“It's just a daily” - Renaultsport Clio 182
Discussion
TL;DR - I bought back my originally owned Renaultsport Clio 182, it was a standard car. Now the "gloves are off" for modding the hell out of it, and restoring it to my perfect fast road spec (daily driver) 182
Bear with me guys,
Back in 2011 i purchased a mint 8k mile Clio 182 full fat from a friend. I was absolutely mint and i adored it.
It was my every day car that also used to see everything from taking the girlfiend out (now wife) to the Nurburgring. I owned it for 4.5 years and 84k miles and all i did was service it. I can honestly say it never once let me down.
Then i fancied a change and stupidly sold it to another friend for what i now know was a downgrade to a MIni GP1.
I never gelled with the GP and after many attempts to love it, sold it 18 months later to chase my Porsche dream and Cayman R ownership, my daily became a Fiesta ST150 as it was a cheap reliable car at the time.
However to this day, id always claimed the little Cup chassis Clio was pound for pound the best car id ever owned.
The day i collected it in 2011.
One of many Snetterton days
Her first Ring trip
The hideous replacement
The bargaining chip
The dream
Fast forward 4.5 years!!
God awful MIni GP gone, replaced with my dream Cayman R (manual, carbon seats and all the good bits). With the GP as my daily and buying the Cayman, i needed a new daily so picked up a minity mint one owner Fiesta ST. Owned by a mate at work who had loved it like his first child. It was beautifully kept but possibly the dullest car I've owned. Looked quite pretty but dull gutless engine, overdamped, non playful chassis and an ESP system that was almost as fun sapping as the dire GPs sytem before it. It was a perfect useable daily but it had to go before i died of boredom in it.
About a month ago I’ve had a strange thing happen. Basically as i said, I sold my old 182 to a friends brother 4 years ago (Downgraded to a Mini GP), he still owned it and has continued to look after it, largely it’s pretty much as I sold it. It’s picked up the tiny door ding and such, but other than that, she’s pretty straight all be it on 111k miles now and wants the odd job doing.
i had joked with him for a while about a straight swap with my ST for the 182. This usually results in the odd picture message/ text to eachother having cleaned our cars saying “cleaned your new motor, when are you picking it up? Etc” haha.
Well after I put up the ST for sale he said he would be tempted, not because he really wants an ST. His wife thinks the ST is a bit more grown up and it’s arguably newer and in better condition than the 182, is twin daughters are 9 years old now and the extra room in the rear was welcome.
He said he wouldn’t otherwise sell the 182 but knows what that car means to me and he’s open to the idea of a change. He knows the condition of my cars hence the Clio hasn’t let him down in the 4 years he’s had it.
Anyway, we agreed a swap cars for a week or 2 to see if he likes the Fiesta and if my rose tinted memories of the Clio 182 hold true.
So there i was feeling like I’ve gone back in time as my old inferno orange 182 sat on my driveway. Trying desperately not to get too attached as I had to be prepared for him to say he wanted to keep it.
I'm delighted to say after a week of trial run, the ST suits his needs better and we have agreed to exchange cars.
So having owned this car from 8k miles, here i am and its back in my ownership.
It’s a very strange feeling, but being in it just feels like home.
More to come
Bear with me guys,
Back in 2011 i purchased a mint 8k mile Clio 182 full fat from a friend. I was absolutely mint and i adored it.
It was my every day car that also used to see everything from taking the girlfiend out (now wife) to the Nurburgring. I owned it for 4.5 years and 84k miles and all i did was service it. I can honestly say it never once let me down.
Then i fancied a change and stupidly sold it to another friend for what i now know was a downgrade to a MIni GP1.
I never gelled with the GP and after many attempts to love it, sold it 18 months later to chase my Porsche dream and Cayman R ownership, my daily became a Fiesta ST150 as it was a cheap reliable car at the time.
However to this day, id always claimed the little Cup chassis Clio was pound for pound the best car id ever owned.
The day i collected it in 2011.
One of many Snetterton days
Her first Ring trip
The hideous replacement
The bargaining chip
The dream
Fast forward 4.5 years!!
