Martin's Track Clio 182 Project Thread

[Martin.]

That post is 3 years old by the way

I spoke to Tony yesterday. He's had two Valeo clutches fail on him. One was disastrous when it let the fly wheel escape for freedom and it cut everything in half on its way out lol.

He's now got a Helix paddle clutch.

Thinking about it, I'm sure my mate George has also had one fail on him.

 

[Mr R.]

That post is 3 years old by the way

I spoke to Tony yesterday. He's had two Valeo clutches fail on him. One was disastrous when it let the fly wheel escape for freedom and it cut everything in half on its way out lol.

He's now got a Helix paddle clutch.

Thinking about it, I'm sure my mate George has also had one fail on him.

He did mate, that also destroyed everything.

 

[NorthloopCup]

That post is 3 years old by the way

I spoke to Tony yesterday. He's had two Valeo clutches fail on him. One was disastrous when it let the fly wheel escape for freedom and it cut everything in half on its way out lol.

He's now got a Helix paddle clutch.

Thinking about it, I'm sure my mate George has also had one fail on him.

Well technically, his flywheel escaped because 519 Danny reused the flywheel bolts...........that are one use only stretch bolts............

What an utter whopper.

 

[chris-foci]

Well technically, his flywheel escaped because 519 Danny reused the flywheel bolts...........that are one use only stretch bolts............

What an utter whopper.

@NorthloopCup What are your thoughts on the whole Valeo vs LUK or any other clutch brand? Having read a lot of your posts you seem very knowledgeable regards to gearboxes etc

 

[NorthloopCup]

@NorthloopCup What are your thoughts on the whole Valeo vs LUK or any other clutch brand? Having read a lot of your posts you seem very knowledgeable regards to gearboxes etc

I'd be buying the clutch kit from pms mate. It's cheaper than a Valeo failure and a gearbox rebuild. I never had an issue with the Valeo in mine though tbf, and that was seeing 8k rpm.

 

[JamesBryan]

At the end of the day, you can fit the best everything but things do happen.

 

[NorthloopCup]

At the end of the day, you can fit the best everything but things do happen.

Very true. Nothing mechanical is infallible.

 

[M.C..]

You don't have much luck with trackdays do you Martin but at least you caught it early, looking at some of the photos it could have been a lot worse.
Just curious did the AA or RAC collect your car or did you trailer it there?
Like the windows but you will be needing a roof scoop now :smile:

 

[GrahamS]

Like the windows but you will be needing a roof scoop now :smile:

You see that Mart? Mark said get a roof scoop, can we cut the hole in the roof yet???
Can't wait for the roof cutting day!!!!!

 

[Martin.]

I'd be buying the clutch kit from pms mate. It's cheaper than a Valeo failure and a gearbox rebuild. I never had an issue with the Valeo in mine though tbf, and that was seeing 8k rpm.

That's good going to be fair. Do you have any experience or views on the Helix, specifically the organic setup mate?

You don't have much luck with trackdays do you Martin but at least you caught it early, looking at some of the photos it could have been a lot worse.
Just curious did the AA or RAC collect your car or did you trailer it there?
Like the windows but you will be needing a roof scoop now :smile:

Haha you're telling me mate. Thankfully the car was on a trailer so the journey home was as normal.

You see that Mart? Mark said get a roof scoop, can we cut the hole in the roof yet???
Can't wait for the roof cutting day!!!!!

Shshhhhhhhhh I can't hear you

 

[M.C..]

I will just leave this link here lol
http://www.cmcomposites.co.uk/clio-parts/

 

[Martin.]

I've actually already got a roof scoop sitting in my bedroom haha!

Was just trying to wait until I got some kind of front cage fitted so it wouldn't get in the way of any roof bars!

 

[M.C..]

I think you would be ok with any cage.

 

[chris-foci]

@Martin. @CallyTeee
Ive decided to go for an LUK. Picked it up today. It cant be worse than the Valeo can it??

