my clio track day project/effort

[Goddy]

I've been on the forum for a while now and had the clio for 3 years but it has mainly been used for community / work - until now! as I've finally sorted a company car - so clio is purely for fun now.

First track day was Combe earlier this year - was a huge learning curve - i turned up with my car, some cash and a full tank of fuel - nothing else. I did sighting laps and listened to advice of the guys - short stints etc. and especially braking zone for quarry - i wasn't braking anywhere near enough so ended up sideways through there a couple of times in the morning. A couple of laps with the instructor sorted me out a lot. Anyway couple of pics

Clio @ Castle Combe by mgoddy, on Flickr

exhaust - thankfully its now sorted

cctd040414 910 by mgoddy, on Flickr

Conversation went something like "Matt - the apex went past 5 mins ago - for the love of god turn right!"

cctd040414 930 by mgoddy, on Flickr

Have to say, without spending any real money on the car - I absolutely loved it but for some reason man maths + logic dictates I spend money anyway to make it more track orientated!

So... since then, I've been doing a bit of prep for Croft on 12th September

New tyres - hankook v12 k110 - not the tyre of choice but waiting until i'm on 15's to get something 'proper'
KTR Sports cat
carried out 90k service - i won't say how long it took me
fixed exhaust mounts (the powerflex mod)
had local fabricators sleeve cat to exhaust join as it kept blowing + new ECU bracket
KTR induction
had gear oil and coolant changed (just renault stuff) + Eibach camber bolts and shims fitted
4 wheel alignment
striped out all the rear interior - front will go too in time
Also whilst having camber shims fitted garage noticed one of the spigot rings was missing- this arrived today so will be going on the next couple days.

Sleeve

image by mgoddy, on Flickr

Induction

image by mgoddy, on Flickr

In process of striping

image by mgoddy, on Flickr

Cleaning is a rarity...

image by mgoddy, on Flickr

This weekend I'm also fitting the following - should be fun!
CL5+ pads (replacing ferodo ds2500)
Braided lines (KTR)
new brembo HC discs
also changing fuild to ATE super blue
New top engine mount + new dogbone mount - I've not gone polybushed - I figured replacing 90k 8 yr old OEM parts with fresh OEM should tighten things up enough for now!

Shiny bits

image by mgoddy, on Flickr

There is a long shopping list - which will emerge over time, my plan is to build up over time but prioritising actually enjoying it and having enough money to pay for regular track days etc rather than just buying parts and it sitting in the garage - I would eventually like to go racing, but my spanner skills are negative 100 so will likely cost a lot to get there - we'll see.

 

[182jwilliams]

Good work so far mate, well done

 

[Chi]

So far so good. No need to go mad imo that way it's more of an achievement when you pass another Clio and not because you have more powa.. best money spent is on instruction as it makes all your cars faster.. Strip it out if you can..

 

[firehorizon]

cars looking good mate

 

[George@RTR_Parts]

my plan is to build up over time but prioritising actually enjoying it and having enough money to pay for regular track days etc rather than just buying parts and it sitting in the garage

:approve:

Looking good mate

 

[Goddy]

Cheers for comments guys - bit of an update from this weekend:

had a few jobs to do in prep for Croft:
- replace top engine mount
- replace dogbone mount
- Brake refresh (Brembo HC, CL5+, KTR braided lines, change fluid to ATE Blue
- Fit missing spigot ring

Got through most of it with no really issues - all at a snails pace as never done any of it before, but got it sorted until right at the end...

I left the fluid change until last, got through 3 out of 4 corners and then the last bleed nipple was rounded grr... - i tried everything I could think of to get it open, but was just making it more circular - so had to leave it - very annoying as it was literally the very last job! Will hopefully get that sorted pretty quickly and then can re-bleed before drive up to Croft on Thursday (bit of a rush!)

One worrying thing was oil on the sump which I noticed - oil level still pretty much full from service so can't be that much - will keep an eye on it.

The other thing is I've heard the camber washer should be facing in towards the engine but mine are down - is it a major issue?

New Discs + Pads

image by mgoddy, on Flickr

Old mount vs. new

image by mgoddy, on Flickr

Oily sump (terrible pic)

image by mgoddy, on Flickr

Camber bolt

image by mgoddy, on Flickr

 

[roryb]

Looking good!!!

 

[Goddy]

So quickest fix to the brake issue was a new caliper - 70 quid once I get the surcharge back so not too bad at all.

unfortunately the braided line on that corner was not letting any fluid through at all so I've had to revert back to the oem for now - no idea what's happened as it's brand new so can't understand why it would be blocked?!

The braking performance is fantastic though - instant bite and so much more stopping power than I had before refresh - although very noisy.

Not noticing any significant difference from engine / gearbox mount yet - maybe will on track.

Trying to get a replacement braided hose before Friday but not critical really so pretty much set now [emoji1]

 

[Goddy]

Went to Croft on Friday - was a really good day - weather held out, only 35 cars and the car was faultless all day.

Two main issues for me were:
- tyres/tyre wear - was struggling massively for grip in some of the corners and was noticably slower than some other comparable motors - the plan is to get some 15" 2118's and probably some toyo r888 rubber - see how that works
- seats - I was all over the place in the seat (its standard) - I've always known the seats are notoriously high - but I also found myself sliding about a bit and leaning a lot which wasn't ideal

The new brake set up was great - a lot more confidence than before - both in terms of a more even brake balance but also just general consistency of stopping power (previously I had very uneven brake pad wear but the refresh seems to have resolved)

I might get one more day in before the end of the year - work holiday dependent.

Here's some pics...

DSC_5253.jpg by mgoddy, on Flickr

DSC_5254.jpg by mgoddy, on Flickr

DSC_4772.jpg by mgoddy, on Flickr

DSC_5571.jpg by mgoddy, on Flickr

DSC_5238.jpg by mgoddy, on Flickr

 

[182jwilliams]

Looks great mate. I'm thinking of getting out at Snetterton on the 2nd November. It's a Sunday, would be good to see a couple more clios there.

Keep up the good work

 

[imprezaworks]

Cars looks good. Never really found an issue on track with the standard seats.

 

[Chi]

Cars looks good. Never really found an issue on track with the standard seats.

You weren't trying hard enough then
CG lock might help or twist belt before locking to hold you in tight

 

[imprezaworks]

I do try tbf, lol