The Driving Motive Clio 200

[suj]

That's the problem with noise, it travels and vibrates natural frequencies of different materials!
We have this at work all the time, the exciter of the frequencies are sometimes the most unexpected.

I hope you get to the bottom of it, it drives me insane when I get one lol.

 

[OLT]

So I went out for a drive with @DS197 over the weekend along with a friend of mine in a 1.0 EcoBoost Fiesta - remapped to around 167bhp.

Was a good drive, only 2-3 hours in the Peak District and I loved driving the Clio other than the constant rubbing of the wheels on the wheel arch liners. It's super annoying and I'm considering just selling the wheels as I have a spare set of 197 wheels that I could put on instead. It seems my only other options are to remove the wheel arch liners or raise the coilovers which I do not want to do....

 

[DS197]

Cars come along so much since I last saw it mate, more than I realised after reading the thread! Pictures don’t do the car any justice, looks amazing in person.

 

[OLT]

Thanks mate @DS197 much appreciated!

Took some pictures yesterday which I hope do the car some justice, you can see how it sits in these pics quite well...


I've planned with some friends to do the Nürburgring for the second time either on 17th - 20th August or 2nd - 5th September. Will anybody from here be over there then? Guess I'll have a look in the trackdays/trips section of the site.

Plans for the car before the ring:
New OEM clutch
Fit lower ball joints which I already have
New passenger window regulator
Annual service
Aircon check (just had a re-gas but it still doesn't work)

Then, unfortunately, the plan is to stick the Clio for sale as soon as I get back from the Nurburgring to help with the cost of moving back to London which I'll have to do in late September.

If anybody is after a mechanically mint car with some decent mods keep your eyes peeled around that time!!

 

[mike harper]

Thanks for the thread. Do you think the ultra racing brace made any difference? I’m not sure how it can make that much difference ? Surely it would be better if it mounted to the strut tops?

 

[suj]

It's a shame you'll be selling mate, but understandable really. It might be easier selling the bits you can like wheels etc to get most bang for buck.

Thanks for the thread. Do you think the ultra racing brace made any difference? I’m not sure how it can make that much difference ? Surely it would be better if it mounted to the strut tops?

The reason why it can make a difference is, even though it is a fixed axle on Clios, they still have some flex in them (especially where the springs attach) so the ARB links on to the bottom of these and reduces this torsion.
The strut tops also flex but at a much lower rate, as Clios are quite a stiff car from factory with quite good torsional rigidity.
There are drawbacks to adding a rear ARB too, as it will stiffen up the rear for day to day driving etc.

 

[mike harper]

It's a shame you'll be selling mate, but understandable really. It might be easier selling the bits you can like wheels etc to get most bang for buck.



The reason why it can make a difference is, even though it is a fixed axle on Clios, they still have some flex in them (especially where the springs attach) so the ARB links on to the bottom of these and reduces this torsion.
The strut tops also flex but at a much lower rate, as Clios are quite a stiff car from factory with quite good torsional rigidity.
There are drawbacks to adding a rear ARB too, as it will stiffen up the rear for day to day driving etc.

do you have the arb as well? I was referring to just the boot mounted strut bar.
I’ve are before in clios and do think they make a significant difference

 

[suj]

do you have the arb as well? I was referring to just the boot mounted strut bar.
I’ve are before in clios and do think they make a significant difference

Oh sorry I misread it totally haha, yeah I'm in same opinion of you for that mount, I have an ARB but not that mount sorry.

 

[OLT]

Thanks for the thread. Do you think the ultra racing brace made any difference? I’m not sure how it can make that much difference ? Surely it would be better if it mounted to the strut tops?

It didn't make a huge difference. The car feels more rigid under braking (in a positive way) but I'm not sure if this is just some kind of placebo effect! Looks pretty though hahah

 

[OLT]

It's a shame you'll be selling mate, but understandable really. It might be easier selling the bits you can like wheels etc to get most bang for buck.

yeah I'll be selling the wheels separately and maybe some random bits like the strut brace, wheel bolts etc. Stuff that can easily come off the car and parts which I still have the originals off

 

[OLT]

A few updates:

So since my last post I have done two trackdays in the Clio: my first time at Blyton Park and then a Cadwell Park evening session. Both times I was running my second set of wheels which are standard 197 wheels with a set of Yokohama AD08R.

