Thoughts/experience of Clio 182 pn track?

[Holmes14A]

Hello all, i've been offered a 182 for under 2k that I'm tempted to turn into a track car. Nothing serious, just a bit of fun. Does anybody run them or have experience of them?

It's already on Eibachs so apart from stripping it out I'd run it as it is until it blows, it's only done 64k so it should have a few laps left in it yet.

Thanks.

[Madgit]

Yes, got a 172 myself and they are superb. Mine's my daily too, doesn't need much to make it suitable for track. Just decent tyres and maybe look at upgrading the brakes. I drive in comfort to the track and reduce my tyre pressures a bit and that's it.

[Matt106]

I'd recommend changing the discs, pads, fluid and lines before your first track day. 2 laps of the Nurburgring at an average pace cooked my standard brakes.

Costly items are cambelt changes (£450+) including dephaser pulley. Apart from that it's a good all round package.

[Ian_sUK]

Have a look at a trackday website which shows you what cars are booked on for the day. Its not unusual to have 8 clios on a day. There is a reason for this.

[upsidedownmark]

Ian_sUK said:

Have a look at a trackday website which shows you what cars are booked on for the day. Its not unusual to have 8 clios on a day. There is a reason for this.

Absolutely. Also in my experience, half of the 'upgrade disks, pads and lines brigade' don't need to at all, they just need to use the slow pedal less / commit to the corners (no offence / slight / whatever to any of the previous posters, that's a generalism, I don't know about the clio particularly) Seems to me it'd make an excellent track car (if you like front wheel drive)

[ringweekends]

The answer is yes. Emphatic.

[_Neal_]

Matt106 said:

I'd recommend changing the discs, pads, fluid and lines before your first track day. 2 laps of the Nurburgring at an average pace cooked my standard brakes.

Fresh fluid's a good idea, but I'd say get it on track first and then work out what you need to upgrade, as in my view the standard car (172 in my case) has excellent brakes - front setup is from an Espace I think.

As said above, driving style (and commitment) plays a big part, so see what works for you. As to the car itself, definitely an excellent idea as a track toy

[Dr Slotter]

My 182 was great on track. As others have said, you might want to think about the brakes, but I used to find that by the time that they were beginning to fade it was about time to come in for a break for me anyway!

[BlackShadow888]

Hi, with a fair bit of RenaultSport experience on track, the recommendations about changing the pads/discs are to be listened to, you're already half way there with the uprated springs, a quality tyre is also recommended on these too, they understeer horrendously on budget models at the slightest hint of dampness.

A sub 70k 182 for under £2000 is also a potential bargain! Hope this helps.

[Holmes14A]

Thanks all, the car is bought and I'm just waiting for its private plate to come off then away we go!

Everything rear of the front seats may be ditched but I will probably leave that until after the first track day before I get the tools out.

My mates also just bought a 106 gti so for just a smidge over 2k we've got two cars! God bless EBay for his! The 106s body is......err, ok, but the engine and the drive of the thing is mint.

Oulton park may well be the first session. Updates to follow. Thanks again for the tips.

[th85]

Holmes14A said:

Thanks all, the car is bought and I'm just waiting for its private plate to come off then away we go!

Everything rear of the front seats may be ditched but I will probably leave that until after the first track day before I get the tools out.

My mates also just bought a 106 gti so for just a smidge over 2k we've got two cars! God bless EBay for his! The 106s body is......err, ok, but the engine and the drive of the thing is mint.

Oulton park may well be the first session. Updates to follow. Thanks again for the tips.

They're great fun the 172/182's. Which Oulton day are you looking to do?

[Holmes14A]

Well I got the car yesterday, I now need to replace a naff abs sensor, replace the windscreen and then away we go.

Was going to sort one for the near future, just depends on work/mrs/mate schedule.

Possible newbie question but do I need to invest in a helmet? Seems like a good idea either way.

[Porkie]

fabulous fun on track

[Stedman]

This^

[Madgit]

OMP and Sparco both do open face trackday helmets for around £50-60. You can obviously spend mega bucks but it is purely how much you are prepared to spend. Alternatively look at motorbike ones as they are still allowed for the forseeable future.