God awful MIni GP gone, replaced with my dream Cayman R (manual, carbon seats and all the good bits). With the GP as my daily and buying the Cayman, i needed a new daily so picked up a minity mint one owner Fiesta ST. Owned by a mate at work who had loved it like his first child. It was beautifully kept but possibly the dullest car I've owned. Looked quite pretty but dull gutless engine, overdamped, non playful chassis and an ESP system that was almost as fun sapping as the dire GPs sytem before it. It was a perfect useable daily but it had to go before i died of boredom in it.
About a month ago I’ve had a strange thing happen. Basically as i said, I sold my old 182 to a friends brother 4 years ago (Downgraded to a Mini GP), he still owned it and has continued to look after it, largely it’s pretty much as I sold it. It’s picked up the tiny door ding and such, but other than that, she’s pretty straight all be it on 111k miles now and wants the odd job doing.
i had joked with him for a while about a straight swap with my ST for the 182. This usually results in the odd picture message/ text to eachother having cleaned our cars saying “cleaned your new motor, when are you picking it up? Etc” haha.
Well after I put up the ST for sale he said he would be tempted, not because he really wants an ST. His wife thinks the ST is a bit more grown up and it’s arguably newer and in better condition than the 182, is twin daughters are 9 years old now and the extra room in the rear was welcome.
He said he wouldn’t otherwise sell the 182 but knows what that car means to me and he’s open to the idea of a change. He knows the condition of my cars hence the Clio hasn’t let him down in the 4 years he’s had it.
Anyway, we agreed a swap cars for a week or 2 to see if he likes the Fiesta and if my rose tinted memories of the Clio 182 hold true.
So there i was feeling like I’ve gone back in time as my old inferno orange 182 sat on my driveway. Trying desperately not to get too attached as I had to be prepared for him to say he wanted to keep it.
I'm delighted to say after a week of trial run, the ST suits his needs better and we have agreed to exchange cars.
So having owned this car from 8k miles, here i am and its back in my ownership.
It’s a very strange feeling, but being in it just feels like home.
More to come
Edited by frayz on Thursday 10th September 07:06
Edited by frayz on Monday 21st September 12:04
AndrewGP said:
Congrats, that's a great result! Always loved a baked bean Clio 182
I've recently sold my mint Racing Blue 182 due to a job change with a bigger commute and I really miss it. It was on just 56k miles when I sold it and I know I'll never find another like it
Keep the updates coming.
I do 50 miles a day in the Clio and am now at a point where I’ll spend whatever it needs to maintain it. I don’t care how many mailed it does, it’s just the most magical thing to drive. It’s the one car I’d always regretted selling and if I hadn’t of got this car back then would have hunted for a mint Trophy. I've recently sold my mint Racing Blue 182 due to a job change with a bigger commute and I really miss it. It was on just 56k miles when I sold it and I know I'll never find another like it
Keep the updates coming.
Arguably this one is more special to me than any Trophy because of my history with it.
Darren93 said:
I like these 182s, hard to find a decent one these days. I was very tempted by one for my first hot hatch but was scared away by the belt/exhaust replacement costs as a 19 year old student and got an FN2 type r instead but I still like the look of the clios, especially with the speedline turini's on!
I also love Caymans... And GP1/2 minis... Nice garage
Thank you sir. I also love Caymans... And GP1/2 minis... Nice garage
As it happens the belts are due on this one so it’s going in to AWMotorworks on Tuesday for the full enchilada.
Yes the belt service is a dear job, but it’s once every 5 years so actually not that bad when you break it down.
So the plan is to go through the car and try and get it back to tip top shape.
Initial inspection I found all sorts of little jobs to do, even though I hadn’t even signed the paperwork on it yet, but we’d shaken hands on the deal.
Fixed-welded exhaust, ordered new exhaust hanger for the BTM. Original hanger was shagged.
Fixed all the heatshields, made new extra large sections to act as repair washers.
