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Help needed on Next Stages of my track day 172 Cup



  172 Cup,R8, Exige S1
Within the past 3 weeks of picking up my Clio 172 Cup I have completed 3 track days at Rockingham, Bedford and Brands. The car was bought as a Track car and only commuting on the roads to and from the track. I have learnt a great deal about the car but I need some help with the next stages to improve the car further;


Suspension
This is something I want to address now, I am currently running Bilstein B14 suspension, absolutely great on road but I feel for Track it doesn’t feel hard enough, the car needs to be more neutral around the corners with a stiffer setup. I have fitted new A048 tyres, adjusted the ride hide which is working well with NO rubbing and also fitted a pure motorsport Anti roll bar. My questions / options are

Op1 - Do I simply adjust the Anti roll bar and attempt a different setting from Soft to Medium? Has anyone had any experience of doing this, I don’t feel this will cut it as it won’t help ultimately with the body roll but it is still an option.

Op2 - Is it possible to change the springs on the B14’s to make them stiffer or is this not financially viable or possible

Op3 – Sell the Bilstein and replace with BC Racing coilovers or another recommended brand? Are the BC racing the best coilovers for less than £1000?

Op4 – I understand a roll cage will make a difference to the stiffness, this is something I am looking to address in the future


Seats
Brands Hatch was a nightmare with the standard 172 Cup seats, looking at a below £300 budget for the drivers seat and under £200 for the passengers, what would you recommend? I like the look of the Cobra Monaco seats but I hear they are not very comfy, also the Bimarco seem good value for money. Also, as I won’t have a roll cage, what racing seat harnesses will I require? Also, are the runners expensive and are these included with the seat? is there somewhere you can visit to test out the seats, to simply sit in?


Steering wheel
Looking to buy the Renault Sport Steering wheel but I can’t seem to find them anywhere, does anyone know somewhere I can find this online? Or is there another black Suede steering wheel you would recommend, I see a lot of Clio owners using OMP?


Wheels
Looking to fit studs, any recommendation on this and is there any issues using studs with 16” Speedline Turinis, I may change to 15” once I find a set of wheel, I like the look of the team dynamic wheels. My wheel nuts are constantly coming loose on track and I hear the studs will help.



Sorry for the long post, just thought it would be easier to list everything rather than posting lots of single posts on each topic. As you can see I am committed to making the care more track focussed so any recommendation would be appreciated.

This is a short clip showing me at Brands hatch yesterday
 

JamesBryan

ClioSport Club Member
  Titanium 182
BC's with 8kg/8kg setup would probably be your best bet for less than £1000 yes.

There's plenty of choices for seats in that price range, just have to see what fits best for you.

I have the OMP Targa steering wheel, definitely recommend it!

Swap to 15" wheels, better handling and tyres are miles cheaper.

Something not right with your wheels or hubs though if your bolts keep coming loose. Are the inside of the bolt tapers painted on the wheels?
 
  172 Cup,R8, Exige S1
BC's with 8kg/8kg setup would probably be your best bet for less than £1000 yes.

There's plenty of choices for seats in that price range, just have to see what fits best for you.

I have the OMP Targa steering wheel, definitely recommend it!

Swap to 15" wheels, better handling and tyres are miles cheaper.

Something not right with your wheels or hubs though if your bolts keep coming loose. Are the inside of the bolt tapers painted on the wheels?

Thanks for the reply, I think you have hit the nail on the head regarding the bolt tapers on the wheels, I think they are painted looking closer at them, the previous owner refurbished them, I think the paint is melting causing a slight gap to loosen..
 

JamesBryan

ClioSport Club Member
  Titanium 182
Thanks for the reply, I think you have hit the nail on the head regarding the bolt tapers on the wheels, I think they are painted looking closer at them, the previous owner refurbished them, I think the paint is melting causing a slight gap to loosen..

Need to take the paint off them mate.

It happens quite a lot, but simple enough to fix.
 
SPAX RSX are another option on suspension and are a full coilover kit, but not many reviews. I'm torn between these and the BC BR's with solid top mounts.
 
  172 Cup,R8, Exige S1
SPAX RSX are another option on suspension and are a full coilover kit, but not many reviews. I'm torn between these and the BC BR's with solid top mounts.
Can you adjust the firmness on the SPAX RSX? What is the deciding factor for you?
 
  172 Cup,R8, Exige S1
Spoke to KAM, they explained to go with the BC Racing DR Kit, he said 9KG...What does everyone think as I know James recommended 8KG? I want it best for track not road
 

JamesBryan

ClioSport Club Member
  Titanium 182
Yes, they said 10kg is good but very hard for road use

From what i've seen on here with people who use AST's, they go for 450lb/in springs which is 8kg/mm.

10kg would be roughly 550lb/in, stiff!

I'm not sure how stiff you can go before it gets a bit much.

What you think @NorthloopCup?
 
  172 Ph1
Can you adjust the firmness on the SPAX RSX? What is the deciding factor for you?

I have RSX and the settings are from zero to just over 30 clicks .
Recently I was at Bedford and I forgot to adjust the setup from road to track . I noticed the car was a little wobbly , so pulled into the pits , set the clicks to 20 and went out again .
Mega drive from there on in , felt good and planted at that setting .
Next track day I'll go up more and see how it goes .
Def look into the RSX range if you can .
 
  172 Cup,R8, Exige S1
Is it an issue that the BC Racing DR rear shocks do not have the spring as one unit like the GAZ Golds - I have been told there is rear adjustment to stiffen up the shock
 

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JamesBryan

ClioSport Club Member
  Titanium 182
@JamesBryan does that mean all 4 corners can be corner weighted with the BC's? I though it needs to be a full coilover set for a full corner weighing set-up?

It can be yeah. The cornering weigh setup is done by moving the weight around using the height adjustment.

So making one wheel lower will reduce the weight on that wheel and making it higher will increase it's weight. This also affects the opposite corner to which you are adjusting.
 

JamesBryan

ClioSport Club Member
  Titanium 182
I'm torn on which kit to go for, I'll email Kam racing and ask for spring rates on the SPAX kit and I want them firm for track.

Just don't go too hard on the rear, otherwise you'll be bouncing everywhere.
 

JamesBryan

ClioSport Club Member
  Titanium 182
Standard Spax kit is way too soft.

Front spring rates are 342lbs, rear spring rates are 228lbs
 
That's the RSX kit out the window then. The BC DR kit is only £866 with adjustable solid top mounts, versus the KTR kit with top mounts at £1200. BC DR's it is then, just need the best spring rates for my situation now, track car driven to and from track with the odd weekend blast....8/8?
 

JamesBryan

ClioSport Club Member
  Titanium 182
8kg/8kg would be a good start. That's 450lbs all round.

If you wanted the similar rate on the front as the 182 Championship Spax ones, then 750lbs equates to 13kg!
 
8kg/8kg would be a good start. That's 450lbs all round.

If you wanted the similar rate on the front as the 182 Championship Spax ones, then 750lbs equates to 13kg!
13kg would be to much for a car driven on the road you'd think. Will go 8/8kg and take it from there. Just need to find £800 now, lol.
 


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