Project Lightweight, Trackday Clio 172

[scullyg40]

I got the videos on youtube, and I won't post them all, but at the first one below you can obviously see that I'm not really using the brakes, because I haven't got them at that point, and I'm generally taking it very slow to learn the track and get feel with the car.



In these videos I'm picking up the pace, but there is still a LOT to improve on my driving and my track knowledge.

 

[scullyg40]

There was also a red flag in our session. Here's why.



This corner is known for these type of accidents. Enter Scheivlak on youtube, and you will see a lot of these accidents. I figured it was better to keep it safe, and let go of the gas going uphill, instead of on top of the hill.

This was probably the fastest car on track that day. Really nice to see how planted the car is compared to mine.



I also had an issue. While waiting in pit lane for the last session, the STOP and battery light came on shortly. I saw it, and forgot about it shortly after. The day after, with unloading, and putting the car in the garage, the lights came on again, and stayed on.
After some searching on here, I found out that is was probably the alternator not charging fully, or the battery itself.
I borrowed my dads multimeter, and measured 12,2 Volts with the engine off on the battery. When I turned the car on, it had 11,8 Volts, both stationary and while revving.
I figured that the alternator wasn't charging the way it should be, and I had an idea why. In post #96 you can see that I wasn't able to get the nut on fully on the thread. I took it off, took the plastic cap of, and saw that the spacer fit's right into the plastic cap.Obviously it wasn't mounted the rigth way. The parts were all a bit corroded, so I cleaned them, and put them back in how they should be this time. Now I have the nut on fully, and I have 14,6 Volts with the running engine.

It's a simple fix and it was a small problem, but I'm quite happy that I figured it out and solved it, since I'm not really good with electrics. :tongueclosed:

 

[scullyg40]

I changed the wheels diagonally to improve even tyre wear. Every time I take these wheels of, I can't believe how light they are.

Here's how they came of, a lot of pick-up, just like Formula 1. 🙈

This is the degradation:

Front left

Right rear

Front right

Left rear

I still don't understand why the rears show more degradation than the fronts. Is it because the back is very light, and it wants to oversteer? I feel more understeer than oversteer, so it doesn't add up. Should I play with my tyre pressures to even this out? I drove with 2.1 bars (31 psi) when hot all round. Any advise on this is more than welcome. :up:

 

[scullyg40]

To continue with the Silver/Black theme I've got on my car, I decided it was time to paint the wheels.

I'm also thinking of adding a bit of RAL 3000 on the bumpers, sideskirts and mirrors. Any opinions about this?

Here's what I started with. Paint looking quite tatty on several places. As it's a track car, I didn't bother about the marks on the wheels.

Masking up.

During painting.

And the finished result.

 

[scullyg40]

I got a new (well used) rear caliper for my car, and changed it, as the old one had a snapped of bleed nipple.

Now just waiting for my brake fluid to arrive, refresh that, and the car will be ready for it's next outing.

 

[hostler]

You were spotted by a friend on the A28 on the day you went to Zandvoort.

Black wheels look good! Adding a bit more colour is definetly needed but not too sure on the red. It's kinda in your face.

 

[scullyg40]

Nice. Cool picture.

 

[scullyg40]

M*THERF*CKER!!! :rage:

 

[scullyg40]

I tried everything to get the snapped of bleed niple out. I heated and cooled it a couple of times, used a left rotating tap (don't know if it's correct english, or just translated dutch :tongueout, welded bolts on, but the remaining piece did not move one bit.
So I had to bite the bullet, and ordered a new one.

Should have done that the first time, buying cheap isn't always the best.
Got it mounted, and got all the brake lines bleeded again, so the car is ready for next thursday.

 

[scullyg40]

Yesterday it was time for Assen again. :grinning:

I had a test in Delfzijl in the morning, so my father offered very kindly to bring the Clio to Assen and meet up there.
I put the car on the trailer the day befor the trackday, and tensioned the handbrake. The lever went up really far. :kissingsmiling:

Had a look under the car, and quickly found out the handbrake cable on the left rear had snapped. I already noticed it was bad during the caliper replacement, but on the first tension it decided it had been enough.

I think I can live without a handbrake, so it will all be coming off soon.

Another thing I want to improve is move the first eye on the trailer more forward, as I don't have enough room to tension the front straps properly.

Now on to the trackday it self.

