Ash’s Clio 182 Trophy

[Ash J]

Finally got round to fitting the Pole Position seats. It has been a long wait, going back to when the order was first placed in April.

Spent the evenings this week getting the seat units built up so I could essentially just drop them in, so bolting up the seats, side mounts and runners to the @JON FOZ subframes. This required drilling new holes in the subframes as these are quite wide seats.

Big thanks to @frayz for all your help and advice on building them up and fitting them mate, it really is very much appreciated.

Picture of them built up, before fitting to the car (minus new seat belt receivers)...

I had ordered some custom aluminium plaques to replicate the original ones on the Trendline seats. Big thanks to @STRBramley for supplying the design and details for these. I ordered several variants of these, in different colours, but settled for the brushed aluminium finish as it looks most OE...

Spent ages removing the Recaro sticker/decal from the side mounts, cleaned them up, then applied the new plaques. I also bolted up my new seat belt receivers to the side mounts after this, but no picture of this step.

Earlier in the week, I fitted my red seat belts from Kolour Koncept in readiness...

And then today, finally got round to fitting the seats into the car. Can’t tell you how happy I am with them, particularly the plaques and red belts, which I feel really give it an OE look, as if it came from the factory like this.

Not had a chance to go for a drive yet; that will be tomorrow!

 

[Clio_fool]

That's the best interior I've seen on a mk2 Clio, the red details are spot on imo👍.

 

[Chris V6 255]

Looks awesome!


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[RustyMojo]

There is literally nothing I would change in that car Ash! Beautifully done!

 

[frayz]

Shitbox! 😂

 

[JON FOZ]

Looks fantastic 😎

 

[frayz]

I’ve had the privilege of watching this car and it’s details come together over the coming weeks and the finished result is nothing short of outstanding.
The OEM plaques really set it off as if it had come from the factory with the PPs fitted.
These are the details so few people are prepared to go to, the lengths to get these little bits right but they absolutely make it. Red belts again look stunning and I see no reason if Renault would not approve themselves to see a Trophy honed to such meticulous detail.

Love it Ash, proper job mate. Just you wait till you go for a drive... You’ll have jaw ache from grinning so much.

I’ll await the text message. 😅👌🏼

 

[Amos91]

Stunning seats those 👍

 

[Jekyll]

😍😍😍

 

[josh11490]

By far the best "clubsporr" style interior I have seen in a clio. The red seat belts set it off.

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[Ash J]

Appreciate all the nice comments people!

That's the best interior I've seen on a mk2 Clio, the red details are spot on imo👍.

Quite a statement, thank you 🙂 I have tried to make an effort with all the details. Some may think it’s too much which I understand, but I really think it works.

Looks awesome!


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Cheers Chris 🙂

There is literally nothing I would change in that car Ash! Beautifully done!

Appreciate the compliment 🙂 the interior is pretty much complete now!

I’ve had the privilege of watching this car and it’s details come together over the coming weeks and the finished result is nothing short of outstanding.
The OEM plaques really set it off as if it had come from the factory with the PPs fitted.
These are the details so few people are prepared to go to, the lengths to get these little bits right but they absolutely make it. Red belts again look stunning and I see no reason if Renault would not approve themselves to see a Trophy honed to such meticulous detail.

Love it Ash, proper job mate. Just you wait till you go for a drive... You’ll have jaw ache from grinning so much.

I’ll await the text message. 😅👌🏼

Appreciate the nice words Frayz, thanks mate.

A lot of inspiration comes from your own thread/work, especially with regards to these seats; it’s your car that made me realise I really needed them in my life!

Nice to know that the little details don’t go unnoticed 🙂

By far the best "clubsporr" style interior I have seen in a clio. The red seat belts set it off.

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Quite a compliment, thanks very much 🙂

 

[MrBlonde]

Its not to much mate i dont think at all👍🏻

 

[gambit]

Looks so good, waiting for the drive review of them too !

 

[Ash J]

Had some custom M8, 8mm stand off aluminium spacers made up to lower the steering column.

