frayz
ClioSport Club Member
Protrack wheels look superb, i was looking at these last year but they didn't have anything smaller than an 18" at the time. Did you get a rim weight for a15x7" at all?
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Fred and James’ Clio 182 Racecar Project
- Thread starter FrogJam Motorsport
- Start date
-
- Tags
- 182 race racecar track track build
FrogJam Motorsport
ClioSport Trader
Mmmmm, wonder what is causing this. We have been using standard brembo pads. Wonder if it’s the pads? Overheating? Bias isn’t forward enough? No abs? Bit of everything?
FrogJam Motorsport
ClioSport Trader
Sorry I didn’t get a weight with the rim alone. I did with a set of r888r 205/50s though.
Then this is what we took off. 16s speedline with 195 ns-2r.
Bias on mine is still standard, so is the ABS.
Mr Underhill
ClioSport Club Member
Yeah could be a combo of all the above but I wouldn’t recommend standard Brembo though. I’d definitely go DS2500. Seems to be the go to for most track/race Clio’s that I’ve seen
Greeny.
ClioSport Club Member
440i + 182
I get very very jealous reading through this thread, it’s fantastic.
I love your intake setup, perfect place to pickup the air from, semi tempted to steal that!
You may have mentioned this earlier on but I can’t find it, out of interest what’s your day jobs? Something in the motor industry or motorsport I assume?
I love your intake setup, perfect place to pickup the air from, semi tempted to steal that!
You may have mentioned this earlier on but I can’t find it, out of interest what’s your day jobs? Something in the motor industry or motorsport I assume?
FrogJam Motorsport
ClioSport Trader
Thanks!
Neat isn’t it, please steal away! I stole the idea with a couple changes too.
Don’t understand people getting annoyed with others copying them, I think it’s great when people want to copy stuff. Always happy to give details of stuff we’ve done.
You assumed correct, Chassis Design Engineer for road cars but 95% is stuck at a desk so like the practical side of playing with the Clio.
Greeny.
ClioSport Club Member
440i + 182
FrogJam Motorsport
ClioSport Trader
The filter is just suspended by the 2 silicone hoses and the front duct (revotec) is mounted with 2 custom brackets, bolted using rivnuts. Custom brackets meaning some scrap bits of 3mm aluminium bent and smashed a little in a vice.
FrogJam Motorsport
ClioSport Trader
Post number 29.
Was time for a trip to Croft again and to try the new gripper diff and the Mocal laminova oil cooler.
Was a great day and the car ran faultlessly. The oil cooler has worked perfectly, previously after a decent few laps the car would ran at 75 degrees coolant and 120 oil temperature. With the oil cooler the car ran at a max of 80 and 110 degrees (coolant and oil). So couldn’t ask for too much more than that. Was 20 degrees on the day, so assuming even on a hot summers day we won‘t have an over heating problem.
First time experiencing the gripper diff! Such a different feeling than without, really does pull you round the corners. Took a little bit of camber out of the front tyres and gave much more grip.
James did a 1:39.468 and I did a 1:39.608 so both of us are close and we beat our target of getting into the 1:39s on the day so both really pleased. Here are the videos of the two fastest laps.
Kept having a small moment with the brakes. Most corners have a little tap to make sure the pads haven’t been knocked back but the worst moment was going into sunny it when even a small tap didn’t sort the pads out.
So not completely sure if this is a problem or not but can’t have that happening during a race as we could have been right in the back of someone. Discs warped? CL pads not having the springs like the standard Pads? I’m not sure.
Did another 125 litres of fuel so assuming it would have been around 300 miles but need to check that one.
Haven’t got any more days booked in but hoping to get a late cancellation at Oulton park if the weather is good. But perhaps it’s now time to get started on the winter upgrades, who knows. Either way, couldn’t have asked for too much more for our first year with the car. Lots of plans to be made for us starting a race season.
Initial winter plans (some of which are still only a maybe):
Was time for a trip to Croft again and to try the new gripper diff and the Mocal laminova oil cooler.
Was a great day and the car ran faultlessly. The oil cooler has worked perfectly, previously after a decent few laps the car would ran at 75 degrees coolant and 120 oil temperature. With the oil cooler the car ran at a max of 80 and 110 degrees (coolant and oil). So couldn’t ask for too much more than that. Was 20 degrees on the day, so assuming even on a hot summers day we won‘t have an over heating problem.
First time experiencing the gripper diff! Such a different feeling than without, really does pull you round the corners. Took a little bit of camber out of the front tyres and gave much more grip.
James did a 1:39.468 and I did a 1:39.608 so both of us are close and we beat our target of getting into the 1:39s on the day so both really pleased. Here are the videos of the two fastest laps.
Kept having a small moment with the brakes. Most corners have a little tap to make sure the pads haven’t been knocked back but the worst moment was going into sunny it when even a small tap didn’t sort the pads out.
So not completely sure if this is a problem or not but can’t have that happening during a race as we could have been right in the back of someone. Discs warped? CL pads not having the springs like the standard Pads? I’m not sure.
Did another 125 litres of fuel so assuming it would have been around 300 miles but need to check that one.
Haven’t got any more days booked in but hoping to get a late cancellation at Oulton park if the weather is good. But perhaps it’s now time to get started on the winter upgrades, who knows. Either way, couldn’t have asked for too much more for our first year with the car. Lots of plans to be made for us starting a race season.
Initial winter plans (some of which are still only a maybe):
- Engine rebuild (nothing ridiculous here, not really worth it due to the power to weight categories, but we’ll see).
- Front splitter (more just to tidy the front of the car up and add a little bit of protection to the front subframe rather than aero related).
- Need to sort a dash out, got a phase one dash which fits but fancy giving a custom one a go.
- Reduce the mass of the doors, boot and bonnet. Didn’t really cut much out of these to begin with.
- Add steering wheel buttons (alarm Reset, wiper, lights, page button may be good on the wheel?).
- Brakes. Do we want to upgrade the brakes? Stopping power isn’t really as issue, more is over heating but certainly consistency would be nice to improve.
- ktec 25L fuel tank? Saw these these the other week and look good but probably not necessary at all.
- AST 5100 service, bought these second hand so unsure how much they were used so will get them serviced.
FrogJam Motorsport
ClioSport Trader
Haha, you may have a point. Want to get a good picture with them in then will look at sorting them out. Assuming it’ll be to do with the decel fuel enrichment, but only a bit of a guess.Thats quite some flames and you wonder why you go through so much fuel?
