Clio 182 Track Car & Daily Projects

[Mr Underhill]

Managed to get a half day in at Teesside Autodrome to test the new shifter and roof scoop. Really warm day and the scoop worked a treat. Looking forward to the next Trackday at Cadwell now.

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[Mbeau]

That was a result with the bonnet for £30. I think the roof scoop looks really smart. Definitely better than some I have seen.

 

[Mr Underhill]

Fantastic 2nd Trackday for the car at Cadwell. Mods worked a treat, no issues at all. Looking forward to a trip to the Nurburgring in the Summer.

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[Mr Underhill]

Before I set off for the Nurburgring I needed to get an MOT on the track car. The plan is to take the car on the trailer via the ferry at Hull, but as I’m doing a tourist weekend, I’ll need to be road legal.

First thing I noticed was the car didn’t have a horn. I’d also removed the original wheel so needed to source a PH1 stalk, then wire up the horn. Found both locally, the car flew it’s test. Happy days.

 

[Mr Underhill]

One nagging issue which kept coming up was the ESP light and then occasionally the ABS warning light.

Pretty much everything on the car from suspension through to brakes had been changed for original parts, including ABS rings and all round wheel sensors. Tons of suggestions from forum members, Clip diagnostics, trips to Kris at Ren Sport and 3 replacement angle sensors failed to cure the problem. You name it, we tried it.

I’m not that bothered about ESP as the car is for track only, but I prefer to have ABS.

Then a random message from Adam Stuck regarding a replacement ESP module got me thinking. When I painted the interior I remember removing this small box from near the handbrake and then sticking it under the dash out of the way with a cable tie. [emoji85]

Say no more! [emoji23] But it just goes to show how difficult it is for others to solve mechanical problems over the internet, although Kris Dark has no excuses [emoji87][emoji23]

 

[Mr Underhill]

Enroute to Nürburgring via the ferry. Meeting some friends over there who’ve decided to take the Chunnel...again! Sod that, been there, got the t-shirt.

Cracking little hotel right next to the track. Stayed at the hotel Ze Burg a few times now, nice and quiet.

Met up with the possee. Note my road going 182 on the left. Sold it to a mate to do the ring, then bought it back. Long story.

Got some decent laps in. Picture of me from my mates car as he bottled it going into Karussell [emoji23]

Obligatory Karussell shot.

And a blowout 2 miles outside of Rotterdam. My fault rushing back to catch the ferry home in 90 degree heat.

Great weekend and car was superb. Time to get another Trackday booked.



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[Mr Underhill]

After our trip to the ring it was time to buy my 182 daily back and get it up to scratch. Although it looks good from a distance, a lot of panels are either rusted, dented beyond repair or keyed/scratched.

Mechanically it’s sketchy, although I’m confident it’s a decent engine, it gave my mate more than a few issues during and after the ring trip. Plus he’s fitted a lot of aftermarket parts and had his monkey mechanic on the job. It’s also come back to me with an issue where it just cuts out for no reason and then randomly won’t start.

Time to give her some TLC.


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[Mr Underhill]

The first thing I’m going to tackle is the awful ride and handling. My mates thrown the cup springs away and fitted cooksport springs and it’s bouncing all over the place. It still had the cup dampers which I’d cleaned up but I have a feeling those are past their best. Added to this are dodgy ball joints, wishbone bushes and the top mounts have seen better days. The ABS and ESP lights are on as well, but judging by the sensors, is it any wonder [emoji23]

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[JamesBryan]

Has it been parked in the sea 😂

 

[Mr Underhill]

I decided to totally refresh the suspension with new cup dampers and springs. While I’m at it I might as well replace top mounts and put the new spacers in as well.

I want the ride to be softer and handling to be more progressive, like it was when it left the factory, as I plan on using it as a daily.

 

[Mr Underhill]

Has it been parked in the sea [emoji23]

[emoji23] You’d think so [emoji23] Flippin horrible!


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[Mr Underhill]

I’m a big fan of Strongflex bushes and prefer these to Powerflex - much cheaper too. So it’s out with the rusty old bushes and in with the Yellow series. Gave the wishbones a good clean up and a good few coats of pant.

Did the ARB bushes as well. Much easier than last time.

