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Newbie Interested in a Clio 182


s9810588

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G'day

 

A Melb newbie interested in getting Clio 182 Cup. Never owned a French car before but a friend had a Pug 306 GTi6.

 

How do I know if the Clio is fitted with Cup suspension other than the anthracite wheels, which can be fitted to the car despite not being a Cup variant?

 

In the meanwhile, I'll be browsing the forum to learn more about a 182 and keep an eye on one for sale.

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Welcome. There seems to be a bit of interest recently and not that many of these around but I'm sure more will pop up soon. The way to tell a cup (isn't that easy unfortunately) is to measure the bolt spacing at the bottom of the front shocker. It should look something like this with the wheel off. I think it's 54mm for non-cup and 58mm for cup (correct me if I'm wrong someone).

 

Careful when trawling the forums because the Australian cup spec is different to the Europe version (ours has more goodies and luxuries) ... but this particular item remains the same on both.

 

Good luck with the hunt.

 

 

DSC01461.jpg

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Welcome mate! 182s are awesome 8)

 

The other way you can tell is by some coloured marks on the suspension struts. There should be two little stripes, like dabs with a paint brush. Might be hard to see under a layer of dirt but they should be there. I'd need to confirm what colours are Cup and which is Sport but from memory, Cup was red and blue.

 

Visually, it's just the anthracite wheels and a slightly lower ride height. Also, French Racing Blue and Blood Orange were unique to the Cups, except for one (possibly 2) examples of each that were special order Sports.

 

Good luck :mrgreen:

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Welcome! Love my Cup, and I wholeheartedly recommend these addictive little cars, but don't necessarily discount non-cups or even 172s - a loved one with a comprehensive history will be every bit as good and there is much more off-the-shelf choice for upgrading worn suspension in non-Cups.

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Thanks folks.

 

I haven't discounted non-Cup variant but I do want Phase 3 car purely for the cosmetic twin exhaust. Seems like all Phase 3 cars listed on Carsales now have Cup suspension.

 

So the paint dabs are on the dampers? My car has them on the springs, which can be seen without having to take the wheel off.

 

17056d1381308061-fs-s3-8p-oem-suspension-springs-dampers-%5Bmelb%5D-img_0795.jpg

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Just looked at a photo from my 197 and there're marks on the springs. Assume they might be on both?

 

197 Cup springs have red and blue dabs.

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Managed to find a 182 Phase 3 (non cup) in very clean condition. Timing belt was changed recently too. There are some quirks though that stop me from getting it right now.

 

1. The speedo will take time to adjust to.

 

2. The clutch and brake pedals have very short travel and light compared to my other car. The accelerator pedal position is very low and combined with sensitive, short travel brake pedal, makes it hard to heel-toe when braking lightly (as one does when driving on the road).

 

If the Clio would be my only car, I'd get used to the pedals but I'm keeping the S3 hence need to jump from one to the other. Decision decision...

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Managed to find a 182 Phase 3 (non cup) in very clean condition. Timing belt was changed recently too. There are some quirks though that stop me from getting it right now.

 

1. The speedo will take time to adjust to.

 

2. The clutch and brake pedals have very short travel and light compared to my other car. The accelerator pedal position is very low and combined with sensitive, short travel brake pedal, makes it hard to heel-toe when braking lightly (as one does when driving on the road).

 

If the Clio would be my only car, I'd get used to the pedals but I'm keeping the S3 hence need to jump from one to the other. Decision decision...

 

I swap between a manual BMW M135i and my Clio - no issues at all, if anything in spite of the ergonomic challenges and control weighting the Clio is the easier to adapt to.

 

As for the brakes being sharp and the clutch light, are you driving an HQ Kingswood??!!

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As for the brakes being sharp and the clutch light, are you driving an HQ Kingswood??!!

 

This!

 

Clio IIs are known for their heavy cable operated clutch. And having driven my wife's 2010 A3 and her Dad's Q5 a fair bit, I'd say Audi brakes are a lot more sensitive - haven't driven an S3 though.

 

I bleed of the braking system and some fresh fluid should help you out and a set of braided brake lines will firm things up too

 

Personally, I wouldn't let differences in operating pedals turn me off a car. Think of it as part of the car's character which you get to know and learn how to best use 8)

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Don't get me wrong. I'm still very keen on the 182. Without those quirks, I'd have given him a deposit on that day. Now I'm hesitating a bit. I think I'll toss a coin three times and see what the outcome is :)

 

FRB Clio 182 Cup would be the perfect spec for me but I'm skeptical of cars sold on auction.

 

Alex, surprisingly the brakes on the S3 is a lot easier to modulate than a friend's A4 and a rental Golf Mk6, which is similar to 2010 A3.

 

So Clio II uses direct cable pull clutch with no hydraulic at all.

