Clio 182 - Pre ownership questions.

[modd1uk]

Hi guys/girls, this is my first post hopefully of many ! Il try and keep it short and sweet.

Basically i'm a biker, well not any more because there are too many idiots on the road. To get over the loss of my bike i bought a civic type R FN2, spent a bit of money on that and its a lovely car, however i wouldn't want to risk it on the track.

We need a second car in the house so i was thinking about a clio 182 as a second car/occasional track day car, my question is..am i too big for one ? Im 6ft3, my mum has a clio 1.5dci and i struggle to get inside the damn thing ! I think thats more to seat position than anything else though.

Also what are they like to live with as a daily car, originally i was going to buy a diesel estate + trailer + track only car, but it works out less to just buy a clio 182 that i can track a few times a year !

 

[deer_dodger]

I'm about 6'2" and have no issues, but I do have non Renault Recaro Trendlines that lower the seat height by 20mm, but if it's a track car, one fixed race seat would lower the seat height and add to safety on track.

You'll have read about belts / dephaser pulley, but if not done or no evidence of being done, you'll need to budget for up to £800 or so.

Gearboxes can be a weak point, but I think it's shifting too quickly through the box that causes them issues, so a gentle approach will hopefully ensure a long lived transmission, even if tracked regularly.

Ball joints / track rod ends seem to wear quite quickly, mine has never been tracked and I don't drive aggressively, but mine all wore out at 30 odd thousand miles. Cheap and simple to replace though.

Day to day ownership is relatively painless, reasonable mpg, comfortable and a decent amount of space to carry a spare set of track wheels etc to your chosen event.

You'll see on here that there are people with Ferraris etc that have a 1*2 in their garage as a track car, so there must be something good about them!

 

[Llewellyn]

I had this dilema last year, being 6ft 6'' I was also concerned about driving position. I currently run Cobra xlow subframes and a pair a Bimarco bucket seats which, improves driving position greatly(your closer to the floor so, knees further from the wheel and I can adjust the seat further back than standard).
I originally ran the standard seats for a while then, swapped over to a seat of Recaro Trendlines which, did help with driving position a bit but, in my opinion they aren't supportive enough for track work and don't improve the things enough for the taller driver, considering the cost of buying them.
I can't really comment on daily use as mines barely covered 2000 miles in over a year and only really gets used for track but, it's a cracking little car and ideal for a cheap track toy.

 

[Martin.]

I don't use mine daily but I use it for everything. I've been doing 1 track day a month in it too since ownership. Great little car. Very cheap to run and maintain in my opinion. Even if something goes wrong, it's cheap to get done. Had a new sump gasket replaced on mine for £130.

Obviously the main thing to ensure has been done is the belts. That can take out the engine if they go and I think your looking at £1500-£2000 to find a 2nd hand replacement and get it sorted.
I'm 6ft2 and have no issues with the car. Driving position does seem very high but no problems.

 

[WAR 23N]

A friend of mine has a 182 and he is 6ft 3in, he drives his on a daily basis and I've never heard him complain about seating positions etc! He still just has the standard seats aswell.

 

[Ade182]

As a few have already mentioned, changing the seats out to bucket drops the height a fair bit. When I bought my 182 I was used to my mates 172 and I felt REALLY high up in the car.

As a daily they are fine to drive. I had a Golf Turbo last with long gear ratios so the Clio's shorter box and not having to wait for power took some getting used to. The cruise control is a godsend on motorways and the ride on stock suspension is firm yet comfortable, but still lacks bodyroll when cornering hard.

I've got a decatted Milltek system on mine and the car has two personalities in the noise it makes alone. Under 2,500RPM its fairly subtle and quiet but once your approaching 3,000RPM the exhaust really starts to rasp Over 5,000RPM it screams and this adds to the excitement of how quickly they do gather pace. Motorway driving with this is unexpectedly quiet! All you hear is the rasp when you accelerate. Little to no drone whatsoever.

