Lewis's Clio 200 Cup

[Beany]

I suspect the rs gear knob will be like the wheels. I was perfect happy with the original parts, but now I have upgraded them I doubt I'll go back.

I hear that the rs gear knob gets really hot/cold sometimes. I might need to get it a beanie

Yeah In the summer it’s burnt my hand and basically try to avoid changing gears.

 

[Lewis Watson]

...
So the cars pretty well sorted once again
...

I may have been a bit hasty when I said that...



Took the car for a wheel alignment the other day...

And the OSR has mysteriously developed a ~3 degree negative camber.

There was no obvious sign of damage visible while it was up on the lift. Everything looks straight (apart from the wheel camber). I also cannot recall any recent incidents that would have knocked it out of whack, maybe potholes?
The suspicion is that the OSR stub axle is bent, but won't know for sure until the car goes back and they can have a proper look with the wheel/discs etc off.

 

[Lewis Watson]

Had the car at the garage this week. They planned to swap the rear stub axles around to see if the negative camber follows one of the stub axles. Unfortunately it turns out the stub axles are not interchangeable. So they took the OSR sub axle to an engineer firm to check it over, and they couldn't detect any sign of it being bent.

So that leaves me with the possibility that the rear axle beam is somehow bent (but only on one side?). Or maybe the OSR stub axle is faulty in some way that the the engineer firm couldn't detect. Or maybe something else?

Stub axles cost ~£250 new. Or I could take a gamble on a used on for ~£50
Rear axle beams cost ~1k new. Or I could take a gamble on a used one for ~£250.

I'm leaning towards getting a used stub axle, even just to confirm if its the axle or not.

 

[DS197]

Rear axles are like chocolate so it very well may be bent.

 

[AndyP]

@Lewis Watson Not sure but can these be used to correct the camber?

Maybe worth giving Nick a call at Pure for advice. He is very knowledgeable and helpful. Might be a cheaper option.

Clio 3 RS Camber/Toe shim

Rear camber/toe shim for Renaultsport Clio 197/200. These shims are used for accurately adjusting the rear camber or toe. Accurate setting up of the rear suspension will dras

www.pure-motorsport.co.uk

 

[Lewis Watson]

Had another look myself yesterday. The parts look their age, but frustratingly no obvious sign of what is wrong!

It wouldn't take much of a bend to result in a 3 degree camber I suppose.

I'm still trying to figure out what the best course of action is here. Has anyone else had this issue? If so, I'd be interested to hear how you fixed it.

@AndyP thanks for the shim tip. I'll get in contact with Nick to see what he says.

Does anyone do re-conditioned axles?

 

[NickD]

Had another look myself yesterday. The parts look their age, but frustratingly no obvious sign of what is wrong!

It wouldn't take much of a bend to result in a 3 degree camber I suppose.

I'm still trying to figure out what the best course of action is here. Has anyone else had this issue? If so, how I'd be interested to hear how you fixed it.

@AndyP thanks for the shim tip. I'll get in contact with Nick to see what he says.

Does anyone do re-conditioned axles?

Is the wheel straight? I know Hunter type machines are supposed to allow for wheel variance but only is the aligning garage rolled the car when set up.

 

[Foxspeed]

osr = drivers side rear not passenger side...

nsf / nsr = nearest to kerb (lh in uk)

osr / osf = drivers side

 

[Lewis Watson]

Oh crap did I get that wrong. For some reason my brain really wants near side to be drivers side

 

[Foxspeed]

Oh crap did I get that wrong. For some reason my brain really wants near side to be drivers side

i wasnt going to comment but the photos are of the passenger (nsf) so thought i would post just in case...hope you sort it

 

[Lewis Watson]

Hi @NickD good shout, I'm not sure if the wheel had been checked. I swapped the wheel out for one of my track ones earlier today, it still didn't look straight to me unfortunately.

 

[NickD]

Hi @NickD good shout, I'm not sure if the wheel had been checked. I swapped the wheel out for one of my track ones earlier today, it still didn't look straight to me unfortunately.

If that is the NSR tyre then you could do with less camber anyway.

 

[Lewis Watson]

Negative camber issued fixed BTT Motorsport were able to sell me a 197 sub axle to try. When that didn't fix the issue they let me return the stub axle and sent me 197 rear axle beam which did the job Once it was sand blasted and powder coated it looked pretty mint.

The original axle. I still haven't worked out how it got bent.

 

[Lewis Watson]

Update time! Going into this summer I had plans to sort out some minor MOT advisories (worn bushings) before heading out to enjoy the car by booking some track days and maybe even a road trip. Instead COVID-19 happened, and I've ended up sorting out a string of major mechanical problems... First it was the suspension, then it was the rear axle...

While I was sorting out the bent rear axle, the car developed a few other niggles. The exhaust was rattling a bit when cold, the brakes were squeaking when warm, and there is a spot of rust on the rear bumper.

The exhaust rattle was due to the mesh innards of the exhaust manifold pre-cat detaching from the casing. Luckily for me I had purchased a spare standard exhaust manifold from a fellow forum member back in April (cheers @Daverb ! ).

I was able to get Rentec Edinburgh to install it, along with some new OEM engine/gearbox mounts in order to protect the flexis. The mounts that were taken off look in pretty decent condition TBF. Better safe than sorry with the exhaust manifold though as it is a known weak point.

While it was in getting the manifold sorted I also asked Rentec to investigate the squeaky brakes. They put it down to warped front disks, caused by sticking calipers. So on went new disks, pads and caliper seal kits.

I enjoyed a rattle and squeak free journey back to the kingdom (Fife) with my new exhaust manifold, engine mounts and front brakes. Unfortunately, the brake squeak returned as soon as I got off the motorway . So back to Rentec for brake squeak investigation round #2. This time they were able to reproduce the noise from the OSR brake. Again a sticking caliper was blamed and there was also brake pad delamination so I had to get the train back as it was too dodgy to drive home.

A week later I was back in Edinburgh to pick up my Clio. This time I made it all the way home without a peep from the brakes Success!

I was now in a position to get that rust spot sorted out... if it wasn't for the gearbox developing a crunch going into third as I was leaving Edinburgh. I've never had an issue with the gearbox until now, but the Renaultsport gods decided to not even wait a few days after getting everything else fixed before hitting me with a gearbox reconditioning job! I am not sure what I've done to anger them so much...

If anyone has recommendations for what to do about the gearbox please let me know

 

[Lewis Watson]

Been a while since my last update. The Clio has been running great since all the work that was done in 2020.

Its mainly been serving as the fun second car that can take the whole family. I've managed to get to a couple more track days which were great fun.

The rubber coating of the center console started peeling a year ago. I sourced a replacement part but it came covered in scratches so I ended up getting it flocked. Turned out quite nice, and a year later there are no signs of wear.

 

[Lewis Watson]

Earlier this year I bought a Lotus Elise which is a car I've wanted for a very long time. I'm now the proud owner of arguably the best handling front wheel and rear wheel drive cars

I did the https://www.northeast250.com/ in the Elise a couple of weeks ago with my son. It was great fun! The car is very raw, and sounds/handles amazing.

I liked one of the camping sites so much that we headed back up for a couple of nights in the Clio. This time with the whole family and the bikes So I had the opportunity to drive both cars long distances back to back. I wondered if the Elise would change my opinion of the Clio, but instead both cars were great in their own ways.