Fantom

Here's a little history of my 172 track car I bought earlier this year.
I've had 2 clios before so when I got permission from the wife to have a track car I knew I had to get another one as they are perfect for it.
I bought myself this 2001 phase 1 for £1250:







First thing was to rip of that dodgy rear wiper, and I replaced the rear lights for the later spec. They look much better in my opinion



Unfortunately I had some problems with vibrations on the standard wheels. When I took them to get them balanced I found out two of them were buckled. A real shame as I would have loved to have kept them. I sold them off cheap and got the following wheels fairly cheap with almost new Yoko AD08's which I'd heard were great for the track





Now I'm sure you'll agree these wheels look a bit pants but I didn't really have another option at the time.

Next up was stripping out the rear seats, boot trims, spare wheel etc







Up next, I got changed the massive steering wheel for a 300mm one. Such a difference!





The standard seats in these are awful anyway with a terrible driving position for tall people. They had to go in favour of these budget omps from demon tweeks:







I managed to get a reasonable deal on some second hand Spax RSX coilovers. Got the backs fitted easily:







Had real trouble with the fronts. Bolts were seized, snapped my allen key in half etc.
Luckily I managed to get a garage to sort them on the morning of the first track day!

Here's some pics of it at Brands Hatch:











The car was great on the track but the brakes were terrible. However they had so much pad left I didn't see the point in changing them yet.
I removed the fog lights for a bit of cooling, and had the fluid replaced and added HEL braided lines







So then I went about sorting the wheels I never really liked. Got these Oz superleggers for £190 in a bit of a state:



Had them refurbished and powder coated gloss black. These wheels are very light so was kinda a bit more than just for looks

Then it was off to Snetterton and my first time there. What a fantastic track! Really had a good time and the car performed really well apart from the brakes. They were absolutely shocking. I mean almost dangerous. I think they were replaced with cheaper than cheap tat before the car was sold so I will definitely have to change them before I do another outing.













And thats about it............
I've only driven it twice in the last 2 months.

Plans for next year include:
Replacing the front discs and pads
Omp road legal harnesses
Hopefully at least 5 track days and a trip to the Nurburgring if I'm lucky.

For info, the total cost of the car including all mods etc has been £2900

RS Grant

I really like the idea of these cars as a budget track toy... but the stories of French reliability and my previous experience of a 205GTi (a car people also thrap themselves silly over) which I owned have made me seriously wary!!

I'm also over 6ft and whenever I've sat in any Clio, I've felt like my head was in the roof and that's not where I want to be when on track. How much lower do these seats drop the driving position?? I see they are fixed back, but are they adjustable forwards and back??


Cheers,
Grant

cookstar

iTrader: (6)

Did you collect those wheels from Hemel Hempstead. The White ones?

Fantom

Cookstar, yes indeed I did. We're they yours?

Fantom

RS Grant....
This Clio has done 115k and the engine is still perfect. Really revs well and is quick.
In respect to the seats you so right. I am 6'5 so I really struggled with the standard seats. In my first Clio I bought some aftermarket seats and modified the subframe so they sat as low as possible. I had about a foot of headroom and driving the car was so much better.
I have tried the same with these red seats but I don't think they are as low as they are on side mounts. I bought runners so yes they slide and I can tilt the seat. I think in the future though I will ditch the subframe and mount the side mounts straight through the floor for maximum lowness

trails

iTrader: (41)

I've a 182 for my daily and its great little car..the wagon really has something to live up to once its running again!

Looks like fun on tack, the Oz wheels look cracking...do you still have the speakers i noticed in the rear trim?

Fantom

Yes I still have the speakers. I think they are even upgraded ones

cookstar

iTrader: (6)

Yeah my old wheels, they looked much better on the blue 182 IMO, those AD08s work a treat don't they.

Godspeed Brakes

iTrader: (259)

They are great little cars , I have just had an engine built for mine and its 242hp ! It's going to absolutely fly with that fitted

Fantom

Yeah the tyres have been very good. Still loads of tread left after both track days

Godspeed that's gonna fly! I'm jealous. I can't believe the costs of tuning these though. I'll be leaving the engine as it is