Glacier White 200 Cup

We have booked on at Blyton on 12th April 2025.

I took the Clio to AW Motorworks today to get the alignment done after the front hubs had been replaced.

The toe was very much out at the front of the car but otherwise it was all okay and easy to sort.



It was the first time that I had driven the car any real distance since the gearbox was refurbed. The box now feels good. The Gripper seems to be getting louder for slow manoeuvres on full lock. The new gearbox oil temperature sensor is also working showing the the box oil is roughly the same temperature as the engine oil most of the time.

We have three track days booked over the three months. Donington Park this Friday, then Mallory Park on 14th March 2025 and then Blyton Park on 12th April 2025.

I was expecting the gearbox temperature to be lower as well. When I got the alignment done I had a chat to Alex and he suggested that the engine and gearbox oil temperatures are similar up to a point. I will find out after a few track days.

d6n said:

I have done Mallory a few times in my old 172 and Corsa VXR. It's been a while back but it's great fun.

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That's good to hear.

We have got some 75w110 in the box at the moment. Now we have got a temperature sensor for the box we can probably use an OEM spec level oil and see if it just as good.

We are at Donington tomorrow so we can see how the box oil does when it is under load.

We went to Donington Park for a track day with Open Track today. The track day was on the GP circuit which we had not done before.



Six weeks ago at Snetterton we developed a third gear crunch so had the gearbox rebuilt with new synchros and had the worst out Gripper plates replaced with more aggressive track spec plates.

We drove up to Donington last night and stayed in a twin room at a hotel for £36.99. The drive up was bit weird as the steering felt vague and like it had a dead spot in the centre. You could tug the wheel left or right without it making any difference to the steering. This was all very odd as the steering on the Clio had always been very direct and the steering wheel had always given a lot of feel and feedback.

After he had got to the track, signed on and had some breakfast @EthanMenace diagnosed the steering issue as a loose bolt joining the steering column to the steering rack. Problem solved. With the Clio unpacked the track wheels went on and on to the track we went.

The weather for a February track day was spectacular. It started out as frosty and misty but by 9.00 am the sun was out and it stayed out. The temperature was about 10 degrees and felt warmer in the sun.

Ethan did the first session in the car and initially the gearbox felt good. The Gripper was having a big impact on slower corners and the car was performing well. When we were back in the pit lane after the first session the first red flag of the day happened. There were only 6 red flags today which is a low number for Donington Park standards.



I went out for the next session and was enjoying the flowing track until there was another red flag. I finished off my session and thought that the gearbox did not feel as silky smooth as I expected it to be.



I now realise that our choice of Millers 75w110 oil for the gearbox was a bad decision. Over the course of the day the gearbox was difficult to use. You had to be patient when going up through the gears and it would crunch very slightly when being rushed with downshifts. We have decided go back to a normal grade gearbox oil and will change it before the next track day in 2 weeks time.

After we had both done a few sessions we both felt that the brakes were being too noisy and were causing very slight wheel vibrations. We took the front wheels off to have a look and confirmed that there was plenty of DS1.11 pad left, but the face of the Godspeed G hook discs looked knackered. There were no cracks in the discs but after the beating we have given then I think that they are just worn out. I haven't got a photo but there are clear veins on the discs from wear.

We carried on in the afternoon but after finishing a session just before 4pm we decided that the gearbox was not happy and if we pushed the Clio any harder then we might cause some permanent damage.



We very rarely finish a track day before the chequered flag but decided it was the right thing to do today. The Direzza track tyres have taken a beating today and might last one more track day if we are lucky. One of the tyres has a very small amount of delamination on the outer edge of the shoulder so if we do use it again it can stay on the rear axle.

The brakes sounded awful by the end of the day and Ethan nursed the car home our three hour journey back to Essex. Whilst on the way home we decided to fix the brake issue by ordering new brakes. We have ordered Godspeed G hook discs the front and rear, also DS1.11 pads for the front and rear. We have gone for a 330mm front discs and with some adapters from Godspeed to install a set of Megane 3 callipers in place of the Clio front callipers. The front pads we ordered are for the bigger Megane 3 calliper. We have had a set of Megane 3 callipers for nearly a year now but had not got round to installing them. The final item ordered was a calliper build kit to replace the seals on the Megane 3 callipers.

Ethan's best lap time of the day was a 1m 54s.


My best lap time was a 1m 58s. I lacked Ethan's confidence to take most of Craner's Curves in fifth gear at 110mph.

We have got Mallory Park booked for 2 weeks time so Ethan will be kept busy with a gearbox oil change and a complete brake overhaul over the next 14 days.

Overall it was a good day. Donington Park is a circuit that flows well and it is even better in the sun.

One thing I did noice about Donington today is that it has now lost its BMW branding and boards reading "M The Most Powerful Letter in the World". It is all now Hyundai branding.