I’ve read that 8mm is about the maximum you can get away with. It was certainly a squeeze but managed to get them in without too much trouble, so can confirm this is indeed the most you’d get away with.

Made the steering wheel position that much lower though, absolutely spot on now, particularly with the Recaro PP’s 👌🏼

Only 2 required per car, so I have 2 spare for another car if anybody wants them, just drop me a PM 👍🏼

 

[MrBlonde]

Nice mate,looking forward to seeing the Trophy & meeting you when we go Caffeine & Machine👌🏻

 

[Ash J]

Spent today giving the Trophy a good clean; first one in about 7-8 weeks I think!

Consisted of snow foam (AF Avalanche), followed by two bucket wash with Chemical Guys ceramic shampoo, and a thorough rinse with purified water which makes life so much easier, no drying required!👌

Forgot what colour the 2118’s were underneath all the brake dust 😅

Gave particular attention to cleaning the door jams and shuts and bottom of the doors today, with some Bilt Hamber Surfex HD. Has made such a difference, much cleaner now. Forgot to take before pictures as was so eager to start cleaning them (looked pretty awful before!). This was a really satisfying job.

Gave the interior a wipe down with this new stuff I wanted to try. Really good and I would recommend. Poorboys Natural Dressing was my preferred option for the interior prior to purchasing this, but I really like this new stuff.

And then finally gave the air conditioning system a freshen up with a Bilt Hamber air con bomb.

 

[mossyv6]

Fantastic job but full photos now needed of this beautiful car now it’s clean 😃

 

[Ash J]

Fantastic job but full photos now needed of this beautiful car now it’s clean 😃

As requested, sir!

I’m not particularly great/imaginative with photos, and only taken with a phone camera. Something I’d like to arrange actually is a mini photo shoot of the car in a decent location with somebody who knows what they’re doing with a camera!

 

[MrBlonde]

Looks awesome mate,quick one.How do you rate the Nankangs?.Looking at what tyres to get for my new alloys,so looking at what people say on certain tyres.I had AD08's on the TD's,which were pretty good.So there on the list at the mo

 

[Ash J]

Looks awesome mate,quick one.How do you rate the Nankangs?.Looking at what tyres to get for my new alloys,so looking at what people say on certain tyres.I had AD08's on the TD's,which were pretty good.So there on the list at the mo

They’re great for the money mate. £60 a corner from K-Tec. Only thing I’d say is they take a bit longer to warm up, but I think it’s because I have the 180 compound which is a bit harder (only one available from K-Tec). Not sure if other/softer compounds are available elsewhere. Can’t comment on what they are like in cold/winter or heavy rain yet, but I Imagine you’d want to drive with a bit of caution. I had them on my 265 Megane and again they were great, but they required even more time to warm up in winter, just got to drive to conditions like you would with post performance orientated tyres.

I highly rated AD08/AD08R tyres which I had on a previous 182. However, I believe you can only get the new version now which is AD08RS, and I’ve read lots of unhappy reviews suggesting they are not as good as the older non-RS ones (apparently compound is different due to environmental reasons).

I’m looking to go a step up on the NS2R’s and run AR1’s pretty soon actually, maybe even in the next couple of weeks. Can be had for about £380 for a set of 4. Read some very good reviews on them, as good if not better than R888 in a lot of cases. Mine is not a daily car mind, perhaps these would be a tad extreme for a daily!

 

[MrBlonde]

Yep they seem great value for money & i would guess depends on compound you get like you say.Ive heard good things also about the R888's & AR1's,i wouldnt drive hard in the rain/damp.

 

[mossyv6]

Thank you @Ash J that is absolutely stunning mate - full respect 👍

 

[Ash J]

So last weekend saw a road trip to Wales in the Trophy. It was supposed to be the annual Trophy Welsh Weekender (where you normally get some 20-30 Trophy owners together), and this year being the 15th anniversary of the Trophy, was supposed to be the biggest one yet, but didn’t quite happen that way unfortunately, due to the obvious.

