Arctic blue 182 ff progression thread

[Scott86]

So I got myself a arctic blue clio 2005 182 a few days back so thought id make a little progression thread more for myself than anything ,, 170k but full service history including the original build sheet where I found it was specced with cup suspension and cup spoiler pack and only 3 owners from new

The bodywork is pretty mint for the age of the car ,, no damage no rust ,, filler cap is clean arches are mint , underneath looks nice too , interior again is all clean and all there ,, the only mods the car has is scorpion decat and full scorpion exhaust , sabelt steering wheel , eibach lowering springs and shocks

I brought with a rattling clutch but sadly the day after the clutch pretty much went ,, squeeling with clutch down rattling heavily and not wanting to go into gear so it's booked in for a clutch in 3 days (wednesday) so
hopefully all will be well then ,, only thing I dont have receipts for is the aux belt and tensioner so just ordered one while there in stock at cp performance to be on the safe side ,, anyways here a few pics of the new toy

 

[MLB]

Very nice, I love an Arctic Blue, does look clean for 170k!

 

[Scott86]

So yesterday while the car is sat waiting for ots clutch I thought I'd sort the sticky plastics out in the car and what can I say bar , it was a hour well spent ,, no more stickyness ,, after seeing a couple of guides on here I decided I didn't want to remove the dash , so I removed all the other trims , door handles ,, stereo , climate control panel etc but left centre bent plastics in the car ,, I had some pink stuff paste under the sink so thought id give it ago and it made light work of the sticky rubber coating,, did the centre vent panel in the car took about ten mins ,, also fitted some blue valve caps as had them lying about , did put a little grease in to stop them seizing on,,, also forgot to mention the car 4 new nankang ns2r on it too ,, what are these like for daily use ??

Next job is pop the grommets out behind rear lights and seal them up as noticed it's a bit dam on boot carpet

 

[Scott86]

Very nice, I love an Arctic Blue, does look clean for 170k!

Cheers bud

 

[Brigsy]

Looks decent.

Ns2r are pretty awful in wet conditions. Id change them for daily.

 

[Scott86]

Looks decent.

Ns2r are pretty awful in wet conditions. Id change them for daily.

Ok bud are they more a track tyre or just better in dry

 

[Brigsy]

Ok bud are they more a track tyre or just better in dry

Wouldnt class them as a track tyre just a summer tyre. I dont rate them personally

 

[Scott86]

Wouldnt class them as a track tyre just a summer tyre. I dont rate them personally

No worrys bud cheers for the heads up ,, I wanna swap the wheels anyway once I know it's mechanically right so hopefully they won't be on too long

 

[Scott86]

Read a few threads on changing the aux belt and tensioner and seems easy enough although a bit of a Ballache ,, but just to clarify there's not really much to mess up on as long as belts routed correct on re install ,, tensioner and idler will be changed too

 

[Clio_fool]

Wow that does wear its miles well! You'll not get the best out of the tyres in cold weather, michelin pilot sport 3 are the usual goto daily tyre on these.

 

[Scott86]

Wow that does wear its miles well! You'll not get the best out of the tyres in cold weather, michelin pilot sport 3 are the usual goto daily tyre on these.

Cheers bud , I think its just fell lucky having just 3 owners ,, last bloke had it garaged but it was his daily for last year and though , fingers crossed apart from the clutch and serv tc and abs light there's not much else wrong lol

 

[Louis]

Read a few threads on changing the aux belt and tensioner and seems easy enough although a bit of a Ballache ,, but just to clarify there's not really much to mess up on as long as belts routed correct on re install ,, tensioner and idler will be changed too

Make sure you have a strong jubilee, and a pair for if one slips.

 

[Scott86]

Make sure you have a strong jubilee, and a pair for if one slips.

For the tensioner ?

 

[Louis]

For the tensioner ?

