My First Renault - Clio 197 Weekend/Track Toy Project

[bedoef]

Great post! will definitely help the next intrepid builder...

 

[LiamRS197]

I'm enjoying this thread, will be watching closely

 

[bigsid]

Made an essential journey to pick up essential supplies the other day and got my hands on a little bender...

This meant that I could start attempting to make a custom foot plate for the drivers footwell. I got some plans drawn out from my cardboard aided design dry run.

Managed to knock this up.

Not quite finished yet. I have to put a footrest on and a few other finishing touches, but worked out quite good considering I don't have an AC tig and therefore it's all just cut, bent and bolted together.

 

[RSRowe]

Looks spot on that!

 

[Clint197]

Top work and great thread!

 

[bigsid]

Got a bit more done today. Completed the passenger side foot plate and added a clutch foot rest on the drivers side. Also finished the rear wiper delete. Got a kit from killallwipers... not that impressed with it to be honest, but did the job. Could not for the life of me get the rear wiper arm off the motor spindle despite trying a bunch of times, so ended up hack-sawing through it.

Pop rivets aren't breaking off cleanly on some occassions, so this will need to be cut off.

 

[bigsid]

Stage 1 finished this weekend. Door cards in, floor plates finished and seats refitted and cleaned.

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[bigsid]

Stage 2 will be harnesses, seats and a rear cage assuming I still have a job and some money and coronavirus hasn’t brought about the end of civilisation.


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[bigsid]

Trip to the local garage to get the front wheel alignment done as it’s pulling a bit to the left.

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[bigsid]

First time on track last Sunday. Took the Clio to Blyton park and apart from some slightly paranoia inducing vibration under braking the car performed really well. The driver didn't perform quite so well, but it's a learning curve

Almost in tripod mode on the last picture. I'm looking forward to the next round of mods over the winter months. I'm planning on the following and would love to hear thoughts:

• New brake discs and pads (probably Brembo HC discs, not decided on pads yet)
• Replacement rear cup shocks, think the drivers side one is leaking.
• Bolt in rear cage, harnesses and bucket seats. My fat ass was sliding around too much on track.
• Steering wheel, because the stock one looks proper mankey with the "pleather" peeling off.

Not decided yet if I'm going to add adjustable top mounts on the front and rear camber shims, but my local mechanic / Clio aficionado seems to think camber and a good geometry setup is key for track work!

I've also been recommended the RS Tuner software and hardware on here so I may give that a go and I'm also toying with the idea of a Pure Motorsport Torsen LSD.

I was really pleased with the Federal RS959 Pro tyres on a completely dry track, but I've just ordered a set of UniRoyal RainSport 3's as they're on sale at Demon Tweeks. Currently £295 for 4 x 225/45/R17s.

 

[Frank Perry]

Nice little update - glad to see you had some track time. I am yet to book some in but during this pandemic it's tough to find a spot!

I have the RS Tuner - it's genuinely a fantastic bit of kit. Maps/calibrations can be purchased from Henk @www.fastchip.nl and it offers much more than just a tool to remap your vehicle. 100% worth it!

I also need some tyres for a set of stock 197 alloys I had refurbed - not sure if 225/45/17 or 215/45/17 are the way to go? If anybody has some suggestions here then I'm all ears!

 

[bigsid]

Nice little update - glad to see you had some track time. I am yet to book some in but during this pandemic it's tough to find a spot!

I have the RS Tuner - it's genuinely a fantastic bit of kit. Maps/calibrations can be purchased from Henk @www.fastchip.nl and it offers much more than just a tool to remap your vehicle. 100% worth it!

I also need some tyres for a set of stock 197 alloys I had refurbed - not sure if 225/45/17 or 215/45/17 are the way to go? If anybody has some suggestions here then I'm all ears!

What's the stock tyre size? 215/45/R17? I went with the 225s because they were cheaper for some reason. They fill the arches really well, but I do get a bit of squeaking from the front when on full lock because they rub just a bit on the inside front of the arch liners. No issues when driving normally or on track, no scrubbing etc.

 

[bedoef]

If you plan on tracking the car frequently, the top mounts are a must! You will need a lot more camber up front to A) fit in chunkier wheels on a lowered setup, and B) get more grip out of your tires on corners. Check your sidewalls after the next track day: if there is a lot of wear right up to and over the very edge of the tread, you need more camber. Easiest way to do that is with topmounts. Compbrake have a relatively cheap set that looks good.

