Renault Sport Clio 182

[Simon182]

5678 said:

Love my 182!

The fact it's stayed for nearly 3 years speaks volumes for it!

Get some eibach if you like to press on. They make a nice difference. One of the best things I've done to mine was a full suspension refresh. New OEM dampers, balljoints, inner & outer track rods, steering rack bushes and powerflex wishbone and arb bushes. Makes a very significant difference.

Have you stuck some DS2500s in yet?

I'm looking at changing the springs at some point, wanted some Cooksport but they never seem to be in stock so it's looking like the Eibach sportlines will be getting purchased instead.

I've got a full brembo setup on mine at the moment, I refreshed all the brakes when I bought it which was just as well as the pads were practically seized into the calipers and discs weren't great either. Genuine rear discs with KTEC pads and full brembo on the front and I've not had a bad thing to say about the setup so far apart from it's starting to squeal a little on slow speed braking.

[Simon182]

Cooksport Springs by Simon_89, on Flickr


Cooksport Springs by Simon_89, on Flickr


Cooksport Springs by Simon_89, on Flickr

Arrived

[Simon182]

At the moment I'm just going to fit the suspension with fresh top mounts, I don't really have the spare money to buy new dampers too.

Labour won't be a problem, I will be fitting the suspension either during the week or next weekend so can't wait

[Simon182]

"Before" shot of the ride height:



Bolts out, springs dropped out:


New vs Old:






Fronts needed bullying with plusgas and rattle gun, didn't take long though - also must have got the car under 1000kgs with all of the crud I chiseled off the bolts...



I was nervous about us not being able to undo these, but they pretty much just fell off when we touched them...



Cruddy...



New vs Old top mount bearing:



Shiney shiney...



And the after shot, the spring you can see in front of the car is not a part we forgot to put back in... I don't think.



Car felt fine from the test run, no creaks rattles or bangs - but my 4000 mile old Continentals have been knackered on the inside edge, so I definitely need to sort the alignment out before the Xmas closure and potentially look at replacing 2 CS3 tyres I reckon

[Simon182]

Thanks guys, subsequently the ride is a bit stiffer but the car is so much flatter through the corners, really gives you confidence.

I got the tracking done on Monday evening, the half toe was miles out on either side and it's all back to manufacturer settings

[Simon182]

Untitled by Simon_89, on Flickr


Untitled by Simon_89, on Flickr

As you can see the exhaust has cracked where it enters the rear silencer, ironically the plate that is meant to strengthen the pipe has also come off. Luckily the garage I went to knows someone who can weld stainless steel and are charging me £15 for having it welded up.


Untitled by Simon_89, on Flickr

I also need to get my centre section sorted as it seems to put my cat at a funny angle and I think it is causing it to blow slightly from the cat/manifold joint

[Simon182]

First up was to sort out the gear stick, the cover was really heavily marked and looked a mess

Untitled by Simon_89, on Flickr

So I popped onto eBay and for a couple of quid I just got myself a normal Clio one, goes with my black dash strips

Untitled by Simon_89, on Flickr

Also decided to give my seatbelts a clean yesterday after seeing a couple of people on here managing to get them silver again, unfortunately I didn't manage to get after photos as it was getting dark but you can see how bad the drivers one was

Untitled by Simon_89, on Flickr

Got a couple of more things I need to update on but haven't had time to get photos of them yet.

[Simon182]

Did Blyton Park yesterday, isn't quite as intimidating as Cadwell Park and is also suited quite well for the smaller cars like Clios.





















and finally...one to add to the collection

[Simon182]

[Simon182]

It wasn't a full fat when I bought it but it needs the spoiler and a splitter putting on them to make them stand out over the standard Clios. You've done the right thing, when I got my belts replaced with the dephaser and a service was £700!

[Simon182]

172/182's have dephasers, they are a VVT engine. I wouldn't pay £4.5k for a normal sport, you could be looking at Trophys for that sort of money that have been looked after.

[Simon182]

I wouldn't say it was one to avoid. Just make sure it has been maintained, these engines love to be revved and ones with minimal oil changes will start to show their age. Also another reason why some may be cheap is due to the cambelt needing replacement, on a 182 you are looking at £500/600 which will usually include the auxiliary belt and dephaser.

If you were going to use it on track I'd personally look out for a 172, around 100kg lighter and cambelts etc are cheaper due to them not having air conditioning.

If you want me to look at any adverts, just let me know

[Simon182]

http://youtu.be/sFWKypS-44w

A little bit of footage of the Clio going around Blyton on Tuesday.

http://youtu.be/lhkVz2r26Iw

A funny trailer that my mate put together, he was also the one who did the footage above.

[Simon182]

I'm near York, so pretty central to most of Yorkshire.

Well if you did find one that hadn't been done, I'd take it on your own back to get it done at a specialist as it's easy to cock the timing up and be down on power.

I do sometime get a bit fed up of it but I then remind myself why I bought it and how much fun you can have on track with them.

[Simon182]

New track day alloys, has a lovely TUV stamp on the inside of the alloys too

[Simon182]

Washing up powder in a bucket of hot water. If you unbolt your seatbelt from the lower rail and use pegs to hold the belt out fully extended. Leave the belt in the water for a good 20mins or so to soak and then I used a nail brush, better having someone handy to either hold the belt tight or to brush like there is no tomorrow

[Simon182]

[Simon182]

I'd happily spend up to £3k on a 182 providing the mileage was half decent, circa 60k and that both belts and dephaser had been replaced very recently.

[Simon182]

[Simon182]

I've got Cooksport springs on, looking at a whiteline this year.

My gearbox is sound, doesn't struggle to get in any gear .