ClioSport.net

Register a free account today to become a member!
Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members through your own private inbox!

  • When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Read more here.

The Mini is dead, long live the half-dead Clio 182 instead.



Sir_Dave

ClioSport Trader
So the Mini is mostly dead: http://www.cliosport.net/threads/another-mcs-the-track-day-toy.755737/page-8
I'll be pulling the head off it this weekend, hopefully to find some minor issue that can fixed by simply putting on a new head, BUT if its piston/bottom end related, it'll be getting broken up. I'm quite simply fed up pouring money at it. Brilliant car when its going, but a pain in the ar5e to work on when its not.

With that in mind, a friend asked me if i wanted to save his recently purchased 182, mostly ok, bar a couple of dodgy synchros - mostly 3rd, sometimes 4th. No history bar "the previous chap told me he did the cambelt in December" you know, the usual high quality purchase. It does have only 82k miles according to the MOT history though, so its a good 100k miles less than the fabled ShedTrophy - more on that here: http://www.cliosport.net/threads/sir_daves-trophy-1-x-miley-shed.518656/. A price was agreed and i drove it home from Church Crookham without breaking down, this is good point number 1.
35806493892_8622b6a59e_b.jpg
IMG_1091 by Sir_Dave, on Flickr

Good point number 2 (arguable i guess, back a few years, most thought these were poop) was hiding behind the front wheels:
35806494452_092f82654f_h.jpg
IMG_1087 by Sir_Dave, on Flickr

Now, considering i have no idea how long they've been on there, & the fact that the rear dampers/springs/perchs are in the boot, id say they probably need a rebuild, but at £40 each for the fronts, & £27.50 each for the rears (+VAT) GAZ are pretty good VFM when it comes to that type of thing. They are still a £1200 suspension setup: http://www.k-tecracing.com/show_product.asp?id=1776&appid=2 so happy days, good point number 3 :up:

Good point numbers 4, 5, 6, 7 & are the Ktec/Janspeed cat-back exhaust, Ktec/Vibra-Technics upper engine/gearbox mounts, new Pagid discs/pads all round, non-melted steering wheel (i mean wow, f*ck me that never happens) and the Kenwood flip-out headunit. Yes, the graphics do remind me of the Nav in an e46 M3 (did i mention i love e46 M3's?), but its got iPod and Bluetooth, so will stay for a while, until i can find my Becker Cascade anyways:
35806644432_4cae2a16bb_h.jpg
IMG_1099 by Sir_Dave, on Flickr
35977417215_55b1908bb8_h.jpg
IMG_1051 by Sir_Dave, on Flickr

Bad point number 1 is the knackered synchro on 3rd, its just about ok when the box is cold & you do everything very slowly, but add some heat and/or speed of change and it crunches from 2nd to 3rd, then 3rd to 4th as well (the latter being ok if you're gentle). @Scrooge has said he will change the box if i can find one however and @Budgie may have a box for sale soon, so its not the end of the world :cool:

Bad point number 2 is probably linked to "matey doing the belts in December", the general consensus from the Failsport engine technicians is that they've either over tightened the tensioner thingy, or its broken/they've reused the old one when doing the belts - if they were done that is.
35935690936_c132a942a5_z.jpg
IMG_1088 by Sir_Dave, on Flickr
I've bought a new aux belt kit, so hopefully i'll be able to ply my mechanically able friend with pizza to get it changed one night this week.

Bad points 3+ are relatively minor & easy enough to sort:
  • Drivers side rear indicator not a silvervision (all the others are), this contravenes Cliosport membership guidelines so needs fixing asap.
  • Passenger side indicator cover missing. The other is a bit rank, so ill probably replace both.
  • Passenger rear centre cap has gone walkies. It was there when i picked it up, so doh!
  • Both wing mirrors have cracked/weird looking paint, very odd, probably been resprayed (badly) at a guess.
  • The bonnet is dented in the usual place having been closed by some halfwit (not me).
  • It needs a cigarette lighter cover. OCD just kicked in yo.
  • The gearstick is from Halfords. I mean, why would you fit that. WHY.
  • The interior door handles are a bit melted/sticky/dirty/aids ridden. They need changing before i catch something.
So all in all, it'll keep me occupied for a little while i guess, its nice having something (cheaper) to tinker with again :up:
Naturally i will try to resist spending too much money on it, but will likely fail
hehe.gif
 
Looks pretty decent to be honest, the issues sound *hopefully* simple to sort............ loving the flip out stereo, very fast and furious yoo but looks quite cool too 😂 I did spot the gearknob, but cheap and cheerful to sort, that suspension looks a great little bonus!
 

