Renaultsport Clio 182 Cup

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After battling my own indecisiveness for the better part of 6 months in the build up to moving away from London and into a property with actual space for a second car, I finally came to the conclusion that it was a toss-up between the Renaultsport Clio 182 or Civic Type R (EP3). I seemed to need a bit extra for what appeared to be an equivalent quality EP3, so went to view and purchase this a fortnight ago.

Initial impressions are good - it has plenty of poke for the road and handles very well. It looks to have an aftermarket backbox and induction kit, both of which I'll be changing shortly. A few knocks and rattles I want to chase down but feel like that might put me to a point of no return with a Renault!

One rubbish phone picture later, and here it is!

Currently, I'm planning the following and wanting sorted by the end of April where I hope to be at Cadwell Park for a track day.
- Rear discs and pads replaced for OEM.
- Front discs and pads upgraded. Any recommendations here? I've seen Brembo discs with DS2500 pads are the go-to although also heard good things about EBC pads.
- Brake fluid change
- Both front control arms and ball joints as the car seems to 'track' on uneven roads
- Cooksport springs
- Check / replace all engine mounts
- Check / replace all exhaust mounts (pretty sure these are shot!)

Once sorted here, we're getting into some more good stuff
- Scorpion RS192 de-cat system
- K-tec induction kit
- Remap
- Rear ARB
- Powerflex bushes throughout

I'm planning on attending the N. West meetup at Chester Services this Sunday, so hopefully see a few of you there.

 

[Darren61]

Nice starting point mate and some good plans you've got there. I've got an inferno cup as well and want to get it on track this year hopefully!

 

[m&l172ph1]

Great starting point, i've always liked the inferno's.

Check out fatty's induction kit. Do a search on here, it'll save you a few quid on the k tec one.

 

[leeds2592]

Best colour

 

[182_steve]

Looks a good base for a little project! :up: With the brakes, I have Brembo HC discs up front with genuine Renault discs on the back and then Brembo pads all round. With brakes, @George@RTR_Parts is the man in the know! I've also got the K-Tec kit on my 182 and you won't be disappointed, sounds awesome!

 

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Thanks gents. Regarding brakes, the main reason for getting some immediate attention is that I appear to have a knocking from rear drivers side. Pratically identical issue to the one in this YouTube video:

Anyone got any ideas as to what would be causing that?

 

[imprezaworks]

Best colour:smile:

Your allways wrong

 

[JKING3008]

Welcome bud, already replied to your thread pistonheads:tongueout:

 

[George@RTR_Parts]

Looks a good base for a little project! :up: With the brakes, I have Brembo HC discs up front with genuine Renault discs on the back and then Brembo pads all round. With brakes, @George@RTR_Parts is the man in the know! I've also got the K-Tec kit on my 182 and you won't be disappointed, sounds awesome!

cheers Steve

Welcome along mate, I can help with brakes and various other parts including the Powerflex buses you mentioned @ad-m

 

[leeds2592]

Your allways wrong

*You're
*Always

 

[imprezaworks]

Was deliberate

Ish

 

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cheers Steve

Welcome along mate, I can help with brakes and various other parts including the Powerflex buses you mentioned @ad-m

Cheers mate - might of just put in an order with you! Hoping to get this fitted before out on Sunday so we shall see how I get on with that one.

 

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Welcome bud, already replied to your thread pistonheads:tongueout:

Cheers! Saw that you had. I was honoured when I dug into your profile to try find your Clio and realised you don't post so much ha! Found it on here - looks like a right weapon!

 

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Rear discs and pads sorted today. Took a little longer than anticipated no doubt but good exercise to learn a bit more about that stuff and how the cars been put together. I've no mechanical background whatsoever but was a nice afternoon so thought why not! Seems to have been the cause for the knocking coming from rear drivers side so that's also sorted as well.

While under the car I noticed what looks like to be a rear heat-shield has come loose from one of the bolts so I need to remove or replace this. Tempted to remove as it's something I'm not too concerned about overall and looks a bit of a pain to refit at the minute.

 

[LeeRS]

Was deliberate

Ish

diliber@*

 

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Pretty productive few weeks with the car then and already making good progress. After a good run out with the local lot here into Wales and getting used to the car, I've got the lot done below.

