“It's just a daily” - Renaultsport Clio 182

[frayz]

Not much to update but a few more odds and sods.

Wen I first owned the car I fitted what was at the time a pretty high spec Alpine HU. FFwd to now and I wanted one that would stream from my phone as well as have a full high speed iPod connection.
So swapped out the CDE-113BT for a CDE-178BT.
Also fitted a new prototype poly dogbone from Phillip M. This is really quite impressive, much improved gear selection and control of the engines torque reaction. However absolutely zero increase in NVH... it’s wizardry I’m sure.
Swapped out my OEM aerial from that of a latest gen Fiesta to keep the OEM+ type finish and finally swapped my orange Speedline decals for some white ones.
I really liked the idea of them in orange but wasn’t quite convinced once fitted. Personally I like the white better as it looks more OEM to the Speedline wheel.

Big service to come this week from Alex at AW Motorworks so looking forward to getting that done too.


Alpine 113BT out
Alpine 178BT in

I prefer the appearance of the original if im honest, but function over form in this case



New aerial fitted (not sure why PH has put this image on its side?)



New poly dogbone fitted, developed by PhillipM. This isn't your usual solid bush setup, this had been designed and developed with an internal honeycomb structure to actually firm up as its loaded up but without increasing NVH. Its wizardry and genuinely impressive.



White SpeedlineCorse decals



Hard to see in the lighting but enjoying a driveway of "handling" nirvana

Edited by frayz on Monday 15th July 19:48

Edited by frayz on Monday 15th July 19:53

[frayz]

mr shoddy said:

Could you please share more details of how to clean the grotty seat belts? I'm just thinking about doing mine.

Yeah no problem.

- Unbolt the lower fixing on the front belts, think they're a TX40 bit from memory.
- Twist the steel arm up and inline with the B pillar, it will now come out and you can unhook the belt.
- Pull the belt out all the way and put a heavy duty clamp or similar on the top of the belt to stop the inertia reel pulling it back in, you don't have to do this but does make life a little easier.
- Place a bucket of water/all purpose cleaner on each seat and soak the belts in the cleaner solution for an hour or so.
- Shut the belt in the door so that 90% of it now outside the vehicle, this will be the dirty part anyway.
- Get a friend who doesn't mind getting a little splashed to hold the belt out and hit it with a pressure washer.
- Once clean, they will be soaking wet, so wrap them up in a clean towel or hang them outside the vehicle to dry in the sun.
- Refit

[frayz]

RM said:

Where can the wizard dogbone mounts be bought?

Drop Phillip a PM, I got mine direct from him. His exhaust mounts are available through Kam Racing.

[frayz]

RM said:

Sorry to bombard you with questions, what is the velcro tape you used? I'm planning a similar refresh before the winter to my 182.

Edited by RM on Tuesday 16th July 09:31

I had some at home already, but you can buy it in various widths from the likes of eBay or Amazon. Just a thin 20mm wide strip of "loop" (soft fuzzy side) works perfectly.

[frayz]

MikeGoodwin said:

Is this the same inferno I remember from Cliosport.net known mainly for having an immaculate exhaust and underbody? Going back a while now. Ive frequented that website for about 12 years.


That R is lovely.

Could be Mike, not sure.

I purchased it in march 2011 (8k miles), Sold in june 2015 (84k miles)
Just brought it back in June 2019 almost 5 years to the day (112k miles)

Thank you, i do love the R, such an overlooked car.

[frayz]

chrismc1977 said:

Very nice OEM+ example, A RS equivalent of my DC2

Really not a fan of the black on orange wheels though. Maybe as a track set- but the original 182 wheel looks so much better IMO

Cheers Chris, I'm glad you actually used the term OEM+. As OEM+ is exactly where I'm heading with it.

I still have the OEM wheels, however these are the "Cup" Speedlines. I must admit I've always liked the black as i think it works well with orange and provides a nice contrast, but perhaps when they next need a refresh i may be tempted with an anthracite or bright silver finish on them.

Speedline Turinis happen to be one of my all time favourite wheel designs and IMO look absolutely perfect on the little Clio.

[frayz]

Some great info on the Renaultsport heritage website.

https://web.archive.org/web/20140209023453/http://...

(UK) Only ever 148 Renaultsport Clio 182's in Inferno orange, less than 113 ever made in Inferno orange with both cup packs.
Mine had both the Cup chassis and Cup spoiler/splitter pack.

Edited by frayz on Tuesday 16th July 14:11

[frayz]

Dropped the car with Alex at AW Motorworks tonight for a few days. She’s in for a fair bit of love.

Cambelt kit.
Aux belt kit.
Dephaser pulley.
Cam oil seal kit & caps.
Crank bolt.
Water pump & Antifreeze.
Full OEM clutch kit with release bearing
Gearbox oil
Engine oil/filter

All being well she should be back by the end of the week and feeling refreshed.

Also means I’ll have to use the R for work for a few days.

Please don’t rain
Please don’t rain
Please don’t rain

[frayz]

majorjoy said:

Congratulations on finally getting your dream car mate...That Cayman R looks special too ;}
I got a 2001 172 last year for weekend Dales fun and the odd trackday - i'd never driven one before but was hooked after the first roundabout of the test drive...Such direct and fun motors - the little buggers will keep up with absolutely anything on a typical uk B road. Mine owes me about 5k for what I paid and the mods that i've had done which is a bargain in my eyes.
I highly recommend fitting a Whiteline rear ARB which eliminates all but very tight/slow corner understeer and the balance when you're on it becomes totally neutral.
All the best with getting yours as you want it, please keep the updates coming...I love these little gems!
Going to get the old lass out tomorrow for a run round my Dales ring to properly give the new PMS shifter a workout as it's been sat for 3 weeks due to work. Here's my Monaco...

