03 Cupra R upgrade from MKII Clio 172

[timbland181]

Just upgraded my car from a mark II Clio 172 to an 03 Leon Cupra R 210 and wondering what to expect. I havent picked it up as yet - its ready for collection tomorrow night (Monday).

My Clio was quick but pretty raw, not alot of comfort etc. I had a K-TEC Racing exhaust system and tbh drove it pretty hard.

It managed to keep up with many superior cars: Civic Type R, Mondeo ST220, Focus ST170, even a Lotus elise up a hill from 40mph upwards (i assume it was the older non turbo kind). Never raced it against a Cupra of any kind but got annihalated when i tried against an S3. lol

I say upgrade as i know the Cupras are fast, and worth alot more, nicer cars, comfy, better build quality - and from the reviews i've been reading on various pages, seem to be the best kept secret in the motoring world.

Has anyone done a similar upgrade? Looking forward to getting it, but as yet, i've not seen a Cupra driven quickly, everyone i see tend to cruise.....

Also, this is my first post on cupra.net - for info, the seat dealer pointed me towards this site - which i thought was pretty cool.

Thanks
Tim

 

[Mitchy]

It will be very similar performance wise with your clio upto about 70mph and then you'll notice a difference upwards from that. It pulls very well up the top end, far better than the clio.

Its a turbo car so your driving style will need to change. No need to drop 1 or 2 gears to get it to go, keep it in gear and let the blower do the work.

Its a lot lot more comftorable as you would expect, but its not as chuckable. It weighs about 200kg more than the clio so you will find it a little twitchy going through bends at speed!

Spend £500 on a remap to get it to 270bhp/300lbft and then you'll notice a huge difference performance wise. Motorway cruising in 6th gear is unbelievable.

Anyway enjoy, they're cracking cars

 

[timbland181]

Thanks for the reply Mitchy, the motorway cruising you said is very good as i do about 100 miles a day on the motorway. Looking forward to that.

I saw a clip on youtube with a Civic Type R racing a LCR on the motorway. The Seat seems to pull away fairly easily so i do understand what you say about 70+ pulling power.

Well, i'll pick it up tonight and let you know what i think.

 

[Ruddmeister]

You may well want to consider some suspunsion upgrades after the Clio as the LCR does roll a lot and can be twitchy at the limit.

Start with decent tyres (as and when they need replacing) Std Pirelli are shockingly bad
Anti Roll Bars
Dampers and Springs
Front Strut brace

All worthwhile and help the car corner properly.

Post remap you need to rethink your driving style to be more subtle with the throttle otherwise wheel spin will spoil the party

 

[timbland181]

surprisingly enough I didnt really rate the Clio for cornering. It was the full 172, not a lightweight CUP model. Prior to the 172 I had a black Saxo VTS (lil chavvy i know, but i loved it)
http://www.vts.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/saxo/black12.jpg
http://www.vts.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/saxo/black16.jpg

That was lowered and handled so much better than the Clio.
http://www.vts.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/Clio/Clio-172_02.jpg

Even though the Clio wasnt as good at handelling, i did start to get annoyed with the harsh ride and stiff suspension, thats why i went for a bigger more comfortable car like the Leon.

As for the remap, i quite fancy the hike of 35+bhp remap. All the other seems to come coupled with a racing exhaust. With the Clio, i was sick to death of the boom the KTEC racing exhause emitted so I am steering clear of aftermarket exhausts for the time being.

Tyres: thanks for the tip, i do find tyres make a big difference. To date i have found the Goodyear Eagle F1s to be the best for grip and good wear combined. I am open to suggestions though

 

[Mitchy]

Yours is a 210 version so remap will see you good for 50+bhp

They normally map to 265-270bhp

 

[timbland181]

with the standard exhaust? that would be sweet!

 

[RobM]

Those figures are a tad optimistic IMO, as Dyno Lottery plays a big part in this! But in any case you'll be on the sunny side of 250bhp easily.

I think you'll love the change. If you were impressed by the S3 you claim wasted you, you'll love the LCR as the engine is the same!

 

[Ruddmeister]

with the standard exhaust? that would be sweet!

Changing the exhaust is a waste of money IMO the std one is fine up to 300bhp.

Those figures are a tad optimistic IMO, as Dyno Lottery plays a big part in this! But in any case you'll be on the sunny side of 250bhp easily.

