It's been a while! Many updates since the last one.
New updates are:
- Whiteline Rear Anti-roll bar
- LED side lights
- Bumper quick release catches
- Bumper splash guard/undertray added
- Team Dynamics Pro Race 1.2s
- Yokohama AD08Rs
- Pure Motorsport Stud Conversion
- Pure Motorsport 15mm hub centric front spacers
- Sunstrip
So, first of all way back in September, I received my Whiteline RARB. Always heard of these as being one of the best handling mods for the money, and having experienced one on
@JamesBryan's car, it was a must buy, especially for £170. Always loved the purposeful look of these from behind too as silly as it sounds, makes the rear end look a bit more 'racecar'.
Lovely and easy to fit, only took 30 mins (and yes, I've since sorted my exhaust position out).
BG 182 by
Niall97, on Flickr
BG 182 by
Niall97, on Flickr
BG 182 by
Niall97, on Flickr
BG 182 by
Niall97, on Flickr
BG 182 by
Niall97, on Flickr
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Niall97, on Flickr
What a difference it made, felt more immediate to turn in, and once turned in it just holds on and on, the back starts to rotate too which is nice and still nice and progressive. Definitely a must buy for a keen driver, I can see how the more mardy drivers could be put on edge by the back end movement but I personally love it to keep the car turning on the limit rather than horrible understeer. Very impressed with it, this was set at the hard setting also.
Next up, a little boring job to freshen up the lights. I went for some Phillips 4000k LED side lights, listed as warm white and 4000k so were a good match for the standard Xenons, I wanted to avoid the chavvy LED look with some bluer ones, these look nice and OEM. Quality product being Phillips as an OEM supplier too.
BG 182 by
Niall97, on Flickr
BG 182 by
Niall97, on Flickr
Before and after.
BG 182 by
Niall97, on Flickr
Shortly after this, there was a group buy on here for some quick release bumper catches. They're believed to be made by the same place as Pitking ones, but at a reduced price. My bumper had always been a pain to get off with the nut and bolt setup at standard, as well as my bumper bracket rubbing on the wheels under load now the car was lower, so these are a great solution. I love the purposeful look of these too as a bonus, as geeky as that is.
BG 182 by
Niall97, on Flickr
BG 182 by
Niall97, on Flickr
BG 182 by
Niall97, on Flickr
BG 182 by
Niall97, on Flickr
Quite discreet being black on a black car!
BG 182 by
Niall97, on Flickr
BG 182 by
Niall97, on Flickr
BG 182 by
Niall97, on Flickr
While the bumper was off, I had bought the under bumper splash guard/undertray that was missing for some reason, was annoying me that it wasn't there, and having learned my lesson with the other splash guard being missing leading to my alternator failing earlier in the year, I wanted to make sure it was as it should be. So bought one from a breaker on Facebook, and quickly put that on while I was fitting the catches.
BG 182 by
Niall97, on Flickr
After this, the car was left as it was for a while until Mid November when I purchased the wheels. I'd been looking forward to doing this since I bought the car for a few reasons. Main one was to get some AD08Rs back on my car, had them on my 1.2 (lol) and they were awesome, and I'd always been underwhelmed by the tyres I'd used since, especially on a more powerful car and one that demanded some better rubber. Secondly, Clios are supposed to drive better on 15" wheels, this would later prove to be true. Third was aesthetically, I much prefer 15" wheels on Clios, especially for a more purposeful looking car, suits the car perfectly once lowered. My standard 182 wheels were quite shabby too, a lot of scratching on the face, lacking gloss in the finish and had just generally seen better days, so these would be brand new and mint so I could look after them properly, and really freshen the look of car up. Now that the paintwork of the car was looking good, these would do the rest of the car justice rather than being let down by the shabby condition of the standard wheels.
I went for the Team Dynamics Pro Race 1.2, 15", ET35, 7J, 60.1 bore in gloss anthracite. These had always been my favourite wheels for Clios, and in the gloss anthracite would look great keeping the standard colour scheme of the car, didn't fancy gloss black as I'd originally thought, really grown out of the idea of black on black, looks terribly chavvy to me these days. I'd seen these wheels on the KTEC 182 Championship cars, as well as of course BTCC cars for years, known for their lightness and strength, as well as looking great and being available in custom spec just ticked every box for me. Bought them from Rimstock, who had them in the warehouse in my exact spec (amazingly) and had them to me the very next day!
BG 182 by
Niall97, on Flickr
BG 182 by
Niall97, on Flickr
BG 182 by
Niall97, on Flickr
I then coated them in Gyeon Rim, a ceramic coating that should keep them looking perfect, especially in winter and with the dust from the DS2500s. Being brand new it's great to be able to do this so that they're kept mint from day one.
