It's a brave plan. I'd be changing those discs, a set of Brembo HC will be cheap enough to replace especially if you're not in a hurry. Order from Autodoc on a Monday and you should get a healthy discount if you have an account.
https://www.autodoc.co.uk/brembo/8713611 for standard HC discs
https://www.autodoc.co.uk/brembo/12812228 Fancy HC discs (I have these waiting to be fitted)
Or, Kam Racing is generally the cheapest in the UK - https://www.kamracing.co.uk/brembo-brake-discs-renault-clio-mk3-rs197-rs200.html
 
It's a brave plan. I'd be changing those discs, a set of Brembo HC will be cheap enough to replace especially if you're not in a hurry. Order from Autodoc on a Monday and you should get a healthy discount if you have an account.
https://www.autodoc.co.uk/brembo/8713611 for standard HC discs
https://www.autodoc.co.uk/brembo/12812228 Fancy HC discs (I have these waiting to be fitted)
Or, Kam Racing is generally the cheapest in the UK - https://www.kamracing.co.uk/brembo-brake-discs-renault-clio-mk3-rs197-rs200.html
How trust worthy is auto doc? Would you buy sensors and ignition stuff from them as well?
 
From my experience (from Italy) Autodoc is generally ok and if you order at the right time you can get really good prices (they have variable "discounts" changing every day), also on tools/equipment.
BUT: sometimes they replace the parts you order with their own low-quality/low-cost brands (Ridex and possibly others), without even telling you, with the excuse of "better availability" and "faster dispatch". So after you order keep an eye on the order status...if you see unexpected brands listed, write them and they will revert them back to what you initially ordered.
 
@burrellbloke Did you have any luck claiming back on the track day insurance? Or is it still ongoing?
I didn't bother pursuing the insurance route after all. The excess was £750. A bumper popped up on FaceBook in the right colour together with a core support and a set of headlights for £500. The other bits to replace are going to be about £250, or thereabouts.

If I had been unable to find a 200 bumper in glacier white and was in the position of having to buy one new and have it sprayed etc., etc. I might have pursued an insurance claim.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Maidens1979
From my experience (from Italy) Autodoc is generally ok and if you order at the right time you can get really good prices (they have variable "discounts" changing every day), also on tools/equipment.
BUT: sometimes they replace the parts you order with their own low-quality/low-cost brands (Ridex and possibly others), without even telling you, with the excuse of "better availability" and "faster dispatch". So after you order keep an eye on the order status...if you see unexpected brands listed, write them and they will revert them back to what you initially ordered.

You're from Italy? Bella zio pure io
 
  • Like
Reactions: Albert540
The Cup Racer 22mm ARB arrived today.

73159112595__003237D4-0A4D-4635-8F84-32CE0C846850.jpeg

@EthanMenace had persuaded me to try out some 3D printed ARB bushes rather than buy some PowerFlex black series 21mm bushes - but the ARB has come complete with new OEM bushes so we will use them instead. I have no idea what size the OEM bushes are but they came with the ARB so I am going to guess that there are 22mm and are what Cup Racers used?

The front bumper that we acquired two weeks ago has had the TRC splitter removed and is now ready to go back on to the car. I have managed to acquire most of the plastics that sit between the crash bar and the engine to protect it from stones and other debris flying up off of the road. I am just waiting for those to be delivered.

Although we have a set of headlights we are waiting to swap the silver headlights with someone for some black insert headlights. This should happen fairly soon.

@Beany has offered me a toe eye cover.

We have a new radiator together with coolant to go back on to the car.

A PMS AC delete pulley and bearing should arrive today to finish replacing the damage from the crash. The old pulley was knocked and as a small amount of damage to it and the bearing sounded a bit odd when the car was idling after the crash.

So the crash repairs are nearly done and we can get back to enjoying the car.

The ARB was the final piece of the puzzle before the Cup Racer front end work starts. If the weather stays fairly good over the next few weeks @EthanMenace will crack on with installing the parts on the drive.

I am hoping that we can get a track day sorted out for April but that will depend on the progress made on the Cup Racer parts and replacing the brakes.
 
