Chris tii
RMS Regular
- Messages
- 1,561
- Drives
- BMW 2002tii
So for a while now i've been toying with the idea of a track day car. Nothing too expensive, just something fun that would give me a chance to dip my toe in and see if track days are as awesome as they look.
So last month I had the urge to just do it. There was a track skills event a week away and I was determined to make it.
I decided a Clio 182 was the way to go. With none available in Northern Ireland I would have to go to England, with the pandemic this meant buying one unseen and getting it transported.
I enquired about a couple for sale on ebay that didn't really pan out, I missed out on another. Then this Black Gold FF one popped up, it seemed to tick all the boxes. Owner was very helpful and easy to deal with, definitely a car enthusiast as he also owned an RX7 and a nice Aston DB9. The deal was done, I arranged a transporter to pick it up. I collected the car on October 10th, I took it to the Kirkistown Track Skills event the very next day!
First impressions where all right, it had a few niggles. On the drive home from the transporters yard I had to stop off at Kwik Fit (it was a Saturday) as the wheel wobble was bad. I ended up replacing the 2 front tyres for a pair of Yokohamas. The wheel wobble was a lot better after, though it still comes back slightly now and again. I've since taken it to Wells in Bangor who balanced the wheels again, and mentioned one of the rear wheels has a slight kink which might be the cause.
Another thing I noticed was the car was super loud, it had a Scorpion Decat fitted but it also turned out to have a hole in the exhaust which I think might have been done by the transport lorry as the car is very low. Again, a trip to Wells and they soon patched it up. I'm now just waiting on a Sports Cat coming from France as the MOT has just ran out.
Heres the specs;
FF (both cup packs from factory)
85k miles
de-phaser and cambelt changed 7k miles ago
Scorpion full exhaust including decat
Apex 30mm lowering springs
Cup shocks
K&N filter
16 inch Team Dynamic Pro Race wheels
The track day was really good fun. The car handled brilliantly, I obviously wasn't the fastest out there but I'm sure there wasn't many drivers having as much fun as I was!!
Throughout the day I was cooking the brakes, on the last lap of the last stint I got past an Audi A3 on the straight that I had been trying to catch for ages, I braked late and hard and my foot hit the floor! Luckily I squealed around the last corner and made it to the checkered flag. Though the brakes where done.
First thing I did with the car after the track day was new brakes. I went with EBC grooved front discs with blue pads on the front, and OEM discs and yellow EBC pads on the rear. I Also got some EBC braided lines. All supplied by Auto Windscreens and Motorspares, and although I plan to do some things on the car myself, Gary Dunlop motorsport in Bangor did all the brake work along with an oil service. One thing I did tackle myself was fitting a new jet washer pump, I have to start somewhere.
I also fixed the heater which was constantly on full heat by basically wrapping a cable tie around a split cog inside the dash. It's a common fault and theres loads of guides online on how to fix it.
Another thing I've done is find the cause of soggy carpets under the front seats. Again with the help of the Clio forum, I discovered its a blocked drain under the front scuttle. The water builds up and runs through the heater and out of the heater vents located under the front seats. A quick prod to the scuttle with a coat hanger and the sweet sound of water draining all over my garage floor, and the problem is fixed.
Plans for the car are to get the new Cat fitted when it finally arrives, and after it gets a fresh MOT, I'm going to make it a little more track focused. The rear seats are already removed, and I have a nice pair of Sabelt buckets with lowered subframes to fit, and a lovely Sabelt steering wheel to match.
So last month I had the urge to just do it. There was a track skills event a week away and I was determined to make it.
I decided a Clio 182 was the way to go. With none available in Northern Ireland I would have to go to England, with the pandemic this meant buying one unseen and getting it transported.
I enquired about a couple for sale on ebay that didn't really pan out, I missed out on another. Then this Black Gold FF one popped up, it seemed to tick all the boxes. Owner was very helpful and easy to deal with, definitely a car enthusiast as he also owned an RX7 and a nice Aston DB9. The deal was done, I arranged a transporter to pick it up. I collected the car on October 10th, I took it to the Kirkistown Track Skills event the very next day!
First impressions where all right, it had a few niggles. On the drive home from the transporters yard I had to stop off at Kwik Fit (it was a Saturday) as the wheel wobble was bad. I ended up replacing the 2 front tyres for a pair of Yokohamas. The wheel wobble was a lot better after, though it still comes back slightly now and again. I've since taken it to Wells in Bangor who balanced the wheels again, and mentioned one of the rear wheels has a slight kink which might be the cause.
Another thing I noticed was the car was super loud, it had a Scorpion Decat fitted but it also turned out to have a hole in the exhaust which I think might have been done by the transport lorry as the car is very low. Again, a trip to Wells and they soon patched it up. I'm now just waiting on a Sports Cat coming from France as the MOT has just ran out.
Heres the specs;
FF (both cup packs from factory)
85k miles
de-phaser and cambelt changed 7k miles ago
Scorpion full exhaust including decat
Apex 30mm lowering springs
Cup shocks
K&N filter
16 inch Team Dynamic Pro Race wheels
The track day was really good fun. The car handled brilliantly, I obviously wasn't the fastest out there but I'm sure there wasn't many drivers having as much fun as I was!!
Throughout the day I was cooking the brakes, on the last lap of the last stint I got past an Audi A3 on the straight that I had been trying to catch for ages, I braked late and hard and my foot hit the floor! Luckily I squealed around the last corner and made it to the checkered flag. Though the brakes where done.
First thing I did with the car after the track day was new brakes. I went with EBC grooved front discs with blue pads on the front, and OEM discs and yellow EBC pads on the rear. I Also got some EBC braided lines. All supplied by Auto Windscreens and Motorspares, and although I plan to do some things on the car myself, Gary Dunlop motorsport in Bangor did all the brake work along with an oil service. One thing I did tackle myself was fitting a new jet washer pump, I have to start somewhere.
I also fixed the heater which was constantly on full heat by basically wrapping a cable tie around a split cog inside the dash. It's a common fault and theres loads of guides online on how to fix it.
Another thing I've done is find the cause of soggy carpets under the front seats. Again with the help of the Clio forum, I discovered its a blocked drain under the front scuttle. The water builds up and runs through the heater and out of the heater vents located under the front seats. A quick prod to the scuttle with a coat hanger and the sweet sound of water draining all over my garage floor, and the problem is fixed.
Plans for the car are to get the new Cat fitted when it finally arrives, and after it gets a fresh MOT, I'm going to make it a little more track focused. The rear seats are already removed, and I have a nice pair of Sabelt buckets with lowered subframes to fit, and a lovely Sabelt steering wheel to match.