ClioSport.net

Register a free account today to become a member!
Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members through your own private inbox!

  • When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Read more here.

Graham's summer 172 cup track car



GrahamS

ClioSport Club Member
  335d
I was there also @GrahamS .
Hopefully I wasn't one of the bell ends lol . Car [emoji102] really good out on track .
I remember seeing a blue Clio I undertook at the left hander at the bottom of the back straight after the chicane , not sure if it was yourself or the other blue Clio , but understeer was in motion and quite a lot of it lol .
I'll try and sort through the video , but my GoPro s**t itself and recorded up side down which was a bummer .
Took @Ant_Smiggy out in mine also and he enjoyed the ride so to speak.
Certainly not you Jason! I only saw your car out on track one or twice but it was blooming quick that's for sure. Probably wasn't me understeering mega though, I was pretty careful all day as I didn't feel 100% confident with the brakes.

@barnesautos In GoPro Studio you can click a button and flip the video, all mine are videoed upside down.

Good to see you yesterday Graham, I enjoyed the day although I really didn't like the circuit layout and annoyingly left behind my tyre pump 😧
You too matey, hopefully you can see your car in the video. I love the SEN, it's short but with a few good straights. I've sent a text around to see if anyone saw it, what kind of pump was it?

What suspension are you running now ?
AP Racing Coilovers, they're really a fast road coilover but made by KW. Certainly not for pure track! Cars with ASTs feel hugely different to mine.
 
  172 Ph1
@GrahamS Thanks, one of these http://www.costco.co.uk/view/p/goodyear-12-volt-air-inflator-844753 we used it and it was on the metal bit behind everyone, looked at it just before leaving and thought "someones got the same as me", emptied the car last night and realised it was mine sat there *doh*

We had a little photo shoot at the end and we were all in those garages , I didn't see any pump .
Only saw an exhaust tied to the garage lol .

Some fella posted later on FB about attending that day , so I kindly said he'd left something behind .

4d7479f574480c5279c02beee7221dc9.jpg


f90a7664e61a9f91ac68c6a8bc2f1fd5.jpg
 

Sir_Dave

ClioSport Trader
Thanks for taking Sarah's Dad out @GrahamS, he was rather impressed with the revvy nature of the clio!! Not sure if he ever went out in any of my Trophys, so cheers for that :up:

I thought it was a pretty good day to be honest, barely anyone there initially, which meant that when the rain did come down in the afternoon, there was probably only 4/5 people out on track at any point, basically just us lot lol. Ill see if i can get some of my videos onto youtube later on, good to see the mini floating about on your one above - you probably got more footage of it than i did 😂
 

GrahamS

ClioSport Club Member
  335d
Thanks for taking Sarah's Dad out @GrahamS, he was rather impressed with the revvy nature of the clio!! Not sure if he ever went out in any of my Trophys, so cheers for that :up:

I thought it was a pretty good day to be honest, barely anyone there initially, which meant that when the rain did come down in the afternoon, there was probably only 4/5 people out on track at any point, basically just us lot lol. Ill see if i can get some of my videos onto youtube later on, good to see the mini floating about on your one above - you probably got more footage of it than i did 😂
No worries at all Dave, hopefully I didn't scare him. I've got the go pro film of the session if you want me to send it over, would be no bother.
It was a very good day, just had a few dangerous overtakes done on corners and some people not yielding on the straights.
I'm going to try and get a heap more angles for the videos next time which should make for better watching :)
 

GrahamS

ClioSport Club Member
  335d
Brakes + Ph1 Fuel Setup + Rear Axle Painting
In my last update I harped on about how my brakes felt a bit wooden on the track day at Bedford so this week, with a bit of holiday to use up, took the Monday-Wednesday off to sort the cup. The idea of sorting out the rear brakes had been swimming around my head for a while after I noticed the brake lines going from the front to back had been bent, having a failed attempt to fit rear braided brake lines and having a bodged rear axle line.

