Silver Clio 182 (non cup)

[HG182]

This is my first ever thread/project post ever on any forum at all. New member on here as I’ve just picked up a completely standard silver 182 non cup. It’s had one previous owner. 116000 miles with full service history with Renault or Ktec. The aim is to slowly turn it into a fast road/track car. I’ve owned a Megane 225 cup in the past before child number 3 came along but I had an itch for another renaultsport. Progress will be pretty slow due to various things but I hoping I can do project to a high standard. So below are some pics from today once she was home!

 

[cb10]

Welcome to the gang. Looks a nice clean car bud, great unmodified base for you to start tinkering. Will enjoy watching your progress.

 

[Clio_fool]

Welcome to cliosport! Your car looks great, it's obviously had one caring owner. For your first and best mod, spend 12 quid and become a full member on here. It's well worth the money.

 

[20vKarlos]

Welcome along...
I had an itch last year... it’s now partially scratched! First track day is this Monday coming.

DO NOT! Whatever you do, add up the parts you purchase 😂😂😂
I’ve made that mistake 🙈

 

[HG182]

She was pretty filthy after just a week of ownership so when the sun appeared this morning I got her out onto the driveway ready for a good scrub.

First thing to get done as they are generally the worst area of the car were the wheels. A pre rinse, snow foam, iron decontamination then a good shampoo and scrub with a mitt and my new wheel cone brush sorted them out! Rinsed between stages.

Once the wheels were done the actual bodywork was tackled. Weather was looming so didn’t really get to do everything I had planned. Pre rinse, snow foam then a shampoo with a different mitt using the two bucket method. Final rinse then dried with microfibre drying towel.

Dried off it was time to wax. I had planned to polish her up but as mentioned the rain clouds looked threatening so just had to settle on waxing. Still pretty pleased how she looked after.

Next up was some details that would hopefully help the car look a lot more together. The exhaust tips, although not terrible, definitly needed some TLC. A bit of autosol did the job.

The top front grilles had gone a blueish colour from the sunlight over the years. Some vinyl and rubber care did a pretty good job of deepening the colour and bringing back some freshness.

Tyres got dressed with some high performance tyre gel. I personally don’t enjoy the look of super shiny tyres so I applied it then almost immediatly rubbed them down with a microfibre towel for a more satin look.

The finished result. Nice and shiny just as the rain arrived! Got some goodies arriving early next week to kick off the track based modifications!

 

[HG182]

Welcome along...
I had an itch last year... it’s now partially scratched! First track day is this Monday coming.

DO NOT! Whatever you do, add up the parts you purchase 😂😂😂
I’ve made that mistake 🙈

Hahaha I will try not to hahaha I have a fair bit planned but may start track daying soon!

 

[HG182]

Welcome to the gang. Looks a nice clean car bud, great unmodified base for you to start tinkering. Will enjoy watching your progress.

Thanks mate! It was my hope to find an un modified example to play with.

 

[HG182]

Welcome to cliosport! Your car looks great, it's obviously had one caring owner. For your first and best mod, spend 12 quid and become a full member on here. It's well worth the money.

Coughed up the money for it. Awaiting my package eagerly!

 

[HG182]

Some goodies arrived today! A set of Ktec racing coilovers. I was looking at the Bilstein B14 kit but it was just shy of double the price. I appreciate that they are more adjustable (height and damping) but after reading a fair few reviews and forum posts about these I thought f**k I’ll give them a go instead. Just trying to find a mate/someone close by to borrow a impact gun/wrench (anticipating some stubborn bolts). Penetrating fluid will be going on the bolts to soak first in an attempt to make life a bit easier.

So whilst I am awaiting an impact gun/wrench I thought I’d start with some weight saving. The metal bar that sits by the base of the seat backs was probably the biggest pain to remove as one side had the bolt well and truly stuck. So much so it was starting to bend my torx bit!

After gently coaxing the bolt to come loose (smacking the s**t out of it with a hammer) it finally started to turn but only a few turns in the head gave up. The trusty grips/pliers came out and with much effort (and swearing) the bolt was free.

The end result! I decided to weigh all the bits that had come out to see how much lard had been removed. With my baggage scales ready I set about weighing bits and came to a figure of around 34kg - 36kg. Pretty chuffed with that! Now just to get that back end lower as it’s sprung a touch higher with the weight reduction. Bring on the coilovers!

 

[imprezaworks]

Be interested to hear your thoughts on the coilovers. If for track they will be too soft, well that’s what I’ve read from people on here.

