2004 Renaultsport Clio 182 Cup - Racing Blue
Discussion
After saying goodbye to my Megane 250 a couple of months ago, there has been a very big Renaultsport void in my life. James and Dan got me hooked three years ago when I started working at PH and in that time I've had a 182 Trophy, 172 Cup, R26 Megane 230 F1 and most recently my 321hp Megane 250.
I've decided to run a Readers' Car thread opposed to PH Fleet articles so I can be a bit more detailed on work this time, update the thread more frequently and not bore people to death on the homepage who've had enough of seeing my other articles! With my 208 GTI long termer handed over to Matt, I needed a sensible daily for my 110-mile round trip to the office. I stupidly bought an extremely dull Skoda Fabia Monte Carlo 1.6TDI which I sold within two months after I found this beauty of a 182 Cup. Obviously, a 14-year old Clio with a stiff clutch (they're all like that sir) is very sensible for covering motorway miles and sitting in traffic on the M25.
Now my third Clio and fifth Renaultsport, I had always wanted a Racing Blue 182 Cup from the start so I just couldn't resist when this came up. 70K miles, completely original and had been with its previous lady owner for 12 years.
I've got it to use as a daily, but also a project to tweak and refresh and I'm sure it'll slowly become more track focused. It had the Gordini stripes from the factory, but they were very tired and cracked so that was my first job. Took about two hours to get them off the boot and bonnet with the roof still to go, with a hair dryer, old credit card and tar remover. As expected the paint discolouration is fairly obvious but I'm hoping this will detail out, otherwise I'll be putting a fresh set of stripes back on.
To start I've ordered new rear discs/pads as one of the rear bearings is quite noisy (these are integrated in the discs), new OEM suspension dampers, top mounts and Cooksport lowering springs. Amazingly it's still on the original exhaust which has cleaned up fairly well, although it's knackered as the internals have fallen apart and are rattling around like a piggy bank so that needs to go too. More to come soon!
I've decided to run a Readers' Car thread opposed to PH Fleet articles so I can be a bit more detailed on work this time, update the thread more frequently and not bore people to death on the homepage who've had enough of seeing my other articles! With my 208 GTI long termer handed over to Matt, I needed a sensible daily for my 110-mile round trip to the office. I stupidly bought an extremely dull Skoda Fabia Monte Carlo 1.6TDI which I sold within two months after I found this beauty of a 182 Cup. Obviously, a 14-year old Clio with a stiff clutch (they're all like that sir) is very sensible for covering motorway miles and sitting in traffic on the M25.
Now my third Clio and fifth Renaultsport, I had always wanted a Racing Blue 182 Cup from the start so I just couldn't resist when this came up. 70K miles, completely original and had been with its previous lady owner for 12 years.
I've got it to use as a daily, but also a project to tweak and refresh and I'm sure it'll slowly become more track focused. It had the Gordini stripes from the factory, but they were very tired and cracked so that was my first job. Took about two hours to get them off the boot and bonnet with the roof still to go, with a hair dryer, old credit card and tar remover. As expected the paint discolouration is fairly obvious but I'm hoping this will detail out, otherwise I'll be putting a fresh set of stripes back on.
To start I've ordered new rear discs/pads as one of the rear bearings is quite noisy (these are integrated in the discs), new OEM suspension dampers, top mounts and Cooksport lowering springs. Amazingly it's still on the original exhaust which has cleaned up fairly well, although it's knackered as the internals have fallen apart and are rattling around like a piggy bank so that needs to go too. More to come soon!
Edited by BenLowden on Thursday 16th August 18:27
AndrewGP said:
Excellent choice! That looks very clean indeed.
Definitely the best colour for the 182s and good ones are getting rare now. Here's mine which has just ticked over 52k miles and is standard apart from an RS192 exhaust and Cooksport Springs:
You might be able to get the paint under the stripes sorted with a good machine polish, but as you're probably aware the paint on these clios is exceptionally hard, so it might take a couple of goes.