Fixed Alpine headunit (mic had fallen out the back)
Fixed airbox (garage had left it loose)
Replaced foglights with new OEM Valeos and PPF filmed them
For protection.
Refurbed the headlights.
Jetwashed the underside.
Cleaned a lot of stuff too, although needed de stickering and a Polish.
More bits on order to try and make it as fresh as possible again.
Cracked BTM system. They don’t make these anymore and they’re so much nicer than the others out there except bar an Orbisoud. So this bad boy had to be fixed.
Welded up and new hanger. Hanger took some tracing as JP Exhausts the original maker had used a mount from a JDM Honda Integra.
New genuine Renault/Valeo foglights installed
Headlights restored with a 3M kit and then ceramic coated with Siramik HR by Boyd @ BR Car Detailing
Looking better already.
Initial inspection I found all sorts of little jobs to do, even though I hadn’t even signed the paperwork on it yet, but we’d shaken hands on the deal.
Fixed-welded exhaust, ordered new exhaust hanger for the BTM. Original hanger was shagged.
Fixed all the heatshields, made new extra large sections to act as repair washers.
Fixed Alpine headunit (mic had fallen out the back)
Fixed airbox (garage had left it loose)
Replaced foglights with new OEM Valeos and PPF filmed them
For protection.
Refurbed the headlights.
Jetwashed the underside.
Cleaned a lot of stuff too, although needed de stickering and a Polish.
More bits on order to try and make it as fresh as possible again.
Cracked BTM system. They don’t make these anymore and they’re so much nicer than the others out there except bar an Orbisoud. So this bad boy had to be fixed.
Welded up and new hanger. Hanger took some tracing as JP Exhausts the original maker had used a mount from a JDM Honda Integra.
New genuine Renault/Valeo foglights installed
Headlights restored with a 3M kit and then ceramic coated with Siramik HR by Boyd @ BR Car Detailing
Looking better already.
Mike1990 said:
Love an Inferno Orange, such a nice colour.
That ST looks fantastic and fresh.
Yeah the Inferno is pretty cool. I think you either love it or hate it, it’s rare too. Only ever made 113 Full Fat 182s in Inferno according to Renault. That ST looks fantastic and fresh.
Yes the ST was absolutely mint, and I’d subtlety modified it to an OEM+ type spec.
Full Miltek inc manifold, Mountune calibration, Eibach springs and full ST170 brake transplant.
One owner from new, i knew the chap that brought it new and had every single receipt inc it’s original bill of sale. Lol.
Lovely car, I just never loved it.
So more little jobs.
Silly things like removing the windscreen seals and cleaning behind them.
Soaking the seatbelts with APC and jetwashing them silver again. Another job was to try and eliminate the boot/parcel shelf rattle. (Of which so far so good)
The tailgate rubbers were shot, one was missing and the other was hard as nails. These are still available from Renault and at a cost of less than £5 for a pair, the new soft rubbers mean the tailgate closes with a much less aggressive thud.
Also traced the parcel shelf rattling up and down against it’s mounts and tapping the top of the inner tailgate trim.
I used some soft side Velcro on these panels to cushion the parcel shelf and now it fits snug.
Keen to put my mark back on her, I took a few stickers off and added my Ring sticker back on the rear of the car. Also added some orange Speedline decals to the rims.
Silly things like removing the windscreen seals and cleaning behind them.
Soaking the seatbelts with APC and jetwashing them silver again. Another job was to try and eliminate the boot/parcel shelf rattle. (Of which so far so good)
The tailgate rubbers were shot, one was missing and the other was hard as nails. These are still available from Renault and at a cost of less than £5 for a pair, the new soft rubbers mean the tailgate closes with a much less aggressive thud.
Also traced the parcel shelf rattling up and down against it’s mounts and tapping the top of the inner tailgate trim.
I used some soft side Velcro on these panels to cushion the parcel shelf and now it fits snug.
Keen to put my mark back on her, I took a few stickers off and added my Ring sticker back on the rear of the car. Also added some orange Speedline decals to the rims.
Next up on the 182.
Freshened up the arches with some new liners, cleaned out the sills and skirts.