Yes

 

[Scott86]

Yes

Bar the tensioner being a faff it's pretty simple and can't really mess it up

 

[Louis]

Bar the tensioner being a faff it's pretty simple and can't really mess it up

Naa

 

[Clio_fool]

Bar the tensioner being a faff it's pretty simple and can't really mess it up

Do you have the timing tools?

 

[Scott86]

Do you have the timing tools?

There not needed for the aux belt are they

 

[Louis]

There not needed for the aux belt are they

No

 

[Clio_fool]

There not needed for the aux belt are they

Sorry I thought you said you were doing the belts, not just aux. Yeah the aux is straightforward enough, have a swear jar nearby and you'll have enough for new tyres by the time it's all back together 😂.

 

[Mr Underhill]

I recently did my Auxiliary belt as I was changing the power steering pump and couldn’t get away with the Jubilee method.

I’ve done loads on my track cars but my 182 has all the original brackets.

In the end I bought the proper tool which made it a doddle.

But have a go and see how you get on. If you struggle and feel like smashing it with a hammer, have a read of my thread first. Links to the tool are in there.

Restoring Little Bluey - my 182 FF ClioSport in Racing Blue

Love that (y) Couldn't agree more with making it your own rather than keeping it factory, IMO you will enjoy it more and ultimately thats what its there for!

cliosport.net

Have fun.

 

[Scott86]

I recently did my Auxiliary belt as I was changing the power steering pump and couldn’t get away with the Jubilee method.

I’ve done loads on my track cars but my 182 has all the original brackets.

In the end I bought the proper tool which made it a doddle.

But have a go and see how you get on. If you struggle and feel like smashing it with a hammer, have a read of my thread first. Links to the tool are in there.

Restoring Little Bluey - my 182 FF ClioSport in Racing Blue

Love that (y) Couldn't agree more with making it your own rather than keeping it factory, IMO you will enjoy it more and ultimately thats what its there for!

cliosport.net

Have fun.

I'll take a look ,, cheers bud

 

[Touring_Rob]

Looks decent.

Ns2r are pretty awful in wet conditions. Id change them for daily.

They aren't thaat bad. Mini is on them and I drove it through winter last year. Not great but not like cup2's etc.

Did my 182 with the jubilee clip just fine. @Mr Underhill must have been having an off day 😂

 

[Scott86]

They aren't thaat bad. Mini is on them and I drove it through winter last year. Not great but not like cup2's etc.

Did my 182 with the jubilee clip just fine. @Mr Underhill must have been having an off day 😂

View attachment 1683658

Dis you remove , bumper scuttle etc and do you know the best way to access the bottom pully bud

 

[Touring_Rob]

Bottom pulley through drivers side wheel arch, wheel off, arch liner out, or there might be a little cover you can pull back I can't remember tbh.

I removed the slam panel because it take 2 mins.

I had drivers headlight out too as I was changing the power steering pump which had recently exploded and covered the entire engine bay in fluid so needed cleaning.

 

[Scott86]

Dis you remove , bumper scuttle etc and do you know the best way to access the bottom pully bud

Bottom pulley through drivers side wheel arch, wheel off, arch liner out, or there might be a little cover you can pull back I can't remember tbh.

I removed the slam panel because it take 2 mins.

View attachment 1683661

I had drivers headlight out too as I was changing the power steering pump which had recently exploded and covered the entire engine bay in fluid so needed cleaning.

Did you undo the engine mount drivers side aswell bud , or just remove scuttle and drivers arch to make access easier ,, thanks again

 

[Touring_Rob]

If its just the aux belt then I believe you can just fold the belt by 90deg and slip it between the inner wing and the pulley if you're worried about getting the belt in there? I cut the old one off and pulled it out, no going back 😂

However if you need to get better access to the crank pulley its only 10mins with a trolley jack under the sump and buzz off the drivers side engine mount to lower an inch or so. I don't recall having to do that though, just used a jubilee to keep the tensioner spring compressed, cut old belt, pulled it out, removed headlight which let me get a socket on extension bar through this hole:

removed the bottom tensioner bolt (allen key), fed new belt in with the tensioner and pulley completely removed, changed the bottom idler and then reinstalled the tensioner.

