The time came

[MikeHiow]

I knew you'd have something to say about that.

Feel free to PM him and ask if he offered to let me drive his car when I expressed an interest in them

 

[MikeHiow]

Apparently he is 'self employed' now, doing what I've no idea given he was telling us how bad his web design skills were in his previous thread.

It's a good job I'm not a Web Designer then, isn't it

 

[MikeHiow]

Damnit, you've given him a new excuse he hadnt previously thought of.

It was always a thought, not so much as a fix it and flog it, as if that was the case, I'd have just done the de-phaser pulley on it's own and got shot of it straight away. But I never really had anything to lose by trying it.

 

[MikeHiow]

Hahahahahahahaha.

You really couldn't make this stuff up!

No, not like you're capable of omitting so much vital information and lying to make it look like a much better car was for sale at the same price I was asking for mine.

 

[MikeHiow]

I'm only interested in the 225 because the earlier ones can be picked up for <£5k. I have no need to test drive the Trophy, I'll either like the standard 225 or I won't as far as I'm concerned.

I'll be sure to pay attention to the points you mention, however.

Out of curiosity (and it really is just curiosity) can the suspension and steering rack not be sourced to "fix" the earlier ones? Surely these will be inexpensive from a breaker?

 

[MikeHiow]

If I'm happy to soldier on through all the crap to get to the occasional useful stuff that gets posted, I see little reason for the thread to get shut down. After all, most of the entertainment is at my expense as far as everyone else is concerned.

 

[MikeHiow]

Mike, is the real reason for selling it that you're trying to find a car that you can beat your dad at the IOW Car Club autotest in? It must be getting pretty embarrasing that the old man can consistently just jump into a car you drive every day and kick your arse. Have you thought of taking up another hobby? It might be cheaper than buying a new car each time it happens.

I almost wasn't going to rise, but I'll correct you once again in the hope that in future you may stop talking non-sense when you clearly don't have a clue

At the point where we had both done an equal amount of runs, I was beating him by a fair margin, he was most upset and stayed with the Clio when I had to leave for a family lunch, in an effort to beat my time.

I'm still less than a second off his time and third in my class, without having the benefit of extra runs later in the day, which not only offers the opportunity to gradually improve your times by working on your mistakes, but offers a cleaner course.

To give you an idea of what opportunity those extra runs and running later in the day offers, I was fifth when I left and 22nd by the time people had done the rest of their runs

 

[MikeHiow]

It isn't quite that simple in these events.

For example, at the last event the top ten are separated by almost 5 seconds from first to tenth, the entire results board spans 22 seconds.

 

[MikeHiow]

Bold choice. I owned an RX8 (190bhp) once....

I'm sorry to hear that

Can I just say theres a reason why Mazda dont sell the RX8 in Europe anymore..... Its because the car emits too much co2.

The operative word should be can't [sell], why would I care about how much co2 it emits?

Its also very expensive to maintain. In my opinion a car with less than 300bhp should not require a £400 road tax disc (registered post March, 2006).... Neither should it have an average mpg figure that rivals todays super cars!

Fuel economy is irrelevant, as is road tax really, although I'll probably be looking at pre-2006 models, unless a particularly deal pops up on a newer one.

Stick with your 182!

No thanks

 

[MikeHiow]

Amazing there is always some kind of excuse isn't there.

But I understand why your dad would want to stay and keep up his 100% record of beating someone clearly so untalented.

Why troll?

 

[MikeHiow]

Your previous two posts have clearly been to raise a reaction out of me, this is usually considered trolling. If they were not, they were both personal and insulting, which is no better really.

I wouldn't say you've hit a nerve, but it is frustrating when you come out with such non-sense on here.

 

[MikeHiow]

I've been speaking to someone this evening who claims that Trophy dampers are the solution to my problems.

Much like my (completely hypothetical) mention of coilovers with two sets of springs, he claims that the Sachs dampers should help/eliminate things like bump steer and help improve high speed stability with their improved damping ability. There were also talks of more caster, which means adjustable top mounts.

Thoughts? Anyone driven a Trophy?

Looking at prices, it's a lot of searching and probably around £400, so it would be an expensive experiment if it didn't work

 

[MikeHiow]

Do it.

Just so we can laugh when it doesn't work.

I see, so first my claims are unreasonable and I shouldn't buy another car. Now a solution to keeping the car is being mocked?

You're being as consistent as ever, I see.

 

[MikeHiow]

AFAIK, there is only one Trophy over here, and I do not know the owner :/

 

[MikeHiow]

As are you. Nothing like a late night MikeHiow U Turn to keep the forum alive!