FrogJam Motorsport
ClioSport Trader
Gave the Clio a bit of a clean today before the cover went on in the garage and noticed the front right wheel bearing is knackered. Explains the pad knock back. New bearing ordered, will stick them in shortly incase a trackday space comes up.
FrogJam Motorsport
ClioSport Trader
Post number 30
Just a short one to get up to date before we start taking the car apart over the winter.
Got a last minute (few days before) cancellation spot at Croft so needed to fix the wheel bearing rather sharpish.
Hub had seen better days. Not sure what had caused this. Both bearing and hub were brand at the start of the year. Crap bearing? Crap hub? Bad installation (by me)?
Anyway, luckily had the old hub to put in for the day at Croft along with a new bearing And had no issues on the day with it.
Day at Croft was brilliant. A very wet start to the day but dried up towards the end of the day. Met @Jon Wright for the first time after speaking for a while on here and instagram, top guy and always nice to put a face to the name. Also was great fun following each other so certainly going to try and meet up again in future. Need to sort out a day next year and get a few Clio’s together, @Andy P @M.C.. @Jon Wright perhaps a trip to Donington? Haven’t seen as many 172/182s these days compared with a few years ago.
First time using the Ricky Evans Motorsport heated screen, worked perfectly. No issues at all with the screen. Need to tweak the ecu idle settings though as the car would stall if left to idle with the screen turned on as it was drawing 36 amps. So just turned it on once leaving the pits and cleared the screen within half a lap. Not sure what is best, just leave the heated screen on all the time or put it on a timer?
Just a short one to get up to date before we start taking the car apart over the winter.
Got a last minute (few days before) cancellation spot at Croft so needed to fix the wheel bearing rather sharpish.
Hub had seen better days. Not sure what had caused this. Both bearing and hub were brand at the start of the year. Crap bearing? Crap hub? Bad installation (by me)?
Anyway, luckily had the old hub to put in for the day at Croft along with a new bearing And had no issues on the day with it.
Day at Croft was brilliant. A very wet start to the day but dried up towards the end of the day. Met @Jon Wright for the first time after speaking for a while on here and instagram, top guy and always nice to put a face to the name. Also was great fun following each other so certainly going to try and meet up again in future. Need to sort out a day next year and get a few Clio’s together, @Andy P @M.C.. @Jon Wright perhaps a trip to Donington? Haven’t seen as many 172/182s these days compared with a few years ago.
First time using the Ricky Evans Motorsport heated screen, worked perfectly. No issues at all with the screen. Need to tweak the ecu idle settings though as the car would stall if left to idle with the screen turned on as it was drawing 36 amps. So just turned it on once leaving the pits and cleared the screen within half a lap. Not sure what is best, just leave the heated screen on all the time or put it on a timer?
Mr Underhill
ClioSport Club Member
M.C..
ClioSport Club Member
Andy P
ClioSport Club Member
Clio 172, i20N
@FPummell @Jon Wright Me and Mark have just booked Donington Park for the 25th April, do you want to join us?.
It's Through MSVT but it won't let me post the correct link.
It's Through MSVT but it won't let me post the correct link.
Last edited:
Mr Underhill
ClioSport Club Member
Can’t do April round as we’re away in Lincolnshire that week. Really appreciate the heads up though. I’m at Croft May, June and August. Think we’re going to Crete in July but nothing confirmed yet. If you’re doing anymore just drop me a message and I’ll take a look.
FrogJam Motorsport
ClioSport Trader
Hi Andy, hope you are well.
We have our first race at Silverstone on the Saturday before so can’t do then. We probably will be heading to Donington towards the end of March for some pre season testing though. Got Croft booked for end of March too. Keep in touch though, hopefully can do another time later in the year.
FrogJam Motorsport
ClioSport Trader
Cheers mate. Got it on my todo list.
Planning on setting it so it only comes on over 2000rpm and will also add a timer in there too. Assuming something like a couple minutes on, couple minutes off will do the trick but can play with it and see.
FrogJam Motorsport
ClioSport Trader
Got some great updates to come, some are pretty much done, some halfway through so will make sure I write them up in the next couple of weeks. Been sticking the rear window in this morning.
FrogJam Motorsport
ClioSport Trader
Post number 31
FrogJam Motorsport update.
Our aim for the last few years has been to race in either the Trackday Championship or Trackday Trophy and this year we have finally registered to do the Trackday Championship for 2022.
Our reasoning for picking Championship over Trophy was mainly based on all having to run the same tyre so make it a little more even and also we feel that there are more like minded people in the championship rather than the trophy. This is only based on the fact that there seems to be more effort goes into the cars in the championship and people care more for the cars and hopefully higher driving standards (I am sure there are exceptions to this however, but that was our thinking behind it).
To register for the series we needed a team name so that's why we have changed our name on here to FrogJam Motorsport. A mix of our nicknames but also quite memorable we feel.
We spoke with Neil (@Nafoff) regarding doing some work on the team logo/type and car livery. He completely understood what we were after, so kept the livery simple enough for us to wrap ourselves but made it still stand out and look like a proper livery and not just a standard car with some stickers on it. These are the results, really pleased with how it looks. Just hope we can do Neil's work justice by wrapping it ourselves.
Our schedule for the next couple of months is pretty tight, especially with the engine still not built up but that should be back in the car this weekend (26th-27th. February 2022). Mapping at EFI is in 2 weeks time, trackday and series power test at Snetterton 14th March, Croft trackday 21st March, final car prep including wrapping the car in time for out first race at Silverstone 23rd April.
I previously mentioned some loose plans for the winter but this is what we have actually done/are doing:
Would be great to hear what sort of details would be most interesting to people. A few posts about the splitter and spoiler went mad on instagram but assuming will be very different on here.
FrogJam Motorsport update.
Our aim for the last few years has been to race in either the Trackday Championship or Trackday Trophy and this year we have finally registered to do the Trackday Championship for 2022.
Our reasoning for picking Championship over Trophy was mainly based on all having to run the same tyre so make it a little more even and also we feel that there are more like minded people in the championship rather than the trophy. This is only based on the fact that there seems to be more effort goes into the cars in the championship and people care more for the cars and hopefully higher driving standards (I am sure there are exceptions to this however, but that was our thinking behind it).
To register for the series we needed a team name so that's why we have changed our name on here to FrogJam Motorsport. A mix of our nicknames but also quite memorable we feel.
We spoke with Neil (@Nafoff) regarding doing some work on the team logo/type and car livery. He completely understood what we were after, so kept the livery simple enough for us to wrap ourselves but made it still stand out and look like a proper livery and not just a standard car with some stickers on it. These are the results, really pleased with how it looks. Just hope we can do Neil's work justice by wrapping it ourselves.
