172 phase 2 full fat budget track prep, recommendations

[keljon]

i used to own a 197 cup as my daily driver and absolutely loved it, sold that a few months ago and have decided to get another renaultsport clio which i am collecting later today.
its a 52 plate 172 phase 2
would really appreciate any advice on getting it track ready, i don't want to strip it completely out as would like to retain some comfort as the nearest track is a 2 hour drive so am thinking along the following
removal of air con, rear bench and trim,spare wheel, anything else worth removing to save weight?
relocate the battery to the boot and use a lighter golf buggy type battery
fresh ATE blue fluid and maybe braided lines if the original ones look tired
any recommendations on pads at a reasonable cost?
is it worth me replacing the suspension for 172 cup shocks and springs, can i fit the 172/182 wishbones? are there other suspension differences?
is it worth fitting a 182 exhaust manifold?
have seen some track based cages on ebay which seem reasonable, would allow me to run harnesses with standard seats and perhaps upgrade to lighter fixed seats later on.
how heavy are the stock 172 phase 2 wheels, worth changing for something lighter?

 

[Mini182]

Before you go ahead and do lots of mods why not try it on a track day first to see how it goes...? They are pretty good out of the box to be honest and you can have a lot of fun on a track day with a relatively standard car.

Just give it a general check over to make sure brakes are ok and all fluids are topped up first.

 

[JoeMarano]

Im going on with just a vibratecnics engine mount, dogbone mount, standard brembo brakes and pads with ducts off ebay, ktec exhaust, uniroyal tyres and basic stripping!

Only extra I think I NEED is bucket seat and harness and cage.

 

[sburrell93]

so am thinking along the following
removal of air con, rear bench and trim,spare wheel, anything else worth removing to save weight? Rear seats maybe since it's easy enough, but wouldn't remove air con from a daily driver. Hassle vs gains vs convenience of having it isn't worth it.
relocate the battery to the boot and use a lighter golf buggy type battery Could do, but again, a lot of hassle for not very much.
fresh ATE blue fluid and maybe braided lines if the original ones look tired ATE fluid, brembo HC discs and some decent pads will be enough. Although braided lines are never a bad idea.
any recommendations on pads at a reasonable cost? Ferodo DS2500? Or just go with road pads and do shorter stints on track.
is it worth me replacing the suspension for 172 cup shocks and springs, can i fit the 172/182 wishbones? are there other suspension differences? Not sure with the shocks, but lots upgrade to Eibach Sportline or Cooksport springs
is it worth fitting a 182 exhaust manifold? Nope. Not even a little bit lol.
have seen some track based cages on ebay which seem reasonable, would allow me to run harnesses with standard seats and perhaps upgrade to lighter fixed seats later on. Harnesses should never be run with standard seats. I ran a track day without harnesses and it wasn't too bad. I now have harnesses, and would hate them on a daily driver lol.
how heavy are the stock 172 phase 2 wheels, worth changing for something lighter? About average I think. A set of 15" wheels will be lighter. Cheaper tyres too.

See the above in red :smile:

I done my first track day in an almost standard car. Standard brakes, ATE fluid, road tyres (pilot sport 3's), standard seats, belts, steering wheel etc, air con still in. All I had done was strip out the rear, although it was on coilovers with a Whiteline rear ARB, but only because I got them cheap over winter and fitted them before my first day, and it wasn't my daily so I just tinkered with it over winter. It was an awesome day though! Brakes faded a little, but the fluid held up well, just the pads and discs that weren't great. Get a decent set of brakes and tyres, and a standard car will still be great fun.

...then start modding, because you will want to lol.

 

[Pauleds]

Before you go ahead and do lots of mods why not try it on a track day first to see how it goes...? They are pretty good out of the box to be honest and you can have a lot of fun on a track day with a relatively standard car.

Just give it a general check over to make sure brakes are ok and all fluids are topped up first.

This

 

[Ex-User (19928)]

Before you go ahead and do lots of mods why not try it on a track day first to see how it goes...? They are pretty good out of the box to be honest and you can have a lot of fun on a track day with a relatively standard car.

Just give it a general check over to make sure brakes are ok and all fluids are topped up first.

QFE.

A standard 172 is a weapon- massively capable and playful on track. What you need to make sure is you've taken care of maintenance and actually have what closely resembles a 172 that left the production line and not a tired example with knackered suspension.

Get it looked over, or check yourself if you can. New dampers and springs if need be, new suspension bushes all round, new engine mounts (don't worry about poly ones, especially if it's going to be a road car). You could probably benefit from steel brake lines as 13 year old rubber lines will probably have some give in them.

Replace all the fluids.

After that, have fun... If you think you're going to do a few track days then I'd say the best things to improve your experience in a 172 is a smaller steering wheel and better seats. You can quite often see Recaro Trendlines pop up for less than £500 (unless they're the ones from the Trophy then they command a bit more of a premium because they're OE) which I personally think would be perfect for the occasional track day but still good for the road.

Maybe some better brake pads so you can stay out on track for longer. But honestly, you'll probably find more things to fix before worrying about that.

 

[JoeMarano]

It shocks me how much trendlines go for when a pair of new corbeau clubsports is £300.

 

[Ex-User (19928)]

Reclining sport seats vs fixed back buckets? Apples and oranges..

 

[keljon]

some great advice, thanks
it has loads of history and has been recently serviced but its done 112k so would assume the suspension is past its best
is it worth me considering cup springs and shocks? can i fit cup wishbones? is anything else different?
or should i go straight to coilovers, i see ktec have a cheap set on their site

 

[keljon]

its not a daily driver, i have another car for that but i dont want it completely stripped out as want some degree of comfort when driving too and from the track

 

[Ex-User (19928)]

TBH, even when suspension is 40k old it's past its best and could do with refreshing.

Luckily Clio suspension is pretty cheap. You can't buy OE ball joints seperately, and the price of the bushes for the wishbones is basically the same as a new wishbone with bushes fitted. No brainer.

I'd be tempted to get:

Springs (a spring's a spring really but you don't want anything too soft- Eibach or Cooksport are the common ones people buy on here)
Cup shocks (They're meant to be a touch firmer IIRC?)
Cup wishbones (OE wishbone from Renault comes with balljoint and bushes, and costs the same as buying the bushes separately from Renault...)
OE Top mounts
OE Engine mounts (can get the Kangoo DCI one for the gearbox to save a few quid)
OE Tie rods

After that you should have a fresh handling 172- I may have missed something but I'm sure someone will pickup on that if I have. If you were to buy coilovers you'd spend the same amount, and still need the top mounts/engine mounts etc.

I personally wouldn't bother with removing aircon. On a hot trackday, would you rather be hitting 1mph extra at the end of a straight or be comfortable for the whole day? Personally I don't enjoy sweating my balls off whilst driving for fun.

Regarding pads, there's lots of different opinions, I've only used standard pads in my 172 and the pedal went a bit soft after 10 minutes of hard driving but after a pitstop and letting a bit of smoke off they were ready for round 2 soon enough. DS2500s are good all rounders, DS3000s are better on track. Not sure what the equivalent CL or Pagid pads are called but there's plenty of threads, just have a search.