The b14’s I found to be very good on and off track, but again some say too soft. But it’s all about compromise/money.

 

[HG182]

Be interested to hear your thoughts on the coilovers. If for track they will be too soft, well that’s what I’ve read from people on here.

The b14’s I found to be very good on and off track, but again some say too soft. But it’s all about compromise/money.

The bilstein set looked very good but as said it’s all about the compromise/money. Figured as I don’t plan on it being on track loads that these will hopefully be alright. I am hoping to polybush some bits to get the chassis to a good level also.

 

[HG182]

Only a small update. Whilst still looking for somebody to help fit the coilovers I had a thought that I may as well get on and order some other bits to get the cars chassis right and ready for some track use. These Ktec braided lines should do nicely for starters!

So although I’m focussed on getting the chassis up together first I had to have some extra noise and hopefully a bit more ooompf (appreciate its only an air intake but it’s always been the base for the other mods to really be effective).

The sound this makes is insane! Can’t really feel much difference but that was expected as per previous paragraph but it is a pretty addictive sound.

So I was getting some pretty irritating cable/wire rattle coming from the stripped out rear. Got some black electrical tape and wrapped up the various offenders to attempt to nullify the rattles. Came out pretty neat so that’s a bonus!

The floor pan was filthy so I got some high foam cleaner to lift the grime.

The floor came up really nice after the scrub despite a lot of dirt being pretty hard to shift. The plan in the longer term is to paint the interior metal, possibly black.

Another shot of the tidied up cables/tubes/wires.

Bought some febi top mounts on recommendation from some other forum users. Makes sense to refresh these whilst changing the suspension. I opted for these as I don’t plan on a huge amount of track time so the solid style top mounts may just be a bit to harsh for my average journeys/use of the car. This could change in the future.

 

[imprezaworks]

Looking good.

Induction kit is noise worthy

 

[HG182]

Looking good.

Induction kit is noise worthy :smile:

Yeah! I didn’t realise how much noise it would make or allow to come through. Makes you smile whenever it comes on

 

[Clio_fool]

If you don't plan a lot of track time why strip the interior? Dogging?

 

[HG182]

If you don't plan a lot of track time why strip the interior? Dogging?

Dogging hadn’t crossed my mind but hey always good to get ideas but jokes aside it helps to put of the mrs wanting to go out in it! Plus can’t have the kids In there means it remains a toy! I love having it stripped!

 

[HG182]

So my plan is to get the chassis up to scratch before starting any real power/engine upgrades. This will take some time as previously mentioned so I had the idea to get the car on a dyno to see what figures it makes as standard (apart from the Ktec induction kit) in order to get a base figure to work from. So I did a bit of research and I found performance remap ltd based not far from me so decided to call in today and see when I could get some power runs in. Chris (the owner) got me a slot tonight so off I went slightly nervous to see how she went!

All strapped up and ready to roll. Chris was really helpful with answering the millions of questions I was asking (first time getting anything I’ve owned dyno’d) and was fine with me being right there to see it all close up rather than sitting in the waiting room.

Cooling off after three solid runs. Chris was really impressed with the figures that she made saying he’s had a few on and for pretty much a standard car he was chuffed! He said he put it down to the car being well looked after and maintained properly throughout its life (thanks to the very meticulous previous one owner). The induction noise was amazing!

So whilst I appreciate a lot of people go on about rolling roads being so wild and varied in results I’m still really happy with the results. A healthy 180 bhp at engine and average 153 bhp at the wheels with around 158 lb-ft torque! The aim is to eventually get the power/engine upgrades on and get back to the same dyno to see how they affect the figures. The graph shows the two best runs with the third being about 178.7 bhp at engine.

 

[HG182]

So I finally started fitting my Ktec coilovers on Friday (typical it was dry when I started then pissed down all day). I’d picked up various tools to help, a breaker bar, adjustable spanner and this Clarke impact wrench. The impact wrench although cheap (£90 with next day delivery) did come with some sockets and felt solid enough. It did a great job on all but one nut that I got the breaker bar on instead. I think my preparation on the various fixings earlier in the week made this a lot easier. I’d wire brushed all the loose rust and debris away then a good spray of penetrating fluid. This was left to soak for a few days.

The rears were done pretty quickly and I was surprised at how simple it was. The old shock absorbers looked quite tired, guess 116000 miles would do that (presuming they’d not been changed).

So with no instructions to look at I fitted all the various bits on and set the backs up at max height for starters (-45mm). There are wheel chocks infront of the wheels.