To keep it short though I've;
  • Painted the rear axle, ARB and calipers
  • Replaced all calipers with a set from my DCi with Goodridge stainless nipples
  • Fitted a ph1 sender, return line and injector rail with 3.5 bar regulator
  • Sprayed some early rust
  • Generally cleaned the rear underside
I'm currently waiting on some braided lines which will run from the front lower bulkhead joint to the back of the car
This is a long post! Lots of pictures with comments!!!
Very rusty fittings
427B4D0C-247F-4E19-8A13-E646C161DE73_zpsbensg0hv.jpg

Poor previous repair
4407DE36-0DCB-4FEB-994A-2F9B870EBA29_zpsoucqkhbx.jpg

AD657EAC-683F-4804-BCCA-8527A00BD69E_zpseerl7drd.jpg
1B1DB7FA-4838-40AB-8BC8-33BAFD0D8849_zpswgpgjkw3.jpg
3AAE9E5C-611A-4AA9-8EC0-E5C034D35135_zpscworfebb.jpg

Axle stripped off, wire brushed and cleaned ready for paint
1DB1D071-35ED-44D6-9375-583C3251C518_zpsqgamjyxu.jpg

Rear pads were down the the metal on the inside with extremely thin material on the outside

1CBD20CB-06C9-4C98-BCB9-654E433144D2_zpsqds9oltt.jpg

FA897F86-163A-408E-8CB3-738D73052CEF_zpszk8rmvnk.jpg
Some previous idiot had cable tied the bias valve to try and increase the rear braking load to pass the MOT. Clearly they hadn't read the note. This is part of the reason for the premature rear brake death. Pads were brand new at MOT time in May.
4AAB92B7-624B-46C5-9288-F39A6E6E82C4_zpss05pzxoe.jpg

Didn't plan on taking the exhaust and tank out but it made sense while the brake lines were off
1E1A9716-0EA7-4D37-91D4-84F7C4EED5BD_zps4zjkoyvv.jpg

Serious dirt around the filler cap
88570580-6051-4232-BA95-DA9C1933F965_zpscmnumpdl.jpg
D65F2E31-E8BA-45E9-8E80-621ED42BCB5C_zpsfdnxv0g0.jpg

All parts cleaned and ready for paint.
E8FC8E19-DECA-4A78-A2DD-7CC65F848F6E_zpsf0a1jcuk.jpg
8EED73BF-78AD-424A-83D4-BBFE09477A51_zpsmr0cudzk.jpg
5A20B2D6-1470-4F7D-B77A-EEA752862B1C_zpscoxzecw1.jpg

Small rust patches forming in various places in the back section
8FA3AA8D-D53E-47A4-AC3C-384CB6AFB746_zpsyjjpamwz.jpg
C7E3E117-6F42-49DC-AD6D-3A930EC2F213_zpsuvikpyyu.jpg
Underseal burnt through where cage footing plates were fitted
3589EF3C-9B7F-4B85-97C9-89DF3CE3B724_zpslgczxpiq.jpg

Hammerite spray used as a temporary corrosion inhibitor until I get a garage and can sort it properly.
42D9911B-6D5F-454C-B03C-521E1101389E_zps0japmycx.jpg
D8ACF573-4EDB-4494-A15B-E6C70545B14A_zpshnb85bab.jpg
DB366457-E1BD-4137-BEF9-75A08D1B1602_zpsvuhgxee3.jpg
792DA2AF-0F14-4CA9-B116-DF3975EC2419_zpsfhrtflky.jpg

Ph2 3.5 bar regulator replacing ph1 3.0 bar in the rail.
CE0E32D5-BC08-473C-9369-CCBA29F089B2_zps0aid0gfi.jpg
A2C0E0EA-F984-4B60-9D3B-825682D76AB4_zpslfaakom3.jpg
ED2B93EA-83C4-4F0B-91D9-052AE784DE40_zps2kaipval.jpg
650772B8-F7C1-4C06-8A0B-45E5DD23E10A_zpsptxamxxg.jpg