Rojer

ClioSport Club Member
I used to have that exact headunit a few years ago it was so epic, had the nav & bluetooth modules. Hopefully you can turn it around and save it!
 

Sir_Dave

ClioSport Trader
Subscribed. Shame about the mini
Yeah, its not quite dead yet, wont know for sure until the cylinder head is removed on Saturday, although no compression is never a good sign 😂
They always come back.
Such awesome VFM and great fun to drive, so difficult to ignore!
Everything is soo much cheaper/easier to do than Mini's, well except LSD's, they are flipping expensive by comparison.
Looks pretty decent to be honest, the issues sound *hopefully* simple to sort............ loving the flip out stereo, very fast and furious yoo but looks quite cool too 😂 I did spot the gearknob, but cheap and cheerful to sort, that suspension looks a great little bonus!
Yeah, i think its a good base car underneath, the lack of history is a pain, but the low miles are a strong point if i put some decent maintenance/remedial work into it. Should keep me tinkering in the evenings, which is what i like doing really - the mini was fully done in that regard, before the potential engine failure anyways. I want a "WARNING!!! Danger to manifold" sticker for the headunit i think ...
Stk0X-.gif

I'll have that headunit off you when you swap the Becker in
Will make a note of that!
I know, wording now amended in this post haha.
Can't wait for the stripping / turboing / for sale thread.
Yeah, that may happen, you never know. No point selling a car whole if its worth more in bits :tonguewink:
Needs: Valve stem oil seals
Buys: Big valve head, a newer mini and a clio
😂
Needs a lot more than valve stem seals now lol. No compression on cylinder 1!
I used to have that exact headunit a few years ago it was so epic, had the nav & bluetooth modules. Hopefully you can turn it around and save it!
Its got loads of features to be fair, just looks a little dated & is hella complicated.
Yeah, i'll turn it around, have already bought the following from browsing the classifieds/ebay:
  • Aux belt tensioner pulley & belt
  • OEM water pump and gasket
  • OEM tie rods and Lemforder track rod ends
  • Polybush steering mount
  • Parcel shelf
  • Whiteline rear ARB
 

Sir_Dave

ClioSport Trader
So this weekend i finally found the time to have a tinker with the Clio :smiley:
35911559350_7e510dfca9_z.jpg
IMG_1181
by Sir_Dave, on Flickr

Mainly to sort out this mess 😂
35471028334_19114f4997_z.jpg
IMG_1180
by Sir_Dave, on Flickr

It would seem that whoever fitted the aux belt routed the belt completely wrong!! The squiggly line shows the path it took, going under the idler pulled instead of over the top ... quite how they managed that, i have no idea, luckily it didnt fail i guess. The tensioner was also done up Hero tight, hence it stuck again the belt i guess. Cambelt looks perfectly fine, so likelihood is that it probably was done in December with the aux belt (as i was told).
35911559060_dffa7ff4c1_z.jpg
IMG_1186
by Sir_Dave, on Flickr
Resulting in this:
35911559500_c2c0b4ec22_z.jpg
FullSizeRender
by Sir_Dave, on Flickr
Compared to a new one:
35471027954_3f9e86e7f5_z.jpg
IMG_1185
by Sir_Dave, on Flickr

All done :up:
36138936612_66a8850111_h.jpg
IMG_1225
by Sir_Dave, on Flickr

Have now actually managed to drive around in the thing with the fear of it blowing up, had forgotten how much fun clios are, at pretty much no speed at all 😂 Compared to the Mini, you are very much sat on it (instead of in it), the driving position isn't as good (no steering wheel reach adjustment), the gearbox is rather loose feeling and well, its just not that quick, plenty of torque to get you down the road, but not with the same top end fireworks as my cammed R53 for example (that does have 230 bhp though tbf!!). On the flipside, the car is simply raring to go in terms of directional change, you feel like it will just go where you think it to go, something that you only really get after spending £££'s on an R53. Compared to the utter turd of an A4 that i have as a courtesy car from Audi, it great to be back in a fun to drive car again!!! :cool:
 

Akay

ClioSport Club Member
  Clubman Cooper S
That conductive bonnet prop is a recipe for disaster with those naked batt terminals haha.

Looks good though, loved my BG 182. Any reason you didnt ditch the aircon?
 

