2004 Renaultsport Clio 182 Cup - Racing Blue
Discussion
Jonny_gti said:
What Evo did you go to and how does the R26 compare, reason I ask is I have a R26 just now but considering going the other way.
I went straight in at the deep end with an Evo 6 RS Sprint. It was number 5 of 12 built by Ralliart UK.Was just over 400bhp but lightweight & low ratio box so performance was great. Standing 1/4mile was high 11's.
The Evo was awesome and I won a sprint series in it but running costs werent cheap, especially with regular launches. Gbox, a grand. Clutch, a grand. Diff, a grand. You get the idea lol.
I had a Clio Trophy before the Evo and wanted to go back to something along those lines after I'd done the Evo thing.
To me the Trophy/R26 are all about pure handling whereas the Evo was brute force & mechanical grip.
I dont think youd go far wrong with either car.
Brad R26 said:
Current car which ive had 3years now and still loving it!
That has jogged my memory now, we met at Donington Brad, I think you'd just bought the R26 and were taking it out on track for the first time. Glad to see you're still enjoying it! Mine only stayed with me for about 4/5 months in the end as I did some more man maths and convinced myself I could afford to upgrade to a 250. Really do miss that car! I've been busy with the Clio, more updates to come soon.Brad R26 said:
To me the Trophy/R26 are all about pure handling whereas the Evo was brute force & mechanical grip.
Agree with this comment, same applies to my Impreza. There's so much grip that they're much more forgiving with aggressive driving, whereas Renaultsport cars are more sensitive to your inputs. Which makes driving them much more rewarding.Edited by BenLowden on Friday 3rd August 10:48
ilovequo said:
After my Trophy quesioning, i went and bought one!
Excellent! You went against my advice then 
Joking aside, if you got a good one for a decent price, then I've no doubt it'll hold its value. There are some stupid prices out there at the moment, but also some more honest cars around the £6/7K mark.Join the Trophy forum if you haven't already. I used BG Motorsport for my Sachs damper rebuild (if you need it) but I believe there's someone else doing them much cheaper now. I'm sure the other owners will be able to advise. You'll also be able to go on the annual Trophy weekender in Wales, one of the best driving weekends I've ever had! Enjoy
Been fairly busy on the little Clio. Really enjoying having a little project to tinker with when I've got time, but I'm still able to use it every day too. Being my third Clio, it's handy to know my way around it fairly well and not spend loads of time researching. Here's a few photos from its first quick clean.
I still haven't taken the stripes off the roof yet as they were so much hard work on the bonnet/boot. But after a snow foam, quick wash and spray of quick detailer, it was looking much better. If anyone has any tips for detailing out the faded marks from the stripes I'd really appreciate it!
Before/during:
After:
As it was missing the original front splitter, I picked up a Fabia splitter from my local Skoda dealership for around £15 and it's nearly as good as the original thing for 10% of the cost. I found a bargain Scorpion RS192 exhaust system so that's now ow, along with fresh OEM rear discs/pads.
While the Cup seats are probably the comfiest out of the lot, I really wanted a set of Trendlines from when I had my Trophy. I picked up a set with leather/alcantara rears from a lad on Cliosport, so those are in now too. Another before and after! Much better, although I forgot how high these sit on standard subframes. Complemented by a fresh set of Renaultsport mats.
And finally, I snapped up an unused Renaultsport Sparco wheel (another Cliosport buy) and got Volantech to make me a carbon fibre cruise control panel. It's a thing of beauty and works like a dream! Blue buttons are for the horn so I could keep the standard stalk. I was going to attempt to make one myself, but for £60 it was a no brainer.
That's me all caught up for now. It's booked in with Two Techs (Dartford) next week for a service, so will be reassuring once the team there have had a good look over it. All of my cars have gone to them, brilliant service and thoroughly recommend them to anyone!
I still haven't taken the stripes off the roof yet as they were so much hard work on the bonnet/boot. But after a snow foam, quick wash and spray of quick detailer, it was looking much better. If anyone has any tips for detailing out the faded marks from the stripes I'd really appreciate it!
Before/during:
After:
As it was missing the original front splitter, I picked up a Fabia splitter from my local Skoda dealership for around £15 and it's nearly as good as the original thing for 10% of the cost. I found a bargain Scorpion RS192 exhaust system so that's now ow, along with fresh OEM rear discs/pads.
While the Cup seats are probably the comfiest out of the lot, I really wanted a set of Trendlines from when I had my Trophy. I picked up a set with leather/alcantara rears from a lad on Cliosport, so those are in now too. Another before and after! Much better, although I forgot how high these sit on standard subframes. Complemented by a fresh set of Renaultsport mats.