Cut excess arm off bias valve
C83BE7A6-1C62-4CAC-8D61-CE65F5B7CB4B_zpsfpcyua4p.jpg

Bent underside brake lines. Looks like the floor has taken a hit here previously too.
B0CECBD6-6DD4-4A5A-A116-A23E1D90FDE0_zpsjbiwzfjj.jpg

Front left caliper had a bust dust cover
E117D996-9C52-4B26-87C0-2F8DA5F1630F_zps43iqozbk.jpg

Not much left of the RC5+ pads. I'll be upgrading to RC6 before my next track day.
CEE810FC-E30C-4E6C-8C01-17FF69A7941C_zpsluoda6lg.jpg

Left disc from my old DCi in good condition with smooth face and no cracking, right scored and cracked from the cup

0965A6B8-F715-437C-ABEE-4559119AAA4D_zpsdxfrgc5h.jpg

Managed to wire brush my arm with the drill!
F602402B-99F0-472F-AD06-901F60105401_zpsl9qfcyyo.jpg

Calipers from my old DCi repainted with pistons removed and cleaned up.
6B114709-65F1-4445-99AE-B8D97D368745_zpsej7q2kqo.jpg

41A4A4AA-8F9B-4F92-B0F4-AF625D337206_zpsdvitabfi.jpg
3AAF5CFB-FB0F-41D6-AEC9-E65BF0832F00_zpsxhu9oft0.jpg
7CBAE049-FA38-4F5C-A121-BE31111864AA_zps0qxu7yji.jpg
60513BED-3764-454C-BAD7-D71D2D228BC2_zpsg1pks6qt.jpg
F3630DE8-51FD-4BF3-A80B-754701A887B5_zpscqzivk6j.jpg
 

GrahamS

ClioSport Club Member
  335d
MOT - Fail
In the last update I left the car on axle stands where it has unfortunately remained until Saturday after I finally received the correct brake lines to fit.
The weekend before the annual ritual of swapping over the manifold in prep for the MOT happened. Timed it and took just over 3 hours end to end, could definitely do it a lot quicker if I wasn't faffing. Had a small disaster just before I started though and stupidly tried to jack the car up at a stupid angle and it fell off the standards, breaking the wheels on my red roller thing. Time for some more substantial axle stands if anyone has some recommendations.
IMG_7467_zpswgimbufs.jpg

IMG_7474_zpsgsymhmhh.jpg


Was pretty amazed again to see how the salt and general damp degrades parts so badly in such a short spaces of time. These tie rods and track ends are less than 12 months old and have done only 5000 miles.
IMG_7475_zpsjhcvf4zv.jpg


Treated the old girl to it's first coat of wax since I bought it. Dodo juice diamond white. Really brings out the definition in the dent.
E0E17A7C-6C78-421A-8FCE-04997CEA46A1_zpsueevec9e.jpg


On Saturday I had a few last minute jobs to do, bleed the brakes and swap the ARB around because I re-fitted the brackets the wrong way round.
The old bias valve was shagged though and I didn't fancy putting fresh lines and fluid on the old one. Managed to find one for £50 on ebay france which came in 2 days, again proving that a bit of part number searching can save you a fortune. A second hand one of these was £30, a new one from ECP was £90 and Renault £120. God the bolts were ruined though, had to smash the torques in and undo them very carefully after initially rounding off the rusted hex on the head.

2pm came around pretty quickly and with the busted laptop I couldn't check the EML. Turned out it failed on emissions which is very clearly the lambda. Swapped it over and cleared the code using a generic reader that @TomSmith123 lent me, cheers boi! The garage had closed by this point though so am getting my dad to drop the car in this week to get it re-read.

