New Clio 182 Track Project

[Tonyclio]

Great day at Croft, although we were having so much fun we never got any pictures 🤦🏻‍♂️

Here‘s one from the arse end on the way.

View attachment 1686129

Met @SharpyClio for the first time. Good to meet you fella and thank you for the loan of the towing eye. We got sorted in the end.

@Brigsy popped in with his missus and Bumblebee 225 and we had a good old natter.

Lots of fast machinery there today and a ridiculous amount of Red Flags. Never known anything like it, which just goes to show the lack of talent that turn up to these events these days. It’s a bloody track-day for god sake.

Anyway, back to the car.

Engine : Awesome. This is a seriously fast Clio and I mean fast.
Gearbox and Gripper : Brilliantly set up and you can get all the power down.
Steering : Garbage. I’m going back to EPAS
Suspension : If I hadn’t of had my other circuit car I’d have been happy, but it’s just not set up for my tastes.
Exhaust : 97 decibels at 5,500 rpm. Happy with that.
Driver : s**t. I’ve gone back over 😂

Things to do.

Racing clutch, just for added security and a lightweight flywheel.
EPAS.
Fit my roll centre correction kit.
Might go Spax 750Mc like my old car. Currently have the AST 5100 kit but I can’t get my head around having the back stiffer than the front. Change my mind.
Fit my new tyres as the 52s currently on it are dead.
Bigger radiator and an oil cooler, again no major issues, but just for peace of mind.

If I can get this car to handle on a circuit like my last car, I’ll have a very good car indeed.

Thank you for reading.

Hi,
Just seen your post, I had a lightweight flywheel fitted when the engine was rebuilt, there should be a receipt for it in the file I gave you.

...and yessit is quick isn't it!!


Tony

 

[Mr Underhill]

Driveshaft seal still leaking. Enough to force me to move my trackday forward to June. I’m an idiot 🤡

Despite that, I went around checking and torquing everything up.

Got the rear suspension on and fitted the brake ducting. I ran out of cable ties but will secure those a bit more.

And that’s pretty much the car complete, at least for now anyway. I’ll get the leak fixed and give everywhere a good clean. Then get it to Croft in June, set the suspension up and enjoy the rest of the season.

It’s been a good education. Everyday is a school day. Thank you for reading.

 

[Mr Underhill]

When I arrived at work this morning, it was evident that my colleagues weren't happy 😆

One brother was browsing the Javelin website, dropping subtle hints about an available spot and his elder brother was data gathering.

I mentioned I didn’t have a car and the lack of available driveshafts, but they insisted I find a registration for a non-cup Clio and book the last spot at Javelin.

So, I did.

These are the guys I share track days and Nurburgring trips with, despite them being half my age. They're reliable, and even my friend's dad from CMRacing came through with a spare. Good people.

By 3:30, I had the driveshaft in my hands.

Got home, had my tea and within the hour I had them switched over. 🤛🏻

See you on Monday @Brigsy @SharpyClio

 

[Matt Cup]

What’s that lump of metal on the bottom shaft?

 

[Mr Underhill]

What’s that lump of metal on the bottom shaft?

Damper/Balancer 🤷🏻‍♂️

 

[Mr Underhill]

Great day at Croft yesterday where I caught up with @Brigsy in Bumblebee and @SharpyClio in his 182.

Did my obligatory sighting laps on my road-going steelies - I love those little wheels. Pictures courtesy of Brigsy.

A lovely Racing Blue 182 in front of me - anyone on here?

I managed to get a garage after my initial cancellation. It was much appreciated as the floor was decent and level.

I set the ride height based on previous data from my last circuit car but chose to go a little higher than usual.

Dave then worked his magic on the camber and toe out. Old school string method. It's a black art to do it properly and fantastic to watch. At one point we had several people just standing there mesmerised by his DIY set-up.

I also had some good data from Yokahama after I ripped through a front set of A052s in one track day. Simply because I used the same set-up for a set of A050s, which have a reinforced carcass.

An expensive day that turned out to be.

Camber was set at negative 2.5 degrees, and then Dave used some of his data from his son's 182 which races in TDT/Club Trophy, adding 4mm of toe out (2mm on each side).

That took until 11.30, then I just went out and did a few laps. As soon as I made the first turn out of the pit lane, I knew he'd worked his magic.

After lunch, we spent another hour or so going out for a few laps, then coming in and checking nothing had moved and that tyre temps were even, which they were. The only downside to having Dave around is he kept telling me I wasn't going fast enough 🤣

By mid-afternoon, I was pushing the car little by little and trying to remember my lines.

Cooling issues were sorted. I just need to fit my water temperature gauge and set the fans up as they kept kicking in far too early and whilst I was out on track. My only other concern was oil temps, but luckily Brigsy reassured me it was perfectly normal and within range.

With that, I just went for it and the car never skipped a beat. Turn-in is transformed with the geo-kit and you can throttle hard mid-corner and the gripper just does its job. I always used to have to wait until I'd straightened up a bit with an LSD before pushing on the pedal.

It's bloody loud on full chat too, although I only managed 93 decibels at noise check. Drive-by was hindered slightly by a red flag.

So overall it was a great day. Nice weather, got to catch up with some CS members and the car performed amazingly. Roll on June!

Thank you for reading.

 

[SharpyClio]

That RB was parked up next to me, he ran out of brakes and couldn't get new pads and it looked like they may have been welded to the piston so they limped it home around lunch. They also realised that road pads are not suitable for track use!!

Are you back at Croft in June? I'm sure you said but my memory is shocking.

 

[Mr Underhill]

That RB was parked up next to me, he ran out of brakes and couldn't get new pads and it looked like they may have been welded to the piston so they limped it home around lunch. They also realised that road pads are not suitable for track use!!

Wow, I've seen that so many times, usually it's the rear pads falling out. I did notice the rear tyre pattern (AD08rs) and thought it looked a bit standard for track days. Lessons learned I guess. We all have to start somewhere.

Are you back at Croft in June? I'm sure you said but my memory is shocking.

I'm on the reserve list for the 10th and/or 15th so fingers crossed. 100% booked for 1st July and I'll probably do August/Sept and October as well.