Martin's Track Clio 182 Project Thread

[Martin.]

I've been on here for a good couple of years now, but have always been against the idea of starting a thread for my track toy, mainly because I couldn't be bothered.

I've been slowly collating all of my photos though and they are now stored reasonably well. So I thought I would make a change and finally get a thread up and running, with plenty of pictures of how my car has progressed over the years. Hopefully some people will find it interesting, others may just enjoy looking at photos :smile:

It'll be a slow process updating this at first, because I have a lot to get in. But once I've caught up i'll try and keep it running as things happen.

Anyway, here's the car the day I got it... Sitting with only 38k on the clock.

I used it as a second car for a while, doing a-b journeys whilst I got a few problems sorted out, one being a leaky sump gasket. I was also scared about driving my main car near other road users when it was snowy and icy.

Soon enough I started to slowly strip a few things out to save some weight.

The old man has always been a keen car enthusiast so he gave me a helping hand removing things, always quicker with two people. In fact he's always been around and keen to help out with everything I've done to this car.

Next up was removing the arch liners and fog lights for some better air flow around the brakes. As well as fitting a splitter.

 

[Martin.]

I did a couple of track days at Bedford and Woodbridge before anything happened next. They really are decent cars out of the box and I had some good fun with it, but this was always a toy for me and a step into being more hands on so I decided to try and reduce the body roll. A Whiteline ARB was quickly purchased and fitted as soon as it arrived.

Another track day or two was done so I could get a feel for how things would change. I thought it was a really good improvement and a great bit of kit. Still use it to this day.

Ignore the rusty standard exhaust!

 

[Martin.]

Next up was a new exhaust. The noise of the system was key for me. I don't like anything too 'droney' So after lots of time spent looking at videos online I decided to go for a full Milltek system and benefit from it's lifetime warranty. This was fitted free of charge by the supplying garage too, so saved me a job.

 

[NorthloopCup]

I thought you were selling it?!?!

 

[Martin.]

I thought you were selling it?!?!

I never said I was selling it lol. I have lost the love for it. But it'll never go, I'm far too balls deep haha!!! I'm looking at other cars still to replace my daily.

Hoping that once the mapping is done and Alex has sorted out all the wiring mess for me, I can start using it more and enjoying it properly. Stressing me out looking at it at the moment though.

 

[Martin.]

To further try and reduce the body roll on track I bought some Eibach Sportline springs. I got my local mechanic to fit them for me as I had never touched a car before and was too scared to try and do it myself.

I also got him to fit a Powerflex bush on the dog bone mount for me whilst he was at it...

I did another track day or two and could really notice the improvement with the springs fitted. At this point I hadn't planned to do anything else with the suspension.

 

[Martin.]

The next purchase was some lovely leather bucket seats and second hand harnesses, to make it feel more race car and to stop me from rolling around in the corners. These made such an improvement to the driving experience for over a year, and I would have still had them to this day if I didn't decide to go full on with the weight saving.

 

[Martin.]

Soon after fitting these I gave the car it's first proper clean up.

Looking rather tidy.

 

[Martin.]

A second set of wheels was purchased along with some sticky tyres. These became my track only wheels.

 

[Martin.]

The next weekend I set off for another track day at Bedford. Unfortunately on my journey and only 10 minutes from home someone crashed into the back of me. I was so angry I made the driver sign a disclaimer I had written out in the petrol garage near by, admitting all fault.

Took the car back home to inspect the damage, the floor was crushed in, the boot wouldn't shut, the rear arch liners were rubbing on the wheels and the bumper was pushed down and resting on my new exhaust.

After a couple of hours of cutting, whacking and swearing in the dark on my drive I set off for Bedford again. Thankfully I got there in one piece this time.

The car felt awesome on the new tyres. I couldn't believe the difference.

You can see the rear bumper looks close to the exhaust pipes in the last picture, even after I had cut out bigger holes.

 

[Martin.]

Old badges off and new one on...