Picture of belt routing in case it helps:

Its a fairly simple job, made even easier if you buy the proper tool like Mr Underhill.

 

[hopgop1]

If you want an easy job to lift the interior, clean up those seatbelts, will go from grubby to a nice bright silver, makes a huge difference. A few methods on here if you have a search.

 

[Scott86]

Did you undo the engine mount drivers side aswell bud , or just remove scuttle and drivers arch to make access easier ,, thanks again

Brilliant mate ,, thanks for explaining and the pics , appreciate it

 

[Scott86]

If you want an easy job to lift the interior, clean up those seatbelts, will go from grubby to a nice bright silver, makes a huge difference. A few methods on here if you have a search.
View attachment 1683665

Good idea I did notice mine wasn't the cleanest ill have a look

 

[Touring_Rob]

If you want an easy job to lift the interior, clean up those seatbelts, will go from grubby to a nice bright silver, makes a huge difference. A few methods on here if you have a search.
View attachment 1683665

How did you clean yours? They have come up great!

 

[hopgop1]

How did you clean yours? They have come up great!

Soaked in warm water with vanish powder, agitated with a stiff brush, shut them in the door and blasted with the pressure washer.

 

[Touring_Rob]

Soaked in warm water with vanish powder, agitated with a stiff brush, shut them in the door and blasted with the pressure washer.

Great! Thanks very much.

 

[Scott86]

Well got a call from the garage and release bearing was hammered ,, clutch fork shagged and guide tube also shagged 😬

Ordered a guide tube from frogjam and managed to pick up a decent used clutch fork locally , dropped them off to the garage and should all be back together for Monday fingers crossed

 

[Scott86]

So just a little update got the car back , clutch is now lovely with no rattles , nice and light and the plus side gearbox is nice and smooth no crunches etc ,, had the aux belt done too and managed to give the wheels and calipers a lick of paint ,, done the calipers the same steel grey as the wheels ,, mainly did the wheels as previous owner had painted them but no lacquer,, either way looks much fresher now.. also found a ktr induction kit local and cheap enough at £60 so grabbed it and chucked it on 😁 did find out upon removing the airbox it already had a ktr panel filter in though

Still got a couple of issues ,, tc and service light popping up sometimes could be after half a mile sometimes after 3 or 4 miles , did have abs light but adjusted the brake switch and abs light seems to be sorted ,, also seem to have play in the steering likes to pull all over on any imperfection ,, and also still got a whining noise ,, not sure if it could be pas pump causing the whine and the play ? But saying that it don't whine lock to lock although steering feels heavy , the whine seems to match with revs rising , any ideas ?? Also wheres most common for play in the steering on these track rods or steering rack bushes etc

Anyway here's a pic on how she looks now

 

[Mr Underhill]

Great result!

They do tend to tramline more if you’re running semi-slicks or budget track tyres. I find the best results are PS3 195/45/16s. You still get the odd occasion where the steering follows imperfections in the road surface, but the ride is vastly improved. Avon ZVRs are also okay. Any quality premium tyres are ideal.

Poor steering geometry setup won’t help either. I’m still on original steering rack.

The setup from the factory is really fine-tuned, so it’s easy to alter the ride and handling characteristics if the dampers are old or aftermarket, if you fit the wrong springs, or if you have worn bushes, wrong wishbones, etc. You really don’t know what the previous owner has done.

A PAS pump is harder to detect if you’re not familiar with the cars. The steering will feel heavy, vague, and it’ll be noisy just turning the steering left to right at a standstill.

It’s a gradual decline. I got a local garage to switch mine as the noise was there all the time. Sadly, the one I switched it for wasn’t much better, and it failed on a track day, pretty much instantly after some hard corners. The fluid got hot, and it just couldn’t cope.

