Clio cup racer #34

[eastlmark]

Thought would start a project thread here, not that is a huge multi page project like many here, hope it will be interesting non the less. Been on Cliosport since 2005 when I bought my V6 Clio but migrated over to v6clio.net and only took a passing interest here in between. A few older, I mean long termers here may well remember me at some events such as Kimbolton and WSR. Still got the V6, on sorn awaiting a tidy up for the past year but took to Renault Spiders instead and, after having a road version for a while the urge to start competing finally led me to a ex cup series race version.



Which I sprinted for a couple of years before taking the plunge and racing it in the SEMSEC race series at Lydden Hill for a season which was fun but racing against mainly steel bodied stuff was a bit of a worry so began to think about something else, flirted with a v6Trophy but decided that was a cash burden and then this came up for sale:


Owned from new by Robert Smith (no not that one) but the Renault Suffolk Bob Smith who raced it in the cup series before leasing it out to Martin Byford in 2005. Car #34 the last of the original batch although, surprise surprise it has had a re-shell and new engine at some point. All updates done and in 2006 spec and only having done a few trackdays in between, a deal was done and it was on my trailer.

 

[eastlmark]

Had the car sent over to Mark Fish for a check over and a few minor details seen to such as cambelt etc. I stripped and cleaned the suspension - a learning exercise for me having become used to the crazy set up on the Spider and not have much experience with FWD- and fitted in date belts and FIA fire extinguisher, try to fathom out the AIM data logger, searched for the transponder and eventually found it in the rh wheel arch. and, finally, got some track time at a Lydden track day in February. Another learning exercise then, how to drive FWD! Was out on my own for much of the early experienced sessions so did not realise how fast I was going until they let some other intermediate drivers cars out, M3's etc were being dispatched without even trying and was the quickest car out there until Liam Doran turned up in his Monster energy DS3. Was amazed at the brakes as the Spider has no brake servo so braking was a big effort but in the Clio the brakes were astounding but also noted high front tyre wear, infact killed a Michelin race tyre after just a couple of sessions, Whoops.
First race would be in April.

 

[eastlmark]

 

[CIW]

Hi Mark, I think we raced at Brands together last year, you were out in the Spyder, I was in the orange mini. You sticking with SEMSEC or considering BARC SE (Tin Tops/QMN)?

Lydden kills tyres, particularly the n/s front, I think its the poor surface and Chessons drift in particular. I reckon it's cheaper for me to race at Brands purely because I get more track time out of my tyres.

Chris

 

[eastlmark]

Hi Mark, I think we raced at Brands together last year, you were out in the Spyder, I was in the orange mini. You sticking with SEMSEC or considering BARC SE (Tin Tops/QMN)?

Lydden kills tyres, particularly the n/s front, I think its the poor surface and Chessons drift in particular. I reckon it's cheaper for me to race at Brands purely because I get more track time out of my tyres.

Chris

Hi Chris, yes agree about the tyres. I just did an hour and 20 mins on Silverstone GP circuit during the Birkett on 888's and there is hardly any noticeable wear. (was not pushing too hard though due to unfamiliarity and fear mainly) Could get a seasons racing out of a set there. Really undecided about next season yet, + have son who wants to race and he is a lot faster than me on his sprint outings so far. I am not a fast learner of tracks so a series based at a single track is an advantage for me, having said that cannot wait to have a proper go on Silverstone again, sadly that wont be till next years Birkett and all leaned will be forgotten.

 

[eastlmark]

Hi Mark, I think we raced at Brands together last year, you were out in the Spyder, I was in the orange mini. You sticking with SEMSEC or considering BARC SE (Tin Tops/QMN)?

Lydden kills tyres, particularly the n/s front, I think its the poor surface and Chessons drift in particular. I reckon it's cheaper for me to race at Brands purely because I get more track time out of my tyres.

Chris

Not sure how competitive I would be in QMN as the box would put me up a class (out of tin tops) and the only other Clio's there are all ph111 running throttle bodies etc. Not that I expect to be winning but I don't fancy being a tail end Charlie either.