Our schedule for the next couple of months is pretty tight, especially with the engine still not built up but that should be back in the car this weekend (26th-27th. February 2022). Mapping at EFI is in 2 weeks time, trackday and series power test at Snetterton 14th March, Croft trackday 21st March, final car prep including wrapping the car in time for out first race at Silverstone 23rd April.
I previously mentioned some loose plans for the winter but this is what we have actually done/are doing:
- Engine rebuild - Complete refresh, lots of new parts, Max at MS Custom Engineering did all the head work and painted parts, block honed and decked, forged rods and pistons (mainly for future proofing), lightweight flywheel and Sachs Performance clutch.
- Front splitter
- CCF Fibreglass boot and BYC rear spoiler
- EPAS
- Steering wheel button panel
- TPMS - RRR Engineering tyre pressure monitoring system
- AP Racing Pro 5000R brake kit from @pure-motorsport
- Braid Fullrace Maxlight wheels
Would be great to hear what sort of details would be most interesting to people. A few posts about the splitter and spoiler went mad on instagram but assuming will be very different on here.
FrogJam Motorsport
ClioSport Trader
Post Number 32.
Winter Upgrades Part 1.
Will start with some of the items which are actually finished (or very close to being finished).
Front Splitter
For the previous year we had ran with no splitter or under tray, wasn't a problem for the number of trackdays we did but going forward thought it was sensible to have an under tray to protect the underside of the engine/gear linkage etc from gravel and the like. The plan for the splitter also used the under tray as the mounting point.
We had some requirements for the splitter which we felt were important so it didn't become a problem to run with:
First was to make the under tray. I had made a template for one a couple years ago when the rivnuts got put into the front frame. However to get clearance to the gear shifter with a flat sheet and no cut outs the bottom section had to be spaced out by 15mm. Made the under tray out of 3mm aluminium, so nothing overly strong, doesn't weigh much but will be perfect for keeping gravel from damaging anything (and no doubt collect lots of gravel too).
With the undertray fitted with a bunch of washers spacing the bottom section away from the front subframe, I bought some aluminium spacers from eBay (Ultraturn) also used the same person for some bumper stop spacers too. I welded these onto the under tray so it is less faff to take off and on if needed.
That was the under tray sorted so next was sorting the splitter. Used some aluminium extrusion make a couple of brackets to make the pivot point.
These brackets are going to be the pivot point of the splitter with gas struts supporting the front of the splitter which will also allow the movement. These were purchased from SGS Engineering. Went with 75N for the front and 60N for the side struts. So in total that will in effect give 27kg holding the edge of the splitter down. Can always change these if they need to be more or less in the future but seems a reasonable guesstimate, and in the end it did feel about right.
Cut to a shape which mostly followed the shape of the bumper.
Fitted the air dam from BYC Designs, contemplating making something myself but wasn't going to be able to make anything as neat as the BYC Air Dam and thought it was a reasonable price too.
Winter Upgrades Part 1.
Will start with some of the items which are actually finished (or very close to being finished).
Front Splitter
For the previous year we had ran with no splitter or under tray, wasn't a problem for the number of trackdays we did but going forward thought it was sensible to have an under tray to protect the underside of the engine/gear linkage etc from gravel and the like. The plan for the splitter also used the under tray as the mounting point.
We had some requirements for the splitter which we felt were important so it didn't become a problem to run with:
- Still allow the quick release bumper to be removed without removing the splitter. Being able to take the bumper off in a matter of seconds is really useful, makes access to the front of the engine and front suspension very easy. So didn't want to lose this feature.
- Easy loading onto the trailer. Currently we have to remove the bumper to get the car onto the trailer as the bottom edge of the standard splitter just catches. Therefore want the splitter to be able to bend/pivot so it can easily slide along the trailer ramps.
- Like the quick release bumper want to be able to remove the splitter fairly easily if needing more access.
First was to make the under tray. I had made a template for one a couple years ago when the rivnuts got put into the front frame. However to get clearance to the gear shifter with a flat sheet and no cut outs the bottom section had to be spaced out by 15mm. Made the under tray out of 3mm aluminium, so nothing overly strong, doesn't weigh much but will be perfect for keeping gravel from damaging anything (and no doubt collect lots of gravel too).
With the undertray fitted with a bunch of washers spacing the bottom section away from the front subframe, I bought some aluminium spacers from eBay (Ultraturn) also used the same person for some bumper stop spacers too. I welded these onto the under tray so it is less faff to take off and on if needed.
That was the under tray sorted so next was sorting the splitter. Used some aluminium extrusion make a couple of brackets to make the pivot point.
These brackets are going to be the pivot point of the splitter with gas struts supporting the front of the splitter which will also allow the movement. These were purchased from SGS Engineering. Went with 75N for the front and 60N for the side struts. So in total that will in effect give 27kg holding the edge of the splitter down. Can always change these if they need to be more or less in the future but seems a reasonable guesstimate, and in the end it did feel about right.
Cut to a shape which mostly followed the shape of the bumper.
Fitted the air dam from BYC Designs, contemplating making something myself but wasn't going to be able to make anything as neat as the BYC Air Dam and thought it was a reasonable price too.
FrogJam Motorsport
ClioSport Trader
Post Number 32 Continued.
I used countersunk bolts for all the fixings to keep the bottom of the splitter flat and so none of the bolts would catch on the track or trailer. Painted the splitter with the trusty Jotun Jotamastic 90 but in black this time rather than the aluminium version we have previously used.
Couple of coats later and the plywood was completely sealed and also gives a pretty good finish. Will see how long it take for it to need another coat of paint to tidy it up. Added some door seal strip along the top edge of the air dam where it is in contact with the bottom of the bumper.
By disconnecting the front two gas struts the splitter drops enough to allow the bumper to be removed just like before.
Really pleased how to turned out.
Will it give us any performance increase, who knows, more than likely pretty marginal.
Is it worth it just for how it looks? Most certainly! Can't have a racecar without a big front splitter really even if it is a Clio.
One thing I forgot to do was mark up the other half of plywood for a spare splitter, so will have to take it apart and mark up for the spare splitter incase the first one breaks. Should have mentioned the splitter is less than 600m deep so you can get two splitters out of an 8x4 sheet.
Don't need too many guesses what is coming up next! Can't be having a front splitter without a big rear wing.
I used countersunk bolts for all the fixings to keep the bottom of the splitter flat and so none of the bolts would catch on the track or trailer. Painted the splitter with the trusty Jotun Jotamastic 90 but in black this time rather than the aluminium version we have previously used.