And finally, I snapped up an unused Renaultsport Sparco wheel (another Cliosport buy) and got Volantech to make me a carbon fibre cruise control panel. It's a thing of beauty and works like a dream! Blue buttons are for the horn so I could keep the standard stalk. I was going to attempt to make one myself, but for £60 it was a no brainer.
That's me all caught up for now. It's booked in with Two Techs (Dartford) next week for a service, so will be reassuring once the team there have had a good look over it. All of my cars have gone to them, brilliant service and thoroughly recommend them to anyone!
DoubleTime said:
Looking good Ben.
Think I'll give two techs a try next year when the cup is recommissioned.
How much did the steering wheel set you back? Looks the part with the carbon.
Thanks! I think they're around £285 if you buy new from RPD but I picked this one up for £200. Was brand new in the box and never used so a good find!Think I'll give two techs a try next year when the cup is recommissioned.
How much did the steering wheel set you back? Looks the part with the carbon.
MRobbins1987 said:
Looks great Ben, it’s coming along quickly. A set of wheels will finish it off nicely.
Thanks Marc, ditto for yours! I'm keeping a look out and I could still go either way at the moment between the Turinis and 2118s, I think it'll just be a case of what comes up first for a good price.Coming along very nicely indeed! I love the wheel and the carbon panel, so much better than standard.
For your Recaro Trendlines, there is a chap on ClioSport that does/did new seat frames that lower them to a much better position. I’m not sure if he’s still doing them but it could be worth a search.
Good find on the RS192, I bought mine new 2 years ago and although it was a nightmare to line up (extreme OCD meant it took 3 hours of tinkering) I’m pleased with it. The RHS pipe does stick out a few mm more than the left though which does bug me
For your Recaro Trendlines, there is a chap on ClioSport that does/did new seat frames that lower them to a much better position. I’m not sure if he’s still doing them but it could be worth a search.
Good find on the RS192, I bought mine new 2 years ago and although it was a nightmare to line up (extreme OCD meant it took 3 hours of tinkering) I’m pleased with it. The RHS pipe does stick out a few mm more than the left though which does bug me
Looking good Ben, if you want the recaro's even lower you could remove the bungs which are in the floor where the mounting points go through, removing those will give you another 10mm lower IIRC.
I've had a couple of trophies, if the dampers aren't on point they feel more like a standard 182 cup.
If you need any 2118's I've a friend who's a dealer for speedline who could help you out no doubt.
One of the best upgrades I ever did on any of my clios was to fit a whiteline rear anti roll bar, it really gives the inside front wheel a lot more grip when finding the limit on road and track.
I've had a couple of trophies, if the dampers aren't on point they feel more like a standard 182 cup.
If you need any 2118's I've a friend who's a dealer for speedline who could help you out no doubt.
One of the best upgrades I ever did on any of my clios was to fit a whiteline rear anti roll bar, it really gives the inside front wheel a lot more grip when finding the limit on road and track.
AndrewGP said:
Coming along very nicely indeed! I love the wheel and the carbon panel, so much better than standard.
For your Recaro Trendlines, there is a chap on ClioSport that does/did new seat frames that lower them to a much better position. I’m not sure if he’s still doing them but it could be worth a search.
Good find on the RS192, I bought mine new 2 years ago and although it was a nightmare to line up (extreme OCD meant it took 3 hours of tinkering) I’m pleased with it. The RHS pipe does stick out a few mm more than the left though which does bug me
Thanks for that. I've seen a few people selling Jon Foz mounts so I'm guessing that's the guy! The RS192 only cost me £100 and it came with a cat which I sold for £35, so it has essentially only cost me £65 For your Recaro Trendlines, there is a chap on ClioSport that does/did new seat frames that lower them to a much better position. I’m not sure if he’s still doing them but it could be worth a search.
Good find on the RS192, I bought mine new 2 years ago and although it was a nightmare to line up (extreme OCD meant it took 3 hours of tinkering) I’m pleased with it. The RHS pipe does stick out a few mm more than the left though which does bug me
The tailpipes were heavily soiled and I think the corrosion is beyond saving which is a shame, but I'm not going to complain for the money.521EK9 said:
If you need any 2118's I've a friend who's a dealer for speedline who could help you out no doubt.
One of the best upgrades I ever did on any of my clios was to fit a whiteline rear anti roll bar, it really gives the inside front wheel a lot more grip when finding the limit on road and track.
That's very kind thank you, might have to take you up on that at some point. I had a Whiteline RARB on my 172 Cup and it cocked a wheel so easily with the added stiffness in the rear end. Never really thought about how it would affect the front though so that's interesting!One of the best upgrades I ever did on any of my clios was to fit a whiteline rear anti roll bar, it really gives the inside front wheel a lot more grip when finding the limit on road and track.
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