 

[eastlmark]

...trying to continue the back dated project thread and find the photos I took. a bit more for now anyway.
Oddest thing I found with the Clio had to be the floppy front suspension top mounts. With the car jacked up the strut would flop about all over the place and, although the strut brace would prevent the top mounts moving inwards when on the ground, it was something I was not happy with especially after the Spiders precision wishbone set up on which even just a minutely worn ball joint would have severe handling consequences. I really could not understand that a purpose built race car would be made this way. For those who don't know, although the cup racer has solid top mounts as standard, they are not fixed to the car as such, they just poke through the hole in the turret and the round bracket of the strut brace and all is held in place by just a large circlip. Therefore, there is always a bit of play in the top mounts that, over time will wear the round hole in the turret oversize and causes more play, more wear etc. My lh side top turret was worn egg shape in the fore and aft direction and I was a few races in before I realised this, Devils Elbow at Lydden being a particular problem as the geometry would change mid corner, of course, never driving one before I did not realise anything was amiss and put it down to FWD characteristics. Once I measured out the egg shape of the hole I realised it must have been a big problem.
The solution was a pure motorsport top mount kit and brace, even better it fitted straight on to Bilstien set up with no collars or spacers and these now bolt on to the turret and get over the egg shape hole problem. and back on the track? a revelation! much better but have not yet had a dry race at Lydden to compare lap times from before and after but I am sure there will be a big improvement.

 

[Martin.]

Love the Clio.

Keep the pictures coming...

 

[MG cup]

I done the same with mine and fitted the PMS kit, I wasn't keen on fitting the OMP strut brace to mine, it must rattle like hell, not that you will hear it with the engine solid mounted and the gear stick rattling.

Its good that Nick from pure has a cup racer himself and always develops the parts he makes to fit on them as well as road going.

 

[Advikaz]

Don't see many Spiders these days. They both look well though mate - nice on.

 

[sonny172cup]

Nice Cup Racer, any more pics?

 

[eastlmark]

A bit lazy with threads over the winter but really not been up to much with the car save for oil changes and general stuff. oh and got the wheels powder coated.
With no race series at Lydden this year I am concentrating on sprinting with my son doing the driving duties. We are doing mainly the All Circuit Sprint Championship and gave him a run out at a Lydden track day in March where he had a little off:

Surprisingly no damage done other than the deflector under the radiator, after a good strip down and checking of suspension he was out at Rockingham yesterday in the sprint:

Good result too, 1st in class, 22nd overall (out of 93 cars!)
plan to be out at Hethel in early May and then Lydden Hill.


in car video from Rockingham: [video=youtube_share;9izjHHkFVKM]http://youtu.be/9izjHHkFVKM[/video]

 

[Cupman29]

Great looking car and what an epic pic of the off! That's some air alright.

 

[sonny172cup]

Nice one, any more on board video footage?

 

[Chi]

Brilliant pics and what a great looking car. . Congrats on result

 

[Martin.]

Awesome

 

[eastlmark]

Nothing too exciting on done on the car lately, have a set of Lexan windows to fit as and when we get some time. Have had class wins at Hethel and Lydden hill in sprints and I did a double header race at Lydden Hill and managed to end up last on the first lap of each and play catch up for the rest of the race, ending up 6th in race 2.
Competed at the Prescott Hillclimb la Vie en Bleu event at the weekend. Ricky driving and special guest driver, Barrie "Whizzo" Williams taking a second drive. For an old guy he was really on it from the start despite never having driven the car before and a greasy surface with mud on the tyres. In the event though he managed to put the car off at the Semi Circle, hitting the barrier softly just breaking a mirror off and some paint scratches where the car scraped along the tyre wall trying to drive off.

[video=youtube_share;WZu12xGs9Ys]http://youtu.be/WZu12xGs9Ys[/video]

He did keep it on the track for his second timed run and set a respectable 51.78 but Ricky then went out for his second run and did a 51.46- second in class and only beaten by a Sierra Cosworth (French event - what the heck?). Note that for some reason the flat shift was not working and cluthed changes had to be used, the missed gear shift and the clutched changes must of cost a few 10nths. Still have to investigate the problem but it seems it started after the earlier off so I am hoping its just mud and wet on the engine cut activation switch on the gearbox.