My main issue with the 182 though is that it is SO much fun to drive fast, I always end up taking the country lane route instead of the slow short route, just so that I can open her up a little. MPG fail.

 

[modd1uk]

As a few have already mentioned, changing the seats out to bucket drops the height a fair bit. When I bought my 182 I was used to my mates 172 and I felt REALLY high up in the car.

As a daily they are fine to drive. I had a Golf Turbo last with long gear ratios so the Clio's shorter box and not having to wait for power took some getting used to. The cruise control is a godsend on motorways and the ride on stock suspension is firm yet comfortable, but still lacks bodyroll when cornering hard.

I've got a decatted Milltek system on mine and the car has two personalities in the noise it makes alone. Under 2,500RPM its fairly subtle and quiet but once your approaching 3,000RPM the exhaust really starts to rasp Over 5,000RPM it screams and this adds to the excitement of how quickly they do gather pace. Motorway driving with this is unexpectedly quiet! All you hear is the rasp when you accelerate. Little to no drone whatsoever.

My main issue with the 182 though is that it is SO much fun to drive fast, I always end up taking the country lane route instead of the slow short route, just so that I can open her up a little. MPG fail.

Thanks for the detailed reply ! I live in Preston...is there any chance one day you can take me for a quick spin in yours ? Would return the favor by taking you for a quick spirited drive in my FN2 .

What are the trim levels..ie which is the one with xenons, and the dual exit exhaust ? If im buying one i might aswel get one with the bits i want on it ! Are they all fly by wire throttle ? And do they all have cruise control.

 

[st3ve]

Thanks for the detailed reply ! I live in Preston...is there any chance one day you can take me for a quick spin in yours ? Would return the favor by taking you for a quick spirited drive in my FN2 .

What are the trim levels..ie which is the one with xenons, and the dual exit exhaust ? If im buying one i might aswel get one with the bits i want on it ! Are they all fly by wire throttle ? And do they all have cruise control.

Is that offer available for all local members?

All 182's bar the cup (which you don't want) have xenons, twin exhaust, cruise and FBW throttle. The differences are whether they have the cup packs which consist of the cup suspension and anthracite wheels and the cup spoiler and splitter.

 

[modd1uk]

Is that offer available for all local members?

All 182's bar the cup (which you don't want) have xenons, twin exhaust, cruise and FBW throttle. The differences are whether they have the cup packs which consist of the cup suspension and anthracite wheels and the cup spoiler and splitter.

Yeah buddy why not ! I love my civic..hang on il try and link a picture of its current state..MASSSSSIVE Picture

Has a few mods on it, the latest being HKS RSK intake and flash pro which brings the vtec down to about 4k and redline up to 8700ish. Will happily take anybody out for a spirited blast in it, just been out for one tonight and it puts smiles on my face every time i drive it ! However..its worth too much money for me to track it lol.

PS Registration says P13 (PIE), because im a northerner and..why not !

 

[modd1uk]

Also what sort of money should i be looking to spend to get a clean 182 ? Wont bother with performance mods, i will focus on decent tyres and handling/braking mods i think. Oh and lightweight WHEELS (Edited)

 

[st3ve]

Also what sort of money should i be looking to spend to get a clean 182 ? Wont bother with performance mods, i will focus on decent tyres and handling/braking mods i think. Oh and lightweight tyres.

I would say around £3,500+

You can get them cheaper but they usually have issues.

Lightweight tyres? Boy you serious!

Nice civic btw.

 

[modd1uk]

I would say around £3,500+

You can get them cheaper but they usually have issues.

Lightweight tyres? Boy you serious!

Nice civic btw.

LOL tyres on the brain as i just bought a new set of bridgestones for mine, i meant to put lightweight WHEELS, i best edit that out lol.

£3.5k+ doesn't seem to unreasonable, wanted to spend £4k or less tbh, could always buy another EP3 (Owned one before FN2) but there are SOOO many dogs out there its unreal !

What sort of miles should I be aiming to get one with ?

