Nicole ? Papa ! - Clio 197 F1

[AmosMoses]

Well due an update!

Having relocated in the last 6 weeks its been pretty hectic, good news is that the 197 has been soldiering on. Mrs has been using it as a daily for 4 weeks and apart from kerbing a wheel she's looked after it.

Spanner time

With an upcoming trackday it seemed only right i did the yearly oil service, after a fight with the older filter (again) i filled her up started the car only to see many liters of Elf's finest spray over the floor. Rubber filter gasket had fallen out hadn't it. WHAT A SPANNER! Luckily dad was on hand to go and dash to the shop for some oil while i tried to un ruin his garage floor . I'll be painting that next year then!

Track Time

Dad has his GBS Zero on the road now and we had agreed to do a day at Donington, another MSV Novice day which i really like when learning a new circuit.

We arrived nice and early got signed in and we were in look! Weather looked great.



Having had the briefing we were up first, car felt right at home and i was able to push all day pretty much. I'm very comfortable in the car now and feel i have reached the limit of the standard car.

Some footage of me chasing down some proper fast toys:

Will have a pt.2 update soon!

 

[Pav]

limit of a standard car??does this mean more mods??

 

[AmosMoses]

limit of a standard car??does this mean more mods??

Well this is the dilemma i'm in! I'm at the point now where some semi slicks, coil overs and a cage would be needed. Or do i just trade up and go for a R26 Megane!

 

[Pav]

depends..do you enjoy your current engine set up or you are after more power?

 

[AmosMoses]

depends..do you enjoy your current engine set up or you are after more power?

That’s the thing, I think I could be a lot faster with more power. Also clios really struggle to overtake stuff on straights!

 

[AmosMoses]

MOT time yesterday!

It was a fail (as expected) but I wanted to get a gauge on what was needed before I decide wether to shift it on or not.

Fail was due to a rear calliper binding, which I believe is due to the rear pads rusting. Other advisories were on rear tires and low rear pads.

So I’ve ordered some new OEM rear discs, DS2500 Pads and I’ll get 2 PS4s fitted this week.

Car will then hopefully get a clean bill of health and I’ll be keeping it until the spring.

I’m going to attempt rear discs and pads on my own, looks pretty simple and I’ve ordered a 36mm socket for the hub nut.

 

[Pav]

will feel better after the parts are fitted..

 

[Dumdum]

MOT time yesterday!

It was a fail (as expected) but I wanted to get a gauge on what was needed before I decide wether to shift it on or not.

Fail was due to a rear calliper binding, which I believe is due to the rear pads rusting. Other advisories were on rear tires and low rear pads.

So I’ve ordered some new OEM rear discs, DS2500 Pads and I’ll get 2 PS4s fitted this week.

Car will then hopefully get a clean bill of health and I’ll be keeping it until the spring.

I’m going to attempt rear discs and pads on my own, looks pretty simple and I’ve ordered a 36mm socket for the hub nut.

Make sure it’s not just a handbrake cable sticking, free it off and cut away the rusty bubble and away you go!

 

[AmosMoses]

Make sure it’s not just a handbrake cable sticking, free it off and cut away the rusty bubble and away you go!

Thanks for the tip, from taking a look at the rear pads they are rusted so look to not be sliding free, i have greased them but still no good. Should have the new discs and pads coming in from ktec soon so will just do a swap out.

 

[Dumdum]

Thanks for the tip, from taking a look at the rear pads they are rusted so look to not be sliding free, i have greased them but still no good. Should have the new discs and pads coming in from ktec soon so will just do a swap out.

Are the handbrake arms sitting against there stops on the caliper? If not they are defo not doing you any favours... they stick over and have the exact symptoms you describe, this reduces foot brake efficiency as the ratchet mechanism doesn’t work correctly and normally causes imbalance in hand brake

 

[AmosMoses]

Are the handbrake arms sitting against there stops on the caliper? If not they are defo not doing you any favours... they stick over and have the exact symptoms you describe, this reduces foot brake efficiency as the ratchet mechanism doesn’t work correctly and normally causes imbalance in hand brake

I'll have to take a look, the handbrake and foot brake seem to work ok and braking efficiency is spot on. Ill be changing out the rear discs and pads on Friday so will take a look. Handbrake shouldn't need to be adjusted as they self adjust on these don't they?

 

[Dumdum]

I'll have to take a look, the handbrake and foot brake seem to work ok and braking efficiency is spot on. Ill be changing out the rear discs and pads on Friday so will take a look. Handbrake shouldn't need to be adjusted as they self adjust on these don't they?

