172 Cup Track/Fast Road car.

[Cup_Phil]

Yeah I have

Hated the exhaust sticking out mate - looked horrid lol
Also when I shut the garage door it hit the exhaust. You could have carried someone stood on it LOL

It's turning out to be a proper pain in the arse - too loud for track days and with a 52mm internal diameter no-one makes a baffle that fits

 

[Cup_Phil]

MIJ exhausts... Yuck!! They are one of the worst exhaust companies going.. But that doesn't look a bad job!

I would of kept a little more length on the tail pipe, but I do like a little poke

LOL they did come across as a bit rough - but to be honest the bloke doing the welding asked me exactly what I wanted - understood the wideband needed to be pre-cat and everything and the welds look nice - at least it's done for the MOT and a lot less than the £340+ k-tec wanted for a sports cat

Also this cat has some sort of german stamp on it and looks very legal - the polished stainless crap people sell around here I don't think would pass an MOT

 

[Cup_Phil]

Oh and the ehaust tip isn't as short as it looks in that pic - just a crap angle
It sticks out about 1.5" from the bumper

 

[batesey]

looks good mate! i managed to get hold of Chris but only this morning! he said he was going to ring you ahh well his loss, glad you got it sorted tho!

 

[Cup_Phil]

Yeah he finally rang me this morning and sent me an email - bit gutted cos he quoted £40 less than it cost me and without a trip to Birmingham
But he wouldn't answer his phone for 3 days and I needed it sorting... oh well

 

[Nafoff]

nice project, nice exhaust

 

[Cup_Phil]

Thanks mate, means a lot coming from you

 

[Nafoff]

Thanks mate, means a lot coming from you

lol....made me chuckle, dunno why mate...
mine is closer to a bbq than being back on the road... ha

 

[Cup_Phil]

Hah it'll get there mate

Yours was my inspiration for buying a clio!

 

[Chris205]

Loving the work phil, was thinking of going for an oreca exhaust but when mine gets a sniff of boost 2.25" IMO will restrict it. Going custom 2.5" with a slightly similar tip to the oreca.

 

[Sir_Dave]

So the Oreca Grp N (track day) exhaust is too loud for trackdays?

Awesome. Lol.

Like the progress Phil

 

[alex-avfc]

MIJ are dodgy...was it the one in Walsall or Brum?

 

[Cup_Phil]

MIJ are dodgy...was it the one in Walsall or Brum?

Walsall - they were alright. Bit chavvy but the welding is spot on

So the Oreca Grp N (track day) exhaust is too loud for trackdays?

Awesome. Lol.

Like the progress Phil

Well it's hardly a fair test as I'm running ITB's, omex and 182 manifold with a custom decat - it's not quite standard lol


Anyway...

MOT DAY

Hate this day - been in a mad panic for weeks trying to find a friendly MOT'er to pass my car without a cat. Gave up and paid £220 for a 200 cell sports cat to be fitted to my Group N exhaust. Which means my exhaust alone this month has cost £475

Woke up early - spent an hour checking the car myself, lights etc... then went for a drive to get the brakes all cleaned off

Got the MOT station and the guy drives it in and asks "Is this a track car?"
I say yes and explain it mostly lives in the garage but I occasionally take it out at weekends if the weather is nice
"OK I'll test it as a track car then" - good start!!

45mins later he's back. The car flew through the emissions test, virtually zero, which for ITB's and a Group N exhaust I'm gobsmacked about
It also flew through the braking test - even the rear showed nearly double the force needed to pass - which being a cup in the past has caused me loads of problems
"It's failed on one thing" he says "your sunstrip is too big - go and take it off and come back" LOL Woooooo!

Took the sunstrip off the car and nipped back - fully passed and only a £30 dent in my wallet. A single advisory on the certificate just says "Vehicle tested as a track car" which he said covers his arse if I go off driving like a tw*t on the road lol

Such a good day. The guy even commented that it was one of the best track cars he'd seen

 

[Matt W]

Used it on track yet?

 

[Cup_Phil]

What the exhaust or the car? You know i've used the car LOL!?

 

[Cupman29]

What seats have you got and I guess you have harnesses at the point of testing? No warning lights issues?

I've got a 11 months on my MOT but can see some major issues.

 

[Silent_Scone]

MIJ exhausts... Yuck!! They are one of the worst exhaust companies going.. But that doesn't look a bad job!

I would of kept a little more length on the tail pipe, but I do like a little poke

teehee.

Looking good, Phil.

Proper filter!

 

[LewisTaylor]

Good news! So what's the difference between them testing as a road car and track car? Other than it covers his arse as he says...

 

[Toastfrenzy]

Isn't it tested as a day light driven car only? Not able to be driven at night.

 

[Cup_Phil]

No its literally just a note on the mot to cover the guy if I get pulled being an idiot in itSeats are fixed buckets, no sliders and 4 point harnesses

 

[2Damnsly Andy]

Some good information there Phil, I guess I'll need to strip my car down some more to pass it off as a 'track car'. It is a track car but at present still looks like a normal road car.

 

[batesey]

who mot'd it phil?

 

[Cup_Phil]

Batesey - I'll drop you a PM

Not much to say really, washed the car on Sunday as the weather seemed nice - took 4 hours and the wheels (although they look fine in the photos) are still covered in bits of tar


Need to do a more thorough clean soon

Oh yeah the eagle-eyed amongst you will have noticed I de-badged the rear leaving a couple of lovely holes straight into the boot LOL. I'm fitting a clio 200 stylee renaultsport badge on there when I can be bothered to order one, or I did consider just putting a massive white nurburgring sticker over it lol

 

[LewisTaylor]

Looks lovelly mate, makes me miss my old cup, but you really need to attack that engine with VHT paint to tidy it up abit

 

[Cup_Phil]

LOL I think the engine bay is beyond saving - the ends of the wings where the slam panel used to be need painting, the rocker covers need painting, the omex loom is fecking awful - there's bits of cable a meter too long.

