Clio 172 Track WIP

[Midnight]

Well after many months browsing the forum I thought it was about time to join.

After speaking and reading a lot of information on here I had a budget of ~£2000. When this came up I thought that looks ideal for what we want in a clio sport.


The idea is to transform it into a track friendly car without spending silly money as past projects have usually ran over £15000 so this was more of a 'budget' project than an all out project I am used to. However saying that after driving the clio I cant really brand it as a budget more so a BARGAIN. For how much you can pick a nice 172 up for these days they really do offer a lot.

Already bought some little items which will be added to the car in the next 2 weeks just before its first outing at Oulton Park. Already fitted the front 'tow' eye which is a nice little item for £15.

Sorry about picture quality I only got back last this afternoon so have not really had chance to take some better pictures. I will the weekend though!

Had to re arrange the drive for them both to fit...

I need to get some 'track' friendly discs and pads , braided brake lines and I already bought some brake fluid as ECP had a little discount on it last week. ( I think I am going to try DS3000 pads and Brembo disc before I splash out on some Carbotech pads )

Along with that I need to fit a new front 'bottom' arm and also fit the Federal tyres I have sitting in the house. The car already has K-Tec coilovers but these will be swapped some time but for now they'll be fine while we get the other things fitted/corrected.

Any suggestions / thoughts are welcome. I'll update the thread as progress goes on...

 

[George@RTR_Parts]

Looks tidy and a good base. Plans sound good, just enjoy it and add to it when needed. A whiteline RARB would be a nice addition ime

Like you say these cars are a bargain now a days and a bit cheaper to run than the beemer i'd imagine

 

[Midnight]

Have been thinking about a RARB but I think we're going to add / remove as we need. As you say I think its just a case of add when needed / feel comfy.

I'll drop you a pm this week regarding the brakes.


From Wiltshire to Staffordshire was a little under half a tank of fuel so around £25.00 which is a 1/4 of what the M3 uses/costs. ( God damn German engineering lol ).

 

[George@RTR_Parts]

No worries

Should see a fair saving in fuel alone, more money for track days which is always a bonus!

 

[Midnight]

Working from home today so I thought I'd do a little to the Clio.

I've stripped as much out the back as I feel is right, I'm not sure why at a guess I'd say you save around 20kg but not much more. I think the weight saving could comes from the front door cards and OEM seats but until Xmas they'll be staying.

Also upon looking around under the car I've found it already benefits from braided brake lines and powerflex dogbone upgrade which was a nice little surprise.

Now to sort the exhaust out as it is rather loud!

 

[Jacky_T]

looks great considering putting my 172 on a diet shortly

 

[Simon@SprayShack]

Spray shack bullets! i remember doing those 1 offs!

 

[Midnight]

I have pm'd you regarding some other bits.

 

[Midnight]

What an awful week I've had regarding the car.

Firstly the exhaust, I couldn't see the OMP Spec N getting on track so I took it down to the nearest exhaust company. After a few attempts It would have been cheaper to simply buy a new system but we live and learn.

Also I now have the EML on reading before and after cat sensor, so this is something I'm going to have to sort also.

After driving it about I tend to get a rich smell of 'burning oil' so the weekend I thought I'd inspect more. After taking the inlet off I believe I have a slight leak coming from one of the rocker bolts directly underneath the inlet. I'm not confident its severe enough to cause the burning oil smell though...

I have booked it into BTM to inspect and rectify but speaking with Fred I'm not sure its a 'quick fix'

While having a drive out , I've noticed that my 195 tyre catches on the inner arch under a spirited drive, so I'm not sure my 205 Federal tyres will fit. Put them up for sale if they sell they sell if not I'll higher the car slightly and fit the wider 205 RSR tyres as while the Toyo Proxes are O.K they are easy to upgrade.


On the plus side, I managed to carry out the lower arm , oil and filter change and bought some second hand disc and pads from a member on here to try and complete the car before the 8th. But this is only a quick solution while other work is being carried out and funds allow a 'better' package as not overly impressed with the Brembo Max and EBC Redstuff I have just fitted.

 

[Jacky_T]

cars looking great mate! nice pictures and great progress!

 

[Jacky_T]

also mate where did your towing eye come from?

 

[Midnight]

Dan @ M.A.D.

Really nice bit of engineering to be honest and a great buy for £15.00.

Still lots more progress to go. We've booked for the 8th at Oulton but with every day that passes it's look ever so more unlikely.

