. I was sh!tting it and getting ready to bend over whilst forking out for a new engine block! :lol: Thanks, mate. There's a load of...

Thankfully the price of the Sachs dampers has come down a bit. I was looking at buying brand new a year or so ago (rather than refurbishing/rebuilding) but at the then price of almost £3,000 I thought against it! Even nowadays they aren't cheap but they are good; especially for B-road blasts and...

I'm still lurking around, dude... never far away... :lol:

:lol: Sorry mate - no can do on this occasion! I've just had them fully rebuilt / 'unpinned' and the it handles beautifully once again.

I'll post an update shortly. Not much more to add at the moment as I'm recovering from the recent costs and saving for the next batch of mod's. :D

Hi mate - yes, I've got a 182 Trophy. But to be fair, the problems I've had have been due to a botched engine conversion. Everything else has just been general wear and tear with a bit of bad luck thrown in for good measure. I've had the car a good few years now and couldn't bear to get rid of...

Already on the cards, Andy - along with a JDM rear ARB and a few other tweaks. Cheers :D

You've got a great looking car, mate. The StopTechs look spot-on. *thumbs up*

Yeah, could well have been mate. I don't think the road surface helped as it was pot-holed and crumbling. Funnily enough the whole road was re-tarmac'd within a month or so of the accident... shortly after a Seat Leon did exactly the same thing in exactly the same spot! Cheers, davis. It could...

Slightly off-topic... It was just over a year ago that I met my better half and (I had no idea initially) she drove a Prem NHB EP3. Three weeks into the relationship I was in work and I got a call from an officer in the Somerset Police traffic department. His first words were something along...

Cheers, glad you like it. As for the number plate, it was a surprise gift so I can't really complain. Plus... living in Wales... Taffy... :lol: It might be tenuous but it has dual meaning ;)

Grammar? I think she was married to my grampar? :lol: Thanks mate - glad you enjoyed the read. :D That certainly won't do any harm. The ClioSport is all about the handling really... they can't really compete on level terms with a lot of hot-hatches these days in terms of raw pace. Unless you...

Funnily enough, mate... a LOT of people share your opinion! It's real hard to explain to folks though just how much fun this car is. I know it's not the fastest (although the mod's have helped a bit and it's a bit of a sleeper, not many folks give it a second thought) but the way it handles and...

Funnily enough I have been considering something along those lines, Ben. I was looking to get carbon fibre surrounds for the exhaust and considering black wrap on the handles and wing mirrors. I might have to get the old Photoshop out at some point and try a few experiments! I was also...

Thanks, Grov. The only problem I have with the red is that it is starting to fade in places - especially the plastic bits and panels! The door handles are worst so they'll hopefully be off and replaced sometime early next year. The limited edition red looks good... but pink is not so good...

Ben - that would be great! I haven't seen any of you guys for years so count me in. Any ideas on dates yet or are you thinking of waiting until Christmas and New Year are out of the way? Cheers, Skip. Sorry it took up your precious working time... :lol: ...and glad you enjoyed the read...

Cheers Sickly - despite all the issues I still genuinely enjoy the car. When it's running healthy it's hard to beat. Honest! :lol: :lol: Thanks for the kind words, mate. As I said to Sickly, if the car didn't give me the enjoyment/satisfaction that it does then I would have cut my losses and...

Oh dammit. Thank goodness this is going in to be fixed next weekend!

October 2011 (Update) Time for an update... Having had the ITB's balanced and a new two-piece filter fitted, things are finally looking up in that department. It's running a lot smoother, fuel economy seems a little better and (in my opinion) it just looks better. It also seems to be much...

It was another eventful week last week... and YET AGAIN bad luck has struck and I'm STILL waiting to get my Trophy properly fixed. To be completely honest I'm just about at the end of my tether now having thrown the best part of 8.5k at the Trophy over the course of the last 10 months. :cry...

August 2011 It's been a while so time for a little update... Over the last few weeks I have noticed that the Trophy hasn't quite been running as well or smoothly. Sure, it is still much better than it used to be pre-ITB's but something isn't quite "there" at the moment. On top of that the...

RESULT! Heh heh... I finally managed to get some half-decent sound of the ITB's and exhaust after a little experimenting... The first step was to create a wind-shielding mechanism around the mic. This was easy... 3-ply tissue to cover the mic and act as a filter! :lol: The second step was...

Sadly the decent weather still hasn't returned to these parts but nevertheless I popped out the other day in an attempt to grab some video footage and audio of the ITB's and exhaust on my Trophy. It's the first time I've used the GoPro Hero HD (kindly on loan from Murray) and I wasn't sure what...

May 2011 Just a quick update this time... This is what happens when driveshafts let go (or the CV boots split) and grease gets caked and baked onto your alloys. What a mess! However, the first problem I encountered was getting the wheels off the car. The muppets at the local tyre place had...

April 2011 And so the story continues... picking up on the woes of the last few weeks. Grab your comfy slippers and a cocoa as this might take a while! :D Following on from the problems detailed in my last big update, I took my Trophy back into TDF to have the problems fixed - i.e. the lack...

March 2011 (continued...) Oh, where to start... As some folks (or those who read my previous few posts) know I recently had ITB's fitted to my Trophy. It was something I had wanted to do for some time but - obviously - it took some scrimping and saving to finally pull together the pennies to...