 

[AdamCup]

I ordered a sachs one from ECP.... they've sent me a Valeo one

Sent from my SM-G955F using Tapatalk

 

[chris-foci]

I ordered a sachs one from ECP.... they've sent me a Valeo one

Sent from my SM-G955F using Tapatalk

I ordered an LUK from ECP and they also sent a Valeo. They tried telling me it was an LUK in a Valeo box and they are all made by the same company.............. I walked out. Idiots.

 

[NorthloopCup]

That's good going to be fair. Do you have any experience or views on the Helix, specifically the organic setup mate?

Helix paddle - wouldn't touch one after the rattling issues I've seen.
Helix organic - no experience mate.

 

[Chambers_RS]

Valeo make the clutch for Renault.
LUK are an OE supplier and only sell OE parts, so if Valeo make it LUK will box a Valeo clutch, same with if Sachs make or Excedy. All are going to be fine.

 

[chris-foci]

Valeo make the clutch for Renault.
LUK are an OE supplier and only sell OE parts, so if Valeo make it LUK will box a Valeo clutch, same with if Sachs make or Excedy. All are going to be fine.

If LUK clutches are just Valeo in an LUK box why do the LUK ones have different pressure plates to the Valeo ones? @CallyTeee has just put an LUK in his and reckons the pressure plate is made a lot better than on the Valeo.

Im more confused than ever if your right.

 

[Chambers_RS]

If Valeo make it. Luk will box it and will be stamped Valeo.

I'll get one of each off my shelves Monday and picture them. I've just had my all my parts advisors go though LUK technical seminar night on Monday.
The Schaeffler group will only sell OE manufactured parts

 

[Chambers_RS]

Everyone on here seems to run valeo clutches away lol

 

[chris-foci]

If Valeo make it. Luk will box it and will be stamped Valeo.

I'll get one of each off my shelves Monday and picture them. I've just had my all my parts advisors go though LUK technical seminar night on Monday.
The Schaeffler group will only sell OE manufactured parts

I understand what your saying. Ive just looked at both the Valeo and the LUK pressure plates and they are very different. LUK one certainly appears more substantial in places especially towards the outside where the two parts are joined together.

 

[Martin.]

The other weekend the broken clutch was swapped out for a Helix Organic kit.

The old Valeo clutch cover had sheared a rivet!

The car was also given a brake fluid change. It hadn't been done in a few years.

Thanks to Alex and Graham for their help.

 

[Martin.]

I then took the car to Brands Hatch last night and it performed faultlessly. A few things to note though:

1) I need to fit my roof scoop or a cup fan setup desperately. It felt 100 degrees inside the car on track. No sliders in the windows now means NO air gets into the car. The climate control just blows out hot air and nothing else. Not ideal. We were dripping wet after 5-10 minutes.

2) The helix clutch is VERY noisy when not on the throttle. Sounds broken but obviously isn't.

3) the Gripper also sounds a lot more noisy now at slow speeds around the pit lane. Almost like a load of little animals are making noises inside the box!

4) The oil cooler is VERY good. Oil temps were around 70-80 degrees on the drive there and the sighting laps. Warm up laps saw this rise to a firm 85 ish. On a session I saw 105 degrees when I was really on it, around 95-100 when at 9/10ths. Then after just one cool down lap this quickly drops back down to around 90 degrees and then mid 80s after the 2nd cool down lap. Considering it was a very hot day I was pleasantly surprised by this.

I've also bought some X plates to stick on the car when the old man goes out for his laps. 😂

 

[R29TJR]

I popped to Brands last night as a few friends were on track.

The car certainly goes well. I meant to have have a walk over however the night went very quick.

 

[Tony Hunter]

Im there Sunday, racing an MR2 lol.

 

[Martin.]

I popped to Brands last night as a few friends were on track.

The car certainly goes well. I meant to have have a walk over however the night went very quick.

Cheers mate. The evening sessions do pass very quick don't they. Feel like you don't even get a moment to wee or step back.

What cars were your friends in?

Im there Sunday, racing an MR2 lol.

What time Tony?? I might try and come by to watch!

 

[R29TJR]

Cheers mate. The evening sessions do pass very quick don't they. Feel like you don't even get a moment to wee or step back.