I met up with a friend of mine, who was going to do his first trackday ever behind the wheel. He owns a VW Golf mk 5 GTI with 280 bhp, so it's a really fast car. We did a shootout once on the highway between my 130i and his GTI, and his was faster. Not much faster, but still, he showed me his taillights. :rage:
We were both very interested to see how his car would compare to my lightweight Clio. He has more than 100 bhp more than my Clio, but he is also approximately 500 kg's heavier. As it turned out, weight is everything when you go to the track, you don't need that much horsepower to go fast or have fun.

First session was very very wet. As my parents were at the track to watch, I asked my mother if she would join me as a passenger, as my dad already had been a passenger. She agreed, and we rented a helmet for her at the organisation.
It was very wet, and it was like driving on ice. I also had the tyre pressures to low for these cold/wet circumstances. I had the tyres inflated to around 2 bars at home the day before, but it was a lot warmer than, and at the track, pressure had dropped to in between 1,7 and 1,8 bars. I figured I was just going to see how it went.
In the first session, with my mom as a passenger, I went 90 degrees sideways 3 times. 🙈 The last one was in Ramshoek with a cornering speed of about 100 km/h, I went in the grass sideways facing the inside wall right in front of me. My mom didn't even blinch once, her own words were that it wasn't to exciting, only that she got a little sick in the end.

I inflated the tyres a bit for the second session, as my tyres didn't even get warm after the first session. Second and third session the track was drying up, but still wet in some sections, which is very tricky, as you have to remember to adjust your corner entry speed.

Best lap session two: 2.29, which I was already quite happy with, considering the track conditions. This was also my first session without a passenger.
Best lap session three: 2.15 I was really happy with this, I improved my personal best with 7 seconds, and the entire north loop of the track was still wet.

The last session was an XL session, which is 30 mins instead of 20 mins. My friend said he was done for the day, so he joined me for the last session. At least now I could get some video footage.
This time only the most south corner, Mandeveen was still wet as the session begun, but dryed up quickly.
We were the first to line-up, and behind me I had 2 Renault Megane Sports, a yellow one, and a dark grey one. I love these cars, as I think they look really good, and handle as they look. My dad also said they looked really quick on track. I decided, I wasn't goint to hold them up, but I was interested to see how I would hold up against them. Turned out they were faster, but they stayed in sight for the entire session.

First video, with both the Meganes



Second video, this one included the fastest lap of the day, which is a 2,14 I still can't really believe I went this fast on standard road tyres and standard shocks with a passenger of 95 kg's. I went 8 seconds faster than my last outing at Assen, really happy with this, and I'm really interested to see what can be improved with some decent track tyres and coilovers.



Last session begins with a Polo that doesn't know about trackday etiquette. He is fast in the corners, but as I'm in his bumper, he doesn't move over. My friend explaines he was caught behind the car as well in a previous session. Apologies for the 90 degree video, but I don't know how to rotate.



All in all, I had a great day again, can't wait to do the next one.

I also added a small personal/funny touch, which is also a bit of a thank you to my wife :kissingheart:, for making this possible.

Things I have to do before the next trackday are:

• Remove handbrake assembly
• Bleed the brakes again a little bit all around
• Adjust the first strap eyes on the trailer

 

[scullyg40]

Handbrake is out. :stig: Still need to close up the hole though, this will be my first proper bodywork welding. :astonished:

Saving another 2 kg's, making total weight saving 199,4 kg's.

 

[scullyg40]

Moved the eyebolt about 15 cm forward to give the straps a bit more room.

Just need to refresh the brakefluid a bit, and we're good to go to the next one.

 

[scullyg40]

There, all welded. :tongueout:
Also refreshed the brake fluid and put some gas in the tank, so the car is ready for it's next outing.

 

[hostler]

Amazing fabrication skills

 

[scullyg40]

For all those who are wondering how much aluminum there is behind the pur of the steering wheel, here you go. :smile:

Wasn't really worth it, only saved 254 grams, making total weight savings 199,7 kg's.
But I also wanted to see if I could use the steering wheel to make an adapter plate for my deepdish wheel with quick release, which isn't an option ofcourse, as I deep down already knew.

 

[dann2707]

What are you replacing the handbrake with?

 

[scullyg40]

Nothing. :wink:

 

[dann2707]

That's a bit stupid. I'm all up for saving grams, hell have you seen the inside of my car.. But to remove the handbrake us just unbelievable.

What happens if your brakes fail?

 

[scullyg40]

Well, I've thought about this, and here's how I see it.
When you approach a corner at high speed, and you brake as late as possible, and you discover at this point you have no brakes, you are always going to be to late. Your mind needs time to figure out what's happening. In the meantime, you need to try and get through the corner at a far to high speed. By the time you have figured out you have no brakes, it will be too late.
And have you ever tried your handbrake at say 150 km/h? I'd say you can only use your handbrake as an emergency brake under 50 km/h.