Time to tackle the front. Was a bit more nervous about this as it involves a few more fixings than the rears (I’ve never done anything like this before on a car but decided to take my time and be logical in my approach). The fronts also looked pretty haggered so kind of glad to change them. My favourite tool (the hammer) came out to lend a hand.

Was really surprise that this bracket came off so nicely. Once again the preperation I believe helped a lot.

New top mount donut fitted to the new suspension. The old bearings were shot so happy I had a new set to put in!

In my excitement and haste to complete the job I realised after I’d lowered the car off the stands I’d set the fronts to the lowest setting. Much arch rubbing and swearing took place!
I was soaked through, feeling a bit pissed off and glum so I called it a day and decided to come back another day to re adjust the ride height and tackle the bumper brackets/arch liners for modification. Continued on next post ........

 

[HG182]

So feeling refreshed and slightly more positive after some research I began the annoying task of trying to get my now super low front end up enough to get my jack under. Some chopped up wood planks did the job. Finally, with the weight off the wheels, I could get at the archliner and find the bracket to attack. Excuse the expression, I was excited to get started! (The goggle lense is shatter and impact resistant)

So I after realising my dremel didn’t quite have the grunt to chop the bracket lip I brought out my trusty adjustable spanner to bend it up and out of the way. I did smooth out the edges with a file then sand paper. I will be applying some anti rust sealant soon.

Cracked one of the liners when removing it so had to Frankenstein it together with the ever useful zip ties.

The old lumpy section of the liner was chopped away with the dremel and a new flat section cut from my old recycling box lid. Worked pretty well so I’m happy.

So the finished result. Appreciate it isn’t that low but it does look better. The ride height will be adjusted soon to get a bit more low. Not really wanting a mega low ride.

So the wheels are really looking a bit lost in the arches so I think a wheel stud kit and some spacers will be next up. Not going to go mad on the spacers but recommendations/pictures welcome. Thinking as the car won’t be out much will it be worth waiting for the stud and spacers or just get a full geometry set up now? Waiting seems more logical.

Cheers for reading

 

[HG182]

Small update. Adjusted the suspension to get the rear and front sitting just right. A couple of hours and a tape measure sorted it out. Looks just right at the moment IMO.

Bumped into another Cliosport.net member (can’t remember his name) the other evening whilst enjoying the warm weather we are having. Good to chat with like minded people and realise we have many of the standard issues in common such as leaking headlight washers etc.

Finally decided to have a go at sorting the misted/hazy headlights. Picked up some Meguiars plastic polish and over all pretty impressed. Didn’t get very long on the one light so far (about 30 mins) but still happy enough. Think some wet and dry will be needed to really shift the haze.

So as payday has arrived I’m looking at getting some more bits on order. As said I want the handling/chassis side sorted first so thinking of a bump steer and maybe roll centre correction kit? Any ideas please give a shout.

Cheers

 

[HG182]

So whilst still mulling over what upgrades to buy next I decided to try and paint some exterior bits up in a shade as close to the wheel anthracite as possible. After trauling through various threads it seemed the general concensus was “rover stone grey”. Off I toddled to pick some up and upon testing the colour on some spare bits it was immediately apparent that for what ever reason it was no where close! Pretty annoyed I went back down to the shop to try and find a more suitable shade. I found a hycote “BMW space grey metallic” which looked a lot closer to the colour I was hoping to match. With the paint and other materials ready I picked up some Renault diamonds (front and rear) and some poverty spec wing mirror caps. Below is how I picked up the caps. Diamonds were done in same way and I’ll post some pics up once they are fitted.

First stage was to clean the grime using some high foam cleaner. They came up pretty nice. This stage helped me find some small gauges and scratches that would require attention.

Worked them over with sandpaper starting at 180 grit working up to 2000 grit. These plastic caps have a texture that I wanted to smooth out as much as possible. Using a filler primer would probably have done this perfectly.

Used some plastic bumper fill to fill some scratches and gauges. Not used anything like this before but, damn it stinks! Worked a treat though.

Some Hycote grey plastic primer was used to build up around 3 coats. This was left to dry for 24 hours then roughed with 800 grit to prepare it for painting.

The result after 3 coats of the Hycote BMW space grey metallic followed by 3 coats of clear lacquer. Letting it fully cure before polishing it up to fit.

 

[HG182]

So finally decided to get the next upgrade underway. Removing my hubs for the northloopcup bumpsteer/roll centre modficstions! Heard brilliant stuff about this so very excited to get them done.

 

[imprezaworks]

Looking good mate.