Couple of coats later and the plywood was completely sealed and also gives a pretty good finish. Will see how long it take for it to need another coat of paint to tidy it up. Added some door seal strip along the top edge of the air dam where it is in contact with the bottom of the bumper.
By disconnecting the front two gas struts the splitter drops enough to allow the bumper to be removed just like before.
Really pleased how to turned out.
Will it give us any performance increase, who knows, more than likely pretty marginal.
Is it worth it just for how it looks? Most certainly! Can't have a racecar without a big front splitter really even if it is a Clio.
One thing I forgot to do was mark up the other half of plywood for a spare splitter, so will have to take it apart and mark up for the spare splitter incase the first one breaks. Should have mentioned the splitter is less than 600m deep so you can get two splitters out of an 8x4 sheet.
Don't need too many guesses what is coming up next! Can't be having a front splitter without a big rear wing.
Nafoff
ClioSport Club Member
Proud to have been involved with this, thank you for the opportunity and can't wait to see the car in full-spec and used in anger.
The progress is looking awesome
The progress is looking awesome
FrogJam Motorsport
ClioSport Trader
Post Number 33.
Winter Upgrades Part 2.
Rear Boot and Rear Spoiler
Went with a CCF Fibreglass boot and a BYC Design Spoiler, already had the plastic4performance rear window from the full kit we purchased a year or two ago.
https://ccf-fibreglass.co.uk/products/renault-clio-172182-fibreglass-tailgate
https://bycdesigns.co.uk/your-track-car/renault/clio?product_id=105
https://www.plastics4performance.com/renault-clio-mk2-lexan-makrolon-polycarbonate-window-kit
Really please with the fitment of the CCF Fibreglass boot, admittedly its the only one I have ever worked with but shut lines are pretty perfect so cannot see how another boot would be any better. Fibreglass boot weighs 3.2kg, plastic window 2.8kg. Standard boot and glass (no interior trim or wiper motor) 15.6kg. So a decent saving or at least will offset the mass of the spoiler.
Hinge holes can be seen in the mould so just drilled these and assumed they would line up and sure enough they were bang on. Used a die grinder to open up the window for the nut access. Die grinder works perfectly to cut and trim the fibre glass although it does make a right mess.
For the Aero Catches I didn't want them too close to the edge so ended up cutting a few holes. 3rd hole was perfect though. Paint pen on the end of the aero catch bolt marks the internal of the boot perfectly too. Slightly inboard of the original hole for the boot stop is perfect. Means you don't have to cut any of the internal structure of the boot out of the way.
BYC Design Spoiler was nice and simple to fit. Clamped in place and the 6 fixing points marked and drilled. Had an aluminium internal brace for the lower 4 mounting holes to spread the load over the boot so it doesn't deform the boot much at all.
Glued the window in using tiger seal adhesive just like the other polycarbonate windows.
All done apart from mounting the rain light.
Contemplating giving the CCF Fibreglass composite doors ago in the future based on a good experience with the boot, but that will be next years winter upgrades. Wasn't looking forward to doing the boot but was pleasantly surprised how well it went together.
No idea how much of a difference the rear wing will actually make. Will be interesting to try it with and without. But mainly its on there because it looks great. So if we get a benefit from it then great, if its just some ballast then so be it. Will report how it goes in the coming posts.
Bump Stops
Never sorted out the bump stops and the front was rubbing last year through Craners at Donington and the hairpin at Croft. So found some M14 40mm aluminium spacers to space out the bump stops in the AST coilovers. Measured where we wanted the wheel to stop and worked out a rough thickness spacer we needed. Thought we needed 14mm so ordered a range of spacers from 10mm to 20mm. Link to where I ordered them from below.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/193178595459?var=493369014408
Winter Upgrades Part 2.
Rear Boot and Rear Spoiler
Went with a CCF Fibreglass boot and a BYC Design Spoiler, already had the plastic4performance rear window from the full kit we purchased a year or two ago.
https://ccf-fibreglass.co.uk/products/renault-clio-172182-fibreglass-tailgate
https://bycdesigns.co.uk/your-track-car/renault/clio?product_id=105
https://www.plastics4performance.com/renault-clio-mk2-lexan-makrolon-polycarbonate-window-kit
Really please with the fitment of the CCF Fibreglass boot, admittedly its the only one I have ever worked with but shut lines are pretty perfect so cannot see how another boot would be any better. Fibreglass boot weighs 3.2kg, plastic window 2.8kg. Standard boot and glass (no interior trim or wiper motor) 15.6kg. So a decent saving or at least will offset the mass of the spoiler.
Hinge holes can be seen in the mould so just drilled these and assumed they would line up and sure enough they were bang on. Used a die grinder to open up the window for the nut access. Die grinder works perfectly to cut and trim the fibre glass although it does make a right mess.
For the Aero Catches I didn't want them too close to the edge so ended up cutting a few holes. 3rd hole was perfect though. Paint pen on the end of the aero catch bolt marks the internal of the boot perfectly too. Slightly inboard of the original hole for the boot stop is perfect. Means you don't have to cut any of the internal structure of the boot out of the way.
BYC Design Spoiler was nice and simple to fit. Clamped in place and the 6 fixing points marked and drilled. Had an aluminium internal brace for the lower 4 mounting holes to spread the load over the boot so it doesn't deform the boot much at all.
Glued the window in using tiger seal adhesive just like the other polycarbonate windows.
All done apart from mounting the rain light.
Contemplating giving the CCF Fibreglass composite doors ago in the future based on a good experience with the boot, but that will be next years winter upgrades. Wasn't looking forward to doing the boot but was pleasantly surprised how well it went together.
No idea how much of a difference the rear wing will actually make. Will be interesting to try it with and without. But mainly its on there because it looks great. So if we get a benefit from it then great, if its just some ballast then so be it. Will report how it goes in the coming posts.
Bump Stops
Never sorted out the bump stops and the front was rubbing last year through Craners at Donington and the hairpin at Croft. So found some M14 40mm aluminium spacers to space out the bump stops in the AST coilovers. Measured where we wanted the wheel to stop and worked out a rough thickness spacer we needed. Thought we needed 14mm so ordered a range of spacers from 10mm to 20mm. Link to where I ordered them from below.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/193178595459?var=493369014408
FrogJam Motorsport
ClioSport Trader
Post Number 34.
Winter Upgrades Part 3.
EPAS
We were keen to have a go with running EPAS over just the manual rack. Seemingly people go one way or the other. We found in usual running the steering was ok, if you needed to catch a slide it was pretty heavy to give it a quick, sharp yank and round the pits was pretty awful considering the amount of castor we are running too.