 

[hostler]

What about them skids mate. You need to Tokyo Drift in the snow...

I'd put the handbrake back in as well. Even with jacking the car up it comes in handy.

 

[scullyg40]

I think I can live without one, but if it turns out to be impractical, I will put one back in.

 

[scullyg40]

As my wife and myself came back in the parking garage yesterday after some shopping and enjoying the nice weather, we found out that the parking garage was nearly empty. This presented a nice scenery for a really nice picture, if I may say so myself. :tongueclosed:

 

[hostler]

Should've made the bmw into a track car.

 

[scullyg40]

You know I should, but then I would also be single. ?

Anyway, looks like I've got myself a little project.

It came out of a donor vehicle, and as you can see, it will not fit inside the little Clio as it is.
Plan is to convert it into a bolt-in cage.

I also bought this in preparation to the ABS delete.

 

[hostler]

Crazy! Where did you get that cage from?

I should come by some day...

 

[scullyg40]

You got my number, and you're welcome. ?
Although, there's not much going on at the moment. I plan to install the cage over winter.
I did get to weigh it, and it's far to heavy for my liking, weighing in at 70 kg's.
I guess my lightweight scheme is out the window, but that must be the price of a bit of safety. And at the end of the day, it's just for trackdays.

Next outing is Assen next thursday on Hemelvaart, will be quite busy I suppose, but the weather expectations are very good.

 

[dann2707]

I think I can live without one, but if it turns out to be impractical, I will put one back in.

I lost my brakes at Blyton Park last week. If it wasn't for my handbrake I would have gone into the back of someone in the paddock. Just a bit of experience and FYI.

 

[hostler]

You got my number, and you're welcome. ?
Although, there's not much going on at the moment. I plan to install the cage over winter.
I did get to weigh it, and it's far to heavy for my liking, weighing in at 70 kg's.
I guess my lightweight scheme is out the window, but that must be the price of a bit of safety. And at the end of the day, it's just for trackdays.

Next outing is Assen next thursday on Hemelvaart, will be quite busy I suppose, but the weather expectations are very good.

I might be going with some friends. Obviously won't be driving myself

 

[scullyg40]

So yesterday was Hemelvaart (Ascension Day according to google?) and there was a trackday at Assen. Since most of the Netherland didn't have to go to work, it was expected to be quite busy at the track, and so it was.

As I gave the care it's needed attention shortly after the last trackday, it was just a matter of packing up, and heading to the track.

At the track, I was greeted by a heavy rain shower in the morning, which made me decide to start a session later than I initially planned. A good decision as it turned out, as it stayed dry for the rest of the day.
I met up with @hostler and a friend of mine. My friend joined me for the first 3 sessions.

First session I used to get familiar with the car again, and I build up speed slowly.
Second session was a short one for me, as I got black flagged for having to much noise as can be seen in the video below. In the end you hear me saying a dutch swear word, and instantly thinking that is must be because of the noise.



I got sent to the control room, where my noise levels were showed. 98 db's was allowed, and I was clearly over.

I was allowed to continue, as long as I went of the throttle at the measuring point. And so I did.
To adress this issue, I will be installing an extra silencer. I already had this in consideration since the cat delete, but I first wanted to see if I could get away with it. Now that I know I can't, it needs to be adressed.

Third session went by really fast, as I had 2 mk2 Golf's chasing and overtaking me. After that an Audi A4/S4? with a really big intercooler was chasing me. I let him past, as I don't want to hold up faster cars.



After the third session, my mate went home, and I asked @hostler to join me as a passenger, as his car/engine is in pieces right now. Turned out that me joining him as a passenger or vice versa isn't a good combination, as we got another code 60 early in the session. Here's why:

Nevertheless, @hostler was able to make a short video.



@hostler commented that the car had quite a bit of body roll, since it's still on standard suspenion, and that the car felt more grippy than expected as I'm still driving on standard road tyres.

About that, here's the state of the front left.

I guess this tyre is finished right?

Last session I went solo to try and improve my personal best, but I never got a clean lap because of the traffic. My best lap was a 2.17, which I'm still quite happy with.

My windscreen also got a nice memorial of this day. I'll see how it holds up, if it start to crack, I will replace it. If I can find a cheap replacement, I will probably change it in combination with the cage install, because of easy acces to the interior.