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[Mr Underhill]

Stripped the hubs, callipers and replaced the ABS rings. Attacked everything with a wire wheel and then applied a few coats of paint, a bit of hammerite and it’s all looking nice and fresh. New track rod ends, ball joints, wheel sensors, pretty much replaced everything except the discs.

I had a spare PMS stud nut kit (68mm) off the track car so fitted that as I plan on using my spare Pro Race 1.2’s for now.

Replaced the PBS pads with a set of Brembo Sports Pads. They’re much better than the Brembo OEM replacements and give you more confidence when giving it some on B roads.

A few licks of paint under the arches, replaced all the wheel arch liners with genuine ones and a general tidy up here and there and that’s it for the suspension and brakes.

 

[Mr Underhill]

Time to tackle this engine, give it a clean up and a good service and sort these cutting out issues.

It’s a proper dirty engine and bay. Air condition is knackered so that’s coming out. Has one of those awful Ramair filters so I’ve sourced original airbox.

But when it’s not cutting out, the engine feels pretty solid and it’s had the all important cambelt, dephaser, auxiliary belts and water pump done when I first bought it. Basically I’m just going to strip everything back, replace all non genuine parts and give it a proper look over and clean up.

 

[Mr Underhill]

Stripped everything back, checked wiring loom, ran diagnostics, cleaned throttle bodies, changed oils, plugs, leads, TDC sensors, cleaned up all the earths, replaced Bosch injectors with Magnetti Marellis and put a new fuel line in as it was held on with a cable tie.

If you can think it, I checked it. Gave the engine a rub down and a lick of paint, changed the battery and gave the bay a good tidy up.

A quick run up the road with the old 16” wheels and it’s a different car. The ride is nice and smooth and everything feels lovely and tight.

All the warning lights have gone out and the engine is ticking over beautifully and feels pretty responsive.

A quick wash over and it’s not looking too bad, although we’re not finished yet.

 

[Mr Underhill]

After a week driving the car back and forth to work, the cutting out issue seems to have been resolved. The car starts off the bat, so far so good.

There’s still some vibration coming through the steering and dash so time to ditch the Powerflex bushes on the dog bone mount and upper engine mount. I replaced these with brand new genuine parts. Vibration gone, car feels even better to drive. Happy days.

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[Usr117063]

Did you try just taking off the engine mount? No sound with powerflex black dogbone mount for me

 

[Mr Underhill]

A thousand miles in and the car hadn’t skipped a beat until one evening the engine wouldn’t crank. Other than the cutting out issue this was also a problem.

Went through the car again with a fine tooth comb and everything seemed ok. The only thing I could think of was the alarm, fitted when new, which occasionally played up.

I called out an auto electrician who also checked everything over and in the end decided to remove the immobiliser part of the alarm as he suspected it was disabling the connection to the starter motor.

Since then I’ve done another 2,000 miles with zero issues so maybe we’ve finally sorted it.

Switched the original 16” Cup wheels for my Pro Race 1.2 15’s and a new set of Michelin PS3’s to tie me over the winter. The car drives so much better on 15” wheels but with original cup suspension leaves a bit of a gap in the arches.

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[Mr Underhill]

Did you try just taking off the engine mount? No sound with powerflex black dogbone mount for me

I did but the engine mount was in pretty poor condition so just replaced it. It wasn’t bad vibration with it on but I’m getting on and do like a little bit of comfort.


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[Mr Underhill]

With the car now covering 3,500 miles without fault it was time to address the bodywork. I’d sourced a rust free bonnet and a straight passenger door and swapped those over.

Now to get it into paint. I work in a large dealership who have a superb Bodyshop. There’s a guy there who restores the bosses collection of classic cars, so I handed him the keys and he set about it.

At first we were just going to correct a few panels but decided to do everything but the roof which was in good order.

One of the things that I liked about this car, other than the obvious neglect and running issues, was how solid underneath it was. I knew it would make a car with some commitment.

 

[Mr Underhill]

Whilst in the bodyshop I’d sourced some 16” Turini’s from a 172 Cup. The plan has always been to take the car back to as close to factory as possible, but I’m not a fan of the cup wheels, so Turini’s seemed the next logical step.

Most of the wheels were pretty beaten up but straight so i sent them off to Romax for refurbishment.