So an EPAS column was purchased from Jay from Driftworks, assuming he had it to put into his Clio before he decided to sell it.
Didn't want to change any of the mounts so that it was possible to easily swap between the columns if we didn't like the EPAS or if we ever had a problem with either one. So very similar mounts made for the EPAS Column and mounted it place.
Used the existing column as a template for the position of the new mounts on the EPAS column.
Added a bracket for a steering angle sensor before giving a paint in the customary etch primer grey and clear coat. Basically copied the AIM Motorsport steering angle sensor idea but ordered the parts separately for a quarter of the price.
Wired in the EPAS column using a ebay controller from Portugal, https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/284405317174?hash=item4237e0be36:g:9nMAAOSwjolhYplg
Wanted to get rid of the bolt on hub adaptor and tidy it up so extended the column and welded on the quick release adaptor.
Steering Wheel Button Panel
Gave it ago making our own steering wheel button panel instead of buying one. Isn't the prettiest but certainly works. Used the ECUMaster CAN board so only needed power, ground, CAN high and CAN Low running to the steering wheel.
Panel cut out using a template drawn in CAD to get it symmetrical. Painted black and then wired the buttons in. As it is all controlled via CAN and the PMU the button can be configured to what ever we wanted but the first iteration we decided upon is shown below. Indicators, flash, single wiper, page buttons, alarm reset button and a rotary potentiometer (No idea what to use this for yet but seemed cool).
Button nut covers from https://blinkstop.co.uk/shop/accessories/nut-covers-4
Winter Upgrades Part 3.
EPAS
We were keen to have a go with running EPAS over just the manual rack. Seemingly people go one way or the other. We found in usual running the steering was ok, if you needed to catch a slide it was pretty heavy to give it a quick, sharp yank and round the pits was pretty awful considering the amount of castor we are running too.
So an EPAS column was purchased from Jay from Driftworks, assuming he had it to put into his Clio before he decided to sell it.
Didn't want to change any of the mounts so that it was possible to easily swap between the columns if we didn't like the EPAS or if we ever had a problem with either one. So very similar mounts made for the EPAS Column and mounted it place.
Used the existing column as a template for the position of the new mounts on the EPAS column.
Added a bracket for a steering angle sensor before giving a paint in the customary etch primer grey and clear coat. Basically copied the AIM Motorsport steering angle sensor idea but ordered the parts separately for a quarter of the price.
Wired in the EPAS column using a ebay controller from Portugal, https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/284405317174?hash=item4237e0be36:g:9nMAAOSwjolhYplg
Wanted to get rid of the bolt on hub adaptor and tidy it up so extended the column and welded on the quick release adaptor.
Steering Wheel Button Panel
Gave it ago making our own steering wheel button panel instead of buying one. Isn't the prettiest but certainly works. Used the ECUMaster CAN board so only needed power, ground, CAN high and CAN Low running to the steering wheel.
Panel cut out using a template drawn in CAD to get it symmetrical. Painted black and then wired the buttons in. As it is all controlled via CAN and the PMU the button can be configured to what ever we wanted but the first iteration we decided upon is shown below. Indicators, flash, single wiper, page buttons, alarm reset button and a rotary potentiometer (No idea what to use this for yet but seemed cool).
Button nut covers from https://blinkstop.co.uk/shop/accessories/nut-covers-4
FrogJam Motorsport
ClioSport Trader
Post Number 35.
Winter Upgrades Part 4.
Front Brakes
We very much splashed out and bought the AP Racing Pro 5000R kit from Nick (https://www.pure-motorsport.co.uk/a...-300mm-disc-conversion-kit-for-15-wheels.html).
We sent a Protrack wheel down to Nick at pure motorsport to check clearance. Needed to run at least a 20mm spacer for the Protrack wheels to fit, therefore decided to change to braid wheels. Managed to sell the Protrack wheels for the same price as a new set of braid wheels so made sense for us to change. Ordered for Automac as the wheels were a bit cheaper but turned out to be the wrong decision, took ages to order them, then took ages for them to come. Took over 2 months and ended up coming a couple days before our mapping session. So was a little close for comfort. So wish we had just ordered them from Nick and no doubt would have had no hassle and worry. https://www.pure-motorsport.co.uk/braid-fullrace-maxlight-15-wheels
Was unsure about the White Braid Fullrace Maxlight wheels to begin with, but since them arriving they have really grown on us. And with the planned livery think the white wheels are going to look great.
Engine Rebuild
As previously mentioned the engine had over 110k miles on it and was using over a litre of oil per trackday so decided to rebuild and replace with as many new parts as possible (rings, bearings, followers, valves, oil pump, belts, dephaser, gaskets, seals etc).
Engine stripped and all looked in pretty good condition really so still unsure if the oil was leaking through the rings or valve stem seal?
Sent pretty much all engine parts to Max at M.S. Custom Engineering to do his thing. cleaned, painted, ported, gas flowed, inlets matched etc etc. Parts came back looking great.
Pistons cleaned up surprisingly well in some white spirit and light agitating with a brass wire brush.
James then took over and started rebuilding the engine once all the new parts had arrived. Watching a clean engine go back together was very satisfying!
All new tappets and followers. Bought from Autodoc for a lot less than you can in the UK but still OEM manufacturer.
I was working at home whilst James rebuild the engine over a few days, was great to pop into the garage to see progress. Didn't too long really to get it back together.
Winter Upgrades Part 4.
Front Brakes
We very much splashed out and bought the AP Racing Pro 5000R kit from Nick (https://www.pure-motorsport.co.uk/a...-300mm-disc-conversion-kit-for-15-wheels.html).
We sent a Protrack wheel down to Nick at pure motorsport to check clearance. Needed to run at least a 20mm spacer for the Protrack wheels to fit, therefore decided to change to braid wheels. Managed to sell the Protrack wheels for the same price as a new set of braid wheels so made sense for us to change. Ordered for Automac as the wheels were a bit cheaper but turned out to be the wrong decision, took ages to order them, then took ages for them to come. Took over 2 months and ended up coming a couple days before our mapping session. So was a little close for comfort. So wish we had just ordered them from Nick and no doubt would have had no hassle and worry. https://www.pure-motorsport.co.uk/braid-fullrace-maxlight-15-wheels
Was unsure about the White Braid Fullrace Maxlight wheels to begin with, but since them arriving they have really grown on us. And with the planned livery think the white wheels are going to look great.
