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Martin's Track Clio 182 Project Thread



Martin.

Martin.

I've had a lot of help this weekend from generous friends. @GrahamS came down on Saturday and we spent the entire day in the sun doing jobs on our cars. Graham and @AlexW also came down Sunday morning to try and get to the bottom of my issues.

Long story short and after lots of checks and tests. The car seems to have a really weak spark. Which means some of the fuel isn't burning, going through the exhaust and popping, which fails the noise test. Extremely sooty plugs show this. Why it has a weak spark we don't know.

Graham and Alex were looking at the OMEX live data and the AFR on a wideband. Everything looks ok but for some reason the car runs really rich on idle and when holding the throttle stable. Sometimes even as low as 9 I think. When progressing through the revs, or going flat out it is perfectly fine.

We've stuck my new plugs in for now. It seems to run a lot lot better now. Hopefully enough to get it through the Bedford noise test on Saturday. These plugs will end up getting very sooty though in the end. So the actual problem is still under investigation.

Thanks very much for your help lads!

My plugs:
IMG_2947_zpsarjxdmhn.jpg


IMG_2963_zpsjkdnwos8.jpg


IMG_2964_zps9eou307q.jpg


My plug next to Graham's plug as a comparison. Lean vs rich 😂
IMG_2948_zpsdabxltic.jpg


Computer says no:
IMG_2957_zpswkriztrm.jpg


Mr White having a coke break.
IMG_2977_zpssbjakkhb.jpg


IMG_2978_zps5na1wsvh.jpg
 
Last edited:
GrahamS

GrahamS

ClioSport Club Member
  335d
I like the post but dislike the problem. My face totally describes my confusion of the problem.
Cheers for the help on my car blud!
 
Martin.

Martin.

I took the car to Bedford on Saturday (20th) for a track day I had booked ages ago. We were hoping the car might scrape past the static noise test with some new plugs and then I'd be able to enjoy the day. But unfortunately it didn't go to plan and the Clio was back on the trailer by lunch time.

We arrived in the morning, offloaded the car, sat through the briefing and then went to do a late noise test. He didn't even test me, he recognised me and the car from before and just stuck a sticker on. What a result that felt like. However the car cut out and died on the first corner of the sighting lap :disrelieved: embarrassingly I had to be towed back.

Thankfully Graham and Alex were there too so they came to investigate. After a few checks we realised the HT leads were arking, so we changed them over and it felt a lot better. The plugs had started to become less sooty too. I took the car for a test drive up the road and it felt a LOT better.

So all three of us lined up in our cars and went back on track. :car: Unfortunately mine died again within a few corners. I managed to jump start it whilst it was still rolling and carried on around the lap. It kept cutting out and I kept having to jump start it with lots of revs. I came back into the pits, we checked a few things over again and all seemed OK, so Alex took it for a test up and down the road. It felt a little lumpy but generally OK.

Alex took it on track this time, flat out around the first right hander and all was fine, sweet. Or not! We get to the next slow left hander and it dies again. We end up cutting out and coming to a stop on the back straight with cars flying past us lap after lap, which was very nerve-racking. Definitely no yellow flags to be seen! Alex eventually gets it started and we painfully get it back to the pits :weary:

We've narrowed it down to when the issue happens. Left hand corners, when there is any lean in the car, it just dies. Right hand corners seem fine, and flat out in a straight line is fine. (AFR is fine when WOT too). It feels like fuel starvation, but I had a full tank. Alex took the fuel pump out to see if anything looked obvious. But it was very clean and all looked OK (only 44k miles on the car). We were lost for ideas so I called it a day for Coptood and let Sash use my track slot in her Meg.

The car will be going to Engine Dynamics in the next couple of weeks for more investigation.

If anyone reading this has any ideas then please let me know before I end up burning the c**t lol! :innocent:

@NorthloopCup you heard anything like this before mate?
 