My only thought was cheap coilovers and a great bump street kit.

May of been worth getting better coilovers in the first place, imo.

 

[HG182]

Looking good mate.

My only thought was cheap coilovers and a great bump street kit.

May of been worth getting better coilovers in the first place, imo.

Yeah did think about this tbh. Just what I could afford at the time though! I’d say after doing some good miles on them and some “spirited” driving they seem to be pretty good. But when it comes to a track day that will be another kettle of fish! Could possibly look into the bilstein b14 kit again sometime.

 

[imprezaworks]

Yeah. From what I’ve read the Ktec ones will be too soft, the b14’s are aparantly soft although I found them spot on.

If it was me I’d hold out and get better coilovers. But then @NorthloopCup will know best.

 

[NorthloopCup]

B14's wouldn't be a bad shout for a track car/weekend hooligan car tbf.

 

[HG182]

My next aim now will be brakes. Brembo HC disc with maybe the ds2500 or r5+ pad. Getting some proper fluid in to and fitting the braided lines. If funds allow I’ll be getting the stud kit and some small spacers. Although iirc the @NorthloopCup hubs widen the track slightly or am I imaging that?

 

[NorthloopCup]

My next aim now will be brakes. Brembo HC disc with maybe the ds2500 or r5+ pad. Getting some proper fluid in to and fitting the braided lines. If funds allow I’ll be getting the stud kit and some small spacers. Although iirc the @NorthloopCup hubs widen the track slightly or am I imaging that?

Yeah they widen the track by 5mm per wheel mate

 

[imprezaworks]

Pbs pads would be my choice. £109.

Or ds.11 from George on here, £200

 

[HG182]

Sourced a cup spoiler from the for sale threads. @Russ Rallye got it shipped out quickly so thanks again! Looks so much better at the back end now!

 

[Russ Rallye]

Sourced a cup spoiler from the for sale threads. @Russ Rallye got it shipped out quickly so thanks again! Looks so much better at the back end now!
View attachment 1366553View attachment 1366554View attachment 1366555View attachment 1366556

They look miles better with the cup spoiler on. Glad it’s ok mate.
Russ

 

[HG182]

My @NorthloopCup hubs arrived back a few days ago and wow, what a lovely set of kit!! Very impressed with the quality of it. Got round to fitting it today even if it did rain all morning.

The process begins. I was pretty slow at putting it all back together but wanted to take my time so I wouldn’t (hopefully) make mistakes.

Fresh HC discs upfront with some CL RC5+ pads! In the wait time for the hubs I decided to give the brakes a lick of paint. Black as my friends said is a little boring but I quite like the factory look.

DIY alignment just to get it roughly ok for the trip to the garage for a proper job!

Fitted my “anthracite” badges and wing mirror caps. Looks really smart IMO and s pretty close match!

Couldn’t help myself and had to take it for a spin. The bodge tracking was actually a lot better than I was expecting and the bumpsteer kit was really nice. Smooths the cars steering right out! The front brakes after some bedding in felt insane. The brake force is crazy so well chuffed. Did notice a SERV and traction control light illuminate though. After getting back and leaving the car off for a while I started her back up and no warning lights. They may decide to re appear on a drive?? So before my tracking gets done (car won’t be in use until it’s been done) I am going to fit the new rears discs and DS2500 pads then see if this warning light comes back. Want it all ironed out before tracking is done so I can just enjoy it again!

Cheers

 

[HG182]

Update:

Fitted the rear discs and pads today and even managed to get a couple of coats of black onto the calipers to match the front. Took the car out for a spin to bed the setup in a bit and initial impression is wow! What a difference. The cars slows down so fast now. The abs feels like it wants to kick in earlier and the tyre squeal slightly on a hardish brake. Could it be the tyres are the weaker point of the system now? They are sport pilot 3’s which to my understanding are pretty good!? Another good thing is the Serv and abs lights didn’t reappear at all so happy days.

 

[HG182]

So my wife got me a really awesome gift! A DA polisher. This gives me the perfect tool to sort out that common yellow/hazy light problem!

Below are a couple of before pics. I had already gone at them a few weeks back with sandpaper from 800 grit to 2500 grit then used meguiars plast-rx. This was all done by hand so not a great job.

Below are the results after two passes with the meguiars plast-rx. Got to say I’m pretty chuffed with the result. Not perfect but soooo much better.

So this was my first time ever using a DA and it was nice and easy and fun. I’ll tackle the paint some time but will be practicing on an old bonnet I’ve got first to get my technique sorted!