[video=youtube_share;nTKCI6LgxFA]http://youtu.be/nTKCI6LgxFA[/video]

 

[George@RTR_Parts]

Spider and Clio look great, nice to see it getting used aswel in the videos

 

[eastlmark]

Been having a few gearbox oil leaks and reckoned the gearbox has not been re built for 10 years or so, so have taken the plunge to get it re built.

out comes the Engine and box:

Box ready to go down to SWR:

in the meantime... to keep myself amused....

not been on the road for 3 years, a bit tatty now and needs some caring for.

 

[Martin.]

How much do you reckon the box refurb will cost you mate?

Do you live in Surrey?

 

[eastlmark]

no don't live in Surrey.
wont know cost until its stripped and see what parts in needs.

 

[EVOgone]

no don't live in Surrey.
wont know cost until its stripped and see what parts in needs.

mine was nearly 3k......but had a new higher final frive fitted..

won't be cheep dog rings dog rings dog rings.........

 

[eastlmark]

ok all stripped now:


no major issues with gears and dog rings but



crack here will need welding and machining (or £900 for a new casing!) Not actually a major issue and tempted to leave it but now I know its there I wont be happy.

 

[NorthloopCup]

^^^^Assuming that's the same as a jc5 casing, you could potentially use one of the steel reinforcement plates that are available on eBay. It certainly looks like it to me.

 

[Andrewclio]

^^^^Assuming that's the same as a jc5 casing, you could potentially use one of the steel reinforcement plates that are available on eBay. It certainly looks like it to me.

I was thinking that but these boxes are 6 speed, would there be enough space for the reinforcement plate to fit as well as the extra gear compared to a standard jc5?

 

[NorthloopCup]

I was thinking that but these boxes are 6 speed, would there be enough space for the reinforcement plate to fit as well as the extra gear compared to a standard jc5?

You'd need to see how much space there was to see if it's feasible.

 

[eastlmark]

At last, Gearbox now collected from SWR, with this lot replaced:

total inc vat was £1600 or there abouts + the £70 spent welding and machining the cracked casing. (Which SWR would not get involved in)
Think SWR give a top service really, £375 flat labour charge on a SDTSA, its the cost of parts from SADEV that bumps the cost up. Have no doubt that in cup race series days the teams would replace all the gears and rings and that would soon top £4k easily, Primary shaft itself (which includes 1st gear) being e900 in itself.
Now just need to get Mr Fish to fit it all back together.

 

[eastlmark]

Well, after a new Helix clutch had to be fitted by Mark Fish, all is well and the car running sweetly. Just got it to Origine RS with only hours to spare (late night 5 hour sitting stationary on the M25 the night before didn't help).
Video of the car and other cars at that event here

[video=youtube_share;nN76bQtD7VA]http://youtu.be/nN76bQtD7VA[/video]

Car has since been to Croix en Ternois and yesterday competed again in the Debden sprint winning class again.

[video=youtube_share;YaxokJ_Cq0Q]http://youtu.be/YaxokJ_Cq0Q[/video]

Really unsure of what to do with it next year, maybe sell and move on to something else..... we will see.

 

[eastlmark]

Competed at Curborough a couple of weeks ago in the Clio and was surprised to see this as our main class competition:

Its Ex Steve Waudby championship winning car and rebuilt to a high standard, great looking car inside and out.
Morning was wet and on our Michelin race wets Ricky was class of the field setting 3rd fastest time overall and only beaten by a Radical and a single seater. The wet grip on those Michelins is something else, but during lunch break the rain stopped and I made the error of not changing Ricky onto slicks or 888's and by the time he took the start the track had unbelievably become completely dry so he made his 1st timed run on full wets!

Time was a 65.81, still class leading as the ex Harlow Clio did a 67.40 but I knew we had a lot more to come
Second timed run then and now on some suitable tyes but without any practice on them he just pushed it too hard:

The spin meant no time for that run so his first time would have to count but the other Clio was out on track now and was being driven well and hard..... but not enough, although he went faster at 66.07 it was not enough to beat Ricky's wet tyre set time but not by much, we got lucky!

The start of this video shows the spin from the outside:


Sprint season finished now but I will be racing in the Bikett Relay at Silverstone on October 25th.

 

[p@blo]

Great footage Mark, seemed a quick run at Debden! Are you still running the Cup Bilstein dampers or have you switched to something else?

Was the Steve Waudby who ran that mk1 Cup car the same guy over at SWR?