These cars are 15 years old now, so ensuring the body and metalwork stays as mint and rot free as possible has to be high on the list.
Gave everything a liberal coating of Waxoil and added some Kaylan stone guards.
Used these on quite a few cars now and they offer discrete protection without having full sized flaps fitted.
Used just the OEM fixing positions and the top of the guards is fixed right to the body using double sided body trim tape.
Anyway, I’ll let the pics do the talking.
Freshened up the arches with some new liners, cleaned out the sills and skirts.
These cars are 15 years old now, so ensuring the body and metalwork stays as mint and rot free as possible has to be high on the list.
Gave everything a liberal coating of Waxoil and added some Kaylan stone guards.
Used these on quite a few cars now and they offer discrete protection without having full sized flaps fitted.
Used just the OEM fixing positions and the top of the guards is fixed right to the body using double sided body trim tape.
Anyway, I’ll let the pics do the talking.
Keen to give the old girl a freshen up, the first of more boxes of goodies was next to arrive.
I last freshened all the dampers and topmounts at 74k miles. She’s now on 112k so I figured I’d do the same again.
Pair front complete Cup lower arms
Pair front Cup dampers
Pair rear Cup dampers
Pair revised front topmounts
Pair revised topmount nuts
Pair inner track rod ends
Inner/outter ARB bushes
New rear numberplate lamp.
Obviously the lamp was all I could fit on the quick, so that went straight on. A vast improvement, I’m sure you’ll agree.
I last freshened all the dampers and topmounts at 74k miles. She’s now on 112k so I figured I’d do the same again.
Pair front complete Cup lower arms
Pair front Cup dampers
Pair rear Cup dampers
Pair revised front topmounts
Pair revised topmount nuts
Pair inner track rod ends
Inner/outter ARB bushes
New rear numberplate lamp.
Obviously the lamp was all I could fit on the quick, so that went straight on. A vast improvement, I’m sure you’ll agree.
The next small update on the 182, was a bit of poor show on my part really as I forgot to take any before pics. However I had all the little dings I found on it taken out.
2 on the drivers door that were visable. One on the passenger door and 3 on the bonnet that were barely visable, but I’m fussy. Used a guy I usually use for this and his work is superb.
She’s now arrow straight again.
Also saw how poor the OEM earthing setup is, so I made up a much thicker earth strap to the chassis ground and I’m going to make up another from engine/gearbox to the chassis ground. It may be placebo that it feels smoother to drive but I’m 100% it idles much nicer.
I collected some small bits from the dealers in the way of some blanks for the bottom of the tailgate to finish the holes.
Also collected new rivets for the skirts as I want to have them off to clean/underseal and refit.
The OEM Black rivets are no longer available and have been replaced with these silver ones. Not too happy about that to be honest, so I ordered a box of black peel rivets which will be more in keeping with the OEM finish.
I’ve also contacted Renault UK to see if I can track down replacements of the vehicle ID stickers inside the drivers door shut and the under bonnet decal. They’re coming back to me, so hopefully with a favourable reply.
If not I’ll find another way to get the OEM decals replicated.
2 on the drivers door that were visable. One on the passenger door and 3 on the bonnet that were barely visable, but I’m fussy. Used a guy I usually use for this and his work is superb.
She’s now arrow straight again.
Also saw how poor the OEM earthing setup is, so I made up a much thicker earth strap to the chassis ground and I’m going to make up another from engine/gearbox to the chassis ground. It may be placebo that it feels smoother to drive but I’m 100% it idles much nicer.
I collected some small bits from the dealers in the way of some blanks for the bottom of the tailgate to finish the holes.
Also collected new rivets for the skirts as I want to have them off to clean/underseal and refit.
The OEM Black rivets are no longer available and have been replaced with these silver ones. Not too happy about that to be honest, so I ordered a box of black peel rivets which will be more in keeping with the OEM finish.
I’ve also contacted Renault UK to see if I can track down replacements of the vehicle ID stickers inside the drivers door shut and the under bonnet decal. They’re coming back to me, so hopefully with a favourable reply.