Also had the car repaired by a local body shop. The guy did an awesome job and was very well priced. Wouldn't hesitate to use him again. All paid for by the other driver's insurance company eventually, after many months of hassle and aggro though.

 

[Martin.]

I got the car fully serviced, new oil, oil filter, coolant, spark plugs. Upgraded to Magnecor ignition leads and solid engine mounts.

Then as soon as it was home I set about fitting my new KTR induction kit and starting to paint the inside.

I also got a smaller front plate fitted, and took it back to Bedford for another track day.

 

[Martin.]

I purchased a retrimmed steering wheel from Snappy and got that fitted as soon as it was received. It made a nice change to the melted standard one. I also fitted a new gear stick gaiter to match the wheel.

 

[Greeny.]

Looking good, bet you're happy its all fixed now!

 

[Martin.]

Next up was a slightly larger change to the car as it was cambelt time. So I took the car to Mike @ Michael Woodford Motorsport.

Whilst it was being done I thought it would be silly not to put some cams in at the same time. So I provided Mike with the following parts and asked him to fit them all on the same trip:

Cat Cam 438s
Pure Motorsport solid top mount and strut brace kit
Powerflex wishbone and front ARB bushes

He also got some matched inlets for me and got a lot of things powdercoated before he did the mapping.

It wasn't all glory though as the car only made 180bhp on the rollers. Mike suggested my cat was the issue. We had run out of time though and I had to leave it at that for the time being as I had a track day booked for that weekend. After the track day was done I purchased a Milltek decat, fitted it and took it back to mike for mapping again.

This time the result was better:

Another track day followed shortly after and the car felt like a different animal, I was over the moon with it.

 

[Martin.]

Looking good, bet you're happy its all fixed now! :smile:

It was such a relief to get it all sorted and covered mate!!

 

[Martin.]

I then stripped the car out some more and started to prep it for a Safety Devices rear cage.

Got the cage fitted and then did a bit more painting inside to try and tidy it up a bit.

 

[Martin.]

My mate and I did a track day at Mallory in the middle of winter which was great fun. He had a slight off and got the car covered in mud. The Clio performed very well as always, but I stayed on the road wheels with Michelin tyres this time.

When we got home I got the local valet place to give it a quick going over.

Poor iPhone photos, but that's all I have.

 

[JonC219]

I see you're not busy today then mate haha

Did you sell those Renaultsport seats? Can't remember...

 

[Martin.]

I see you're not busy today then mate haha

Did you sell those Renaultsport seats? Can't remember...

Haha how can you tell

Yeah, @Ant_Smiggy has them in his beautiful beast now.

 

[Martin.]

I did a wet airfield day and the car got filthy. Started off with the road wheel and the Michelin tyres but swapped to the track wheels when it dried up a bit. Was surprised at how good the R888s were even in damp conditions.

A couple of days later I bought this:

The alternator was also giving me some issues. And the power cable sheared off when I was at Mallory Park. So I bought a new alternator from Adam @Renault Wolverhampton and got that fitted as soon as possible.

 

[Martin.]

I did another track day with some Honda mates and the Clio showed them how it was done

 

[Martin.]

I then did some more painting on the inside, with a lot of help from the old man (he likes painting). Also got a KTR boot mat cheap so stuck that in.

I then took the car to Matt @ Code Red Motorsport who relocated the battery for me and fitted a cut off switch with fuse bypass.

@Ant_Smiggy It appears I did have the battery under those seats. :blush:

 

[Martin.]

I then treated the car to a proper valet. It was gleaming once done and looked immaculate.

 

[Martin.]

I then bought these:

But I had another track day booked in before I could go about getting them fitted. This time at Brands, one of my favourite track so far. Even @Kelv attended this time and came for a few passenger laps to give me some pointers.

Also bought a new footrest from Dan @ MAD and got that in place.

 

[Martin.]

I replaced the standard bullets with a nice anthracite Spray Shack item..

(Yes I do have shorts on)

 

[Martin.]