 

[Jacky_T]

i have just started doing a similar build with a 172 cant wait to get out on track in it but its looking like next year really now! and thanks mate!

 

[Jacky_T]

do you have contact details for dan @ M.A.D or a website address or anything?

 

[Midnight]

I've just looked, doesn't look like he's a trader anymore.

http://www.cliosport.net/forum/member.php?67460-Dan-M-A-D

Hope that helps.



I'd go as far as saying £ per fun it's hard to beat a 172. In fact I'm thinking about selling the M3 to focus more on this instead of having 2 projects/ish.

 

[Jacky_T]

thanks mate will try and get one i think! hard to find one that looks so OEM

 

[Midnight]

No worries.

Dropped the car off to Fred@BTM last night. On the way up there the car suddenly developed a 'problem' all of a sudden lost power and sounded like it had some mighty aggressive camshafts.

Damn French crap been nothing but problems but hopefully Fred can sort the problem/s without it being a mega money.

 

[Midnight]

Well I received the car back from Fred@BTM with the cambelt complete and rocker re-sealed.

Could have stood outside talking to Fred for ages, sadly I was mega ill however we did discuss some suspension ideas to improve the overall feel of the car. Fred also found what the 'misfire' was, who ever put the last set of leads on the car didn't route them correctly. I must admit I never even looked when I was fiddling with the engine.

Anyway, straight from Fred's I managed to fit EBC redstuff rear pads along with a K&N panel filter.

12 hours later we arrived at Oulton Park. Was our first track outing in the clio so it was more of a learning curve than anything but it seemed to be O.K. We managed to boil the brakes on the second lap which was my own fault as I just didn't have enough time to swap brake fluid. Apart from that the clio did us proud for our first outing.

Managed to destroy 2 rear Toyo T1R's and we just got home and noticed a huge consumption of oil at the bottom of the engine gathering around some sort of sensor directly below the fuel rail cover or next to the dip tube...

Plenty more things to come but a little more research is needed on parts which will actually aid the progress.

 

[Midnight]

No pictures at the moment, I have just bought a picture disc from the recent Oulton track day so I'll post more pictures when that arrives.

Just fitted 2 new rear Toyo T1R so the car is at least road legal again.

Also I've spoken with Carbotech and they are going to make me some of there XP8 range of pads. Not the cheapest but I did really enjoy the extreme stopping power they offered on previous cars.


I'm also looking to book the car back into BTM ( Once he calls me back lol ) for a few little tweaks and improvements.

Ideally like to get the car back onto the track late October but may be pushing it!

 

[Midnight]

After just speaking with BTM Performance. Hopefully I'll be able to get the car booked in with them late next week to get the best out the current suspension. At the moment I believe the car is running cheap K-Tec coilovers. They seemed ok at Oulton but I'm under no illusion they cant be bettered. But I think swapping them will be closer to Xmas. At the moment I'd just like to get the best out the car.

Bought these from a forum member, £15.00 it was worth a chance that we may need/use them.

Eibach camber bolts.


Hopefully while the car is with Fred we can get the gearbox oil changed , brake fluid changed and we're even thinking about adding a Pure Motorsport strut brace and top mount combination which I feel will go a long way towards future suspension modifications. Also some sort of alignment for 'track' use. The plan is to get back out on track later this month...

 

[Midnight]

Slight change of plan. Car is currently at Total Control Racing having the current suspension set up to be more track focused. Also while its there it is having the gearbox and brake fluid changed with a quick look over. I'm still hoping I can book it into BTM to have a few things fitted but we'll have to wait and see...

Anyway 2 pictures from Oulton Park I promised.

 

[Jacky_T]

car looks great on track mate cant wait to get mine out there

 

[Midnight]

To be honest for a standard/ish car it was surprising how nimble it felt.

Really need to start planning on cage and seats. But there are so many varieties it's hard.

 

[Midnight]

Well just got the car back from Total Control Racing, really friendly bunch!

Anyway the idea was to get the car corner weighed however upon inspection the rear isn't adjustable. New coilovers are on the shopping list but not priority at the minute.

While it was there it made sense to have the brake fluid changed as well as gearbox just for peace of mind.

Apparently the 'toe' was out pretty bad and more camber added to the front. On the short drive back the car seems to 'point' in that little bit better but I really need to get it back to Oulton to see the difference.

