Wow ..... I cant believe its been almost 3 years since I posted last about my current 172 Cup, purchased the car end of 2013 as I'd always fancied one for some fast road driving and possibly the odd track day. I actually ended up using the car as a daily for 12 months until I bought my 320d touring beemer. The Cup then got put into the garage at home and sat virtually 11 months before I did anything with it again.
This is where the thread pics up from ..........
The Cup still as was in Summer 2015. Other than some basic maintenance and servicing nothing had changed.
It was now around October 2015 and I had booked onto a Knockhill trackday with a couple car friends. I needed to get some use of the Cup and I hadnt done any track days for a few years. This was more of a test-shakedown day to see how the car ran and felt and what i'd be looking to change on the car for more track action in 2016
Main things I prepped for this was oil/filter change, brakes were also serviced and Brembo HC front discs and Ferrodo ds2500 and fresh fluid. Spanner checked all main arms/joints. All good no problems.
Good to go!
The cup ran perfectly well on the current set up and would be a great start off point for anyone wanting to get into track days. Lapping at 1:03.8's in traffic and having a bit of fun. I however was looking to alter and change the set up going forward. I needed the ability to dial out the mid and corner exit understeer and also more more feel through the steering from corner entry. Corner speed was where I was losing most time.
Here is a short video captured on the day.
Having been involved in motorsport through karting and mini's missed the competitive side of track racing. The track day was good and I enjoyed being back out but I didnt think that was going to be enough for me and I'd get bored quickly, i needed that buzz and motivation of competition again. Thats where I got chatting to Rory Butcher at knockhill who i've got to know over the years from racing, he told me about his Super lap Scotland Time Attack series for 2016 and the introduction of class F for lower powered cars and also the road car class. This ticked all the boxes for me in what I was looking to use the clio for in 2016. I didnt have to spend a lot of money on it getting it ready, I could just turn up to the event ..... even drive the car to and from the event with obviously valid MOT etc. Perfect sign me up!
So Super Lap Scotland it was for 2016.
What I had to do,
1. Get a more track focused suspention/damper set up.
2. Get the Cup power tested and weighed to comply with class regulation. Set by power to weight ratio.
3. Get through a MOT for the road car class.
4. Enter series and go!
After a bit of price comparisons and speaking to a few guys I decided to go for a set of GAZ Gold coilovers up front and I kept the standard rear location set up of separate spring and damper but also changed them to GAZ gold. Reason for no coilover on the rear was to comply with road car regs for SLS series, damper units/springs had to remain in original factory location. These were going to be perfect for what I needed for the Cup and at a fair price of £900 all in.
Fitted and sitting on the tarmac. Not set up at this point so little high at the rear. Also had picked up a cheap set of original OZ F1's from another forum member. Had them re furbed and would be my 2nd set of wheels for older/newer rubber.
Next up was to get the car power tested on a rolling road and weighed. I made the trip to Performance HQ in Fife Scotland.
On the rollers the engine performed as expected, a healthy standard wheel power of 146bhp and the graph curve looked ok.
Weight wise it was 1086kg with half a tank of fuel.
So power to weight calculated and registered it was MOT next and I was delighted it sailed through with no advisories. It drew quite a bit of attention in the garage and a couple of the lads asking if I would sell it. They hadn't seen one as clean or a little hot hatch like this in for a while ...... proud parent moment!
It was now time to get ready for the 1st round of the SLS. By this point I'd been in touch with a couple of friends also running clio's and members of CSOC Scotland on Facebook we formed a bit of a team for the season ahead. This meant more knowledge between people to be shared and more hands around if help was needed.
Car sitting in the pit area all stickered with SLS series decals and ready for some timed action.
1st round went pretty well. Was lapping in the high 1:02.7's and 8's but with testing timed limited before the event I was gambling on set ups before I went out on track. Gambled going into the final and went slower but it was mainly a test session for the rest of the season.
Great 1st meeting out with no problems at all and virtually have no testing before the meeting the car went great.
Couple things added ......
Running in road car class I have to keep the standard interior including the rear seat bench. I was allowed to add race seats and harness for safety but this isn't necessary. Racing with standard Cup seats and belt up until this point wasn't ideal and I was losing a bit of feel from the car too, so I purchased 2 Corbeau Club Sports and a set of TRS 4 point harnesses from Turner Autosport near Glasgow. Great friendly service from the guys there!
I was really happy with how they looked in the car. One thing thats good about road car class is you dont need to savage the interior of the car. Keeps it more Club Sport spec and easier to put back to OEM.
I did think about adding a rear cage for safety but it was out of my budget having spent my start off budget getting the car ready at this point.
As the season went it I had an absolute hoot of a time! The series is fantastic and a great entry into motorsport. The friendliness around the pits and support you get from everyone is superb.
I managed a number of top 5 finishes in class and was regulary fastest clio in class which was my aim.
Had the Oz's re furbed in white. I ended up using these more so than the Speedlines as they saved a bit of weight.
I also parted with my 320d beemer and bought a Megane 250 Cup which I'm very impressed with right now. Looking forward to a few trips away with it and a few subtle mods to come.
So right now the Cup is garaged at home and I'm unsure exactly what I'm going to do with it in 2017. Do another few SLS rounds and couple track days I think. I'm not throwing money at it as I'd rather spend the money maintaining it to how it is and keep it reliable.
So it will sit here for now ......