Agreed

Tuners sell product with headline figures hence the optomistic Rolling Road figures

 

[Mitchy]

No, optimistic figures are those that quote 275-285bhp from just a remap.

265bhp is a reasonable expectation as was proven at JBS when we had a RR day. Those expecting 275-285 were shocked when they were only producing 265bhp.

Yes you'll get to approx 265bhp with just a remap. Go onto all the top tuner websites (Jabba/Revo/APR/CC) and they will quote similar figures!

Yes you'll enjoy

 

[medwards]

I went from a GTI6 to a LCR and one word sums up the difference - turbo

 

[LCR_225]

I used to have a 172 cup and i changed to a LCR 225 and have not looked back since. Yeah the Leon doesn't feel as fast (considering the clio had little sound proofing etc) but as mentioned before, get 70MPH and beyond and it feels quick. Not having to change down loads before overtaking is nice however i do miss the sound the Clio made

Overall though i think you will love the Leon

 

[dan__smith]

you'll notices that the primary difference...Its not frenchified!

 

[timbland181]

lol @ frenchified... the build quality does seem better

Never had a turbo car (other than a diesel) so that will be a new and hopefully exciting experience.

I did notice on the test drive that the Cupra didnt feel as quick as the clio, maybe due to the fact its better built and the power is delivered very smoothly. I didnt cain the Cupra on the test though - just took it steady.

There are a few things i'll miss though:
half leather and suade seats
automatic rain sensitive wipers
automatic headlights
xenons!!

What extras can you get on a Leon Cupra?
I was after Cruise control but didnt get it with this model. Also, the wing mirrors have a button to fold inwards. Is this a standard thing?

 

[Dodson]

I had 106 GTi before my Leon and the build quality difference was amazing!

Enjoy the motor mate

 

[RobM]

What extras can you get on a Leon Cupra?
I was after Cruise control but didnt get it with this model. Also, the wing mirrors have a button to fold inwards. Is this a standard thing?

Motorised mirrors were standard on some specific ages of car. I cannot remember which years didn't have it though, but there have been a few discussions on this forum so a search should answer that.

As for extras... how big is your budget? HID (Xenon) upgrade is easy enough (see sticky at top of forum).
Cruise control is another good upgrade if you think you'll benefit. Take it to a main dealer or a good independent garage and they can supply and fit everything for you for a few hundred.

Other than that, the world is your lobster really, all depends how deep your wallet is

 

[Ruddmeister]

What extras can you get on a Leon Cupra?
I was after Cruise control but didnt get it with this model. Also, the wing mirrors have a button to fold inwards. Is this a standard thing?

Cupra or Cupra R?

Cupra R only had about 3 options;-

Paint colour
Sat Nav - Your better off with a Tomtom
Recaro Seats - Rip off for the money

Yes folding wing mirrors is std

 

[Wackojacko]

I used to have a 03' Clio 172 and was doing a 100mile per day in it. The car was great, but it fell apart around me. This was mainly because the demanded to the ragged within an inch of it's life everywhere you went. I had a SuperSprint Race exhaust on it and it handled like a goCart. (I then had a Toyota Supra which tried to kill me) and now I have 54' LCR 225.

They are very different cars, The LCR doesn't need to be ragged at all to get more power out of it than you usually need. You can quite happily not go above 4k RPM even when driving quickly. The handling isn't as good as the Clio was, but then it's a bigger car and to be truthfull I haven't really gotten to the edge of it's handling........ Lift off oversteer is more of an issue that it was in the Clio.

You will notice that it is knowhere near as good on fuel, I could never get the Clio below 33-35 Mpg and that was spanking it down the M4/A33 everyday, depending on you driving style and roads your'll prob be 30Mpg or lower, I've just driving from Bolton to Heathrow at 80 (GPS) non stop and only just managed 32MPG.

Rob/

 

[timbland181]

Rudd - i meant Cupra R, sry

Wacko - yeah i'm doing 100 a day at the moment and the same, its literally falling apart around me, again i am driving it hard each and every day and still get between 34 and 36mpg. At the moment i am driving at 60 on the motorways until it goes tonight and am currently on 43mpg.

As long as i get around 32mpg i'll be happy. Its a small price to pay for such a nice car.

 

[Ruddmeister]

As long as i get around 32mpg i'll be happy. Its a small price to pay for such a nice car.

If it's motorway driving keep it off the turbo in 6th around 80mph and that economy is achievable