Yes I ordered some 'Tow' stickers again more of a gimmick than function buy but for £1.50 I don't mind.

As you can see with half a tank of fuel the Clio is 1058kg. Idea is to get below 1000kg but we'll see if that's possible at a later date.

 

[sonny172cup]

Loads more weight to be lost

 

[Midnight]

I do think sub 1000kg is possible without going too extreme but least we know the weight now as a bench mark.

 

[NorthloopCup]

My cup is around 930kg. That's stripped, caged, perspex windows and still retains a full dash complete with heater.

 

[Adam G]

Well Fred has a group buy going on cages at the moment, get on it.

 

[Midnight]

Well Fred has a group buy going on cages at the moment, get on it.

Not after a 'weld' in version as I already looked, shame though!

I'd love to be around the 950kg in total. But few more things before I dive into weight reduction.

 

[sonny172cup]

Im 881kg with cage

Strip it out and be done with it lol

 

[Midnight]

Well wasn't feeling the best today so thought I'd spend a few hours in the fresh air outside.

I know this'll not be to every ones taste but I really did need to incorporate some more green onto / into the car as the green 'bullet's' look out of place on there own.

Again not a hugely popular modification but for the sake of £30.00 and 1kg increase I thought "why not". In theory it's a pretty good idea however doubt there will be much if any increase / decrease in handling after having it fitted.

On another note, I'm having trouble removing the rear wiper so think I'm going to take a hacksaw to it tomorrow as I'll not be keeping it or the motor. Also need to tidy the electrics up in the rear.

 

[Midnight]

Just had these arrive, pretty excited to try them out. Bedding in required first though!

XP8 compound. If they are any where near as effective as they were on the Evo I'll be a happy man.

 

[Advikaz]

Looks nice mate

 

[Midnight]

Thank you. Ideally getting some new wheels next week which I'm thinking about having painted in green. Yes I know green but I think they'll look nice for 'dry' track wheels.

 

[NorthloopCup]

Nowt wrong with green mate!

 

[Midnight]

No I think the green will actually look pretty nice, but I guess it could be a 'marmite' sort of thing.

Managed to get the camera out the weekend so thought I'd take a quick snap or three of the car how she is at the moment.

Well I've wrote the idea off for attending Oulton next week. So a fair few things need doing before the end of November but with Xmas fast approaching I'm not 100% I'll get everything complete that I wanted.

 

[Midnight]

Well I'm at a total lose on the Clio, few problems have crept up but booked into fred@btm to try and get to the bottom of it and get everything back to how it should be.

Due to this I've actually fell out of love with the Clio for this weekend so thought it was time I gave the daily car a clean as its kind of been neglected due to the Clio project.

I was hoping the new wax from Auto Finesse arrived for today but sadly it didn't so will give the car a more intense detail once it has.

Back on topic with the Clio, I'm looking for some bucket seats. I really like the cobra suzuka seats but after speaking with a few companies apparently they are a lot harder to fit than base mounted seats so I may have a word with Fred regarding this. Basically I need the seat to be adjustable as me and the other driver are not the same height.

 

[Midnight]

Started to strip a little more of the car.

At the moment it looks awful as I have wiring hanging from everywhere but hopefully this'll be sorted. At this rate I may even consider cutting them as its only the rear lighting / speakers. I believe the boot and rear brake lights run on there own cables...

Think I may have found some fixed bucket seats too which will be an over winter 'fitting' to keep me from getting bored.

Cars currently at Fred@BTM sorting a few niggling issues out. Steering seems fine for Fred but I'm certain it isn't the same as before it went to Oulton but I guess Fred checking will ease my mind. (Maybe jumping into and driving which ever car is on the drive doesn't help either) or it could just all be in my head. Hopefully we can order new top mounts and brace which I've wanted for a while will aid the turn in too.

 

[Fred@BTM]

well it seemed fine on my way home last night, had a hint of oversteer at 90mph allegedly

car is too low (for the road), that rear strut brace makes a racket too!

 

[Midnight]

well it seemed fine on my way home last night, had a hint of oversteer at 90mph allegedly

car is too low (for the road), that rear strut brace makes a racket too!

Oversteer we can deal with, understeer is when we have a problem lol.

I know that stupid ass rear strut brace is damn noisey but I like the 'theory' behind it even though I'm pretty confident it does nothing but add weight to the car.

We'll speak about the suspension when I collect the car. In the meantime get on the phone to white line lmao!