 

[eastlmark]

Great footage Mark, seemed a quick run at Debden! Are you still running the Cup Bilstein dampers or have you switched to something else?

Was the Steve Waudby who ran that mk1 Cup car the same guy over at SWR?

Yes and Yes is the answer. still on the Bilsteins, although now on pure motorsport top mounts and strut. Cannot believe anything else would be any better. Suggestions? Given that they are probably past their best.
Yes that Steve Waudby, the "SW" in "SWR" He was a founder of Harlow Group motorsport and has really done it all, motorsport wise. He was Clio cup champion in that car.
It was Ricky, my son driving at Debden so I cannot take credit for that. I will be out at the Birkett at Silverstone on Saturday (25th Oct) if anyone is there, pit garage 11A.

 

[BIGASH]

See you at the Birkett I'm in garage 11b or d I think team 51

 

[Tony Hunter]

Same garage then, be able to see everybody at the same time.

 

[p@blo]

Yes and Yes is the answer. still on the Bilsteins, although now on pure motorsport top mounts and strut. Cannot believe anything else would be any better. Suggestions? Given that they are probably past their best.
Yes that Steve Waudby, the "SW" in "SWR" He was a founder of Harlow Group motorsport and has really done it all, motorsport wise. He was Clio cup champion in that car.
It was Ricky, my son driving at Debden so I cannot take credit for that. I will be out at the Birkett at Silverstone on Saturday (25th Oct) if anyone is there, pit garage 11A.

Seems to go pretty well on them Mark. Know a few people including @EVOgone have had them refurbished so would at least give you the option to stick with what you know. If it ain't broke...

They did a few different rear inserts too - silver, black and lastly yellow that came with a matched softer rear spring that could be worth trying.

Hadn't realised the SWR was formerly Harlow motorsport. Recognise the name from reading articles about the mk1 series but never made the connection.

Looks like someone has a put a lot of effort into getting Steves mk1 back to its former condition, really nice to see and a credit to whoever did it.

Good luck to both you and James for this weekend at Silverstone.

 

[eastlmark]

this car now probably for sale, if anyone is here shows any early interest then PM me before I advertise it properly. Looking for in the region of £11K.

 

[eastlmark]

.... well, purchase of x85 cup racer went a bit sour...... so for now at least I am hanging on to the x65 and am in the process of giving the front suspension a tidy up and good going over:

New uniball bearings in the lower wishbone extenders as these have no weather protection on them and were pretty much siezed, found one of the old bearings was loose in its housing having worn an oversize hole and pretty sure the whole bearing was revolving on steering inputs rather than the bearing itself. Luckily these (the extender plates) are still available from R sport, pretty much the only part of the front suspension that is. Although the new bearing fitted much tighter, and I think some locktite would have done the job, I didn't want to chance it so will keep that one as an emergency spare.
Wishbone bushes were in good nick so hung on to those, have all new bolts and nuts to screw it all back together with.

Dampers are now also off and having a good inspection and clean up.

Sadly, it seems all race series now required headlights so:


just trial fitted some scrap depo lights for now for now, not happy about it either.....

plus, now have the induction issue to solve as the original airbox was fed through the headlamp cover.


so, what are my options? would a cone inlet filter in the same place get enough cool air to work effectively? Anyone done similar without resorting to ITB'S?

 

[NorthloopCup]

I'd turn the airbox to point towards the scuttle panel and take the air feed from there (as in where the air inlet for the heater is)

 

[BIGASH]

What's been the issue with trying to find an x85 cup racer Mark? I'm on the lookout myself at the moment for 1 or 2

 

[eastlmark]

What's been the issue with trying to find an x85 cup racer Mark? I'm on the lookout myself at the moment for 1 or 2

Just £££ James, they are just a little over my budget at the moment. Did go to look at one at a half decent price but it was a bit of a crapper with a poor spares package. What are your plans then?

 

[BIGASH]

Just £££ James, they are just a little over my budget at the moment. Did go to look at one at a half decent price but it was a bit of a crapper with a poor spares package. What are your plans then?

Ahhh I thought you meant all on the market are knackered! Yeah that's the problem the good ones are demanding a bit of a premium. There were a couple of them in Lithuania at good money but I just missed them and they seemed good condition.

Not 100% sure yet on plans