I had some brake fluid problems at Blyton as it was the standard fluid, so I went to Demon Tweeks in Wrexham to get some RBF660 ASAP before Cadwell Park. Brake pedal feels much better now. You can find some trackday videos here: https://www.youtube.com/thedrivingmotive

My lines at Blyton weren't the best as I was focussing on exit curbs rather than the apex.

At Blyton:



At Demon Tweeks:


At Cadwell Park:


I also went to Oulton Park but was just spectating with my camping chair:


And a random pic with an old Fiat 500. Who knew Clios were so large?


Last month the car had its annual service and the new lower ball joints fitted.

Now for the exciting part! I booked my next Nurburgring trip yesterday and will be going from the 4th to 7th September. It's going to be a solo journey but I have a friend who lives close to the track and spends a lot of his weekends there, so a great friend to have as he knows all of the best spectating spots etc.

I've now ticked over the 100 pictures posted on this thread so congrats to all who have read it from the start!!!

 

[RSRowe]

Blyton is a mint track, but really hard on brakes as there’s not much time for them to cool down.
The pics from the day look mine too! Javelin seem to be upping their game for sure.

 

[Beany]

Blyton is a mint track, but really hard on brakes as there’s not much time for them to cool down.
The pics from the day look mine too! Javelin seem to be upping their game for sure.

We said this last time out.. javelin have certainly upped their photography game...

extremely local is Blyton however sometimes I can’t justify the cost to go there

 

[RSRowe]

It’s 2.5 hours for us, which soon turns into 3.5 when we bring the trailer too
Expensive trip when you take into account a new drivers side front tyre after a day there.

 

[Beany]

It’s 2.5 hours for us, which soon turns into 3.5 when we bring the trailer too
Expensive trip when you take into account a new drivers side front tyre after a day there.

Ouch that’s a long trip for that... especially ruining a tyre
haven’t done Donington this year which is a must

 

[OLT]

Ouch that’s a long trip for that... especially ruining a tyre
haven’t done Donington this year which is a must

I've only ever been to Donington as a passenger and it seems like quite a fast track so didn't fancy taking the Clio there! Are they still good fun around there?

 

[Beany]

I've only ever been to Donington as a passenger and it seems like quite a fast track so didn't fancy taking the Clio there! Are they still good fun around there?

it is such a fast flowing circuit it actually suits the Clio..plenty of sections where it’ll excel against a more powerful car.

honestly it’s a great circuit

I’m sure I won’t be alone in my assessment.

 

[RSRowe]

It’s alright. Certainly a good track if you’ve got a Megane engine!
It’s less than an hour from me, so I’ve done it quite a few times. Craners is a good buzz, and it’s nice playing with different lines there as it’s so wide. I do prefer the GP layout a bit more than national.
It’s lethal in the wet. Literally no grip whatsoever, but again, great fun.

Think if you’re heading to this neck of the woods, Oulton is the one to go for

 

[Beany]

It’s alright. Certainly a good track if you’ve got a Megane engine!
It’s less than an hour from me, so I’ve done it quite a few times. Craners is a good buzz, and it’s nice playing with different lines there as it’s so wide. I do prefer the GP layout a bit more than national.
It’s lethal in the wet. Literally no grip whatsoever, but again, great fun.

Think if you’re heading to this neck of the woods, Oulton is the one to go for

I beg to differ, I recon a decent N/A Clio will chase / be close to lap times with a meglio.. down the straights yeah no chance..

I’d love to do oulton at some point..

 

[RSRowe]

Think it would take some serious driving to keep up.
I’m sure it takes about 45 minutes for mine to drag it’s arse up the hill out of the Old Hairpin.