Clio 182 - Arctic Blue project

[bowen86]

Hi,

I have always wanted a Clio 182, but found myself mainly leading a life more VAG. Then a few years ago I bought an RS250 and loved it. Since then I have gone back to VW daily driving a MK7.5 Golf R Estate, which is a fantastic daily, especially when you have a little one and all the trimmings in tow. Realising the limits of the Golf regarding it's daily duties and with lockdown boredom continuing, I hankered after a cheap, fun track car. I started looking at MX5s but rust is all too common and in the back of my mind I knew I wanted another French hot hatch.

I began to search the FB pages and god forbid the FB market place. The prices of Clio 182's are far and wide and also location was somewhat important as I am in Wales and lockdown restrictions differ between nations.

Eventually I found a 172 Cup not to far away, it had been breathed on slightly and was fully black power-flexed bushed throughout and it shook like a s**tting dog. Now I am not old and I want a track car but honestly, these bushes ruined it. It also had some rust coming through both rear arches. Weighing this against the price, I walked away (to my missus bemusement!).

Then while browsing ebay, I saw an add for a Clio 182. Frank and honest description and a few messages back and forth I agreed a price and made my way to West Wales.

The car, sat with 150k miles and 12 months MOT. A bolt in roll cage, some TD alloys with new linglong ditchfinders, yellow powerflex bushes, KTEC exhaust and some other mods here and there. As it was stripped out I could see down in to the sills through the rear door cards, no rust! Oh and did I mention; no history apart from a "Covid trackday guidance" in the glovebox?

I took it for a test drive where the owner encouraged me to (safely) give it some. Smitten I agreed a price paid the man and made my way the 100 miles home. Faultlessly I drove home, pulled up outside my house, turned the Clio off and called the wife out to show her my new money pit.

"Jump in, let's go for a spin! It's awesome" I said.

Begrudgingly she got it.

Here goes..... Turn the key and it is missfiring it's head off. Wife got out and went back inside. Great.

Sheepishly and crapping myself as to what on earth I had gotten myself into, I pushed the now 3 cylinder Clio in to the garage.

(There's more but for now some pictures, they look massive, sorry)

For sale ad pictures:

TBC

 

[bowen86]

Armed with Cliosport.net on my phone and a pint of Udine's finest, I set about finding out what had caused the missfire to appear after the journey home.

Cliosport.net, Dr.Google and a friends code reader pointed me in the direction of either an Injector or a Lambda sensor. As I had neither of these to hand I started to look in, under and around the car to make a list of what needs to be fixed and in what order.

The only piece of history I have (or had..more later)

Apex springs, that may or may not have been on the sea bed.

I see this exhaust hanger as a right of passage of Clio ownership

 

[MRBILLYUK]

If its misfiring and you've got the eml light on it'll be more than likely an injector or all 4.
Ive had a misfire for the last couple of weeks and the engine management light flashing. It was on the original injectors and pre cat lambda, 97k miles. New ones fitted on Tuesday and it's running spot on now.
Genuine Bosch lambda sensor from here.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BOSCH-02...2c-5050-43d1-8a6b-cb668ca419c2&epid=249704796

Genuine Magneti Marelli injectors from here.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Renault-...3?pageci=3c052af9-3169-48f5-8d53-8753dac95d69

 

[bowen86]

I put a call out on Instagram (@bowen_7r if you're interested) and a few friends cam to my aide offering up some parts that they no longer needed.

I sourced:
A coilpack
2x Injectors
Washer blanks
and some other bits

I also ordered:
Engine Oil & Oil filter
Gearbox Oil
NGK Sparkplugs
Lambda Sensor
Exhaust hangers
Light bulbs

With all of the above fitted.... I nervously turned the key, and...... this missifire was gone. Hoorah.

I took it out the garage, grabbed the wife and we went for a blast. I don't think the Missus was half as impressed as I was.

So pics after my work, not that you can see any of it.

 

[MRBILLYUK]

I put a call out on Instagram (@bowen_7r if you're interested) and a few friends cam to my aide offering up some parts that they no longer needed.

I sourced:
A coilpack
2x Injectors
Washer blanks
and some other bits

I also ordered:
Engine Oil & Oil filter
Gearbox Oil
NGK Sparkplugs
Lambda Sensor
Exhaust hangers
Light bulbs

View attachment 1519584

With all of the above fitted.... I nervously turned the key, and...... this missifire was gone. Hoorah.