- Rear discs and pads have been changed for OEM, and this has also stopped a low-speed knocking I was getting. One of the discs was warped ever-so-slightly and had a hairline crack. Good job I got this changed as a priority and was sorted before I was having the hoon through Wales!
- Front discs and pads are now on Brembo HC discs with Mintex M1144 pads. Absolute doddle to swap over but due to lacking time I got these booked in with a mate of mine and had him tackle the brake fluid while I was at it so I now have AP Racing 5.1 fluid throughout also.
- While the car was up in the air, we had a look at control arms and whatnot up front. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, so these are taking a back seat for the mean time until I notice them causing any other issues. Instead, I'm going to get all the tracking and geometry sorted as part of the work with the springs and ARB.
- Checked all the engine mounts and there doesn't seem too much to worry about here for the immediate term. While the car was up on the ramp, we had a look through the exhaust and it could do with a little attention. I think I'll order fresh mounts, clamps and whatever else to make sure it's fixed securely to the underside of the car. Annoyingly, some of the heatshield over the backbox has come slightly loose and needs reattaching also!

I still have a fair list above to sort, so reckon I'll be tackling the rear ARB and springs with my bonus alongside all the exhaust mount components.

Also had my EML light on once more. This time, the fault recorded is with regards to the 'Speed Sensor'. Any ideas on where to start with this one?

 

[JKING3008]

Sounds good bud!

I fitted the powerflex exhaust bushes on mine, easy job to do.
I think the 182 takes the speed from the ABS ring on the rear, so might be worth looking there.

 

[Louis]

It'll probably be a connector that's loose regarding the EML code.

 

[182_steve]

I have the Powerflex exhaust hanger bushes too, straight swap but much better........ red for road, black for track. I have the red ones :up:

 

[ad-m]

Sounds good bud!

I fitted the powerflex exhaust bushes on mine, easy job to do.
I think the 182 takes the speed from the ABS ring on the rear, so might be worth looking there.

That's what I'm thinking myself. The metal housing for the mounts looks a bit shot itself, so need to get it off and see what condition that's in before I think about reusing it. Worst case they're replaced for OEM and I get some PowerFlex inserts later down the line.

It'll probably be a connector that's loose regarding the EML code.

Was cocking about back there a week or so ago, no doubt I've knocked it a touch out of place.

 

[Louis]

Could be a different connector. I had that same fault, and after disconnecting my battery/ fitting new spark plugs and everything associated with disconnecting, i had no more EML.

 

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No more drama from the EML coming on so I'm assuming that it's fixed itself. Always a nice bonus!

First track day ever over the weekend at Oulton Park. It was a novice day, but there was some bloody lovely cars there! McLaren 12C, Porsche GT3RS and a few Ariel Atoms. Good to see a couple of Clio's down there as well, though. Most definitely one of the slower people on the track, but it's highlighted a few spots I need to sort.
- The tyres on the car are, quite frankly, s**t. They need addressing ASAP! I'll likely be ordering 4 Yoko AD08R's to replace all.
- Exhaust has worked itself a bit more loose, so I'm planning on replacing the two rear hangers and also reconnecting where it's managed to lose a bolt connecting the manifold to the cat.
- While I'm at it I've got around to ordering the 'Fatty Induction Kit' stuff from eBay. The current setup on there is filthy and no doubt needs cleaning out thoroughly or replacing.

Hopefully I'll be tackling the exhaust and induction kit this weekend. Tyres will be sorted towards the end of the month.

 

[Christopher]

Good progress.

 

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Induction kit changed over today, mostly. The battery I've got appears to be pushed slightly further forward than it should be, so no room to negotiate back into the gap as outlined in the fatty guide on here. For now, filter heads have been changed over until I can sort that issue out.
Manifold to cat connection completely let go today, with a couple of bumps on the bottom of the car as the screw, washers and spring all let themselves known they were leaving. Fortunately, a quick swap over once it was up the ramp was all that was needed and we're sorted there.
Still have polybushed exhaust hangers to go on, but running out of time so decided to postpone. Hopefully get some progress on them in the week, alongside the battery and space for the induction to squeeze into.