@Kelv then sorted out a trip to the 'Ring for 6 months time, October 2013. So I spent a lot of time looking for a trailer to take the Clio there on. I eventually picked up a lovely PRG trailer from Warwickshire.

In the mean time I had taken the Clio back to Mike again for fitting of the throttle body kit and mapping. Things ended up taking longer than anticipated so unfortunately Mike wasn't able to get it onto the dyno. I think I got the car back a week before we set off for the 'Ring..

Love this picture:

It was a great trip with some great people. Unfortunately it was a very wet weekend though so no serious laps were put in. It was more about the experience and just cruising around for me on my first visit there. I did have a lucky escape though when I clipped a wet curb and ended up completely sideways and looking over my shoulder to see the road ahead.

 

[Martin.]

On the 'Ring trip I noticed two of my road tyres had nails in. So I decided to get rid of them and get another set of 15s and stick some tyres on that I could use in the wet. With a lot of recommendation from the race guys on here I went for Toyo R1R. So I ordered some tyres and bought these wheels from another forum member for them to go on.

Once the tyres arrived and were fitted I booked in for another trackday at Bedford. @JonC219 was there on this day too.

Unfortunately when taking the last few photos, the wind ripped the door out of my hand and buckled it backwards. I forced it back into place to get home and got Matt to fix this for me on my next visit to him.

 

[Martin.]

On the last visit to Mike when he was fitting my ARP rod bolts, he mentioned that my bearings were quite worn. So as it was now winter I thought I would do a little freshen up of the engine.

I also planned to do a suspension refresh and tidy up a lot of things along the way, so I bought these bits in anticipation. (Still yet to fit the PMS linkage kit!)

 

[Kelv]

Getting there Martin, slowly bringing it up to date

 

[Mr Plums]

That looks great up to yet mate, some very nice upgrades

 

[Martin.]

Getting there Martin, slowly bringing it up to date :wink:

Getting there. Still got a whole years worth to go!

That looks great up to yet mate, some very nice upgrades :smile:

Cheers man. Lots more to come but I've had enough of posting photos for today haha.

 

[Apg100]

Hi Martin, do you race this, or is it just for the track?

 

[Rubicon_]

This is brilliant keep the photos coming

 

[Martin.]

Hi Martin, do you race this, or is it just for the track?

Just track days at the moment mate. Although I have considered getting into some form of racing at some point. But nothing is on the horizon just yet!!

The car isn't even in a decent state at the minute and it's been stressing me out for a couple of months, to the point where I had lost the motovation to even touch it. Hoping that once these next few tasks are sorted and out the way, things will be looking more positive.

This is brilliant keep the photos coming :wink:

So much more to come mate. Things get a lot more OCD too.

 

[Apg100]

Just track days at the moment mate. Although I have considered getting into some form of racing at some point. But nothing is on the horizon just yet!!

The car isn't even in a decent state at the minute and it's been stressing me out for a couple of months, to the point where I had lost the motovation to even touch it. Hoping that once these next few tasks are sorted and out the way, things will be looking more positive.

If it make you feel better, mines engineless at the moment! All suspention still to sort, full re wire to do, and sort out a petrol leak I can't find! And intending testing in Middle of feb .

Our race series has a launch day on the 7th of March, at Rockinham (still to be confirmed), so why not bob down and see what it's all about. It may give you some motivation

 

[George182]

Very nice indeed!

Lots of really cool upgrades - it looks great too.

 

[Martin.]

@Apg100

I know about this day. A friend has already invited me along however it's a bit too far for me. I was hoping to go when it was being held at Silverstone but I understand they have just recently changed the venue and date.

Your car sounds like it needs a lot more work than mine at the minute haha!!

One of my good mates has just built a lovely race car and races in the 750MC championship. So I'm intending to go along to a few of the race meets with him this year to get a better flavour for it all.

 

[Martin.]

Very nice indeed!

Lots of really cool upgrades - it looks great too.

Cheers man. Not a touch on your beast though!

 

[GrahamS]

Nice one buddy, was wondering when you were going to get a project thread up!