 

[st3ve]

You could always get a 172. You can get a good one for a fair bit less.

Personally I'd be looking for one with no more than 80k but that's just me.

 

[modd1uk]

You could always get a 172. You can get a good one for a fair bit less.

Personally I'd be looking for one with no more than 80k but that's just me.

Whats the difference in engine apart from 10bhp ?

 

[st3ve]

Whats the difference in engine apart from 10bhp ?

Very little.

The 182 has a different breather setup and a 4-2-1 exhaust manifold. Everything else is the same afaik.

 

[sbridgey]

The engines on these last forever if looked after properly so I wouldn't have an issue buy one with 100k on it as long as it had been looked after.

You could get a ph1 172 which is the lightest and the fastest and also is the only one with a cable throttle, the rest are electronic. Costs about £1k.

The ph2 172 is the best value for money. Costs about £2k.

The ph2 172 cup is the best comprimise between decentish interior and speed. Costs about £2k.

The normal 182 is like a 172 but with twin exhausts and you can have the optional cup packs as mentioned earlier in the thread. Costs about £3.5k.

The 182 cup is like a 182 but with cup packs as standard but all of the nice bits removed. Costs about £3.5k.

The 182 trophy is the 182 cup with recaro trendlines and sachs suspension for really good handling. Costs about £6k.


For your budget I would be looking for a nice 182 or a nice 172 with some spending money for mods.

 

[Ade182]

For under £4k there is an abudance of 182's about that have had the cambelt/dephaser/aux belts done on time. Just takes time to find a 'true' one as we saw some right states that were unfortunately complete lies on the adverts so make sure you read the service history very carefully before flashing any cash.

If your looking for a track car however you may be better with a 172 Cup. Lightweight due to lack of ABS, traction control, sound deadening etc. A proper drivers car. I know St3ve, and a lad called Bryera who's also on here; their stripped out 172 Cups are as fast if not a little quicker than my 182. Its all about power to weight ratio! There motors probably weight in around a ton and mine weighs in at 1090kgs. So my 10BHP increase only makes it able to keep up with their Cups. It's not faster.

I wanted to 182 for the dual exit exhaust system, the cruise control and the ESP for when the weathers horrible.

As for taking you out, sure and I'm certain bryera/st3ve wouldn't mind letting you shotgun in a stripped Cup, to help you make your mind up. I bought the 182 more for comfort really, a lightweight stripped out car isn't really practical for me.

 

[st3ve]

For under £4k there is an abudance of 182's about that have had the cambelt/dephaser/aux belts done on time. Just takes time to find a 'true' one as we saw some right states that were unfortunately complete lies on the adverts so make sure you read the service history very carefully before flashing any cash.

If your looking for a track car however you may be better with a 172 Cup. Lightweight due to lack of ABS, traction control, sound deadening etc. A proper drivers car. I know St3ve, and a lad called Bryera who's also on here; their stripped out 172 Cups are as fast if not a little quicker than my 182. Its all about power to weight ratio! There motors probably weight in around a ton and mine weighs in at 1090kgs. So my 10BHP increase only makes it able to keep up with their Cups. It's not faster.

I wanted to 182 for the dual exit exhaust system, the cruise control and the ESP for when the weathers horrible.

As for taking you out, sure and I'm certain bryera/st3ve wouldn't mind letting you shotgun in a stripped Cup, to help you make your mind up. I bought the 182 more for comfort really, a lightweight stripped out car isn't really practical for me.

umm mine is 991kgs actually, god, wish people would get there facts straight. :rasp:

 

[VR46-G@Z]

I'm 6ft 3 and got a cup packed 182, it's the best car i've ever owned and I use it daily and find it very comfortable to be honest. I'd personally get a cup packed 182 for around 3 k and have a set of cams fitted for bout £1100, that way you've got fresh belts etc and got all the creature comforts for daily use and also have the power on track to blitz many bigger more powerful cars and consequently you will have a huge grin on your face!