What are your plans to make it more track focussed?
Thanks! And yours looks lovely – there are so many stripped or badly modified cars out there now that it's hard to come by a nice clean one. In terms of track prep, they don't actually need that much as they're so good out of the box. I managed to boil the fluid in my Trophy within 20 minutes at Spa and the pedal feel was horrible, so I'll be fitting braided lines and ATE Type 200 fluid as I have on all my others.Definitely the best colour for the 182s and good ones are getting rare now. Here's mine which has just ticked over 52k miles and is standard apart from an RS192 exhaust and Cooksport Springs:
You might be able to get the paint under the stripes sorted with a good machine polish, but as you're probably aware the paint on these clios is exceptionally hard, so it might take a couple of goes.
What are your plans to make it more track focussed?
As it'll mainly be for road use to start with I'm going with Cooksport springs like you, although I did have BC Racing coilovers on my 172 Cup and they were incredible on track but a bit too firm on the road in honesty. Looking forward to seeing how the springs feel on their own with a fresh set of dampers. One of the best mods I've found is the Pure Motorsport top mount and strut brace kit, makes the front end really sharp and pointy so that's on the list at some point, along with a Whiteline RARB.
But for now my main focus is to tidy it up where needed and replace any tired OEM parts. I only ever made reversible mods so anything aftermarket that does go onto it will probably come off again when the time comes to put it back to standard. I had my Trophy detailed when I had it and I remember the chap saying how incredible hard the paint was, so should make it fun when it comes to working on the paintwork...
MRobbins1987 said:
Very nice, I’ve just gone back to a 182 after a few years away, got a few problems getting it started at the moment but they are brilliant fun on track.
My old RB
That looks great! Really struggling over whether to go for Turinis or 2118s for wheels. Hmm...My old RB
Jonny_gti said:
Looks great mate, What's been your favourite renaultsport you've had so far?
Cheers! Probably my 172 Cup for the value for money. I wouldn't buy another Trophy now as I just don't think they justify the premium. My 250 was absolutely sensational, but obviously a lot more money than a 1*2.If you're looking to spend £10-15K on a hot hatch then I'd thoroughly recommend a 250/265/275 and would have another in a heartbeat but in terms of bang for buck, you really can't beat an old Clio. Which is exactly why I've come back to another!
AndrewGP said:
Agreed 
2118s possibly better on track though being 15" rather than the 16" for the turinis.
Tyres are marginally cheaper on 15s too. But it's mostly down to personal preference, although I am leaning towards 2118s at the moment.2118s possibly better on track though being 15" rather than the 16" for the turinis.
ilovequo said:
How does it stack against a Trophy?
Are the big seats and dampers really worth a £5 or 6k premium?
Frankly, no. When I bought my Trophy, I paid £4,250 for it but there's no way I'd pay the premium now. You could pick up a set of Recaro Trendlines and the Sachs dampers for around £1,500 if you wanted to replicate it (Trophy rear spoilers seem to fetch around £400/500 too), but with the rebuild schedule/costs with the Sachs I think you'd be better off with a set of coilovers or some decent springs with a fresh set of OEM dampers.Are the big seats and dampers really worth a £5 or 6k premium?
Arguably my 182 Cup is rarer with only 371 made in Racing Blue compared to 500 for the Trophy in the UK. You're really just paying for the Trophy badge and of course there will always be those that want the exclusivity or the best in a model line up. I'll confess I'm one of them but having had one, I'd buy a standard 182 and spend the money on other things now.
Brad R26 said:
Good shout on the Clio Ben, great colour too!
Very similar to me except I went the Evo route after my 182 Trophy then came back to Renault with the R26.
I do like the Scoobs though, sound great!
Keep us updated.
Ps. Go for the 2118's
Thanks Brad! I do love an Evo and I'll maybe own one some day, but the Scooby was always the hero car for me. You're either one or the other really aren't you. That and Evo values seem to be climbing at a faster rate than the Impreza, so it was more affordable.Very similar to me except I went the Evo route after my 182 Trophy then came back to Renault with the R26.