RSTuner is fantastic! Can't go wrong with a drop in tune if you arent chasing every last horsepower, otherwise I would suggest a session with RSTuning. They are remote tuning my car and its been transformed for the better.

 

[Frank Perry]

What's the stock tyre size? 215/45/R17? I went with the 225s because they were cheaper for some reason. They fill the arches really well, but I do get a bit of squeaking from the front when on full lock because they rub just a bit on the inside front of the arch liners. No issues when driving normally or on track, no scrubbing etc.

Actually not sure what the stock size is meant to be but I have 225 on mine at the moment and I get the same very slight rub when full lock and moving at like 5mph. Assumed this is kinda normal when lowered/spacers etc.

I'll check out some 215s and post back when I know what they are like. Hopefully not much in them!

 

[bigsid]

I just double checked, I have a set of cheapo Chinese ditch-finders on my spare set of battered old wheels. These are 215/45/R17 and I don't have any issues with them hitting the arch liners at all. That's on cup shocks and H&R lowering springs which I think drop it 30mm front, 40mm rear.

 

[DS197]

215s are the standard size. I had H&Rs (30/40) + ET45 alloys and with 215s had no rubbing

 

[Frank Perry]

Thanks for the info lads. I'll pick up some 215s!

 

[bigsid]

This escalated...

What started off as replacing the rear dampers has turned into pretty much a full rear end refresh after I found the torsion because bushes were buggered.

Decided to de-rust the beam so I can hammerite it before it goes back on.

I also designed some brake cooling ducts to go in place of the fog lights and got my dad to 3D print them for me. They don’t quite fit but they’re close enough.

Just waiting for delivery of a load of parts to finish off some other maintenance.


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[bigsid]

Bit of an update. I've been chipping away at various jobs over the last few weeks. I've been slowed down waiting for parts to arrive, but that at least has given me time to get my OCD on

I have discovered that fixing one job leads to finding another five jobs that need doing. Job 1 was to find out the source of the clonky noise from the rear and correct.

Turned out to be a loose heat shield. Clip was completely missing. As a pack of 5 was like £14 (they're called Christmas Tree fasteners or something stupid) I opted to brute force a nut onto the wrong size thread with a washer. Tada!

That fix spawned new jobs. Like this:

...and this...

followed by this...

Obviously, no self-respecting Clio owner is going to drive round with a known dirty rear beam. And, I know no one is ever going to see it, but I knew the exhaust was a mess and it was bugging me.

After a bit of clean up, I discovered this...

I emailed Milltek about this. It looked a bit too square to be accidental and so I wondered if it was some kind of drainage thing. Apparently it's not and they recommended sticking a blob of weld on it.

Cleaned up all the rear axle components and painted with what I think I've discovered to be the best underbody treatment.

• Black Hammerite (hammer finish of course) followed by...
• Hammerite Underbody Seal with Waxoyl
• Finished with a coat of Halfords Satin Black

I know this is unorthodox, but I tested it out and it seems to actually work. So, the Halfords Satin Black is Acrylic paint, so it doesn't have solvent in it therefore doesn't react with the underbody seal like other paints seem to. Also, I just stick a light dusting of Satin Black over it so it takes away the horrible sticky, never dry finish. Result looks pretty shit hot IMHO...

Believe it or not this is dry to the touch but still has a slightly squishy rubbery feel.

 

[bigsid]

I'd had an advisory on the MOT a few months back of play in both inner tie rods. This had been an advisory on the previous MOT also. So, I thought I'd get that sorted and freshen up a few of the other shitty front suspension components.

New inner tie rods, track rod ends and anti-rotation links along side the shittiest track rod end removal tool (Neilsen on Amazon.. avoid, didn't work, sent it back for a refund. Forked out £65 notes on a Laser one which worked perfectly).

Exhaust removal wasn't purely for weird OCD reasons. I did need to replace a broken C-Clamp on the de-cat pipe and I also needed to remove a big section of heat shield to get to the underside of the exhaust tunnel as I need to put spreader plates on for my hardness lap-strap eye bolts. So this came off...

I can't fit the harnesses until the seat arrive and I can position everything properly. In the meantime I worked on a couple of mods. Got the custom 3D printed fog light brake cooling scoops mounted.

No idea yet how I'm going to route the ducting. Open to suggestions. I've also made another little mod, again to hopefully aid with brake cooling.

Hopefully these should give hot air a way to escape more efficiently. Should get sucked out by the lower pressure behind the wing vent. It also makes those wing vents properly functional. Basically LMP style aero package more or less....

Anyway, critique welcome.