Edited by majorjoy on Tuesday 16th July 23:25

Thanks, that looks the business on Willy wheels. Always loved those Speedlines and could be tempted if a cheap set came up.
I really like the idea of the PMS shifter, but for a daily drive, im not so sure its rattling is something i can live with and not so sure it would suit the otherwise stock interior.
I am really tempted to make on interior mod in the shape of a proper seat that gets me lower in the car. I love how the car drives, i just wish i was lower in it.

[frayz]

Rensko said:

From memory, the archived list on the Renault UK website was just for sales, not total production figures. There are a handful (15 iirc) of Inferno (or Blood Orange) cars in Australia - most came with the F1 wing and Cup Suspension, however there were two which had neither...

I wish I had a Cayman in my garage. I guess I'll have to stick to my Octavia 103TSI for the time being...

Ah i did caveat the post by putting (UK) in brackets. Nice to hear there are some of these over the pond

[frayz]

trails said:

That’s is where your engine crane has been...oh the irony, it could have been used to do your belts. Life rewards my friend ha

You're friggen kidding!!

(Facepalm)

[frayz]

ilovequo said:

Beautiful Porsche. Lovely Clio. Good Story. Nice Restoration.
Keep it coming - bought a Trophy last year and in love with it... You’ve inspired me to do some tweaking at it!

Nice one,
I was actually on the hunt for a Trophy if i was unable to get my old Inferno back. As much as id love a Trophy, this car means more to me just because of its history.
Sad i know! lol.

[frayz]

trails said:

Nope...I'll leave it up to you to decide if you tell Alex or not

FFS.
Does Alex know it was mine?

He must do, lmao

[frayz]

trails said:

frayz said:

FFS.
Does Alex know it was mine?

He must do, lmao

Maybe I could take you to collect the Clio...we will find out for sure then

Ah well, done now. At least it was in decent hands

[frayz]

The usual awesome service from my good friend Mark @ MarkOne Graphics. He made my original plates 8 years ago and has just made a new pair to freshen the car up once more.
He also made me some “made in Dieppe” decals of which I may/may not fit.
Got this idea from the Porsche GT boys some of whom fit “made in flacht” to the rear of their cars. A google search brought up some barcode designs, so went with those.

[frayz]

Collected the car from Alex @ AW Motorworks this evening and I have to say it drives like a totally different car.
I gave Alex instruction that he was to go through the car from top to bottom and although didn’t have an “open chequebook” he was to replace anything that was required.
I was delighted to hear he was very pleased with the cars condition and how unmolested it is.
It really is in very clean condition throughout, so that was good to hear.

She’s received the following new genuine Renault parts.

Full cambelt kit.
Cambelt kit.
Aux belt kit.
Dephaser pulley.
Cam oil seal kit & caps.
Crank bolt.
Water pump & Antifreeze.
Full OEM clutch kit with release bearing.
Gearbox oil.
Engine oil & filter.
Rear main oil seal.
Rear main cap sealing.
Sump gasket.
New upper engine mount.
New upper gearbox mount.

The new OEM engine mounts and clutch make the car so smooth to drive. I dare say once all my new suspension components go on, it will drive like a completely new car.

As a vehicle development engineer and mechanic by trade I am very pleased with Alex’s work and his ethic.
Highly recommended to anyone.

[frayz]

andyj007 said:

your a mechanic by trade and yet got someone else to do the work? an interesting thought..wish i could trust other people to do my job as equally good or better than myself.. my life would be far easier.....

The belt service on a Clio is a right royal pain in the arse and cheaper for me to go to work and pay a good specialist mechanic to do it than it is for me to buy the parts/timing tools and time.

Alex did the belts before when I first had them done 5 years ago when he worked at Engine Dynamics.
He’s since setup his own business doing specialist RenaultSport servicing and mechanics.

Having been more than happy with previous work, I had no reservations about his work this time around either. But arguably, you’re correct for the most part. I don’t trust anyone else to work on my cars.

[frayz]

So with the car back from AWM and driving so much better...
pics, everyone loves pics.

[frayz]

With the original number plates made over 8 years ago now, they were showing their age. New ones on with some fresh 3M dual locks freshen up the car a treat.
Also fitted a small “Vive Le Sport” decal as a historical nod to the racing turbo Renault’s back in the 80s. (Excuse the dust, I’d just wiped it with a microfibre lol)

[frayz]

Court_S said:

That’s a lovely little thing.

I’m a big fan of these. A family friend worked for Renault back when these were new, so we got crazy discounts on them and as such there were a lot of Renaults in the family ranging from Espace, Laguna V6 to a couple of RS cars. My uncle had a 172 that he razzed around in for six months before trading it in for a 735. Later on he ordered a full fat 182 with the cup pack but passed away before it arrived. Maybe that’s why I have such a soft spot for the 182; the later cars never quite appealed like these did. I came close to buying one in Gordini blue but ended up in an E46 325ti instead.

The work done to your car looks fab.

Thank you sir,
Yes its getting there, bit by bit. Its never too late to get yourself in one of these. Providing they have been mechanically cared for then they pretty much go on forever. Parts are inexpensive and for the most part, readily available.

Even with a near 600bhp Impreza and a Cayman R, there something about driving a little Renaultsport Clio that is just so damn right. They're utterly wonderful little things to drive.