NorthloopCup

NorthloopCup

ClioSport Moderator
Martin. said:
I took the car to Bedford on Saturday (20th) for a track day I had booked ages ago. We were hoping the car might scrape past the static noise test with some new plugs and then I'd be able to enjoy the day. But unfortunately it didn't go to plan and the Clio was back on the trailer by lunch time.

We arrived in the morning, offloaded the car, sat through the briefing and then went to do a late noise test. He didn't even test me, he recognised me and the car from before and just stuck a sticker on. What a result that felt like. However the car cut out and died on the first corner of the sighting lap :disrelieved: embarrassingly I had to be towed back.

Thankfully Graham and Alex were there too so they came to investigate. After a few checks we realised the HT leads were arking, so we changed them over and it felt a lot better. The plugs had started to become less sooty too. I took the car for a test drive up the road and it felt a LOT better.

So all three of us lined up in our cars and went back on track. :car: Unfortunately mine died again within a few corners. I managed to jump start it whilst it was still rolling and carried on around the lap. It kept cutting out and I kept having to jump start it with lots of revs. I came back into the pits, we checked a few things over again and all seemed OK, so Alex took it for a test up and down the road. It felt a little lumpy but generally OK.

Alex took it on track this time, flat out around the first right hander and all was fine, sweet. Or not! We get to the next slow left hander and it dies again. We end up cutting out and coming to a stop on the back straight with cars flying past us lap after lap, which was very nerve-racking. Definitely no yellow flags to be seen! Alex eventually gets it started and we painfully get it back to the pits :weary:

We've narrowed it down to when the issue happens. Left hand corners, when there is any lean in the car, it just dies. Right hand corners seem fine, and flat out in a straight line is fine. (AFR is fine when WOT too). It feels like fuel starvation, but I had a full tank. Alex took the fuel pump out to see if anything looked obvious. But it was very clean and all looked OK (only 44k miles on the car). We were lost for ideas so I called it a day for Coptood and let Sash use my track slot in her Meg.

The car will be going to Engine Dynamics in the next couple of weeks for more investigation.

If anyone reading this has any ideas then please let me know before I end up burning the c**t lol! :innocent:

@NorthloopCup you heard anything like this before mate?
Click to expand...
You need to be checking the voltage going to pump and also the fuel pressure. I can't remember if they're 3bar or 3.5bar static tbh, but without those 2 readings you'll be clutching at straws until you find something.
 
GrahamS

GrahamS

ClioSport Club Member
  335d
Was a bit of a bummer to start the day that's for sure. We'll get to the bottom of it!

NorthloopCup said:
You need to be checking the voltage going to pump and also the fuel pressure. I can't remember if they're 3bar or 3.5bar static tbh, but without those 2 readings you'll be clutching at straws until you find something.
Click to expand...
How would you check the fuel pressure Mark? With the ph2 lines it's a bit more difficult in my head.
 
Martin.

Martin.

Whilst the car sits unusable until I work out a plan for it around work, I thought I'd spend some time tidying up the oil cooler cover plate I had made. Once I have my oil temp gauge wired in I can use this plate if the oil is getting too cool, potentially on winter track days.

IMG_3185_zpscrhbtxyn.jpg


IMG_3186_zps1o6foe1r.jpg


IMG_3184_zps4qitf3tp.jpg


I will also be looking at getting some kind of thin wire mesh to go behind the bumper grills, to help protect the cooler from stones or debris.
 
Martin.

Martin.

M.C.. said:
I keep meaning to put mesh behind the grill, like the plate but that will be stopping a lot of air flow to the radiator as well.
Click to expand...

Yeah it will. Thankfully there's a lot of rad on show above the crash bar too though. It's quite a nice sized rad.

It will probably only be used on very cold winter track days, and also only when I've got the oil temp gauge wired in so I can monitor the operating temperature.
 
Martin.

Martin.

I took Coptood to Brands Hatch yesterday. I was a little bit nervous about passing the noise test as it was the first time trying since the previous issues, but all was good, 85db static.

IMG_4009_zpsiil4trvh.jpg


It was a great day, the weather stayed cool and dry. There was a lot of lovely Porsches (originally a Porsche only track day) and a couple of impressive race cars.