I've that ARB here, too. Fitting it seems to be a real PITA as the subframe including the steering rack has to be dropped and you've to get the wheels aligned again afterwards.

Please report back if you notice any difference if you've fitted it as I'm hesitant to go through the whole procedure.

Sidenote: The ARB is originally from a Scenic II. It's the same part just with different numbers (7711160155 and 8200646060).
 
  • Like
Reactions: burrellbloke
I've that ARB here, too. Fitting it seems to be a real PITA as the subframe including the steering rack has to be dropped and you've to get the wheels aligned again afterwards.

Please report back if you notice any difference if you've fitted it as I'm hesitant to go through the whole procedure.

Sidenote: The ARB is originally from a Scenic II. It's the same part just with different numbers (7711160155 and 8200646060).
The subframe has got to come off the car as we have got an EE bracket set to put on.

How have you found the 22mm ARB?
 
I haven't fitted it so far exactly because of the hassle. I'd don't work on the car myself and would have to go to a garage for that which would cost me a fortune presumably. I at least want some feedback if it even makes a noticable difference. If it doesn't I'm going to wait until the frame has to be dropped for something else to fit the ARB.
 
The subframe is starting to come together now.

IMG_6537 (1).jpeg

The 22mm Cup Racer ARB has been bolted on with OEM bushes. You can see some of the solid PMS bushes in place.

The SuperPro adjustable anti-rotation links are also in together with the cleaned up wishbones with solid bushes.

IMG_6535.jpeg

Had the weather been a bit better today @EthanMenace would have started to remove the old sub frame from the car to transfer the rack. The weather is definitely getting better and soon the clocks will spring forward giving us more daylight in the evenings so more time to tinker with the car.
 
Last edited:
Massive progress was made this weekend with getting the car back together and installing the Cup Racer front end parts.

We had to replace a few parts after the crash at Snetterton so we installed a new Nissan's radiator. The car had been filled up in the week with type D yellow coolant and the system had been bled. A new PMS AC delete pulley and bearing had been installed as the old pulley had taken a bit of a whack and had some very minor damage on the outside face.

@EthanMenace had spent a few hours after work most days this week taking the subframe off of the Clio, and generally prepping the car. The subframe was built up in the shed on Thursday and Friday. We had a subframe refurbished over the winter and had a lot of new parts but reused the steering rack, and the outer tie rods. New parts included SuperPro anti-rotation links to match the SuperPro drop links that we already had. We also had new inner tie rods.

On Saturday Ethan drained the gearbox oil and then pulled out the old driveshafts. He then popped in the new extended driveshafts from PMS.

IMG_6560 (1).jpeg

The built up subframe was then offered up to the car and bolted on.

IMG_6562.jpeg

The newly power coated subframe, cleaned wishbones, SuperPro drop links and anti-rotation links, and braided HEL brake lines look good. The car could do with a bit of a scrub under the arches.

IMG_6759.jpeg

This is the view from the drivers side.

IMG_6761.jpeg

When the subframe and ancillary parts were generally in place Ethan installed some small spacers between the chassis and the wings. We had stolen the spacer idea from @R20BTG so that we could attempt to stop the Cup Racer setup from wearing away front edge of the front bumper in the wheel arches. We will have to wait and see if this plan does work.

IMG_6563.jpeg

A spacer was installed on both the drivers and passenger side.

IMG_6565.jpeg

When the hubs went back on to the car we encountered a few issues. There is no guide that we have been able to find that explains how to install a Cup Racer front end. Most of it was guess work. I have got various Cup Racer .pdf documents and in one of those it had the torque values for the parts such as the EE brackets - but not a step by step guide on how to do a road car to Cup Racer transformation. After working out that part of the bump steer kit would not fit in the hub @LiamP very helpfully answered a few questions and explained that we would have to drill out the hole in the hub for the bump steer kit to sit flush.

IMG_6566.jpeg

The next issue we discovered was that the drivers side hub bearing had a lot of play in it and was moving about 2 to 3mm out of the hub. This could have been caused with the lateral slide at Snetterton. The movement in the hub bearing was not something that we had ever noticed before and I am pretty sure that we would have felt it taking off the wheels or putting wheels on the car.