Things I need to do are:
-Install mid-silencer
-Change throttle cable
-Refresh brake fluid

I'm also not sure how much longer I can ignore the oil drops on the bottom of the engine/gearbox, as it seems to increase.

 

[scullyg40]

I found video's of 2 other Clio's following each other in the same session as me. I'd like to post them here to show the difference between standard and a stripped out car. The difference is significant as you can see.

I pass this one at 7.00



This video starts at 9.00, I get passed at 16.16

 

[scullyg40]

I had some spare time, and it was a nice day to do some work on the car again.

I ordered a new throttle cable at the dealer, and a new throttle body gasket as well. I'm hoping this will solve the issue with the throttle sometimes sticking at higher revs than stationary. It's only an issue on the paddock, not on track, so it's a minor issue, but than again, the throttle cable wasn't expensive.

I was planning on removing the throttle body, to dissassemble it and clean it, but it seems there is a liquid seal behind it, and it wouldn't come off easy, so I decided to try only the cable at first.

@hostler commented that these might cause some serious injury incase of a crash, and I couldn't disagree, so they had to go. From this:

To this:

I saved 80 grams in doing so, so win win. ?

Then it was time to raise the car.

I also installed a powerflex dogbone.

If anyone is interested in the original one, please let me know.

I received another bottle of brake fluid. Went for the bigger one this time, as I flush the brake fluid a bit after each trackday, and the 5 litre can was very cheap at 53 Euro's including postage.

Got another package to solve the noise issue.

This is the reason, the car needed to be raised, as I want to do the exhaust again, with the wheels in their normal position, so that I can be sure I have enough clearance at the rear axle.

I took of the link pipe I made a while ago, as I needed the flanges again. I weighed it this time, and it weighed in at 1,384 kg's. I estimated it at 2 kg's, so that's a gain of 0,616 kg's. Weight of the silencer is 3,726 kg's. Total weight saving so far, 200,4 kg's. This does not include the silencer, as it will be modified.

Next up is removing the midpipe/rear silencer, and modifying that, so I can get the mid-silencer in between. Should be fun, as it's corroded to one piece. ?

 

[scullyg40]

I continued with the exhaust today. I was hoping that I could get the mid-pipe and rear silencer out in one piece. That was not an option. I had to get the clamp off, in order to separate the two. My air hammer made easy work of that, and in the meanwhile, my car kept getting lighter. ?

So I needed a new clamp, and the local carparts shop had one luckily.
When I had the new clamp, and I had the rear silencer in the correct position, I could measure how much I needed to cut of the mid-pipe in order to get the silencer in between.

After that, I welded the flange back on.

Now I was able to get the silencer to fit in between the 182 manifold, and the shortened mid-pipe.

And the finished product.

The tail pipe is in a neat position.

Got decent clearance around the rear axle.

And I paid attention in to getting the exhaust higher than before, as I hit the trailer with the exhaust when I didn't lift it up enough with the nose wheel.

As a result, it is much quieter than before. Now I hopefully don't get into anymore trouble with the noise.
I added a bit of weight offcourse, so total weight saving is reduced to 198,1 kg's.

 

[scullyg40]

BIG UPDATE !!! ?

After all the work on the car, it was time to clean up the workbench first.

And then a nice package arrived from the UK.

BC Racing DS Coilover supsension, with the 10/8 kg springs, and the adjustable topmounts.
Cornering will be a whole different experience from now on. ?
But not only because of the suspension, also because I needed some reading material for my upcoming holiday. ?

 

[scullyg40]

Not an update on the Clio this time, but one of our holiday, and the BMW, which had a big influence on our holiday. ?

First we went to the Austrian Grand Prix.

We stayed at the Max Verstappen Village near the track. Staying in the Village was epic, some people had louder music than the big tent, and they started it at 7.30 in the morning. ? Some even brought a pool table. ?

Here is an impression of the village.

Needles to say, we were a bit hangover every day. ?

We had a great spot at the track, I think I can say we had the best spots possible. So for everybody who's planning to visit the Red Bull ring for some type of event, just buy the General Admission tickets, bring your own seats, and have the best view.

Then on race day, the Flying Red Bull Air show gave a great show.

With the national anthem, a big Austrian flag appeared from behind the hills, hanging beneath an army helicopter.

Hamilton broke down right in front of us. The entire crowd was chearing, and came down the hill like a bunch of ants. Hamilton did not take of his helmet untill he was back in the paddock. ?

And the hero of the day, driving a great race.

The OP enjoying himself. ?