Engine Rebuild
As previously mentioned the engine had over 110k miles on it and was using over a litre of oil per trackday so decided to rebuild and replace with as many new parts as possible (rings, bearings, followers, valves, oil pump, belts, dephaser, gaskets, seals etc).
Engine stripped and all looked in pretty good condition really so still unsure if the oil was leaking through the rings or valve stem seal?
Sent pretty much all engine parts to Max at M.S. Custom Engineering to do his thing. cleaned, painted, ported, gas flowed, inlets matched etc etc. Parts came back looking great.
Pistons cleaned up surprisingly well in some white spirit and light agitating with a brass wire brush.
James then took over and started rebuilding the engine once all the new parts had arrived. Watching a clean engine go back together was very satisfying!
All new tappets and followers. Bought from Autodoc for a lot less than you can in the UK but still OEM manufacturer.
I was working at home whilst James rebuild the engine over a few days, was great to pop into the garage to see progress. Didn't too long really to get it back together.
Mr Underhill
ClioSport Club Member
Literally just got round to watching your laps at Croft. Car seems so much better than last time you were out and love the different driving styles. I’m sure it’s just a case of jumping in, getting those pre-race nerves out of the way and putting some laps in.
Experience counts for everything so don’t take daft risks, build up slowly and I’m sure you guys will be chasing silverware soon enough. Great to see 🚗💨
FrogJam Motorsport
ClioSport Trader
Post Number 36.
Winter Upgrades Part 5.
First Start Up
Another upgrade was to fit a Sachs Performance paddle clutch.
Is it a little over the top? Possibly. But after spending a fair bit of money rebuilding the engine and gearbox now it would be a shame to ruin both with a failed clutch. So now was the time to stick one in.
And finally was time to get the engine back in the car.
Had bought a noco starting booster which was great for getting the car started for the first time. It did turn out the battery was pretty knackered. Still haven’t worked out why my trickle charger hadn’t kept it topped over over the winter.
Had turned the car over a good few times to build oil pressure, fill the oil cooler and made sure the oil level was correct. And then it was time! Think my face gives it away slightly how I was feeling.
Was running rather rich to start with so took some fuel out after the first start and was much happier idling.
We don’t know if we were just making it up but it did sound so much smoother than previous, assuming a brand new valve train does actually help.
So was cutting it rather close but it was finally back together for mapping.
Before mapping I set the front camber to 0 degrees and got a part worn set of hard road tyres on the front as recommended by Chris at EFI.
Winter Upgrades Part 5.
First Start Up
Another upgrade was to fit a Sachs Performance paddle clutch.
Is it a little over the top? Possibly. But after spending a fair bit of money rebuilding the engine and gearbox now it would be a shame to ruin both with a failed clutch. So now was the time to stick one in.
And finally was time to get the engine back in the car.
Had bought a noco starting booster which was great for getting the car started for the first time. It did turn out the battery was pretty knackered. Still haven’t worked out why my trickle charger hadn’t kept it topped over over the winter.
Had turned the car over a good few times to build oil pressure, fill the oil cooler and made sure the oil level was correct. And then it was time! Think my face gives it away slightly how I was feeling.
Was running rather rich to start with so took some fuel out after the first start and was much happier idling.
We don’t know if we were just making it up but it did sound so much smoother than previous, assuming a brand new valve train does actually help.
So was cutting it rather close but it was finally back together for mapping.
Before mapping I set the front camber to 0 degrees and got a part worn set of hard road tyres on the front as recommended by Chris at EFI.
FrogJam Motorsport
ClioSport Trader
Post number 37.
Time for mapping.
With the new engine and stand-alone ecu we wanted to go to the best place so headed off to Chris at EFI.
Was very impressed with Chris. Night and day difference with the detail he went to compared to when we had it mapped first time round else where. He worked on it for 5 hours but if it needed longer he’s the sort of guy who would have stayed later until it was done.
Car made 159whp but what would really matter is what it made on the championship series dyno.
A great day and both of us very pleased it all went to plan. Next up was Snetterton 5 days later.
Time for mapping.
With the new engine and stand-alone ecu we wanted to go to the best place so headed off to Chris at EFI.
Was very impressed with Chris. Night and day difference with the detail he went to compared to when we had it mapped first time round else where. He worked on it for 5 hours but if it needed longer he’s the sort of guy who would have stayed later until it was done.
Car made 159whp but what would really matter is what it made on the championship series dyno.
A great day and both of us very pleased it all went to plan. Next up was Snetterton 5 days later.
FrogJam Motorsport
ClioSport Trader
Post number 38.
Snetterton Test/Track day.
Time to get the car ready for track.
Camber was changed back to normal from the zero degrees for mapping along with a string alignment check and corner weights sorted.
Front, 2.8 degrees, 7 degrees castor, 0.5mm toe out, 90N/mm. Rear, 3 degrees, 0.5mm toe in, 80N/mm.
And for the first time both front and rear aero went on the car.
After a lot of work over the winter the car was ready for its first test.
A quick stop at Grantham services to sell the old protrack wheels. New tyre rack I made worked a treat for carrying two sets of wheels and tyres.
Bit of a trek to Snetterton from Newcastle but made it to the paddock and got the car unloaded and in the gazebo for the night.
Felt like we wouldn‘t make it on multiple occasions over the last month but finally made it.
First up for the day was to get the championship series dyno test completed. The power is used to calculated your power to weight which determines what class you are in.
Made 160.7whp so will put us right at the top of class C (150whp/t including driver).
The day went really well. Had a problem with the battery, first few hours of the day the voltage was low but seemingly after a few hours of running it sorted itself out. Assuming the battery was really discharged and needed a proper charge.
Obviously had to have our first splitter moment (1-0 to Fred), ran wide after mis judging passing another car and hit a rather large pot hole just off track. Completely coverage the car in mud so needed a good clean.
All in all a great first test for the car. Next was Croft in 7 days time.
James’ fastest lap of the day.
Snetterton Test/Track day.
Time to get the car ready for track.
Camber was changed back to normal from the zero degrees for mapping along with a string alignment check and corner weights sorted.
Front, 2.8 degrees, 7 degrees castor, 0.5mm toe out, 90N/mm. Rear, 3 degrees, 0.5mm toe in, 80N/mm.
And for the first time both front and rear aero went on the car.
After a lot of work over the winter the car was ready for its first test.
A quick stop at Grantham services to sell the old protrack wheels. New tyre rack I made worked a treat for carrying two sets of wheels and tyres.
Bit of a trek to Snetterton from Newcastle but made it to the paddock and got the car unloaded and in the gazebo for the night.