I took it out the garage, grabbed the wife and we went for a blast. I don't think the Missus was half as impressed as I was.

So pics after my work, not that you can see any of it.

View attachment 1519585View attachment 1519586

Nice one. Glad you got it sorted. At least you know in future if you get a misfire again where to source genuine new parts.

 

[RustyMojo]

Nice write up so far, looking forward to the updates

 

[bowen86]

I also removed the sound actuator thingy and the carbon canister.

With it now running pretty well I set about sorting some of the aesthetics:

Headlights refurbed

Trimmed a rear boot mat and painted the roll cage silver instead of white.

I also fitted a Fabia splitter, headlight washer blanks, degunked the interior plastics and removed the toe strap for a cup racer tow eye. Recently I removed the side skirts to check the sills which are not in great shape, so I'll be straightening and prepping them for a repaint before refitting the skirts. Also no signs of rust.

I was able to trace down 4 of the previous owners though FB and the owner before the person I bought it from. "Lee" owns a tuning company in Pembrokeshire who gave me some insight on the car and his thoughts on what it needed after his track day in it at Llandow.

Next steps:
Dephaser etc
Suspension
Brakes inc fluid and lines
Tyres
Seats

Not much then...

This forum has been a fountain of knowledge and members seem really helpful, so much so I signed up as a "real" member.

Thanks,

 

[bowen86]

Nice one. Glad you got it sorted. At least you know in future if you get a misfire again where to source genuine new parts.

Thank you mate. I believe it was the Lambda that was goosed. I used a multimeter on the injectors and they were all within tolerance.

Nice write up so far, looking forward to the updates

Thanks RM. Whenever I was stuck or consulted CS.net your name came up more often than not. That's a good thing. Ha.

 

[TheEvilGiraffe]

Good effort.. hope it treats you well !

 

[Ex-User (99307)]

That cup you didn't buy wasn't the one that had brembos and a top end rebuild was it? Messaged the guy in my search for a cup and he said some worrying stuff!

 

[bowen86]

That cup you didn't buy wasn't the one that had brembos and a top end rebuild was it? Messaged the guy in my search for a cup and he said some worrying stuff!

No the one I saw was "OK" other than the rust and black series bushes through out that rattled my spine. I think I know what cup you're on about though, it's doing the rounds on the FB groups lately?

The cup in West Wales, well I was a bit underwhelmed by it to be honest. It was the first Clio RS I'd been in and didn't see the attraction at all. Then I test drove this one (even further west Wales) and it was great and I was giggling like a school girl.

 

[bowen86]

I recently took the skirts off and thankfully no rust, just a load of mud etc. Sills are a bit mushed so I Straightend them out best I could and I'll come back to treat them properly at a later date. My main priority is getting the engine and gearbox up to scratch. I'll be looking to get the belts done first and then look at a gearbox rebuild. Don't get me wrong it goes well, but the dephaser is rattling and there is a slight crunch in to third gear.

I'm a bit of an amateur car photographer, so I couldnt help getting a few pictures of the Clio after I threw a bucket of water over it.

More can be found on my IG @bowen_7r

 

[Ex-User (99307)]

No the one I saw was "OK" other than the rust and black series bushes through out that rattled my spine. I think I know what cup you're on about though, it's doing the rounds on the FB groups lately?

The cup in West Wales, well I was a bit underwhelmed by it to be honest. It was the first Clio RS I'd been in and didn't see the attraction at all. Then I test drove this one (even further west Wales) and it was great and I was giggling like a school girl.

Was somewhere near Blackwood the one one I'm on about, appeared on gumtree but haven't seen it on Facebook. Chap mentioned rusty arches and that his dad had timed it/rebuilt it and specialists were a waste of money on 172s 😳 then did the '3750 firm, I know what I've got' rigmarole.

 

[bowen86]

Was somewhere near Blackwood the one one I'm on about, appeared on gumtree but haven't seen it on Facebook. Chap mentioned rusty arches and that his dad had timed it/rebuilt it and specialists were a waste of money on 172s 😳 then did the '3750 firm, I know what I've got' rigmarole.

Oh I know the one. It's not the one on FB that I've seen. The one of FB I think had a turbo at some point but it was stripped and left in a sorry state "but it's a 172 cup, no offers" etc

 

[Ex-User (99307)]

The one the aggressive Eastern European was selling?