After a bit of head scratching we worked out that the bearings bolted in to the hub carrier, but the hub was pressed in to the bearing. After considering buying some new parts and pausing the car works for a week or so we decided to raid the Clio parts bin. We still had two complete hubs that we removed from the shell of the current Clio. We had swapped over the complete hubs from the previous shell as the balls joints were done in 2020.

IMG_6572 (1).jpeg

Today @EthanMenace swapped over a hub and bearing, removed the stud and nut kit from the old hub, then reinstalled the stud and nut kit with some new Loctite after retapping the threads.

IMG_6573 (1).jpeg

When the hub and bearing was sorted out it was bolted back on to the hub carrier.

IMG_6575 (1).jpeg

Ethan spent a long time measuring and adjusting the anti-rotation links trying to make sure that we did not have excessive amounts of caster when the car was going to go back on to the floor. He based most of his work on a few photographs he had taken at AW Motorworks when we saw Alex a few weeks ago and he had showed us one of his customers cars up on a ramp which had the EE brakes kit installed.

Before the car came off of the axle stands a few bits of maintenance were completed. We are now on to our third ZeroPointOne tow eye extender having both bent/snapped/lost previous ones in accidents.

IMG_6576 (1).jpeg

Next was a genuine Renault radiator mount/foot. At less than £4 this was possibly one of the cheapest genuine Renault parts that I have purchased. Sadly the one that should have been on the car is probably someone near Brundle at Snetterton.

IMG_6579 (1).jpeg

The ABS brackets would not fit with the new setup so the ABS sensor cables were carefully cable tied to the tie rods - this seems to be the approved practice in the Clio Cup manual.

IMG_6580 (1).jpeg

Yellow cable ties make it obvious that something has been cable tied, plus it adds to the other yellow accents on the car.

IMG_6581 (1).jpeg

When the car came off the axle stands we put the newish bumper on to see how the kit would affect the car. I was expecting large amounts of caster that would put the front edge of the tyres very close to the bumper side wheel arch edge. Surprisingly the wheels sat pretty much where they needed to be.

IMG_6787.jpeg

When the wheels were put on full lock to both sides they seemed to be clearing the front bumper and not rubbing on anything inside the wheel arches. There are no arch liners on the car yet - and we will have to see if there is enough room to get them back in, or partly back in.

The car looks like the front is now sitting lower than it was before. I have not taken any photos of the camber, but it looks like the car now has substantially more camber than the minus 3 ish degrees it had before.

IMG_6788.jpeg

The car has not moved off of the drive yet. We have got a set of black insert headlights to go in which Ethan picked up in the week. The newish bumper needs a few bits done before it can go on to the car like putting in some brake ducts in to the for light holes.

The radiator fan had stopped working the day before our trip to Snetterton in February. I found this out as I sat in traffic and the temperature gauge kept creeping up to the point where the stop light came on and the dashboard flashed up a message that the car was overheating. We swapped out the old crusty fan resistor and now the radiator fan now comes on as it should.

IMG_6559 (1).jpeg

I really want to drive the car and see how the Cup Racer front end makes the car feel, but there are a few things to do before the can can be driven. The drivers seat is not bolted in as we need to drill some holes in the floor and install the crutch straps to make our 4 point harnesses in to 6 point harnesses. The brakes need to be "tested". We have put on some Brembo HC discs on the front and some DS Uno pads that were in our parts bin. The discs look crusty and the pads do not have too much meat left on them. I will order some more DS 1.11 pads and Godspeed J Hook discs this week - that pad and disc combination has served us well so far.

The parts that have been installed have been paint marked so we can check that everything remains tight before our next track day at Cadwell Park.

IMG_6586 (1).jpeg

The EE brackets sit very close to the rims of the wheels. We will need to see if the Oz Ultralegerras fit with the new kit but I suspect that the offset of the OZs will be too much and will rub the bumper. So plan B will be to put some MRFs on to a spare set of Speedlines that we have in the parts bin.

IMG_6793.jpeg

The car will need an alignment before it goes to Cadwell Park.
 
Last edited: