Clio 172 cup 820kg 'gripper' lsd track project

[luigi33]

Probably about time to introduce myself to the clio community and update a little on the clio cup track car that was recently purchased for track use.
Purchased a clio cup 172 from Pistonheads in October with this spec:
Stone Automotive RS2 inlet manifold
Blitz 80mm s/steel mesh filter
Solid engine mounts
Oreca Group A exhaust, 182 manifold (heat wrapped)
Crank breather, Silicone hoses throughout
Alloy radiator and fan, Mocal 19 row oil cooler, Magnecor 8.5 leads
KW2 v2 coilovers with Comprace top mounts (3.5 deg-camber)
Koni fully adjustable rear suspension, Whiteline rear ARB (1 deg rear shims)
Fully poly bushed, Front OMP strutbrace
DCi steering rack (no PAS, no ABS, no A/C)
Bremo front and rear discs, Wilwood 4 pot calipers, braided brake lines
Pagid front race pads, Yellow stuff rear pads, Cup Racer brake ducts
Speedline 2118 Cup Racer alloys with 195/50x15 A048's
Short-shift kit
SPA 3 stage shift lights and rev gauge and removable steering wheel
F/glass doors and boot, Lexan windows, composite seats
Custom Cages rear rollcage
Cup Racer roof mounted air scoop
Motorbike battery in boot, master cut-out switch, starter button and ignition switch
Sabelt 5-point harnesses, floor-mounted fire extinguisher, single wiper, carbon GT mirrors, and carbon bonnet, Morette headlamps with direct feed to filter, spare steel wheel/jack

Good points - it was light, engine was eager and went pretty well
Bad points - mirrors were pretty much unusable, wind nearly blew the fibreglass door off and inside wheel was lighting up on some corner exit

 

[bozothenutter]

wow that is an angry looking Clio, all that seems to be missing from that spec is the rollcentre kit...*grin*

 

[luigi33]

 

[haimsey]

I like the way this looks! Nice spec too

 

[run_pug]

This is bloody awesome

 

[luigi33]

There was a few things to sort out, firstly was the new OEM VALEO clutch as its a track toy so don't need stronger clutch:

Then it was time to box up the dirty old gearbox and send away to Competition transmission services for a rebuild and Gripper diff:

 

[luigi33]

 

[Martin.]

I can remember seeing this at Brands. Everything was ridiculously light weight

Not fancy going for some super light weight wheels too?

 

[Martin.]

Gripper diff for £1038? That seems a bargain.

 

[luigi33]

I can remember seeing this at Brands. Everything was ridiculously light weight :smile:

Not fancy going for some super light weight wheels too?

This is like a build thread that I should have started months ago Already sorted that bought these pro race 1.2's and put some rainsport3 wet tyres on there but will swap them over next year as didn't realise how much lighter they are than the speedlines

 

[Mini182]

Where have you been hiding this one?

Looks good, and some nice mods there as well.

 

[NorthloopCup]

Gripper diff for £1038? That seems a bargain.

Don't forget you need the adapter plate for the oe crownwheel and that's welded on to it (that's the additional £180 on the invoice). I get these for £1095 delivered and that includes the adapter plate and your crownwheel welded on to it. All you have to do is post your original open diff to gripper so they can remove the oe crownwheel off it.

Nice car though this one. Used to belong to Nightspirit.

 

[Martin.]

Don't forget you need the adapter plate for the oe crownwheel and that's welded on to it (that's the additional £180 on the invoice). I get these for £1095 delivered and that includes the adapter plate and your crownwheel welded on to it. All you have to do is post your original open diff to gripper so they can remove the oe crownwheel off it.

Nice car though this one. Used to belong to Nightspirit.

Thanks for clearing that up!

Good price that you can get them for mate.

Not for me though lol.

 

[SamHowell]

Awesome car! Really impressed when watching it go round Brands. Given me inspiration to crack on with mine

 

[Iain C]

Sounds serious. I liked the idea of a diff till I saw that price

 

[barnesautos]

Great looking mean motor indeed -
Great spec too , very nice
Subscribed :

Are you booked up on the 28th Feb 2015 at bedford by any chance , would love to see this in the flesh .

 

[-J-]

Quite an aggressive looking little car you have there!

 

[Korky]

Really like this, will be keeping an eye on it

 

[luigi33]

Are you booked up on the 28th Feb 2015 at bedford by any chance , would love to see this in the flesh

Not sure yet depends on weather as car has no heater system now

 

[Welsh.Dan]

Great build! Like it a lot.
Looks ugly and nasty, in a good way
Look forward to updates!

 

[luigi33]

After a gust of wind nearly blowing the doors off at Llandow and ripping the leather strap:

It was time for something a bit more sturdy:

 

[sonny172cup]

Great car, remember having a mooch around this a few years ago.

I would look into getting a correct harness bar as thats a disaster waiting to happen, even more so as its a track car.

Also (you may have done already) but make sure you put some form of spreader plate behind strap bolt on the door side otherwise it will pull right through the lightweight door.

 

[nightSpirit]

I miss this car...to think I flogged it for a Radical!
Awesome to see you taking a similar approach to details

 

[neil a]

This is seriously light , just had mine weighed at 920kg and I thought I was doing well. Interested in extra areas for weight loss ,so will be keeping an eye on this.

 

[ChewyB]

Not sure yet depends on weather as car has no heater system now

Does it steam up much?

 

[loggyboy]

This is my perfect clio.... minus the silly bonnet and roof vent.

 

[luigi33]

Does it steam up much?

Slapped a lot of Rain X on there and it seemed to do the job. The roof vent does a pretty good job of putting airflow into the car

 

[ChewyB]

Slapped a lot of Rain X on there and it seemed to do the job. The roof vent does a pretty good job of putting airflow into the car

Did you block the holes off to the outside? I'm thinking of doing this to my track car I use it on the road but only to drive to and from tracks. Considering fitting a T7 matrix as well

 

[sonny172cup]

Check out my thread, have the T7 fitted now for 2 seasons.

 

[ChewyB]

Check out my thread, have the T7 fitted now for 2 seasons.

I've just looked through that but of your thread looks a mint project that mate. How you getting on with the T7 now? Is It as effective at clearing the screen as standard? I'm not sure how well it will work without drawing air from outside?

 

[sonny172cup]

Its been fine, the T7 has 4 outlets, i have blocked 2 up and direct the airflow vie 2 tubes into the original demist vents behind the dash. The air gets drawn from within the cabin vie the T7 fan. I would say its the same power as setting 2/3 on the oem fans.

I use a roof scoop and window vent for outside air as my bulkhead external holes have been sealed up.

 

[luigi33]

Haven't been posting for a while but a number of updates on the car:
New Odyssey battery, new track rod ends, 4 wheel laser alignment done, brake pads changed with EBC yellow.
Went to Brands today and used their car scale (I am told these are very accurate):

837kg with half a tank of fuel isn't bad

Managed some small amount of footage:

 

[sonny172cup]

You better change the thread title good going mate, but no cage :/

 

[loggyboy]

You better change the thread title :wink: good going mate, but no cage :/

Rear cage in the weighbridge/scales pics..?

 

[sonny172cup]

Thats not going to do much looking at the pace of the OP on track....

 

[luigi33]

Thats not going to do much looking at the pace of the OP on track....

I had an instruction session yesterday and he advised a full roll cage.
Are you suggesting a full roll cage would be safer?

 

[sonny172cup]

Yes big time, if you roll it and land on the front part of your roof then you may be compressed into your seat, as you have a harness so your stuck upright, Funnily if you don't have a cage a normal seat and seat belt is more safer as you can slip out from the crush. It gets even more scarier if your car lands on top of a crash barrier and knife edges the roof down.

 

[NorthloopCup]

I had an instruction session yesterday and he advised a full roll cage.
Are you suggesting a full roll cage would be safer?

See if custom cages will sell you just the front section to the cage you have if you decide full cage. That's 100% a custom cages rear cage.

 

[luigi33]

Yes it is custom cages. Now feeling unsafe and paranoid. Thanks for heads up!