Whilst waiting on my next pay I’m thinking what upgrade to sort next? ? Any suggestions?

 

[HG182]

Been a long time since posting. Due to various things I’ve not had much time or funds to do anything meaningful to the car apart from some cleaning etc. Well I was looking at what was next and decided the steering wheel needed changing. The original is a bit bus like so a deep dish suede aftermarket one was the order of the day!

Nice simple job (not nearly as bad as I thought it might be) and it makes the car look and feel so much more different!

A nice drive through the woods on some great roads confirmed the steering wheel is an awesome upgrade and defitnitly changes the car a lot. Chuffed

 

[HG182]

So went on a bit of a driving mission to pick this lot up (including free boot mat) the other day. A Ktec ultra performance supersport exhaust and a Powerflex bushed dogbone!

Gave the exhaust a little polish by hand and it’s scrubbed up nice. Can’t wait to fit it. Bought some new mounts for it aswell. Fitted the dogbone earlier and after a quick test drive, it feels great. Loads better on the gear change and the whole car feels tighter. Idle vibration isn’t terrible either.

Vacuumed and cleaned the boot mat before putting it back in. Looks really smart!
Overall very chuffed.

 

[HG182]

Been a while and nothing much has really happened unfortunately. Child number 4 has arrived meaning car time has been reduced a fair bit!

Did manage to give the car a good clean and wax. Certainly shined up nice!

Cleaned the Ktec air filter out and re oiled. The amount of dirt was pretty impressive.

Tarted the engine bay up after refitting the filter. Much better.

Some solid Ktec topmounts that will hopefully sharpen up the front end and get rid of my creaking that is infuriating me.

Decided on a sports cat to go with the exhaust as I was a little nervous about DB checks on track days If I went decat! Getting the top mounts and full exhaust with fresh mounts and gaskets fitted next week! About time.

 

[HG182]

A friend got the car in at the garage he works near. He’s had his Clio work done with them since he’s had his so I trusted his recommendation.

This may explain the creaking I had. Shame as I had only fitted the new OE top mounts a few months prior. I think I must of had something wonky or wrong to have had it do that so early on!

Nice and shiny. Looks the business to!

Old crusty exhaust coming off. Although manky looking it didn’t appear to be blowing or damaged. Glad to get it off though.

Nice soundtrack changer going on. All went on as previously mentioned with new gasket and mounts.

So after getting the car back I am over the moon with the changes. The turn in is so sharp now and the rasp from the rear is awesome. Glad I decided on a sports cat over the decat as I feel that may of been a bit much for my preference.

 

[HG182]

I recently picked up a fabia splitter for £15.80 from the dealer. I’ve researched lots and love how much difference this cheap mod makes! Got around to fitting it last night then finishing up the ends today.

Bumper removed. Did this as I am also going to polish my headlights (off the car) and seal with Chemical Guys JetSeal later this long weekend! Made this job way easier to!

Shoddy picture but pretty happy with the result. Used some pan head 1/2 inch self tappers every other tab from the centre and they worked a treat. Trimmed the ends off and saved as I had a plan to neaten the cut ends. Didn’t want to cut in middle to get the nice factory ends. Fitment is pretty uniform along the length of it.

The cut end after full fitment!

Trimmed piece from the factory end that was trimmed off earlier. Sliced level with sharp blade then roughed with 240 grit. Cleaned with alcohol. This also was done to the trimmed part on the bumper.

Finished product. Stuck with some black silicone sealant. Will remix’s excess once fully cured but pretty happy with the outcome! And no split middle on the splitter!!

Will update when I’ve done the headlights.
Slowly getting there.

 

[HG182]

So whilst browsing the Facebook pages I stumbled on this! Looked to nice to pass up and not really seen one before so thought why not! You can see in the pictures below of before and after fitting. Makes the bay look loads better IMHO.

Next up was polishing and protecting my headlights. I started by sanding down the lens with wet and dry. This was followed by two passes with meguiars plast-x on the DA. Came up nicely so it was onto protecting. Last time I did my lights I didn’t have any sealant on them and they were starting to yellow again. I researched and decided chemical guys jet seal was the best option for me. The finished item looks so much better than the first time I did them and should last better to!

Everything back on and solid. The splitter really does change the look!

I currently have an EML lit and when plugged in reads as lambda issues. Ordered myself two Bosch sensors. Also have some oil, oil filter, spark plugs and cabin filter on way. Need to get some coolant also and was thinking of gearbox oil aswell. Getting prepped ready for it’s first track days sometime this year!