I bought a reconditioned exchange unit from a place on eBay and switched it myself. Night and day now.

Sadly, the more old parts you change on these cars, especially around the steering/suspension, the better they drive.

I had 2 road-going 182s. One was feral due to stiffer bushes, the other as smooth as silk to drive, but it came at a price.

It depends on what you’re trying to achieve.

 

[T3gav]

So yesterday while the car is sat waiting for ots clutch I thought I'd sort the sticky plastics out in the car and what can I say bar , it was a hour well spent ,, no more stickyness ,, after seeing a couple of guides on here I decided I didn't want to remove the dash , so I removed all the other trims , door handles ,, stereo , climate control panel etc but left centre bent plastics in the car ,, I had some pink stuff paste under the sink so thought id give it ago and it made light work of the sticky rubber coating,, did the centre vent panel in the car took about ten mins ,, also fitted some blue valve caps as had them lying about , did put a little grease in to stop them seizing on,,, also forgot to mention the car 4 new nankang ns2r on it too ,, what are these like for daily use ??

Next job is pop the grommets out behind rear lights and seal them up as noticed it's a bit dam on boot carpet

I'm currently looking for non sport plastics but that looks pretty good actually so might give it a try

 

[Scott86]

Great result!

They do tend to tramline more if you’re running semi-slicks or budget track tyres. I find the best results are PS3 195/45/16s. You still get the odd occasion where the steering follows imperfections in the road surface, but the ride is vastly improved. Avon ZVRs are also okay. Any quality premium tyres are ideal.

Poor steering geometry setup won’t help either. I’m still on original steering rack.

The setup from the factory is really fine-tuned, so it’s easy to alter the ride and handling characteristics if the dampers are old or aftermarket, if you fit the wrong springs, or if you have worn bushes, wrong wishbones, etc. You really don’t know what the previous owner has done.

A PAS pump is harder to detect if you’re not familiar with the cars. The steering will feel heavy, vague, and it’ll be noisy just turning the steering left to right at a standstill.

It’s a gradual decline. I got a local garage to switch mine as the noise was there all the time. Sadly, the one I switched it for wasn’t much better, and it failed on a track day, pretty much instantly after some hard corners. The fluid got hot, and it just couldn’t cope.

I bought a reconditioned exchange unit from a place on eBay and switched it myself. Night and day now.

Sadly, the more old parts you change on these cars, especially around the steering/suspension, the better they drive.

I had 2 road-going 182s. One was feral due to stiffer bushes, the other as smooth as silk to drive, but it came at a price.

It depends on what you’re trying to achieve.

I'm running ns2r all around bud and they seem alright so far ,, it's also on eibach shocks and springs thats it as far as suspension mods ,, top mounts etc and wishbone bushes look like stock items , like I say there does seem to be free play that gets took up when it tramlines ,, like I say steering does feel heavy especially for how small and light the car is ,, bit saying that my old tt mk1 felt really heavy too

 

[Scott86]

I'm currently looking for non sport plastics but that looks pretty good actually so might give it a try

Cheers bud they clean up really easy tbh and makes a big difference not getting sticky fingers 👍

 

[Mr Underhill]

I'm running ns2r all around bud and they seem alright so far

But they're track day tyres, not road tyres.
I had Yokohama AD08RS on my 182. Those are the equivalent of NS2Rs.
The car was all over the place - tramlining here, there, and everywhere. I swapped them out for some Michelin Pilot Sport 3s, and it was like a Rolls Royce in comparison.
I sold a lad in Stockton my AD08RS to put on his Clio 182 as he said he's going to do the odd track day. I told him why I was selling them, so I advised him not to use them on the road.
He messaged me 2 days later asking if I knew of a good place that does tracking, as his car was tramlining all over the place. I asked him what tyres he was running, and he told me the Yokohama AD08RS that I sold him.
Go figure, Sherlock.