95A6858E-A821-4DF7-951D-BE4D5C6C1AC8_zpsshjolpei.jpg
2EE5DB65-3D90-460E-96DF-FCBD7921176A_zpsnrk9q0px.jpg
72E275D1-00BD-4914-A44B-3BB4BE36E8C7_zpsrmcqrrd4.jpg
5690B466-53F9-42A8-9704-26272137FA2F_zpstonsa3vt.jpg
479626D9-9B43-40B5-8C4E-A94E91FDA3D0_zpsszpxyq2p.jpg
1761359C-13B9-48C8-8253-03896F737B13_zpsek48gg84.jpg


Hoping to get some proper time with the car soon and fit some pretty trick suspension bits. ASTs and ACS motorsport roll centre kit. These won't be going on the car though until there are zero leaks from the engine and box, potentially a long time. Good news as the car will be living with me now and not in a barn or at my parents. Doesn't sound like much but it means I can do a job over time instead of rushing to get it done in a day and compromising the quality of what I do.

Thanks for reading as always chaps :smile:
 
Last edited:

GrahamS

ClioSport Club Member
  335d
Did a couple of bits quickly on the cup yesterday as time was quite limited.
Got this manifold swap down to a fine art now, did it in two hours and had a chat with the neighbour whilst at it. although it doesn't sound like a big difference I only dropped one side of the subframe off the ball joint this time. No shuffling the subframe in and out from under the car though saved a lot of time.
06233A84-1F45-4103-822F-889FE7F0C6A4_zpsepuy34p9.jpg


The it was time for more work on the brakes. After driving it a couple of weeks ago it felt like there was still a bit of air in the system. With a hand from Ren I re-bled everything, gunsons and pedal pumping working a treat. Found an air bubble in the rear o/s line, the longest one. Brakes feel absolutely on point now even with the ECP pads so I can't wait to get some proper compound in them.
A8BECB1B-F5CE-4D2B-80C3-718CC7600185_zpse8pyi0im.jpg
73047D73-0A65-41BA-9E8A-11462C65D21B_zpstijo2qwq.jpg
E0FE97F6-FAA4-4974-971D-7B48C7D3B5BE_zpsccy7rahq.jpg


Apologies for the very boring posts of late. I'm trying to tinker with the car but spending the bare minumum on it. Clio arrives at it's new home next week though :D
 

GrahamS

ClioSport Club Member
  335d
Brilliant, photobucket has really done me over. Anyway, over to flickr I go.


Haven't done much on the cup recently because I've been busy with other things but managed to swap over the pads to RC8s before doing Brands last Wednesday. Before the day I was a bit unhappy with the brakes so, with @Martin. and his dad's help, we bled them in the car park. They're better but the pedal still feels a bit soft for my liking. The brakes are however extremely powerful after their overhaul and with a properly working bias valve proper braking has resumed. For those guys who read this, if your bias valve arm doesn't move when you brake you should probably replace it!

The only issue I suffered at Brands was fuel starvation on the straight after clearways causing the car to splutter on full wack in fourth. Quite annoying in the middle of an overtake! The Opentrack photos haven't gone up yet but I've got one from my phone and a small video I put together. I'm going to put one of these together for each track day I do. Comments on how to make them better are always welcome. I'm hoping to get some helmet clips next time.

Cadwell on the 23rd August. Will be changing back to a ph2 fuel pump to stop starvation before then.

XgbQme[\img]
 

GrahamS

ClioSport Club Member
  335d
Cadwell



Prep started exactly a week ago today. After Brands I didn't expect much to be wrong with the Clio but wanted to check a couple of things as the journey either side of track time was pretty long. Unfortunately the pads had been totally hammered by Brands and looked like they didn't have another day left. A quick message to @George@RTR_Parts saw some DS1.11s and Brembo HC UV on the way and, as always they turned up extremely fast in time for our drive up on Tuesday night.

I met @AlexW and @Sash at Cadwell bright and early to get the brakes on but didn't have enough time before signing on closed and the sighting laps started. Straight after sighting, bedded in the pads with some pretty scary stops on a non-ideal road surface! Anyway, brakes are crazy good, really nice and progressive, less tendency to lock up than the RC8.