 

[bowen86]

So where am I....

A mate of mine messages me,

"I've booked us a track day, Llandow, you owe me £100"....

"Ok, that fine but when is it?"

"22nd this month"

"oh right...farrrrk"

Now up to this point, I'd been taking my time with the Clio. In fact it was up on axle stands and I was about to strip it down and do a thorough rebuild of all the odds and ends, leisurely taking my time about it, what's the rush? Well now I had a track day in 3 weeks.

Recently done, in no particular order:

PBS Pads
Brembo HC discs
Brake Fluid Flush
Coolant change
Refurbed the wheels myself, don't like black wheels but I think it suits it.

To do (this weekend):

Front 172 cup struts
Cooksport springs
Wishbones
Top mounts
Driveshaft
Fit bucket seats
Tyres

Not much then. Some pictures:

How it (kind of) currently looks.

How it looked a few days before

If you want more frequent updates I tend to post to instagram more @Bowen_7r

Thanks for reading!

 

[bowen86]

Busy day yesterday. A mate came around to help, bribed with bacon rolls and tea.

Managed to fit:

Front 172 cup struts
Cooksport springs
Lower arms
Powerflex Top mounts
And the N/S Driveshaft, after the inner boot split on the back of the block, so I grinded that back too.

Nothing really fought us thankfully. I'm amazed the (apex) springs were in one piece as they were really crusty.

I noticed the O/S outer CV boot was split so I'll replace that or possibly. The whole shaft for the cost, it makes sense to just replace the shaft.

Bucket seat is almost in.

Tyres are still in transit.....

 

[bowen86]

So 3 days before the track day and 10 days after I ordered them, I'm told they are held off shore on a container ship and won't be with me for another 2 weeks. So not a 48hr courier. Cancelled the order and refunded.

Scoured eBay and FB Market Place. Eventually finding a set of Federal RS-R's in Bridgewater from an old boy who hill climbs Suzuki Swifts. Not my first choice of tyres but I had little choice with the track day looming and the Clio wearing ditch finders.
Tyres fitted and the Clio was as ready as it would ever be.

A day before the track day at Llandow I managed to have a freshly painted bonnet and cup spoiler fitted....ready for me to ding on the track day.

 

[bowen86]

22.5.21 Llandow

Llandow is almost on my door step, but I've never been. Choosing Castle Combe as my nearest which is just shy of an hour away.

We arrive, the rain has held. Tyre pressures and wheel bolts checked, all good.

Then comes the noise test and now the covid temperature test... I passed one and failed the other. I asked the Marshall to comeback in 5 mins when my temperature will have dropped, it did. Thankfully.

About 20 cars there, all manner of things from Ariel Atoms and Westfields to Audi S5's and Minis.

This was my first track day in 2 years and my first in Clio and an N/A car. The day starts and the Clio and I take our time to adjust to the course and blow off the cobwebs. After a few laps I am fully in to the swing of it as is the Clio. I had my reservations about the Clio as since I've had it, it's been a bit like Triggers broom. The front end refresh being the most note worthy. I needn't have worried. The Clio took all the abuse I and the track threw at it. What a great car. Throughly enjoyed it.

Llandow is notorious for being an unforgiving track, tough in brakes and tyres especially. I chewed through the front left in the first half of the day. Luckily a mate who I was with on the day (owns a clio which you'll see in the pictures) lives close by and at lunch he popped home and got me his spare wheels with road tyres. Eternally grateful and he became my hero allowing me to enjoy the rest of the day.

My only gripe with the Clio is the steering. When I bought it I was told it had a PAS leak, which I though I had fixed but I'm not sure.

I'm considering EPAS. Can anyone give me their opinion on it if they have it etc?

If you made it this far thank you and I'll let the pics do the taking.... I should say there is no track photographer at Llandow which is dissapointing although I'm told to expect some from a friend who was spectating.

 

[Louis]

22.5.21 Llandow

Llandow is almost on my door step, but I've never been. Choosing Castle Combe as my nearest which is just shy of an hour away.

We arrive, the rain has held. Tyre pressures and wheel bolts checked, all good.

Then comes the noise test and now the covid temperature test... I passed one and failed the other. I asked the Marshall to comeback in 5 mins when my temperature will have dropped, it did. Thankfully.

About 20 cars there, all manner of things from Ariel Atoms and Westfields to Audi S5's and Minis.