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Don't get me wrong. I'm still very keen on the 182. Without those quirks, I'd have given him a deposit on that day. Now I'm hesitating a bit. I think I'll toss a coin three times and see what the outcome is :)

 

FRB Clio 182 Cup would be the perfect spec for me but I'm skeptical of cars sold on auction.

 

Alex, surprisingly the brakes on the S3 is a lot easier to modulate than a friend's A4 and a rental Golf Mk6, which is similar to 2010 A3.

 

So Clio II uses direct cable pull clutch with no hydraulic at all.

 

I believe the 182 cable its slightly upgraded and the 172 it's actually a bit heavier again.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Well, here it is. Just a crappy GoPro shot for now.

 

A reasonably clean non-Cup 182. Took it to Virage Motors for a check up and things look in very much good order. The car will be driven predominantly by the wife but of course I will borrow it from time to time :)

 

Have taken it for short drives only so far. Jeremy Clarkson's comment on Clio 182 engine being noisy is utter rubbish! This thing is quiet! I'll be happy to take it for 10 hour drives.

 

medium.jpg

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Cheers folks. Have driven the car for a few times now but not yet to anywhere twisty like Warburton-Black Spur-Lake Mountain-Marysville route.

 

R182, the other car is an Audi S3. The track tyres were actually fitted to the car ready for the following day.

 

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Yes yes I need to grow b@ll$ and go faster by 10 sec! The brake discs had developed some nasty vibration though *excuse* :)

 

The two cars have very different characters - almost the opposite of each other. The S3 has significantly more power and torque for acceleration. It is also 400kg heavier so steering it into a corner needs to be rather gentle to carry a lot of speed.

 

Steering is very lively in the Clio communicating the camber of the road surface whilst the S3 has dull steering and communicate the road surface mostly through the seat. Brake and clutch pedals have longer travel in the S3 and firmer (I use uprated clutch) so it is easier to modulate braking force whilst heel-and-toeing.

 

I want more engine sound in the Clio! It's too quiet even at high revs. I won't change the exhaust though because it's the wife's car.

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^ stick an intake on there and she'll never know the difference.

 

But you will when you put your foot down 8)

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R182, the other car is an Audi S3. The track tyres were actually fitted to the car ready for the following day.

 

 

Yep, can see that now that I look again (think it's just the camera angle that makes it look smaller).

 

 

Taking the cold air feed out of the side of the airbox (the CAF that runs out the side of the engine bay into the guard) will give you some more engine noise.

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Yep, I've removed this air feed. No difference at low rpm, but press the pedal and she howls!

 

I wonder how much louder the KTR induction kit is?

 

It's "melt your face off" loud.

 

The "remove air feed" trick is a good compromise of a bit more noise + retaining the stock air box. Plus it's free 8)

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Yep, I've removed this air feed. No difference at low rpm, but press the pedal and she howls!

 

I wonder how much louder the KTR induction kit is?

 

It's "melt your face off" loud.

 

Now why did you have to go and say that? I'm already in trouble from the wifey for spending too much time and $ on the Clio and Forester (she was home when the courier turned up with a package from Whiteline).

 

Don't want to hijack this thread, but would be interested in seeing your intake setup as i believe you've enclosed it to make it legal? Didn't get a chance to take a peek at the recent meet.

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Thanks for the info on removing the CAI. I had a look at it - seemed like I need to take the battery out to have access to the CAI, not as straight forward as I thought it would be. Will do that when I have more spare time.

 

Had taken the car for a couple of runs on open country roads by now. The car does make me grin on tight bends.

 

Big thanks to the OP of this thread too. I wouldn't have guessed there are bolt holes under the carpet that can be used for mounting fire extinguisher. Got that one sorted now. The fire extinguisher position is great. It is hidden from view but it is within reach of the driver with seat belt fastened!

 

There's annoying continuous rattle from the corner of dashboard where it meets the driver's door. If I press that part of the dash down, the rattle goes away but I can't drive whilst continuously pushing the dash down. I tried spraying some silicon spray into the gap between the trims but that didn't work.

 

Also considering getting run flats because I will drive long distance on regular basis but none of the big tyre manufacturers seem to have run flats in 205/45R16. I cannot think of the mini jack and wrench would ever be useful!

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Run-flats? 50km at 80km/h, some unrepairable after a minor puncture, more rattles and I suspect unsuited to the RS's suspension tune.

 

Slime kit and/or a gouged old spare rim and tyre would be a better way IMO :)

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  • 3 weeks later...

The car has been well looked after but I noticed some fine scratches on the roof, passenger door and rear bumper. So I started the Christmas break by dusting off the rotary polisher and left over synthetic sealant. :)

 

New number plates, better suited for the car than the standard issue ones, arrived a few days ago too.

 

original.jpg

 

original.jpg

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  • 3 months later...

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