Frayz's Inferno 182 - Back in the old flame

[frayz]

Project lockdown continued today with the arrival of a new PAS switch to try and cure my PAS leak.
Still no coolant bottle arrival so that will have to wait. Anyway, I fitted the new PAS switch which hopefully does the trick.

Also decided to bite the bullet and crack on with the roll centre correction hubs and other bits. These are now fully assembled with new rose joints, rod ends and genuine SNR bearings.

With no way of setting the track rod lengths easily I decided to remove the old ones inner and outer as one piece and make their location. This way I could hopefully build the new ones to the correct length before installing. (That’s my plan anyway 😅)
I found when setting the TCA lengths on their shortest setting they were bottoming out at approx the size I needed. This left too little room for adjustment to my mind so I shortened the rod ends by approx 15mm.
Also had new lower arms to go on with Powerflex black series poly bushes installed so they went on too. So once these are on, apart from the front ARB, that’s every bush, bearing, mount and ball joint replaced on the whole car. Green Loctite 630 was used on all fixed parts and Finishline Ti Prep used on all adjustable threads.

I didn’t start till late so I’ll fit the TCAs tomorrow and torque everything up. There are also a number of dirty bits under here I plan to clean/paint once this stuff is done.

Just need the torque specs for the following if anyone has these to hand.

- Wishbone to subframe bolts
- Front drive shaft hub nuts
- Caliper carrier to hubs

Thanks

 

[DomP182]

Just a shame Spray Shack no longer exists to my knowledge.

Yeah they were just down the road from me in Leominster, I think they have a sticker making company now

 

[frayz]

Coolant bottle finally turned up so fitted that, filled and bled the system with new Renault type D coolant.

New TCAs assembled and fitted. All hub hardware checked, double checked and marked before running it down the road to my local tyre shop to get the geometry setup. The short very slow drive there was awful, I could feel it toeing out massively and it was pulling itself from the road.

Ride heights set so the lower arms are parallel with the ground, toe out 12 min, front camber set to 2 deg negative.

Again I can’t really drive it, but the first impressions are very positive. The damping feels mega. Super compliant and the steering fast and accurate. The way the car feels on the road now is very impressive. It’s just solid planted and very positive. Bumps and undulations don’t even faze the chassis at all and there is zero tramlining or bump steer even on the fat 888s.
The 888s are unscrubbed so don’t yet inspire any confidence but I’m keen to get out and play with the setup more when we are all allowed back out.

Came home, spanner/torque checked everything again before coating everything in a thin film of ACF50 and Dynax I’n various places.
Keen eyes will notice the absence of ABS sensors. This is because they weld themselves in and mine were no exception. So rather than fight to get them out, I’ve just ordered a new pair.

 

[MrBlonde]

 

[Usr117063]

Just needs the solid lower uj to be the ultimate setup. You can have mine for 'free' if you want, if you can make the paintwork on mine look like yours

 

[frayz]

Just needs the solid lower uj to be the ultimate setup. You can have mine for 'free' if you want, if you can make the paintwork on mine look like yours

Lmao, what you want your car a silly orange colour Zach? 😅

Sort me a solid UJ and I’ll see what I can do. 😂👌🏼

 

[Usr117063]

Lmao, what you want your car a silly orange colour Zach? 😅

Sort me a solid UJ and I’ll see what I can do. 😂👌🏼

lol currently mine is bird s**t silver its looking very sorry for it self!

 

[frayz]

lol currently mine is bird s**t silver its looking very sorry for it self!

Im sure with a little love it will come up lovely mate. We all have a little extra time on our hands right now. Get yourself a polished and some Sonax. 🙂

 

[Jekyll]

Top work as ever mate 👍👍

 

[Greeny.]

You need to get out more mate

How did you do the geo on the driveway? I tried this once and found it a massive pain in the arse, but I am quite stupid.

 

[frayz]

You need to get out more mate

How did you do the geo on the driveway? I tried this once and found it a massive pain in the arse, but I am quite stupid.

Well it was even, but evenly miles out haha.
Where the track rod extenders drop the TCAs down, they pull the arms of the hubs in and effectively toe the car out massively.
I did the camber with a spirit level clamped to the disc and got it to within half a degree of eachother. Still crap, but drivable.
I could have been bothered I would have set it up with string, but frankly couldn’t be arsed and knew I’d be taking it straight for a geo setup.

Ive been to Tesco and Pharmacy in it this morning and it’s really starting to get where I want it. Loving it on 15s too, and oh how I’ve missed decent tyres!!

 

[Greeny.]

15’s are lovely, with DZ03G’s even better, wouldn’t use anything else on track now unless they massively went up in price, brilliant tyres, they do well to make up slightly for my lack of talent.

 

[frayz]

Just because I had to pop to the supermarket today, and this thing always looks bonkers in the sunshine. 😎

 

[frayz]

Project lockdown.

So having cleaned and protected the front panel when I did the rad, today I wanted to pop the rear bumper off and check the rear.
Instantly turned into a longer job than expected as both the rear arch liner fixings sheared clean off. Great!! #facepalm

So I decided to grind them back and add some M6 RivNuts.
Drilled, Hydrate 80, Electrox, satin black and then filled the cavity with RTV before installing the inserts. This should ensure theyre as sealed and as protected as possible. Once all was dry, I coated in Dynax.

Then on to the rear panel, this was cleaned and found almost no corrosion at all. However, I decided to treat it all anyway and protect it a best i can.
Same process, clean, hydrate 80 on any suspect areas, Electrox, Satin black and finished with Dynax. Arch liners and bumper brackets were cleaned and dressed with Carpro Perl 4:1 before refitting with fresh hardware.