One in particular was proper rusty and corroded.

But they turned out superb in the end.

I had some 205/45/16 Yokohama’s from the cup wheels so these worked perfectly for now.


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[Mr Underhill]

With the paint restoration complete and the newly refurbed Turini’s fitted, the car has been transformed. Still lots to do but it’s getting somewhere near to where I want it.

I must learn how to take nice photos.


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[Mr Underhill]

A week on so decided to give her some protection.

Although noticed this on one of the Turini’s. Looks like they haven’t cured properly, so they’re going back in to be sorted.

A few more things to do include the steering wheel, which has gone off to ‘Snappy’, the rear beam is getting powder coated and some of the interior will be getting detailed.

I’ll tidy up a few more things in the summer but for now I’ll enjoy her and focus my attention on the track car and the coming season.


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[Mr Underhill]

After the ring I did another 4 trackdays. Two at Cadwell and two at Croft which are my local tracks.

Cadwell is definitely my favourite track of the two.

First visit to Croft in the car. Lots of other Clio’s about but enjoyed following these guys around in their mint 182 Cup in Racing Blue.

Back to Cadwell with a set of headlamp blanks and a different pad compound.

I wasn’t keen on the way the CL6 pads bite. They felt either on or off. Great at slowing the car down at high speed but a bit scary when they were hot and you needed to dab the brakes to make small adjustments. I think they’d work much better on a heavier vehicle.

The Pagid RS42’s on the other hand felt much better, the high speed stopping power not as good as the CL6, but they felt much more predictable.

The visit also coincided with Guy Martins test day with his Transit Van. Nice fella and his van was a beast. I even managed a 5 second cameo on C4 [emoji23]

Final Trackday of 2018 and back at Croft with my mate who races in the Trackday Trophy. My Clio has been developed around his race car using the exact same components, so it was great to see him push the car to its limits. It also gave me that extra bit of confidence knowing what the car could do.

Fantastic end to the cars first season. I have a better idea of what I need to do to improve both the car and my ability in the car. Small steps....


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[Djw Dave]

Very nice write up. The road car came up so nicely, looks very fresh on the silver Turinis.

 

[Mr Underhill]

Very nice write up. The road car came up so nicely, looks very fresh on the silver Turinis.

Thank you. I have an idea of where I’m going with it and so far so good. Still plenty to do. The Turini’s certainly look great.


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[Mbeau]

Paint and wheels look great on the road car. Has really been transformed. I do like a clean BG.

 

[Mr Underhill]

Paint and wheels look great on the road car. Has really been transformed. I do like a clean BG.

Cheers, really pleased with how it turned out. Still more to do though. Watch this space [emoji16]


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[DomP182]

A week on so decided to give her some protection.

View attachment 1452151

Although noticed this on one of the Turini’s. Looks like they haven’t cured properly, so they’re going back in to be sorted.

View attachment 1452152View attachment 1452153

A few more things to do include the steering wheel, which has gone off to ‘Snappy’, the rear beam is getting powder coated and some of the interior will be getting detailed.

I’ll tidy up a few more things in the summer but for now I’ll enjoy her and focus my attention on the track car and the coming season.


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I've just had the same issue with my freshly powdercoated wheels, quite annoying really as two have had to go back for different reasons.

 

[Mr Underhill]

I've just had the same issue with my freshly powdercoated wheels, quite annoying really as two have had to go back for different reasons.

Yeah it’s a bit frustrating. Odd that the other 3 of mine had cured but this one hadn’t 🤷🏻‍♂️

 

[DomP182]

Yeah it’s a bit frustrating. Odd that the other 3 of mine had cured but this one hadn’t 🤷🏻‍♂️

I got mine done by a local woman who does wheel refurbs which makes complaining more difficult than if I'd gone to a big firm.

 

[Martin.]

What a transformation!

 

[Mr Underhill]

A few more jobs sorted on the daily today.

First job was to take my track car steering wheel out and replace it with my newly refurbed ‘Snappy’ wheel.

After removal I got a few extra warning lights that I wasn’t expecting. ABS, ESP and SERV lights usually point to the steering angle sensor. It’s been fine up until now, so I guess it’s just decided to give up the ghost.