It just so happened to coincide with my birthday last weekend, so I decided to go anyway and make a weekend of it, along with @Stefan. in his Trophy; the first time attending this event for both of us. It was a pleasant surprise to find 2 other Trophy owners at the start point Saturday morning, along with another chap in his 911 Carrera. We pretty much drove the usual route throughout the day as a group, stopping for lunch, and eventually ending up at Aberystwyth for the night.

Early on in the drive, we stopped to grab a photo of the cars together:

And then what followed was a truly memorable drive through some of the best Welsh roads. Weather was amazing, scenery was epic, and best of all the Trophy was absolutely sublime. It is the first time I had been able to use the car in anger on some very nice roads since all the work/modifications were carried out, and boy was it good. I definitely won’t forget the blast across the B4391, unbelievable piece of tarmac and the Trophy was beyond what I could have expected; absolutely epic.

Quick snap from the car park when we stopped for lunch...

Just as we arrived in Aberystwyth for the evening, I briefly saw @Tim. in his Trophy; was good to see yet another Trophy, even if only for a few minutes.

This was basically our view out of the Airbnb we stayed in for the night...

Onto Sunday, which was another fantastic day, driving some amazing roads and stopping off at various points to take in the views/scenery. We didn’t join the main group for Sunday, so myself and @Stefan. planned our own route for the day, eventually taking us back home. Some of the roads through the Brecon Beacons were again, truly stunning.

Some photos taken at various points on Sunday...

Stopped to fill up with V Power for the last time before the journey back home, and spotted this Escort in a garage next door, so thought I’d pull up and grab a shot. Can see how filthy the front end of the Trophy is here too!

Overall, was a thoroughly enjoyable weekend. A big thanks to everyone who made it a memorable road trip and birthday weekend. Quite frankly, I can’t say enough good words about the Trophy. It was utterly sublime and didn’t miss a beat all weekend; can’t think of many better cars for a trip like this.

 

[Ash J]

And a few of how filthy the car looked on the driveway once I got home! A wonderful reminder of a thoroughly enjoyed road trip/drive across Wales.

 

[frayz]

Proper, love a car when it looks properly used. Looks like a fantastic trip Ash

 

[Clio_fool]

It's great to see these cars being enjoyed in their natural environment, I can't think of a better car to blast around Wales in. Its a shame we didn't catch a glimpse of the trophy's that were stalking Wales last weekend as we were going from Brecon to Snowdonia on Saturday.

 

[Louis]

'Filthy' 😂

Cars look great together and some epic roads I'm sure!

 

[gambit]

How did you find the seats on such a long drive?

 

[yeecup]

looks like this is now up for sale as i just spotted it in the coming soon section on collecting cars. nice car for somebody.

 

[Jack!]

Do you have a set of fresh driving only shoes that you wear so you don't get the pedals dirty?

 

[Clio_fool]

looks like this is now up for sale as i just spotted it in the coming soon section on collecting cars. nice car for somebody.

It was advertised on here a few weeks ago. Shame after all the effort but needs must I'm sure it'll do well on collecting cars.

 

[deanoE30M3]

Will be interesting to see what it makes, the Clio is lovely!

2005 RENAULTSPORT CLIO 182 TROPHY for sale by auction in Portsmouth, United Kingdom

Benefitting from a recent engine rebuild and a refreshed appearance, as well as numerous modifications designed to make this an even more exciting driver’s car.

collectingcars.com

 

[Mark68]

No longer available on Collecting Cars.......

 

[ashtons99]

I saw it about 10,200 about 15 mins before auction ended. Didn’t make reserve I don’t think

 

[dave120]

I saw it at 11k, didnt sell.

 

[ashtons99]

they may put highest bidder in touch with Ash to negotiate. £11k not too shabby though

 

[yeecup]

they may put highest bidder in touch with Ash to negotiate. £11k not too shabby though

It's 4 grand less than he had it up here for so...........

 

[ashtons99]

As I understand he sold it outside the auction

 

[dave120]

Glad he got it sold. A stunning car no doubt but the huge list of mods probably put most of the CC crowd off. I think people on CC are looking for untouched examples that they can stick in a car collection.