Have you spotted my blanking plate for the oil breather on top of the rockers that's already gone rusty? LOL

I've got a leaking oil seal on the VVT switch at the moment - once I get that sorted and the weather gets warmer I'm gonna paint bits up in the bay. But no-one ever looks in there anyway

Need to get the interior sprayed and get the cage back in - I feel weird without it

 

[LewisTaylor]

LOL I think the engine bay is beyond saving - the ends of the wings where the slam panel used to be need painting, the rocker covers need painting, the omex loom is fecking awful - there's bits of cable a meter too long.

Have you spotted my blanking plate for the oil breather on top of the rockers that's already gone rusty? LOL

I've got a leaking oil seal on the VVT switch at the moment - once I get that sorted and the weather gets warmer I'm gonna paint bits up in the bay. But no-one ever looks in there anyway

Need to get the interior sprayed and get the cage back in - I feel weird without it

Don't be daft, 2 hours TLC and you could have that looking alright, my ph1 looked like that when i fitted the itb's, everything was just thrown on in a hurry lol, but had a tidy up of the loom, take off coil pack and leads, put some dust sheets over everything bar rocker cover, scrub off the worst of the sh*t. Then just VHT spray it as it is

 

[batesey]

That bays easily saved matey, a day or two and you could have it up to a perfect standard

 

[dmallett]

Lovely car! Looks wrong with out a cage now,

 

[Cup_Phil]

Lovely car! Looks wrong with out a cage now,

It really does. It feels wrong driving it too

Also I had to remove the Renault Sport sunstrip for the MOT - but I need another one because the seating positions is so low I'm constantly dazzled by the sun lol

 

[Robiniho77]

It really does. It feels wrong driving it too

Also I had to remove the Renault Sport sunstrip for the MOT - but I need another one because the seating positions is so low I'm constantly dazzled by the sun lol

This is very annoying!! Decent seats FTL!!

Speedlines look great though! Engine bays are nice cleaned but are always go over show!!

 

[Sir_Dave]

Looking great Phil!

Although that loom brings back nightmares lol. Think it looks weirder than when in Guppy's due to the lack of battery ...

Can you not refit the sunvisors? I still had mine in the saxo even when it was all stripped out.

 

[2Damnsly Andy]

Looking good Phil.

 

[Cup_Phil]

Looking great Phil!

Although that loom brings back nightmares lol. Think it looks weirder than when in Guppy's due to the lack of battery ...

Can you not refit the sunvisors? I still had mine in the saxo even when it was all stripped out.

Well I could but they would either be permanently up or permanently down due to the roll cage
I liked the sunstrip - gonna put it back on. The bloke at the MOT station just said it had to be removed because the wipers ran over it lol

 

[Cup_Phil]

I had the headunit in the glovebox first time I stripped the car out - but just velcro'd to the top of the glovebox
Because of the solid mounts the vibration meant it kept falling down and then rattling around LOL

So this week I bought a head unit holder type thing designed for a land rover - supposed to bolt to the bottom of the dash in land rovers that don't have a head unit slot

Got it fitted last night with a couple of self tappers, looks good and means the head unit doesn't rattle around at all while I'm driving

When the glovebox is closed the current track/station is displayed on the center dash display and I can control all the major functions from the stalk behind the steering wheel

Nice to have some tunes back for the long motorway hauls

 

[Jimbo_M]

The car is looking real good dude! Nice mod with the cd player there too.

 

[Martin.]

Awesome!!!!

 

[batesey]

like the idea of that! might nick it when my interior comes out..

 

[Cup_Phil]

Hehehe it cost a whopping £6.99 delivered

 

[Cup_Phil]

I started thinking today back over the last year at what's been done - thought I'd do an up-to-date spec sheet (as I was writing one out for my insurance anyway)


Engine / Gearbox
Jenvey ITB's with 90mm trumpets
Reverie carbon deep backing plate
Pipercross C604D sausage filter
Omex 600 ecu with narrowband lambda control
Custom engine loom
Group N top engine mount and top gearbox mount
Powerflex lower engine mount
182 exhaust manifold
Group N exhaust system with custom 200 cell sports cat
B&M short shift kit
Oil catch tank
Coil pack relocated


Suspension
Bilstein coilovers all round
Powerflex front wishbone bushes
Cup racer solid top mounts and strut brace
Powerflex front ARB bushes
Whiteline rear ARB
Front camber bolts


Brakes
Braided hoses front and back
Ferodo DS2500 pads front
Brembo HC discs front


Wheels
Speedline 2118 palmersport wheels, 15"
205/50/15 Uniroyal Rainsports


Interior
Fully stripped out, all sound deadening and panels removed except for dashboard
Airbag ecu and wiring removed
Bimarco futura seats
OMP 3" 4 point harnesses
OMP 6 point cage with door bars, rear modified to a full cross with harness bars
SPA oil pressure and temperature gauges in headunit blank
Wideband lambda controller and gauge in headunit blank
Alpine iPod headunit relocated to glovebox
Battery relocated to boot


Bodywork
Xenon headlights
Carbon fibre front splitter
Fog lights removed for brake cold air feeds
Debadged boot
Small front number plate
Renaultsport sunstrip

 

[2Damnsly Andy]

Impressive List Phil, what bhp are you running currently?