Tooling Up #2 – RenaultSport Clio 172 and 182 Range Information

Tooling Up #2 – RenaultSport Clio 172 and 182 Range Information

I am writing this to offer some advice for the guys over at Performance Car, as for their February 2009 Issue - they are doing a buying guide for the 172 and 182.

What do I recommend for anyone buying a Clio 172 or 182?

If you want something for the Road – buy a 182 with Air-Con and Leather
If you want something for the Track that you don’t want to modify – buy a 182 Trophy
If you want something for the track that you will modify or race – buy a 172 Cup or Ragnotti
If you are racing seriously buy a European (not UK) Clio Cup race car or a car that has been racing dutch touring cars or something similar – VLN etc…
Lets start at the beginning

What are the different RenaultSport Clio 172 and 182 models?

Full Fat – With Leather and Aircon
Cup – Lightweight Car over the Full Fat – normally cloth interior

Ph1 172 – 1999/2000 – Early 2001

Engine – F4R 730 / F4R 732
The total sold for the UK Market were: 1357
This number doesn’t include the 172 Ltd Edition 172 Exclusive Cars that were almost a British Racing Green, with a cream leather interior and I think 15″ BBS spoked wheels – apart from that – they were the same as the normal PH1 172.
There were a few of the very early 172 Ph1′s that had alloy bonnets – as far as I remember – the only ones that I saw were Iceberg and Titanium Silver.
All the Ph1′s ran on 15″ OZ F1 Cup Wheels.
The original Clio Cup Race Series used a ph1 172, but then as the series developed there were “update packages” that kept the trim looking the same as the later versions of the cars – eg bonnets, lights, exhaust, bootfloor.
However, the UK race cars still had to have the first evolution of the Sadev Sequential Box, the cars that raced throughout Europe in the Clio Cup series were all launched 12 months later if I remember correctly and had an improved Sadev Sequential box amongst other things.
RenaultSport UK’s Information on the ph1 172 – Phase 1 Clio 172

Ph2 172 June 2001 Onwards

Engine F4R 732/ F4R 736
The total sold for the UK Market were: 3059
Launched in 2001 with the Facelift of the Clio, the 172 was a slightly sharper looking car, with a more angular front end.
The differences that I can list quickly between the PH1 and Ph2 are:
F&R Bumper, Bonnet, Front Lights, Cable Throttle Changed to FBW, Airbox Revised, Wheels & Tyres (16″ now, not 15″ as Ph1), Sidestrips, Steering Wheel, Dashboard, Gearknob and Rear Spoiler. The JC5 gearbox in the ph1 also had slightly different ratios, Cruise Control now and option and ESP introduced, SAT Nav withdrawn from the model range, CD multi changer became an option around this time too.
The Ph2 172 became and instant hit, but the market was flooded (as was common at the time) with Grey imports from Holland and Belgium through the car supermarkets. It is easy to identify these normally as they have no window etchings, and normally the alarm fob is attached to the keyring, not on the key as a plipper. You may also find that the cd multi changer is not included on imports. They are plentiful, so be aware of the insurance consequences of buying one – check it before you do basically. Imports are common now, so most insurers do not mind, however, some do – and it could be a pain in the derierre if you buy one accidently.
RenaultSport UK’s Information on the Ph2 172 – Phase 2 172

The 172 Cup was launched in the August / September of 2002

Engine F4R 732/ F4R 736
The total sold for the UK Market were: 2392
The 172 Cup was billed as the lightweight track orientated weapon. It had no ABS, no Xenon Lights, it had a cloth interior, loosing the heavy leather, no aircon, lightweight glass (front windscreen had no IR sheet), it had a slightly wider track down to the Speedline Turini wheels, and again a slightly different gearbox – the JC5-129. It had no spare wheel, but instead some rapid inflate puncture repair fluid. Sound deadening was removed all over the place and a nice lightweight weapon was produced. The 172 Cup was only available in Blue for the most part, but late on, some silver examples were released – some with Climate Control.
In France the 172 Cup was called the Ragnotti after Jean Ragnotti the world reknown rally driver of the Clio 1.8 16v, the Williams, and the R5 Turbo 2. It was offered originally in the UK Catalogue as having “options available” these included a roll cage, however they never emerged, however, unbeknown to most, a full Group N catalogue is available for the 172 Cup through RenaultSport France.
We at YozzaSport can source almost anything from this catalogue if you need any RenaultSport Group N Parts.

The Clio 182 was first introduced in January 2004.

Engine F4R 736 / F4R738
The total sold for the UK Market were: 5222
The model was very similar to the PH2 172, with Leather, Xenon Lights, Aircon, The main selling point was a small power hike up by about 10 bhp. This was mainly achieved through the mapping, the improvements to the head and a 4-2-1 exhaust manifold. The car was slightly lighter due to a flat rear floor (without bootwell) and no spare wheel. The exhaust then became the range standard – twin exit tail pipes, as on the V6 and the Renault Megane 225, that has remained with the new 197 Clio. Renault also introduced the dual multiplex wiring loom and dash into the vehicle at this point.
There were two important differences between the 182 Models – With or Without Cup Pack.
The Cup pack was a suspension package that gave you the following:
With Cup Pack – Slightly Wider Track, and Grey Wheels (Different Suspension & hubs)
Without Cup Pack – Same Track as a 172 and came with Silver Wheels.
Important – if you get a 182 without the Cup Pack and wish to fit suspension (coilovers / dampers) to it at a later date – you will require 172 suspension as the hub bolt spacing is different between 172 and 182, the 182 without cup pack has 172 suspension basically.

182 Cup

Engine F4R 736 / F4R738
The total sold for the UK Market were: 539

Clio 182 Cup

The 182 Cup was then launched, which had the cup pack as standard, but had a cloth interior, losing some weight, but it had some suspension tweaks and was a cheaper alternative to the 182 if you were going to strip it for a track toy. However, importantly – it didn’t lose the aircon in the same way that the 172 cup did.

Clio 182 Trophy

Engine F4R 736 / F4R738
The total sold for the UK Market were: 500

Clio 182 Trophy

The 182 Trophy was introduced as a hardcore end of production model with firmer suspension, recaro seats up front, light clothseats in the back, Sachs dampers and Eibach Sportline springs, it was lower, harder, firmer and was a trackcar for the road – its not the most comfortable ride, but its a blooming good bet if you want a trackcar that you don’t want to modify, that’s cheap to run, maintain and is a bundle of laughs.

Always a Hooligan,
/y0z

 

 

 

Share This Article
  • Digg
  • del.icio.us
  • Facebook
  • Google Bookmarks
  • MySpace
  • StumbleUpon
  • Technorati
  • Live
  • Twitter

Tags: , , , , , , , ,

Monday, July 21st, 2008 Clio 172 Cup, Clio 172 Phase I, Clio 172 Phase II, Clio 172 Range, Clio 182, Clio 182 Cup, Clio 182 Range, Clio 182 Trophy, RenaultSport, Roadcar Advice

Leave a Reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.