What cars were your friends in?

There were a few of us:

• Caterham (Deep red) - the one that broke down!
• Clio 200 (red)
• Megane 250 (red)
• Fiesta ST (blue)

 

[Martin.]

There were a few of us:

• Caterham (Deep red) - the one that broke down!
• Clio 200 (red)
• Megane 250 (red)
• Fiesta ST (blue)

Don't remember the Meg but I think I can remember the others.

Was your mate the Caterham who dropped fuel everywhere? I had a big moment at Paddock Hill because of this lol!

I'll bare those cars in mind when I look at and edit my Go Pro footage though.

 

[R29TJR]

Don't remember the Meg but I think I can remember the others.

Was your mate the Caterham who dropped fuel everywhere? I had a big moment at Paddock Hill because of this lol!

I'll bare those cars in mind when I look at and edit my Go Pro footage though.

He did breakdown at paddock hill bend, the belt fell off, a little coolant came out however I don't believe any oil was leaked on track.

Will be good to see if you caught any of them on camera.

 

[Martin.]

Have Photobucket sorted their sh*t out now? My previous pictures are showing on my screen now...

Lond overdue update coming very shortly!

 

[Martin.]

2018 Update.

I've not updated this in a very long time. The car has been great over the last 6 months. I've had a couple of the best track days ever at Brands Hatch, including a recent full day of sunshine on January 18th, which was only £100!! What a bargain that was.

I bought myself some new shiny ASTs. The 5100 kit.


My northern brother Ant from @ACS_Motorsport came down to stay one weekend and kindly fitted these for me, along with his Roll Centre & Bump Steer kit. I had been eying up the RC kits on here for a few years, but never had enough spare cash to justify it.







This kit looks like a work of art, it was a shame to see it fitted under the car but it has made a HUGE improvement on the handling. So much so, that I can pretty much turn in for the apex without ever worrying about understeer. (It's just oversteer which is a slight issue at the moment, but the car hasn’t been setup since the new ASTs, so Ant is coming down again soon to give the car a full GEO and corner weight setup. Last time he did this for me at Silverstone I could not believe the difference it made, so I’m looking forward to getting it on the scales again and having the setup tweaked.

@GrahamS has produced an excellent video of these recent upgrades. With a very helpful explanation of what the RC kit does.



He’s also created a great video from our recent Brands Hatch trackday. Be sure to watch that and subscribe for more great content which is in the pipeline.



I've also started an Instagram page with all things car related, so follow me if you want to see more:

https://www.instagram.com/mjh_motorsport/

Many pics below.

 

[Martin.]

 

[Martin.]

The car took a beating all day long and didn't miss a beat.

Next outings booked are a Power-to-Weight shootout at AMD-Essex and Snetterton track day on 31st March.

 

[Martin.]

Anthony from @ACS_Motorsport came down to do a corner weight setup on my car last weekend. His motorsport background gives him huge knowledge in car setup and everything was done extremely clinically.

As I’m sure is the case for a lot of us on here. Getting a focused track car to and from places isn’t ideal. Even though mine is road legal I always try and avoid taking it on the road, 1 because of the risk of idiots and 2 because it’s horrendous to drive on the road.

So the mobile service offered from ACS was extremely convenient and i wouldn’t take my car anywhere else now.

He got started on the car nice and early and he literally didn’t stop until he was happy it was perfect.

The car weighed in at 1028kg with me in the drivers seat. With just over 1/4 tank of fuel and a 50% diagonal cross.

For those of you who have never had a car corner weighted before you should look into it. It will totally transform how the car handles on track. When I first had mine done I couldn't believe the difference. I'm really looking forward to seeing how it handles at Snetterton now that I have new ASTs, the RC kit and a proper setup.

If you need any car setups done (or any motorsport jobs) I’d highly recommend the mobile service offered by ACS.

 

[Martin.]

 

[Cullen]

Well what can i say, first build thread ive actually sat and read from start to finish, and not just read it backwards for the best bit .

Top work and top class clio, i will definatley be coming over for a chat if i see you at bedford when im next over there

 

[Martin.]