Sir_Dave

ClioSport Trader
That conductive bonnet prop is a recipe for disaster with those naked batt terminals haha.
Looks good though, loved my BG 182. Any reason you didnt ditch the aircon?
Yes, i did realise that after using it for most of the day on Saturday, although, admittedly, the battery was disconnected at that point :laughing:
plans with the mini now then mate? let me know if the cam is for sale lol
Just need to put the refurbed head back on, give it an oil change, fill it with coolant & start driving it around to check that all is good with it again. To be 100% honest, the Clio is good cheap fun, but the Mini is on a whole different level, but then it should be with 6 grand put into it 😂
Oh snap!
Still got mine in the race truck actually.
I thought id seen one on here before!!
Is there any way to get it to open up a little closer to the dash? it gets in the way of the gearstick a little at the moment.
 

Matt Cup

ClioSport Club Member
  Leon Cupra
Might have a cig lighter in a drawer at home you can have if you are missing it. Just PM me your address and I'll bob it in the post.
 

Darren S

ClioSport Club Member
Nice to see someone getting a 182 who is both A) - keen to fix the immediate dangers and B) will do it some justice.

Interesting comparisons to the R53 - especially in terms of directional change. The one over-riding memory I have of the MCS was that it felt heavy to drive - almost in a Clio V6 kind of way. Given a choice to chuck a car into a roundabout, for example - I'd always prefer the 182 over the Mini. The Mini could certainly corner, but it didn't come naturally to it, imo.
 

Djw John

Scotland - South
ClioSport Area Rep
Agreed, that, the terrible ride and economy for performance where the main things I disliked about mine. It felt like the family saloon car does when cornering.
 

yeecup

ClioSport Club Member
  mk8Fiesta ST,172 cup
I would hazard a guess that the timing is out on it if the same person fitted it that bodged that aux belt kit. Look forward to updates
 

The Chubby Pirate

ClioSport Club Member
  Golf R
Agreed, for the £60 or so to have the timing checked/adjusted is absolutely critical!

Someone once said it can be as much as 20bhp down on an incorrectly timed engine.
 

Mr R.

ClioSport Club Member
  A special one.
Agreed, for the £60 or so to have the timing checked/adjusted is absolutely critical!

Someone once said it can be as much as 20bhp down on an incorrectly timed engine.
I saw a 172 make 130 hp on a RR, the owner was gutted....
 

Hixle

Hi Kiss Luke E****
ClioSport Club Member
  E90 M3
Church Crookham? Rough 1*2?

This has Ryan's name all over it surely?
 

Sir_Dave

ClioSport Trader
Interesting comparisons to the R53 - especially in terms of directional change. The one over-riding memory I have of the MCS was that it felt heavy to drive - almost in a Clio V6 kind of way.
Yes, they are very heavy feeling, more like an older BMW than a french hot hatch! I dont have a problem with that though really, although as a standard to standard comparison, the Mini is a far better daily, with the Clio being the most instantly fun out of the box. A track day in a standard R53 would be over after the first corner, when the brakes would catch fire 😂

terrible ride and economy for performance
As standard, i agree with both of those points. But as someone who struggles to keep an RS3 standard, thats not something that really bothers me. Non-runflats sort the ride initially, decent coilovers and/or a good spring damper combo sort the ride & the car overfueling as standard makes for great times when you dont need a map to run an induction kit/pulley/i/C/Newman PH2 cam for 215bhp or so, with the same mpg as standard.

I would hazard a guess that the timing is out on it if the same person fitted it that bodged that aux belt kit. Look forward to updates
More than likely, but for driving back & forth to work, it doesnt really matter for the moment, the aux belt was a problem waiting to happen, but a few bhp lost isnt the end of the world.
Agreed, for the £60 or so to have the timing checked/adjusted is absolutely critical!
Someone once said it can be as much as 20bhp down on an incorrectly timed engine.
Yeah, ive got access to Genuine locking tools, so ill probably check it at some point. If its way out ill just change the belts/dephaser.

Church Crookham? Rough 1*2?
This has Ryan's name all over it surely?
Ha ha, nah, Ryan's bluey greeny thing sold ages ago, a good friend of mine runs a Chinese over there and id recently persuaded him to buy a Clio, but he bouhght this one, & couldnt be bothered with paying someone to fix the issues. Which is where my inability not to buy things kicked in 😌
 

Sir_Dave

ClioSport Trader
So with the R53 now being back in running order, my short, but enjoyable foray back into Clio ownership ended fairly abruptly yesterday, with a good friend purchasing it to build into a 2118 shod, AST wearing, RS2'd track car over winter. She cleaned up fairly well in the end i think :up:

37060573185_67f8a5bfae_k.jpg
Untitled by Sir_Dave, on Flickr
36225807024_e653acd668_k.jpg
Untitled by Sir_Dave, on Flickr
36663804400_391c2853ae_k.jpg
Untitled by Sir_Dave, on Flickr

Bye bye Clio
byebye.gif
 


Top