This was my first track day in 2 years and my first in Clio and an N/A car. The day starts and the Clio and I take our time to adjust to the course and blow off the cobwebs. After a few laps I am fully in to the swing of it as is the Clio. I had my reservations about the Clio as since I've had it, it's been a bit like Triggers broom. The front end refresh being the most note worthy. I needn't have worried. The Clio took all the abuse I and the track threw at it. What a great car. Throughly enjoyed it.

Llandow is notorious for being an unforgiving track, tough in brakes and tyres especially. I chewed through the front left in the first half of the day. Luckily a mate who I was with on the day (owns a clio which you'll see in the pictures) lives close by and at lunch he popped home and got me his spare wheels with road tyres. Eternally grateful and he became my hero allowing me to enjoy the rest of the day.

My only gripe with the Clio is the steering. When I bought it I was told it had a PAS leak, which I though I had fixed but I'm not sure.

I'm considering EPAS. Can anyone give me their opinion on it if they have it etc?

If you made it this far thank you and I'll let the pics do the taking.... I should say there is no track photographer at Llandow which is dissapointing although I'm told to expect some from a friend who was spectating.View attachment 1540162 View attachment 1540164View attachment 1540164View attachment 1540165View attachment 1540166View attachment 1540169View attachment 1540163

Your tyre pressures cant have been right to rip through the tyre like that? Either that or loooads of camber!

 

[bowen86]

Your tyre pressures cant have been right to rip through the tyre like that? Either that or loooads of camber!

I was checking my pressures before and after every outing on track, ensuring they were optimal. Camber and tracking could well have been out as I've done loads of work on the front end, so I'll give you that.

Have you done Llandow before? It is notoriously hard on tyres especially the front passenger side.

 

[Krarl]

Nothing to do with camber or pressures mate. RSR's are f**king s**t, a made had one of his go like that after 500 road miles on an EP3, the tyre just decided to shed it's skin like a snake 😂

If it's a track car remove the PAS completely, done it on mine and it feels really good when you get over 10mph

 

[bowen86]

Nothing to do with camber or pressures mate. RSR's are f**king s**t, a made had one of his go like that after 500 road miles on an EP3, the tyre just decided to shed it's skin like a snake 😂

If it's a track car remove the PAS completely, done it on mine and it feels really good when you get over 10mph

Absolutely. These tyres were the only option I had at such short notice. I had them on my Megane RS250 track car and they were shite. They have lamination failure. I didn't expect much at all and I was right.

 

[Krarl]

Absolutely. These tyres were the only option I had at such short notice. I had them on my Megane RS250 track car and they were shite. They have lamination failure. I didn't expect much at all and I was right.

Aye they're dogger haha

If youre gonna be doing a few trackdays a year grab yourself a set of 15" wheels mate. 195/50R15 slicks and semi slicks are half the price of 16" ones

 

[Filters]

Gone E-pas myself and haven't looked back.

As for the tyres.... RSR's get eaten anyway, let alone at Llandow. The surface is like coarse sandpaper.
@Romanian Tyre Fitter hit the nail on the head. Get yourself from 15" wheels as tyres are much cheaper.

Also have some GITI GTR2 semi slicks available

 

[Louis]

Nothing to do with camber or pressures mate. RSR's are f**king s**t, a made had one of his go like that after 500 road miles on an EP3, the tyre just decided to shed it's skin like a snake 😂

If it's a track car remove the PAS completely, done it on mine and it feels really good when you get over 10mph

Surely they dont wear like this?! Looks insane!

 

[Krarl]

Surely they dont wear like this?! Looks insane!

Aye they're proper s**t, imagine a linglong semi slick... now add into the fact they're 3x more expensive than a linglong🤣

 

[bowen86]

So my time with the Clio came to an end....

The car did its job over lockdown keeping me busy and out of trouble.

However and opportunity came up to buy another car that I wanted to tinker with and enjoy.

Yep another Clio.

This was ownwd by a mate of mine for the last 6 years. Stacks of history, belts done last year, some great additions such as the PMS shifter, bucket seats and generally no expense spared over the last 6 years.

Of course I'll make this one my own. I've already de-stickied the interior, polished the headlights and dropped the 2118's for a refurb.

I'll start another thread on it for those interested.

 

[t90_lle]

Finally found a thread @bowen86 , I’d just keep going in this thread with the new Clio and get one of the admins to change to title 👍🏻