Well what can i say, first build thread ive actually sat and read from start to finish, and not just read it backwards for the best bit .

Top work and top class clio, i will definatley be coming over for a chat if i see you at bedford when im next over there

Thanks buddy, you must have been reading for a very long time haha!!

Definitly come over and say hello if you ever see me/the car though.

 

[Martin.]

Power 2 Weight Shootout

I took the car over to AMD last weekend for the TrackObsession power to weight shootout. There was two classes, boost and N/A, results are yet to be confirmed.

I had planned to leave before 8am, meet @GrahamS 15 minutes down the road, then @Richie rich and my cousin at a junction on the M25 before all heading up to AMD in Essex together. However having plastic windows and no working fans in the car the windows were so steamed up and it was impossible to clear them properly. I ended up wiping what I could and just driving along with the door open a little bit which helped. But at times with the sun glaring it was pretty dangerous as I could not see a thing. Needless to say I was late and everyone was waiting for me. I was sweating when I arrived to meet Graham and it was only about 2 degrees! The joys of a driving a dedicated track car on the road

Anyway, we arrived at AMD and signed on. It was a slow start but eventually got into a better flow. Plenty of nice cars to look at and it was very interesting to see what different cars weigh.

We all had our cars weighed and eventually dynod. Hearing the previous cars bouncing off the limiter on the dyno I was actually a little concerned that it would be the end of my engine. But we all survived, apart from the Dyno which Graham's Cup broke when it tried to leap for freedom!!! (See video below)

I knew what mine weighed already as obviously @ACS_Motorsport had done corner weighting the previous weekend. The guys in charge of the scales at AMD confirmed my setup was absolutely perfect. (which I knew anwyay :tongueout

So yeah, the car came in at 957kg (around 1/2 tank of fuel) with an optimistic 223 BHP / 181 ft-lbs.

I was just happy to see the smooth torque curve and to see the car survive the dyno (knowing it's not 100% and burning oil). I'll take the power figures with a large pinch of salt!

Some pictures and full video of my car to come but in the meantime here is a very good video Graham has already put together from the day.



Next up Snetterton on March 31st.

 

[Mr R.]

Power 2 Weight Shootout

I took the car over to AMD last weekend for the TrackObsession power to weight shootout. There was two classes, boost and N/A, results are yet to be confirmed.

I had planned to leave before 8am, meet @GrahamS 15 minutes down the road, then @Richie rich and my cousin at a junction on the M25 before all heading up to AMD in Essex together. However having plastic windows and no working fans in the car the windows were so steamed up and it was impossible to clear them properly. I ended up wiping what I could and just driving along with the door open a little bit which helped. But at times with the sun glaring it was pretty dangerous as I could not see a thing. Needless to say I was late and everyone was waiting for me. I was sweating when I arrived to meet Graham and it was only about 2 degrees! The joys of a driving a dedicated track car on the road

Anyway, we arrived at AMD and signed on. It was a slow start but eventually got into a better flow. Plenty of nice cars to look at and it was very interesting to see what different cars weigh.

We all had our cars weighed and eventually dynod. Hearing the previous cars bouncing off the limiter on the dyno I was actually a little concerned that it would be the end of my engine. But we all survived, apart from the Dyno which Graham's Cup broke when it tried to leap for freedom!!! (See video below)

I knew what mine weighed already as obviously @ACS_Motorsport had done corner weighting the previous weekend. The guys in charge of the scales at AMD confirmed my setup was absolutely perfect. (which I knew anwyay :tongueout

So yeah, the car came in at 957kg (around 1/2 tank of fuel) with an optimistic 223 BHP / 181 ft-lbs.

I was just happy to see the smooth torque curve and to see the car survive the dyno (knowing it's not 100% and burning oil). I'll take the power figures with a large pinch of salt!

Some pictures and full video of my car to come but in the meantime here is a very good video Graham has already put together from the day.



Next up Snetterton on March 31st.

I was going to say as soon as I saw you was taking the car to AMD, I bet it makes about 300hp.

There dyno is sh1t.