The Clio performed very well though and I had some great bumper to bumper battles with a couple of Porsches. They were probably shitting themselves at the thought of a Renault banger being 1m from their rear bumper..

The car still has some kind of limiter issue though. It won't rev past 6500 at all. Initially thought it could be a standard ECU cold limiter, but it continued to be there all day. So I'll have to look into this and speak to Engine Dynamics again. Short shifting didn't put too much of a downer on the day though.

IMG_4003_zpsqyffwkli.jpg


The old man has started to learn the correct lines at Brands too, so he was the fastest he's ever been around there and had a great time.

IMG_4025_zpsovvgrehs.jpg


On the last session of the day I heard a weird noise from the engine bay and then under the car. It sounded like something had fallen off, so I carried on around the lap very slowly and saw my oil filler cap sitting there on the track 😂😂 I came back in to be greeted with this mess! Some prick (me) had somehow forgotten to put it back on after topping up the oil, but thankfully I heard it and didn't start a hard 20 minute session. That could have been a disaster!

IMG_4024_zpswxjwyqgv.jpg


After a brief clean up the car went back on the trailer and we headed home. Videos to come shortly, if they're any good, once I've seen and edited them.
 
Martin.

Martin.

CallyTeee said:
Any more issues with it cutting out? I've done a track day since changing the relays and it didn't come back.

....all be it I only got 7laps n blew the gearbox :smile:
Click to expand...

No issues at all with that mate thankfully. Engine Dynamics found the issue and sorted it nicely. Previous 'specialist' left a bundle of unused OMEX wires curled up with uncovered ends.

Gripper time for you then?
 
Martin.

Martin.

I managed to find some time to get one of my Brands Hatch videos done. Only two from the entire day are worth watching though, so I won't bother with the others.

Random rev limit issue at 6500 though. As shown at 5:35 and 9:42.

This footage is from the first session of the day:

 
Last edited:
W

william...

  Clio RS
Hi Martin,

great car with good stuff! Wunderfull Project at all!

Greetings

Where the hell is the Sound from your PMS Shifter! Cant hear it!
 
Martin.

Martin.

I've had very little motivation to go outside to the car with the cold wet weather recently. Although the other weekend Graham and I did manage to finally get my oil gauge in. We did a lovely job of it if I do say so myself. It looks properly OEM with conduit protecting the wires from under the dash right to the oil filter. Big thanks to G as always @GrahamS

So of course I had to test it. And interestingly the oil temp will not go above 80 degrees in this weather. Even when it gets there it drops off pretty quick when you drive normally! I then put my cooler cover on to test the oil temp again and it reached 100 pretty easily. So it looks like I'll be keeping the cooler cover on throughout winter just in case I drive the car, and I'll only take it off on a track day once I've done my warm up laps.

9AB47006-504E-4E86-B748-CEBA4FA0B242_zps7rt6mazd.jpg


FD57AD05-38F3-4212-8E67-D6F271F02F9F_zpsudgeu8ce.jpg


The oil line we made to remote mount the pressure sensor. Thanks for the advice and help with it all @NorthloopCup and @M.C..

IMG_4076_zpsqsm5oqys.jpg


The oil pressure sensor itself

IMG_4087_zpsrzrixemx.jpg


I also gave the bay a quick clean up from the oil explosion at Brands and fitted the new oil filler cap.

FEC95F00-7173-48D2-98B3-5B29697D9CEF_zpsraaw4u6r.jpg


49E57A9A-CFC0-4219-9D82-C3E2E06AF48E_zpsprtsjzcq.jpg


I also fitted a stalk blank, which makes it a lot tidier. Every little helps as they say.

CA5900A3-2F1F-4753-8AD0-9FC6EA72F148_zpshhze8nvw.jpg
 
GrahamS

GrahamS

ClioSport Club Member
  335d
You forgot the staple trick!
We de-pinned the SPA plug using staples so we didn't have to cut a huge hole in the bulkhead. That is all.
 
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