For my first time at Cadwell we had an absolutely awesome time. Made my dad feel a bit ill every time he came out in the car! As a track it's pretty demanding, with a really good mixture of highspeed straights, long corners and slower complexes, I can see why they call it the UK Nurburgring. Clio was brilliant as always but is still being let down by the coilovers being a bit soft for my driving. After a 3 hour drive home we'd covered over 500 miles in the Clio in 24 hours, not something to be repeated in a hurry. Time for a trailer if I can find one which fits in the garage.

Hopefully the next and last of the year will be Bedford GT in October.

Worth noting, I'm terrible at taking pictures on track days and the go pro wasn't working in the morning thanks to a duff memory card.
IMG_9935.jpg
IMG_9302.jpg
IMG_9416.JPG
IMG-20170823-WA0005.jpeg
 

George@RTR_Parts

ClioSport Trader
  need BRAKES? PM me
Unfortunately the pads had been totally hammered by Brands and looked like they didn't have another day left. A quick message to @George@RTR_Parts saw some DS1.11s and Brembo HC UV on the way and, as always they turned up extremely fast in time for our drive up on Tuesday night.
I met @AlexW and @Sash at Cadwell bright and early to get the brakes on. Anyway, brakes are crazy good, really nice and progressive, less tendency to lock up than the RC8.

No worries Graham , happy to help mate, Glad you like the ds1.11. Cadwell is awesome , cheers!
 

shiftspark

ClioSport Club Member
  R53 GR86
That looks a bloody good fit,surprised to see them fit the mounting blocks without test fitting the cage !
Nice :up:
 

GrahamS

ClioSport Club Member
  335d
That looks a bloody good fit,surprised to see them fit the mounting blocks without test fitting the cage !
Nice :up:
The fit is seriously good! Tom has a shell he mocks up the cage in so has mm perfect measurements of where the feet need to go! I can't pretend I wasn't super impressed by all the feet going in with such precision!
 

GrahamS

ClioSport Club Member
  335d
Bedford GT 4th November
Headed up to Bedford on Saturday with my buddy and his Pontiac TransAM. Had an awesome day despite the awful weather. The Clio took a lot of water through the roof scoop so I need to get something to keep in the glovebox for those rainy days. There was litres of water in the footwells but nothing a bunch of serviettes couldn't sort out.
Before I'd even got out there was a huge oil spill so the first corner was coned off for the rest of the day. It was crazy out there at times but the Clio performed really well.
Few things on the cup showed themselves. There is the hint of a crunch in 5th but I'll pretend that was nothing and 1 of my pairs of r888 are now dead.

I've just got a new camera set up so will be doing some much cooler videos in the next few weeks.


IMG_0283.JPG
IMG_0287.JPG
 

gez 172

ClioSport Club Member
  Defender 110
Just read this right the way through, brilliant progress. I also stumbled across your YouTube clips before seeing this thread, it's nice to read this and now watch the vids.
 

GrahamS

ClioSport Club Member
  335d
I'm always jealous of your car skills Graham! Wanna help me with my alfa.
You mean ability to fluke it! Before this track day I did 30 mins of prep on the clio! Is it a 4c? I'm in ;)

Just read this right the way through, brilliant progress. I also stumbled across your YouTube clips before seeing this thread, it's nice to read this and now watch the vids.
Thanks matey. Comments like that are why I do these project threads and videos! Hopefully more frequent and more interesting videos on the horizon :)
 
  Megane 250
Just browsing through! Car looks good and videos look good, will give them a watch properly later.
What happened to the quarter panel? Tyre wall at a track?
 

Akay

ClioSport Club Member
  Clubman Cooper S
Almost as bad as me starting the car in-gear at Rockingham and smashing into the roller shutter in the pits!
 

GrahamS

ClioSport Club Member
  335d
Just browsing through! Car looks good and videos look good, will give them a watch properly later.
What happened to the quarter panel? Tyre wall at a track?
Unfortunately Tom is right. A bus crept up on me and had a little kiss with the side. I'm intending to have it repaired one day but can't see the money for that coming anytime soon!

He wishes! A bus jumped out at him when he came to get his cage fitted
don't you remember it was fighting for pole position on the last lap of a fierce race..nudge nudge ;)
 

GrahamS

ClioSport Club Member
  335d
Roll Centre and Bump Steer Correction
Just a quick update with what I've been working on over the past couple of weeks. Ant from @ACS_Motorsport popped down to give @Martin. and I a hand fitting his plug and play roll centre and bump steer correction kit. Typically it snowed on Saturday night putting a halt to proceedings but we finished fitting it to both cars a couple of days before Christmas.

The install was really easy and where the car has been apart so much over the last few years it was no trouble getting the old parts off. It can be a right pain getting the bottom ball joint out of the hub so it was a pleasant surprise to have it pop out with relative ease. One thing I did notice was how badly the salt has been eating any unprotected metal so I'll be painting a few bits when time allows. For the RC kit we put a healthy dash of ACF50 and Dynax UC on the lower ball joint carrier to stop any corrosion.

The only hiccup we hit was our estimation of the tracking when putting the new track rod ends on. Unfortunately I didn't get any photos but when the steering wheel was straight the right wheel was toe out. Hilariously the left wheel was like the steering wheel was on half left lock, the most visible toe out I've ever seen. After driving it up the road I nearly crashed into a tree! A quick session with the string saw the tracking at least a little closer to straight ahead.
Mart and I will be at Brands Hatch on the 18th Jan. There's a few bits to do to the cars before then but I'm absolutely stoked to see the difference with the roll centre and bump steer kit.
IMG_9277.JPG
IMG_9282.JPG


Youtube

As you guys probably know, I'm starting a youtube channel and have done a short video on fitting the kit and what it seeks to correct. If you like it I'll be getting some more videos out shortly. Please please provide some feedback on what could be improved. I want to make it as good as possible for people to watch and need your help to do that! I won't be offended, that's a guarantee. It takes a while to get used to being back in front of a camera so there'll be a change in presentation next time!



Tow Eye
After fitting the kit we swapped over to the new tow eye I'd had since my birthday in Feb. A great improvement over the awful faded strap on there previously.
IMG_0723.JPG


ASTs
After brands I've got these to fit. They're 60mm hub versions so I'll be changing to the different bolt spacing at the same time.
IMG_0722.JPG


Finally, for Christmas my dad got me a set of 16 new valve stem seals in an effort to stop the car from puffing out so much oil. The engine is now on over 160k!

Here's a pic of the car from recently :)
IMG_8830.jpg
 

gez 172

ClioSport Club Member
  Defender 110
Good to see more progress!

Jumping back a little, how easy was the fuel filler pipe to remove and refit?
It's a job I need to do as a preventive of rust.

Favourite thread on here, I want my Cup to go down a similar direction.

Subscribed.

Cheers
 

Coops Mk1

ClioSport Club Member
  Lots of Scrap...
ph, why do you swap the manifold every year? surely be easier to remake the rear section of the exhaust to take a 182 cat?
 

GrahamS

ClioSport Club Member
  335d
Good to see more progress!

Jumping back a little, how easy was the fuel filler pipe to remove and refit?
It's a job I need to do as a preventive of rust.

Favourite thread on here, I want my Cup to go down a similar direction.

Subscribed.

Cheers
Thanks matey, it's a shed but somehow keeps working! The filler neck is just one or two easily accessible screws from under the lid then it should pop out. Tank doesn't need to come out for that.

ph, why do you swap the manifold every year? surely be easier to remake the rear section of the exhaust to take a 182 cat?
It's only taken me a little while in the past to swap it over but now it's more of a pain I'll probably just get a cat made up to go in between the two.
 

gez 172

ClioSport Club Member
  Defender 110
Thanks matey, it's a shed but somehow keeps working! The filler neck is just one or two easily accessible screws from under the lid then it should pop out. Tank doesn't need to come out for that.

Mines no minter aesthetically either!

Do I drill the pop rivetts out on the filler neck, or can I leave those alone?
 


Top