Idiots tighten the cable from the handbrake end to make the handbrake feel better, when in reality the handbrake adjustment is ONLY to take the slack out of the cables, not to make the handbrake feel better and adjust the pads, so in essence no, adjustment shouldn’t be required... only slight to remove slack from stretch in the cables

it also occurs if one side sticks over (corroded bubbling cable inner sticks generally not allowing it to release correctly) and the travel on the handbrake becomes more so people tighten the cable up, when in reality they need to release the arm from its premature forward position and get it to sit against the stop, then as the pad wears the ratchet doesn’t take up the slack so the tighten the cable adjuster further to remove the slack, compounding the issue further, until the arm is all the way forward on one side and then the handbrake efficiency falls through the floor

We used to get this all the time with rear disc handbrakes, your replacing pads and discs, but if you have plenty of life left in pads, a good deglaze of the pads and the discs surface with 120 grit sandpaper soon renews there bite, and also a trip up the road with the handbrake on one notch just to bust any surface mismatch of pads to discs is often enough just to refresh the efficiency

I will say disc handbrakes are one of the worst inventions for people who drive like miss daisy, the discs and pads tend to glaze over and efficiency falls off! Drums can’t be beaten for the ability to make a decent handbrake on miss daisy cars as they don’t tend to rust up so much as discs which are exposed and then the rust gets compacted into the disc and pad

 

[AmosMoses]

Please to report the car passed its MOT retest on Saturday!

I spent Friday getting new rear tyres and replacing the brake discs and pads on the rear. The rear pads were wearing thin and due a replacement, but i didn't expect them to be this bad!



Fresh Renault discs and DS2500 pads went back on, had a real battle winding the caliper in, my windback tool was next to useless and it took an age to wind in with pliers, after much persistence it all went back together.

Please to say the car now drives even better, it stops like it should and fresh PS4s have made the car feel very alive! Now I've spent a decent wedge of cash on the car i'm reluctant to let it go. So she's staying for now!

 

[Pav]

happy days..glad its done

 

[AmosMoses]

Nothing much to report over the last few months, car is running great and hasnt seen that many miles. I need to replace the rubber trim strips around the drivers door/rear window seal. Ordered the parts just waiting for warmer weather.

Been working solid since Xmas so to reward myself I've booked Cadwell for March 9th with a few mates

 

[Pav]

have a good time tracking her..bet you are very excited..

 

[AmosMoses]

Update! Cadwell Park

So the day had come to get on track at cadwell, I was nervous as it has a reputation and from watching numerous crashes on YouTube you can see why!

I spent a lot of time on my racing sim getting laps in and learning the track, it helped massively as I knew the rough layout of the track.

Weather was looking to be mixed but as I’m running PS4s this never really worries me.

First few sessions the track was damp in places but straight away I felt good in the car and was starting to push.

I had a tuition session booked which is something I recommend to anyone, Javelins instructor (Andrew) was brilliant and helped me nail my lines and get the most out of the circuit.

Towards lunchtime we had hail and torrential rain which meant the circuit got a soaking.

After lunch the track was drying out and by around 3 pm the racing line was bone dry.

I had a friend come out in the car with me and he was impressed with how the stock chassis felt, I then passengered in his DC5 integra which made me realise how good a vtec engine is!

Here’s a video from the end of the day with me and the integra, followed by me getting the track to myself!

All in all I had a fantastic day, I love Cadwell Park and I love this car. I’ve gotten to a point where I can get straight in and just nail the thing and it never surprises me. I know with mods I could be a lot faster but I really don’t wanna ruin how the car feels.

 

[petercronin]

Sounds like you had a good day and you’re 100% right about getting tuition. I also agree with you about Integra’s, I had my first “VTEC experience” on track last week (just as passenger in a mates DC2), they’re pretty special engines. It also made the Clio look heavy and cumbersome, the combination of less weight, a diff and probably a better driver really impressed me.

 

[Pav]

enjoyed that..good vid

 

[AmosMoses]

Sounds like you had a good day and you’re 100% right about getting tuition. I also agree with you about Integra’s, I had my first “VTEC experience” on track last week (just as passenger in a mates DC2), they’re pretty special engines. It also made the Clio look heavy and cumbersome, the combination of less weight, a diff and probably a better driver really impressed me.

It's really made me want a Honda, an EP3 is essentially a 197 in terms of specs. It's certainly made me think twice about what to get next!

enjoyed that..good vid

Thanks, shame about the noisy camera mount but other than that I'm chuffed with how it came out.

Javelin have put their pictures up on Flickr and some great ones have come out:

XSP_5429 by Javelin Trackdays, on Flickr

XSP_5336 by Javelin Trackdays, on Flickr

XSP_5280 by Javelin Trackdays, on Flickr

What's next? Well we're still house hunting and depending on what we get I may have to get rid of the car. If i'm keeping it I'll need new discs and pads on the front and that's pretty much it.