Greg's Albi Blue Clio 200

It's developed an annoying "feature". Sometimes, you can floor it and it's like its trying to rip your face off, and then the next day, it's like it couldn't pull the socks off your feet. The cambelt was changed by the dealer before I bought it, so I think the timing might not be correct. Would this cause the sluggishness? I have also read about the TDC sensor on the gearbox could be an issue, but all the guides I have seen to remove and clean it aren't clear.

+1 on the temp
 
Not a bad price that . If i insure mine i'am looking at around £800 for the year :shocked: because my 15 year NCB are in use on my van .
 
Anyone else feel that things slow down over winter? Wake up in the dark and get home in the dark = no time to work on car.

Planning a full clean on Sunday, inside and out! I, let alone the car, feel dirty as it hasn't been washed in 3 WEEKS! Proper dirty, but I am looking forward to it more than when I clean it in the summer.

Plans for the new year:
Engine oil and filter + gearbox oil (so cheap, don't see why not and last changed in May)
New discs and pads fitting(found the pins for £5 - our brembo's are the same as those used on a MiTo)
Tidy up the engine bay and spray some parts that have rusted (alarm bracket?)
New gearknob (has peeled down to the orange plastic insides) and steering wheel.
 
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Anyone else feel that things slow down over winter? Wake up in the dark and get home in the dark = no time to work on car.

Planning a full clean on Sunday, inside and out! I, let alone the car, feel dirty as it hasn't been washed in 3 WEEKS! Proper dirty, but I am looking forward to it more than when I clean it in the summer.

Plans for the new year:
Engine oil and filter + gearbox oil (so cheap, don't see why not)
New discs and pads fitting(found the pins for £5 - our brembo's are the same as those used on a MiTo)
Tidy up the engine bay and spray some parts that have rusted (alarm bracket?)
New gearknob (has peeled down to the orange plastic insides) and steering wheel.

Just horrid this time of year if you love tinkering isnt it........

Sounds good though. Got any funky plans for the steering wheel and gearknob ?
 
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Just horrid this time of year if you love tinkering isnt it........

Sounds good though. Got any funky plans for the steering wheel and gearknob ?

Yeah, it's a pain. I want to tinker in the engine bay and sort some little niggles, but I don't have the light. I might jerryrig something up. I did make a custom LED strip light, so I might stick that to the underside of the bonnet and see how it works. Pics tomorrow? :wink:

Steering wheel, I was thinking plain leather sides, and black alacantra top and bottom, just worried about the wear on the alacantra. Being a daily (just topped 70k!), I want something that'll last.

Gear knob, not sure really. I like the look of the aluminium version but it's what everyone has. It would be nice to find a solid aluminium ball, powdercoat it black and then get it engraved RenaultSport in yellow or just through to the aluminium (so black ball with silver or yellow writing). I like the feel of a weighty knob :wink:
 
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Yeah I'm another one with a gammy alarm bracket.... It is really hard to keep the cars clean in this weather, it's definitely the lack of time that doesn't help! Always worth it when you do get the chance though!
 
had to do mine in the dark tonight..at least you cant see all them imperfections in the dark :pav:
 
Was all happy today, spent the last 6 hours cleaning it, waxing it, and applying G1 to the windscreen, to then go to the engine bay, start tidying it up, pulled the dipstick a little bit out and SNAP. Top of the dipstick snapped off from the rest of it. No chance of removing it myself, don't have the right long needle nose pliers, however, the car is going in the garage tomorrow to check for an exhaust rattle, so they should be able to get it out (hopefully?)

£22 for a new one, sheer robbery!
 
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You can't say that you spent 6 hours cleaning and waxing and then not post any pictures of all your hard work! :excited:

Is it the G1 Clear Vision thing you used? Is it any good?

Shame about the dipstick, same thing happened to @6705russell very recently on here! :worried:
 
Ran out of light and the fog descended. I will get some shots tomorrow if it stays dry (wouldn't be a problem if it rained, beads!)

Yeah, I used it on my old car and it was excellent. I am a bit skeptical this time as I only had a little bit in the bottle, so I only got 2 coats. Should be fine though. I use H2GO on the side windows and the rear windows.
 
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Definitely getting a new dipstick now. So where is this alarm bracket you guys are talking about?

It's the little bracket towards bottom right (facing the car from the front) where the bonnet rests.

It's got a grey nipple type thing that sticks out and if you try and lock the car without it pressed in the car makes a high pitch wining noise.

Anyway it's this bracket thing that's rusty as hell.
 
Good result with the clued-up Independant garage. Can't beat it !!

My alarm bracket has got the finish going too.

I feel a colour co-ordinating opportunity coming over the festive period :smile:

Don't know about you lads but my wife LOVES the smell of rattle-can paint in the kitchen. Er......NOT !!!!
 
I got a ********** the last time I used spray paint as it stunk the house out, even though I was using it just outside the back door.

It's probably a placebo effect, but since they sealed the exhaust and fixed the clamp, the flat spot has all but disappeared. Not sure if it's just my butt dyno though.

Onto a different matter, Tyres. Mine are roughly 4mm at the front, so I will be looking to get some new fronts May time. What do people recommend? I currently have Goodyear Eagle F1 AS3, but want to try something different. I have seen the Kumho Ecsta Le Sport KU39 for quite cheap with good reviews. I ideally don't want to spend over £90 a tyre if I can help it (as I only got these last May, but they've lasted a year).
 
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