It's hardly a U-Turn, I've said many times that I like the car, and it was never an easy decision to sell. If I can address the issues for not too much money, I'd be more than happy to keep it.

 

[MikeHiow]

£400??

And the rest for good condition ones surely?

The bloke I bought my Xsara VTS from was selling it (for £1400) to fully fund having his Clio Trophy dampers being refurbished, and his car was a 30k mile garage queen.

He forwarded me an email from a company that refurbs them, from when He was looking into it;

The simplest way to get a rough idea the damping is effective is to perform a “bounce” test. The Trophy dampers are fairly hard as standard, so press down firmly 3 or 4 times on each corner of the car and note if there is any continued movement once you let go. If the car continues to bounce unaided, then this is an indication that the dampers are not working correctly and we would recommend a service.



Any oil leaks would be fairly noticeable, but another common problem we have seen in gas leakage due to varying levels of corrosion of the reservoir caps breaking the gas tight seal of the internal o-rings. This would appear to be an age related problem rather than due to the actual mileage covered. Without the Nitrogen gas pressurizing the damper oil, the structure of the fluid breaks down rapidly. This can be indicated by compressing the damper, and listening for of air/bubbles passing through the internal piston. The rod will also be fairly easy to compress.



Any major pitting or scratches to the shaft itself would mean that it would require replacing, as any major surface imperfections would quickly damage the internal seals and sliding bushes. A replacement piston rod (shaft) would be approximately £125. As the service we offer only covers the actual internal working parts of the damper, any major damage to the main damper body itself, such as a damaged or broken spring seat or mounting lugs, could render the damper as unserviceable.



Cost wise, a basic service which includes disassembly of the dampers, strip and inspection of the internal valving, replacement of all sliding bushes, seals and o-rings, re-assembly using new oil and fresh nitrogen and a dyno test to ensure everything is working correctly, works out to around £350 + VAT for the pair (including return delivery charge), with a turn around time of 2-3 days from receipt of the damper units. This cost is based upon you sending us the dampers in a clean condition with the front springs removed. It is not a problem if they are not, but you will incur a small charge for any additional labour required. Should something other than a basic service be required, such as replacement of a bent piston shaft, then you will be notified prior to any further work being undertaken.



We recommend that you book the dampers into the workshop prior to sending them in to ensure that we can allocate the necessary parts and complete the work on schedule. Failure to do so will lead to delays, as any other pre-booked work will take priority.



Finally, if you would like to be able to adjust the damping to suit differing road conditions or for track day work, we can replace the standard pinned compression adjusters for working items. The modification will enable you to make the damping harder for smooth roads/circuit work, or soften them to eliminate the harsh ride on bumpier “B” roads. This upgrade is available for approximately £65 + VAT per damper.

I hope you find the above information helpful.

I've seen apparently good ones go for £300.

 

[MikeHiow]

I'd imagine the dampers would be easy enough to move on providing I don't pay through the nose for them - there aren't exactly a lot of options for the 1*2 cups unless you start aiming for four figures, so I'd guess that there is demand for Trophy dampers.

Top mounts tend to go for around £100 second hand, so there's £60 to lose if I bought new.

 

[MikeHiow]

So what bolt spacing is your Clio Mike? As usual CS produces half a dozen different answers on this!

I have not measured them, but being cup packed, I imagine it is 60mm (I think that's right for the Cups?)

So £300 for the dampers used, then £350+vat per pair to refurb, thats over a grand?!

You wouldn't refurb the rears, these are essentially just cup dampers with different springs. When I said £300, I said it was for a good set - why would I need to refurb a good set?

I've also been told that H+Rs offer a good ride if you see a set second hand.

Blisteins praises are sung pretty much everywhere you go, it's certainly an option, but it would almost certainly require buying new springs (or even two sets!) with rates that suit my application(s) to get the most out of them. At least the Trophy dampers and springs would have had the R&D....

 

[MikeHiow]

I think you should have a go yourself.

I'd normally be up for something like this, but I think the money is worth it to have them dyno matched, plus I have no means to gas them.

 

[MikeHiow]

They need doing every 30-40k miles, what are the chances of a set of used dampers being fresh?

You can't possibly call it on mileage. They need doing when they are no longer doing their job effectively, and this will depend on how old they are and what kind of life they've had - exposure to the elements, type of roads, track days, how hard the car is driven etc.

Contradicting posts are (predictably) contradicting!

How? We were discussing the possibility of it needing to be done, I've not said I'm going to rush out and have them done? I might be lucky and find some leaking ones stupidly cheap though