I do like the Scoobs though, sound great!
Keep us updated.
Ps. Go for the 2118's
Haha thanks, I've pretty much got my heart set on 2118s as I've had Turinis before, so just need to wait until I can get a set at the right price.
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.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.
Chris x said:
Mmmm.... trying to work out if I’m the person that sold you the exhaust?! Bexhill?
You are indeed, small world! Thanks for the bargain buy MDifficult said:
Seriously Ben, ENOUGH with the cars I covet! 
This looks like an awesome little toy - well done!
Thanks Tom. We'll sort out a deal when the time comes... Have you got space for the Impreza and the Clio though?! This looks like an awesome little toy - well done!
Norbury90 said:
Coming along really nicely that Ben! Was good to have a chat at JCB last weekend too. The more I think about it, I'm sure this car was for sale when I bought mine 3 years ago, I only wimped out because it was a private sale and didn't fancy the worry of the potential for something to go wrong with it so I bought one from a dealer. I didnt know enough about Clios back then to trust myself with a private car. It looks great though!
The only frustration I have is that I saw you are selling your standard wheels now... I would have had them off you at JCB if I had known! Oh well. I might have to check in before any future PH meets to see if you as selling anything else
Likewise! It might have been a similar one but the lady I bought this from had it for 12 years. I bought all of mine privately but then all had very good history and touch wood, they've been the most reliable cars I've ever owned!The only frustration I have is that I saw you are selling your standard wheels now... I would have had them off you at JCB if I had known! Oh well. I might have to check in before any future PH meets to see if you as selling anything else
Ah that's a shame about the wheels. The ones I'm selling are from a spare set I bought just for the tyres. The new PH event we were talking about is launching tomorrow, so check in on the homepage
joshleb said:
Love the colour, shame to see the stripe go. I hope you replace, I really think it works on these against the blue.
Been trying the man maths for the last year, but l can't justify one whilst living in London alas.
Even if I wanted to keep them, they were so deteriorated they needed to go to be honest. I might replace them with a new set but will see how the car looks if I'm able to detail out the fade or not.Been trying the man maths for the last year, but l can't justify one whilst living in London alas.
If it helps, they're not really dropping in value now and you can get them so cheap anyway, you would hardly lose any money. Plus you're not far from Brands Hatch...
Bit more progress over the last week. I picked up a broken set of Xenons for £40 and fixed the snapped adjusters for a fiver with BMW parts. They had gone milky so I cleaned them up with the Autoglym headlight restorer kit – not perfect but pretty decent for a cordless drill job.
Then it was in at Two Techs in Dartford for a service on Friday and given a clean bill of health. Always reassuring getting the team there to have a good look over my cars, I've taken all five of my Renaultsport's to them. After loads of reading I decided to go for Fuchs Titan Race Pro S 5W-40 ester fully synthetic oil from Opie Oils and it's running lovely now. Just need to finish sorting the brakes/suspension and I'll be ready for a track day!
Then it was in at Two Techs in Dartford for a service on Friday and given a clean bill of health. Always reassuring getting the team there to have a good look over my cars, I've taken all five of my Renaultsport's to them. After loads of reading I decided to go for Fuchs Titan Race Pro S 5W-40 ester fully synthetic oil from Opie Oils and it's running lovely now. Just need to finish sorting the brakes/suspension and I'll be ready for a track day!
Should have rounded this off last year. I ended up PXing the car with my mate to buy my Megane 250 back. A bit of a shame that I didn't get to do everything I had planned, but the opportunity was too good to pass up.
Would wholeheartedly recommend a little 172/182 to anyone; there's nothing better for the money out there and ironically they've been the most reliable cars I've ever owned!
Would wholeheartedly recommend a little 172/182 to anyone; there's nothing better for the money out there and ironically they've been the most reliable cars I've ever owned!
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