If not I’ll find another way to get the OEM decals replicated.
Next arrival was in the shape of a new OEM Centre mount for the exhaust and managed to track down a pair of genuine Cup washer blanks.
These are notorious for breaking so I filled the thread centres with resin and internally sleeved them.
Just need to decide if I paint these satin black or body colour. I’m thinking body colour but I may end up attempting to paint them myself as they’re so small and would cost a fortune to have done professionally.
These are notorious for breaking so I filled the thread centres with resin and internally sleeved them.
Just need to decide if I paint these satin black or body colour. I’m thinking body colour but I may end up attempting to paint them myself as they’re so small and would cost a fortune to have done professionally.
The next job I was dreading, purely out of fear of what I might find. This was to get the rear panels off to check the state of the sills from inside.
Happy to report there is no corrosion in here at all. So just a quick hoover round, clear the drainage holes and a liberal coat of Waxoil.
I will however I ordered some Bilt Hamber and will revisit these areas to get them properly protected.
I’ll probably come back to these when I Bilt Hamber the sills when the skirts come off.
Happy to report there is no corrosion in here at all. So just a quick hoover round, clear the drainage holes and a liberal coat of Waxoil.
I will however I ordered some Bilt Hamber and will revisit these areas to get them properly protected.
I’ll probably come back to these when I Bilt Hamber the sills when the skirts come off.
Jonnny said:
What condition is the steering wheel thumb hold sections? That seemed a very weak bit on them.
Great thread so far, please keep it up!
In my first tenure of the car I had the wheel fully retrimmed by Snappy. It’s still as mint today as the day I first fitted it. Great thread so far, please keep it up!
Old pic, but hopefully you can see it. I know I have a better one somewhere.
iacabu said:
Looks great!
Makes me jealous though, I really miss my 172 cup.. Don't know what I was thinking selling it
That’s how I felt about this. Makes me jealous though, I really miss my 172 cup.. Don't know what I was thinking selling it
Its the only car I’ve ever regretted selling. I guess I’ve put my money where my mouth is for bleating on to anyone and everyone about how good they are to drive. I always said I’d have my old car back in a heartbeat.
Lucky for me I was able to reacquire it.
PhillipM said:
I wish I could do that with my old 306. Well, technically I could, as it's sat outside, but it's also in a skip with a washing machine and a tonne of scrap on it 
Don’t get me wrong, this isn’t a full resto, not even close. It’s my daily car that I want to keep alive and well as long as possible. I don’t care how many miles she does, I just want it to be in tip top condition.
If money were no object, I’d love to do a bare metal, nut & bolt job on it. Haha.
frayz said:
G111MDS said:
Nice to have it back. I had a GP too and really liked it, but sold it back in November after 3.5 years. Thought I’d miss it, but haven’t.
I thought the GP was a huge disappointment to me. I was s bit quicker, torque was great and the diff worked well. But it’s build quality was awful and bits fell off it on a weekly basis. I was supposed to be a lightweight track special, but then had huge heated/folding leather Recaros?
Deleted rear wiper but then put on massive 18” wheels?
The doors weighed a ton, as did the bonnet. I genuinely thought it would be a big upgrade from the “crap French Renault”. However in my experience, quite the opposite. I attempted to make it better with Bilstein PSS10s, AP racing brakes, Pole positions and smaller 17” OZ wheels. But even then it just never impressed.
Even took it to 1320 Mini for cam, pulley, injectors and tune to try and make me love it. Then came away from there with a car that wouldn’t cold start properly, cut out at traffic lights etc. Despite multiple attempts to map it better to make it drive like OEM they were honest with me and said that’s how they all are and the best it would be.
I took all that crap off and sold it.
The Clio is cheap and cheerful
The Mini was expensive and nasty.
I took it to the NC500 in 2016 and remember the trip well, however have no lasting memories of enjoyment in the car. It looked cool, but hugely overrated imo and doesn’t deserve to be compared to the likes of an R26-R or M3GTS as EVO did a few months back.
Edited by frayz on Monday 15th July 15:35
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