The sensor appears to be positioned correctly with the Yellow circle and Black dot centred nicely in the window.

A quick check of the live data on the diagnostic confirm my suspicions. No movement from the sensor when turning and the obligatory -81922.75 degrees fault.

Luckily I have a few spares from when my Track car had issues. It’s a fairly easy process to replace with a few torx screws to remove from the lower steering cowel and the sensor then unclips from the squib.

After replacing the sensor, the diagnostic now shows ‘0’ degrees and a quick turn left and right alters the angle telling me it’s functioning correctly.

After putting it all back together, it was just a case of clearing the old fault codes and no more lights. Happy days.

Next job is tackle the exhaust.


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[Mr Underhill]

Time to replace the exhaust.

The car currently has a K-Tec variant which is now blowing from the rear box. The exhaust tips are also past their best and I’ve given up patching it up. A quick attack with a cutting grinder and it was off the car in no time.

I’d looked at another K-Tec replacement but my friend has one and it sounds a bit droney. My Track car had a Scorpion 192 which I hated and I’m told the Miltek versions don’t fit properly [emoji2371]

My Track car has a de-catted version of Pure Motorsports Racing Exhaust which is surprisingly quiet. The problem is they’re expensive and I’d need to retain a Catalytic converter for MOT’s.

Looking at how much original Catalytic converters are fetching, I decided to bite the bullet and swap for a Pure Motorsport 200 cell Cat.

It’s a £225 purchase but I’ve been quoted £320 for my old Cat so it’s a no brainier.

Of course you need the exhaust to go with it [emoji23] so I opted for the resonated centre pipe.

And some rather nice 3.5 inch tapered exhaust tips.

It’s probably a bit excessive for a daily but it’s a beautifully well engineered and designed system and a doddle to fit.

Like the version on my track car it’s really quiet on tick-over, but sounds unreal when you hit 5,500 rpm. Pretty pleased with how it looks and sounds.

Gave the car a wash as well to cap off another productive day.

 

[Mr Underhill]

After a long winter break it’s time to get the old girl out of hibernation.

Reconnected the battery and she fired up straight away.

First outing at Cadwell Park this Saturday, then shortly after that I’ll be fitting plenty of upgrades.


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[Mr Underhill]

First stone chips on the new paintwork [emoji3525]

Touch up paint from Myldan Auto Design to the rescue. Perfect match. Here’s a link for reference - https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https://www.ebay.co.uk/ulk/itm/162467054088

 

[Mr Underhill]

A couple of my favourite shots from Cadwell last Saturday.

It was my first outing with Open Track and found it much better organised than Javelin, who I’ve used for the last two years.

It’s a shame they don’t do Croft Circuit which is my local track, but Cadwell is still my favourite and arguably the hardest to master.

I’m booked on at Cadwell again for 31st July providing we all survive the Coronavirus.

I’m planning a few upgrades such as a Quaife LSD, although that might turn out to be a Gripper depending on how [mention]NorthloopCup [/mention] gets on - great guy btw.

Whilst the box is out I’m upgrading the clutch with a Sach Racing Clutch from PMS. I initially ordered a new Valeo OEM replacement but a few people, my mate included, has had a few issues with them and mine’s a pure track car, so I’m sure it’ll pay dividends.

I’m also planning to fit a roll centre correction kit but I’m torn between getting one machined into the hubs or going for the new kit from [mention]Tomotek [/mention]when that comes out.

A bit more weight saving going on too plus some work on the rear beam. Oh I might just get some of my wheels painted so it stands out more, but unsure what colour to go for [emoji848]

Such a shame the year hasn’t started out well and affected Motorsport Events. Fingers crossed it’s sorted soon. Stay safe everybody [emoji16]


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[JKING3008]

Very nice looking clio, love the all black look🖤

I'd also be interested in @Tomotek roll centre kit😎

 

[Twingo 1??]

How long does it take you to get to cadwell as your not that far away from me and is that kia in the last pic you tow with? If so how do you find it?

 

[Mr Underhill]

Very nice looking clio, love the all black look[emoji1665]

I'd also be interested in @Tomotek roll centre kit[emoji41]

Thanks. I do like the all Black look but it seems I don’t get as many photos as others [emoji1787]


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