As you can see, shes no show pony but hopefully should protect this vulnerable area for years to come.

 

[frayz]

 

[frayz]

 

[Usr117063]

Meh 7/10... Heat shields a little scuffed but good otherwise

 

[frayz]

Meh 7/10... Heat shields a little scuffed but good otherwise

I’ll have to straighten that now. 😂

 

[Eddie555]

Good idea those Riv-nuts.. [emoji12]

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[frayz]

Good idea those Riv-nuts.. [emoji12]

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I assume you’ve done similar Eddie?

 

[Eddie555]

I assume you’ve done similar Eddie?

Yea.. Thought you may have seen them.. I got rid of the stupid bungs in the front..

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[frayz]

Hadn’t thought about converting the front, it was just the first thing I thought of when the rear ones snapped. The plastic for trees are pennies and I’ve a load of them, so I’ll continue with those at the mo. 👍🏼

 

[Eddie555]

Hadn’t thought about converting the front, it was just the first thing I thought of when the rear ones snapped. The plastic for trees are pennies and I’ve a load of them, so I’ll continue with those at the mo. [emoji1360]

Yea i know they're pennies but i was fitting it all back up yesterday and improvised/improved.. Makes life easier to take off again and cleaning the crap out of the sills in the future.

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[stonejedi]

Frayz where did you purchase the Spiral Binding/gravel guards for the brake lines?.

 

[frayz]

Frayz where did you purchase the Spiral Binding/gravel guards for the brake lines?.

Had it left over from the Impreza mate. Came from AP Racing years ago. Pretty sure Tweeks would sell it.
The Clio has no fixings to support the lines so it’s mega important you check they’re orientated to not foul on steering lock.
Added the wrap as a belt & braces. 😏

 

[frayz]

You may remember when I replaced the radiator I found the AC condenser to be rotted through at the bottom.
So I ordered a new one, which arrived today, unfortunately our friends at FedEx decided to damage for me by bending the top row of fins by bending the brackets.

The distributor was superb about it and offered me another item or this one at a hugely discounted price. As I don’t want a bright silver cooler behind the grille, I had always planned to paint the new one matte black anyway. So the damage won’t be seen once installed.

So a quick dust of zinc etch primer and some matte black later, it’s ready to go in.

 

[DomP182]

Oh hell, now I want to go around looking for things to rivnut!

 

[fatboymal]

Just a shame Spray Shack no longer exists to my knowledge.

Couldn't agree more. My Sprayshack anthracite dash strips, gear and steering wheel insert still look perfect after however many years (10?). I'd love to have all the rubberised plastics to match but in a satin finish, I've stripped the rubber finish and used 2k semi-gloss lacquer but it's nowhere near the same quality (and some of the metallic finish has come offer in high worn areas). I've also got a feeling that Sprayshack didn't use the Ixell anthracite on interior parts but a Ford one - does anyone remember??

 

[frayz]

Old AC condenser out, nice new matte black one in. 😃

 

[MLB]

Good idea to paint it black!

And I like the idea about the rivnuts in the back, never heard of them!

 

[Amos91]

So, when are you painting the inlet, fuel rail guard and engine mount? 😅

 

[frayz]

So, when are you painting the inlet, fuel rail guard and engine mount? 😅

You mean this little lot of spares I’ve purchased to do exactly that? 😂

 

[frayz]

Good idea to paint it black!

And I like the idea about the rivnuts in the back, never heard of them!

Yeah nobody wants a silly silver cooler hanging out the front of their car do they. 😅

 

[Amos91]

You mean this little lot of spares I’ve purchased to do exactly that? 😂View attachment 1466455

Top work!! 👌

Guess you're not bothering with the lower inlet? That one isn't rs stamped.

EDIT: or is that not a thing anymore?

 

[frayz]

Top work!! 👌

Guess you're not bothering with the lower inlet? That one isn't rs stamped.

EDIT: or is that not a thing anymore?

It’s a ported and matched item so I don’t care it doesn’t have RS on it. I can always draw the letters on with felt pen 😁

 

[Amos91]

It’s a ported and matched item so I don’t care it doesn’t have RS on it. I can always draw the letters on with felt pen 😁

Ah that makes sense then! Will be a nice finishing touch for the bay.

 

[frayz]

Ah that makes sense then! Will be a nice finishing touch for the bay.

Yeah undecided on colour yet though. Thinking wrinkle black at the mo.

 

[Amos91]

Yeah undecided on colour yet though. Thinking wrinkle black at the mo.

I think silver looks best but sure it will look dirty after a few miles. So definitely a darker shade imo.

I went with Halfords high temp 'metallic black' about 5 years ago now -

 

[frayz]

Other option is powdercoat or soda blast 🤷🏽‍♂️

 

[frayz]

Almost out of Clio jobs to do and am struggling to get paint for the bullets and ally engine parts.

Excitement during lockdown got the better of me to fitted these up to the Cayman today. RRS semi solid transmission mounts.

For obvious reasons I’ve only driven around the block to check for unwanted noises. However instantly the car and transmission feels better connected. Theres absolutely zero additional NVH at idle or during driving but you feel the chassis and transmission respond more eagerly to throttle inputs and the whole car feels surprisingly tighter.

I’ll probably add the yellow Function First inserts to the engine mount too. I have the black ones here but think they will be too harsh for road use.

Just need to get out and have a drive now. smile