And the Dutch army heading back to camp.

Than, as it was monday, we were planning to go further down to Croatia, as the weather forecast in Austria and the entire Alps was very bad. So we lined up the caravan behind the BMW, and drove south. We stopped at the first gas station, and when I wanted to start the car again, nothing. ??
I tried to cable start the car with another car, but without any result. My wife was very emotional, because we had a car break down on holiday before, and as we were in the middle of nowwhere on a friday evening at the time, it was a nightmare.
I called the assistance, and eventually we got towed to a BMW dealer which was only 2 km's away. They found out that the starter had died, and we could jump start the car. The decision was made to go home, and see from there.
My parents were very nice to offer their car, and we decided to go to a camp site in the Netherlands, as the weather was really good here.

I ordered a second hand starter, and started dismanteling.

Here's how the engine bay normally looks.

And how much needed to be dismantled to get to the starter motor.

The starter is all the way in the back of the engine bay, beneath the fire wall.

The new starter, with new bolts, as they are one time use only.

Here's everything that came off.

And to remember and make sure I used every bolt that came off again, I labeled every plug, and ordered all the bolts.

The cilinder heads look very nice for as far as I can tell.

After replacing the starter, and mounting everything back up, the car started again, so problem solved. It only cost me 70 Euro's. Quite a big difference compared to when I would have it fixed at the Austrian BMW dealer I suppose, as it was quite labor intensive.

 

[scullyg40]

Today I had some time to fit the BC Racing coilovers.

Don't mind the Camber bolt washer, it's still loose here, and I need to look at it anyway. The ABS wire mount also still needs to be transferred.

I've set it to maximum caster, and want to adjust the camber with the camber bolts. If anyone has an opinion about this, that's more than welcome. ?

And the height before.

And bye bye monster truck Clio. ✋?

Still a bit high for my liking. I need to lower the front a bit, for now I've mounted them as they arrived. The rears are at their lowest setting.

Offcourse I have weighed the original suspension, and the BC Racing. Turned out, the front axles have lost 3,8 kg's, and the rear 1,2 kg's, so a total loss of 5 kg's. ? Which brings total weight saving to 203,1 kg's.

 

[scullyg40]

Not really worth an update, more of a log to myself, but I did some maintenance to the car.

I refreshed the brake fluid.

I refreshed the gearbox oil.

The gearbox drain bolt was very tight, so tight, that I twisted my home made drain bolt remover. A few taps to the bolt with a hammer, solved the issue, and I could undo the bolt easily afterI had remade my tool.

I retightened the sump bolts, as I still have a bit of an oil leak. I put the car on axle stands, cleaned the underside with brake cleaner, and luyed under the running engine, until I saw some druplets forming. Looks like it is coming from the cambelt side. I lowered the subframe, and retorqued every bolt according to the tightening sequence, and did the final sequence to 17 Nm, hoping that this would solve the issue. As there is already a druplet under the sump, it did not help. My guess is, that is must be coming from the crankshaft seal behind the cambelt.

 

[scullyg40]

Now a bit of a bigger update.

As the BMW was having ongoing problems since last december, it was time to say goodbye to the car. Our maintenance bill for this car over the last year and a half that we have owned it, exceeds 4000 Euro, so it was time to take our loss, and move on.

Our new car is this:

A 2015 Audi A3 with 42000 km's. It has the 1.4 TFSI 150 hp COD engine, which it strong enough for daily driving and to act as a tow car. The colour is Beluga brown, and if I'm not mistaking, it can only be found on the Audi A3. It has different shades, black, grey and brown/blue, with a gold sparkle in the sun.
I was looking for one with a nice looking interior, and I'm quite happy with this.

The only thing I plan on doing to it, is to fit some nicer looking wheels.
As the 130i has gone now, maby an admin can change the topic title to just 'Trackday 172'?

 

[scullyg40]

I received a nice package today.

A new set of Federal 595 Rsr's, but bought second hand, so I got them for a decent price

Quite happy with these, as I've been driving on normal street tyres all this time, and I feel that the coilovers and these tyres should complement each other.

 

[scullyg40]

I also bought a set of wheels for the Audi today.

They are from an Audi TT 8s, and I think they will look really good on the A3.
They are 8,5x18 ET 50, and the originals are 7,5x15 ET 51, so a bit bulkier in every way, as can be seen here.

 

[hostler]

Sad to see the BMW gone. New wheels look great by the way.

When is your next trackday? I'll invite myself for a ride along. Maybe it'll help me get back some motivation to start on my ph1 again.