Felt like we wouldn‘t make it on multiple occasions over the last month but finally made it.
First up for the day was to get the championship series dyno test completed. The power is used to calculated your power to weight which determines what class you are in.
Made 160.7whp so will put us right at the top of class C (150whp/t including driver).
The day went really well. Had a problem with the battery, first few hours of the day the voltage was low but seemingly after a few hours of running it sorted itself out. Assuming the battery was really discharged and needed a proper charge.
Obviously had to have our first splitter moment (1-0 to Fred), ran wide after mis judging passing another car and hit a rather large pot hole just off track. Completely coverage the car in mud so needed a good clean.
All in all a great first test for the car. Next was Croft in 7 days time.
James’ fastest lap of the day.
FrogJam Motorsport
ClioSport Trader
Post number 39.
Croft Test/Trackday.
Couple things to sort, wash the mud off from the splitter moment at Snetterton and extend the mirror brackets as it’s pretty useless being high up.
Nice and shiny again which makes me happy.
Not sure why we haven’t sorted it earlier but the mirror was useless at snetterton, too high so you can’t just glance to see what is going on. So made some nasty looking brackets to extend the original ones. Worked a treat so hopefully the mirror is actually useful now.
James had also bought us a present for the trailer. To get the car off without scraping the bumper and splitter both had to come off which gets a little boring so he got the tilt ram for the trailer, makes life so much easier, now no need to remove anything from the car to get it on and off.
After a very cold start to the day, IAT was saying 1 degree, we had a great day. No issues and smashed our previous best lap time and we were within a 1/10th of each other which was great.
Testing went great so now it was ‘just’ a matter of wrapping the car before our first race at Silverstone. Hopefully a more interesting post about the wrapping. Turned out pretty great.
Croft Test/Trackday.
Couple things to sort, wash the mud off from the splitter moment at Snetterton and extend the mirror brackets as it’s pretty useless being high up.
Nice and shiny again which makes me happy.
Not sure why we haven’t sorted it earlier but the mirror was useless at snetterton, too high so you can’t just glance to see what is going on. So made some nasty looking brackets to extend the original ones. Worked a treat so hopefully the mirror is actually useful now.
James had also bought us a present for the trailer. To get the car off without scraping the bumper and splitter both had to come off which gets a little boring so he got the tilt ram for the trailer, makes life so much easier, now no need to remove anything from the car to get it on and off.
After a very cold start to the day, IAT was saying 1 degree, we had a great day. No issues and smashed our previous best lap time and we were within a 1/10th of each other which was great.
Testing went great so now it was ‘just’ a matter of wrapping the car before our first race at Silverstone. Hopefully a more interesting post about the wrapping. Turned out pretty great.
FrogJam Motorsport
ClioSport Trader
Post number 40.
Well that took longer than planned. On a mission to get the thread up to date now.
Don't worry, not planning on doing posts and posts about the driving really. Going to keep it more about the car, that's why most of us are here anyway.
Anyway, wrapping prior to Silverstone!
As already mentioned @Nafoff had done the design for the livery and provided images to follow but also the artwork in vector format to be able to cut the artwork out. It was a great decision to have the artwork done by Neil, constantly referred to it as working on the car. Got a massive print out done for the garage wall to follow during the process. I have very little creativity/artiness so without something to follow I wasn't going to do well.
I looked into getting the logo cut out in vinyl but seemed really quite expensive and didn't want to commit to a size so it was more cost effective to buy a vinyl cutter. Bought from the range of all places, £260 (Link here).
The wrap came from MDP Supplies and is KPMF Airelease. Do both gloss and matt.
Made a start on the boot, thought it was the easiest bit but turned out apart from the bumper probably the trickiest.
I did cheat slightly on the boot, if you look closely I cut the middle bottom of the wrap, had a bunch of material left in the middle. Needed to start in the middle and work out really or stretch it better to start with.
Think the best/only way is to give it ago, be patient and have a bit of practice. I found it strangely therapeutic once I got the hang on it. Would happily do it again actually which I didn't think I would be saying.
Marked out the side stripe with the cutting tape/wire. Idea with this was to lay stripes down and over lap the edges ever so slightly. From a foot away yes you can tell how its done but from any further away you really can't tell.
With the sky blue laid down I then added the white stripe top and middle and the black bit at the bottom. Great idea of Neil's to put the black at the bottom really does hide a lot of the dirt from the track. Same process as before, two lines of wrap cut, lay the wrap over the wire cutting tape and then pull the wire to cut the lines. Its so satisfying to do!
Then was time to give the bumper a go. The bumper was my second attempt, lost patience at the end of the day with the first attempt and decided to pull it off and start again the next day. Like I said before patience is key! I cheated again here and split the bottom black part of the bumper in two so there is a split down the middle of the bumper but like before, from 1 foot you can see it, any more it looks fine.
Well that took longer than planned. On a mission to get the thread up to date now.
Don't worry, not planning on doing posts and posts about the driving really. Going to keep it more about the car, that's why most of us are here anyway.
Anyway, wrapping prior to Silverstone!
As already mentioned @Nafoff had done the design for the livery and provided images to follow but also the artwork in vector format to be able to cut the artwork out. It was a great decision to have the artwork done by Neil, constantly referred to it as working on the car. Got a massive print out done for the garage wall to follow during the process. I have very little creativity/artiness so without something to follow I wasn't going to do well.
I looked into getting the logo cut out in vinyl but seemed really quite expensive and didn't want to commit to a size so it was more cost effective to buy a vinyl cutter. Bought from the range of all places, £260 (Link here).
The wrap came from MDP Supplies and is KPMF Airelease. Do both gloss and matt.
Made a start on the boot, thought it was the easiest bit but turned out apart from the bumper probably the trickiest.
I did cheat slightly on the boot, if you look closely I cut the middle bottom of the wrap, had a bunch of material left in the middle. Needed to start in the middle and work out really or stretch it better to start with.
Think the best/only way is to give it ago, be patient and have a bit of practice. I found it strangely therapeutic once I got the hang on it. Would happily do it again actually which I didn't think I would be saying.
Marked out the side stripe with the cutting tape/wire. Idea with this was to lay stripes down and over lap the edges ever so slightly. From a foot away yes you can tell how its done but from any further away you really can't tell.
With the sky blue laid down I then added the white stripe top and middle and the black bit at the bottom. Great idea of Neil's to put the black at the bottom really does hide a lot of the dirt from the track. Same process as before, two lines of wrap cut, lay the wrap over the wire cutting tape and then pull the wire to cut the lines. Its so satisfying to do!