My Pure Motorsport stud conversion also arrived with next day delivery. I'd been wanting a stud conversion for a while, but the standard hub caps on the 182 wheels don't allow for it unless you run without caps, so I'd held off until these wheels. Plus, I knew I'd be adding spacers, and with the offset of these wheels, it made sense to have the flexibility of the studs for shaping and changing spacers, wheels etc. Generally just makes life easier for taking wheels on and off, as well as the great bullet tip design of these PMS ones meaning that it's impossible to cross thread the nuts onto the threads, so just another thing made easier! Again, liking the more purposeful look of the studs too over standard bolts.
BG 182 by
Niall97, on Flickr
Had these put in, with the supplied Loctite, before heading to get the new wheels and tyres.
BG 182 by
Niall97, on Flickr
Then, it was off to Kwikfit, where the previous day I'd been down to with an invoice from a friend for a price match on some AD08Rs and thankfully they had matched the price. So I ended up getting them for £275 fitted, which is a bloody good price. £240 for the tyres alone is considered good, but fitted for £275 is a bargain considering even your most pikey garages will fit 4 tyres for £40, making these £235, and with the convenience of being delivered to and fitted by a local Kwikfit.
Didn't manage to get photos there, but went to go and have a first look at the new wheels at the petrol station. Very happy indeed.
BG 182 by
Niall97, on Flickr
BG 182 by
Niall97, on Flickr
And one from the next morning, looks so purposeful now rather than the OEM+ look previously, as well as being 10mm wider all round to fill those arches much better than the skinny look of the standard offset.
BG 182 by
Niall97, on Flickr
And another before and after, but from when I first bought the car in the relatively sorry state it was in. Looks like a different car!
BG 182 by
Niall97, on Flickr
The car feels so much better for these new tyres, grip is immense as I expected, stiffer sidewalls feeling more responsive, lovely and progressive on the limit as I remembered, just great. What I didn't expect was how good these are in the rain, I never remember them being this good on the 1.2, but these things put the S-Drive's to shame in the wet which is somewhat surprising despite what people would have you believe about these tyres in wet conditions. Frankly, if you're losing grip with these in the wet on the road you're driving like a bit of a tit, because there's no shortage of grip from where I'm sitting. Braking feels a lot better, which is welcomed since I've not got ABS at the moment thanks to a dodgy ABS sensor. Never fails to amaze me the difference good tyres makes to a car, as widely known as it is.
The car was also feeling better on the 15" wheels, quite negligible yes, but I thought that the steering felt nicer, just a nicer weight and feel to it somehow. The overall handling just felt nicer, sorry to be incredibly vague, but I can't really put my finger on what is different, but definitely improved incrementally in every way.
Next up was some Pure Motorsport 15mm hubcentric spacers for the front. I was loving the ET35 of the new wheels on the back, but the front still needed pushing out a tad without going mental and compromising the handling, so I opted for some 15mm spacers. I did want 10mm really but sadly they're not hub centric and so the load of the wheel won't be properly on the hub centre which isn't safe, and can give wheel wobbles etc, 5mm wasn't enough, so 15mm it was. Sadly didn't get any before and after pics, but here's one of them looking shiny, and one from when I washed the car that shows the new width.
BG 182 by
Niall97, on Flickr
BG 182 by
Niall97, on Flickr
BG 182 by
Niall97, on Flickr
Sits sooo nicely. Handling feels the same as it did before, which I was worried about with talk of the scrub radius etc, but no noticeable difference as far as I can tell.
Lastly, I got a matte black sun strip. With buckets coming in the new year, and the winter sun being a pain even in standard seats being a short arse, this was a small thing to help with that. Plus, it looks good, looks more aggressive and 'racecar' especially along side the other new additions. A nice discreet finishing touch I think!
BG 182 by
Niall97, on Flickr
Looking good the next day.
BG 182 by
Niall97, on Flickr
BG 182 by
Niall97, on Flickr
BG 182 by
Niall97, on Flickr
So there we go, all up to date. I've done other little housekeeping bits within this like servicing and suchlike, but I thought I'd spare everyone the details and keep it to the mods. Next, in the new year, it's time for buckets & harnesses, a half cage, steering wheel and shifter. As well as many other things and general tidying up. A year down the line and it's taking shape really nicely now from how I wanted it to be at the beginning. After some more additions in the new year it'll be looking really really good, and ready for some more track days and generally enjoying in the better weather once winter is out of the way!