Then was time to give the bumper a go. The bumper was my second attempt, lost patience at the end of the day with the first attempt and decided to pull it off and start again the next day. Like I said before patience is key! I cheated again here and split the bottom black part of the bumper in two so there is a split down the middle of the bumper but like before, from 1 foot you can see it, any more it looks fine.
FrogJam Motorsport
ClioSport Trader
Post number 40 continued.
Next it was time to cut the FrogJam Motorsport logo out. Measured what size I needed, typed the measurements into the computer and pressed cut, really was that simple.
Once cut you have to then weed the unwanted vinyl and apply the transfer tape.
Once masking typed in place it was possible to apply one letter at a time and it came out perfectly.
We weren't too sure what would look best on the bonnet but Neil gave us a few options to try so laid some the of the designs out and went with this in the end. Same process as before with with more practice and a nice flat surface to do it didn't take long at all.
So then the final result!
James conveniently was just getting over having covid whilst I was wrapping so even though it was a solo effort I was buzzing how it turned out (so was he from the many many photos I had been sending, think he was pretty gutted not to be able to join in).
So now there was only a week to go before Silverstone, our first ever race and praying that James got a negative test back before hand!
Next post about the race and some late night spannering the night before the race!
Next it was time to cut the FrogJam Motorsport logo out. Measured what size I needed, typed the measurements into the computer and pressed cut, really was that simple.
Once cut you have to then weed the unwanted vinyl and apply the transfer tape.
Once masking typed in place it was possible to apply one letter at a time and it came out perfectly.
We weren't too sure what would look best on the bonnet but Neil gave us a few options to try so laid some the of the designs out and went with this in the end. Same process as before with with more practice and a nice flat surface to do it didn't take long at all.
So then the final result!
James conveniently was just getting over having covid whilst I was wrapping so even though it was a solo effort I was buzzing how it turned out (so was he from the many many photos I had been sending, think he was pretty gutted not to be able to join in).
So now there was only a week to go before Silverstone, our first ever race and praying that James got a negative test back before hand!
Next post about the race and some late night spannering the night before the race!
FrogJam Motorsport
ClioSport Trader
Post number 41.
Trackday Championship Round 1 - Silverstone National - 23/04/22
Well after 3 year and 8 months since buying the Clio it was time for our first race. Excitement levels were certainly high!
Trailer all packed up, 6 boxes of spares/tools in the big box, spare set of wheels and tyres for the race and 2 gazebos. All fits perfectly.
Getting unpacked on the Thursday evening ready for the test day on the Friday. We had never been to Silverstone so was hoping to get some decent practice in during the test day.
Testing was all going well until the last 5 minutes of the last session when I started to hear a noise from the front, sounded like brakes, so came in to take a look. Turned out to be a front left wheel bearing! Not what you needed at 5 o'clock the day before your first race. Wheel nut had come loose again! We had spare bearings and hubs with us, just no way of changing it. Went round the whole paddock asking for a press or bearing puller kit, nothing. Was surprised I kept getting a funny look when asking for tools like that assumed people would have had something.
I was literally minutes away from jumping in the car to drive home (450 miles round trip) to change a bearing. But someone on the cliosport.net Facebook group said he was near by and had a press in his garage and we were more than welcome to give it ago changing it. So was worth ago. Anyway turned out Tony was literally a few minutes down the road, sure enough with a lovely press which popped the bearing out without a problem. He also changed our wheel studs over whilst we chatted.
So a massive thank you to @Tony Hunter for rescuing us late on a Friday night! We were so lucky that he got in touch on the Facebook group otherwise it would have been an awful night having to drive home! Like to be able to repay the favour to someone else one day, so if you are ever stuck around the Newcastle area then give me a shout.
Anyway race day came and we were just hoping for an incident free day and we'd come away happy. Sure enough, qualified 6th in class and finished 6th in class, thankfully that really wasn't last in class so we were delighted.
This is us two grinning from ear to ear. Was a rather good day.
This is the race video if anyone is interested. A very steady/nervous first few laps but slowly get into it.
More importantly! What did we learn and what do we want to change moving forward?
Trackday Championship Round 1 - Silverstone National - 23/04/22
Well after 3 year and 8 months since buying the Clio it was time for our first race. Excitement levels were certainly high!
Trailer all packed up, 6 boxes of spares/tools in the big box, spare set of wheels and tyres for the race and 2 gazebos. All fits perfectly.
Getting unpacked on the Thursday evening ready for the test day on the Friday. We had never been to Silverstone so was hoping to get some decent practice in during the test day.
Testing was all going well until the last 5 minutes of the last session when I started to hear a noise from the front, sounded like brakes, so came in to take a look. Turned out to be a front left wheel bearing! Not what you needed at 5 o'clock the day before your first race. Wheel nut had come loose again! We had spare bearings and hubs with us, just no way of changing it. Went round the whole paddock asking for a press or bearing puller kit, nothing. Was surprised I kept getting a funny look when asking for tools like that assumed people would have had something.
I was literally minutes away from jumping in the car to drive home (450 miles round trip) to change a bearing. But someone on the cliosport.net Facebook group said he was near by and had a press in his garage and we were more than welcome to give it ago changing it. So was worth ago. Anyway turned out Tony was literally a few minutes down the road, sure enough with a lovely press which popped the bearing out without a problem. He also changed our wheel studs over whilst we chatted.
So a massive thank you to @Tony Hunter for rescuing us late on a Friday night! We were so lucky that he got in touch on the Facebook group otherwise it would have been an awful night having to drive home! Like to be able to repay the favour to someone else one day, so if you are ever stuck around the Newcastle area then give me a shout.
Anyway race day came and we were just hoping for an incident free day and we'd come away happy. Sure enough, qualified 6th in class and finished 6th in class, thankfully that really wasn't last in class so we were delighted.
This is us two grinning from ear to ear. Was a rather good day.
This is the race video if anyone is interested. A very steady/nervous first few laps but slowly get into it.
More importantly! What did we learn and what do we want to change moving forward?
- First thing is loctite your wheel nuts, once we used loctite on the wheel nuts we haven't had another problem of them coming loose since.
- Secondly we really dislike the shifter, I don't know if its because we have extended the linkage to move the shifter rearwards and its made it worse but you just have no confidence you are going to find a gear. Had a few times going into copse (5th to 4th) and missed the gear which meant we ended up going far to deep into the corner. So we were determined to try and sort a self centring shifter out (wait for the next post, turned out rather well!).
- We needed to have a good play with setup, although we were pretty close the car still wouldn't rotate as well as we wanted.
