Clio Sport 182 Cup

[DBG6]

 

Morning all,

 

Just thought I’d introduce myself and my recent purchase. I’ve been a French car nut forever, had the occasional English car, but mostly owned Peugeot’s over the years (505, MI16, GTi6, bunch of 205 GTis, 406 coupe, GTi180, RCZ, 308 GTi etc). I’ve recently purchased a 2005 Clio Sport 182 Cup as a run about. I’m not a huge fan of modern turbo engines (both the sound and the power delivery), so I’m hoping it will bring back some of my 205 GTi enjoyment, with a (little) bit more safety. So far it feels like a mix between the GTi180 and the 205 GTi – A good thing. I was never a massive fan of the look of them when they were released, but they’ve really grown on me, particularly as cars have expanded in size (particularly roof height) so much over the years. It’s tiny proportions make me smile.

 

The car is in amazing condition for its age, no wear at all on seats, paint is in excellent condition and it is a one family car. Definitely seems to have been owned by car enthusiasts. It is reasonably high in ks (189k), but feels really tight and solid - no strange noises, rattles or clunks. It has a pretty good service history, although not all at Renault dealers.

 

The last service (4k ago) was done by Renault with all fluids changed. It passed an ACT rego check through the Govt inspectors at Hume a few months ago, so I can’t see any probs passing again, although I note there is a minor leak from the gear selector which seems to be a common issue (I’m assuming not a simple fix?). Although the book is stamped, I have about 60% of receipts throughout its life, and the owner recalls the cam belt being done in the last few years, I’m not going to take the risk, so planning to get it changed in the next week or so for peace of mind.

 

While I’m at it, I thought I’d ask a couple of quick questions if you don’t mind:

· One thing that surprised me (given my 1990 MI16 had them) is the 182 (or this one at least) doesn’t seem to have a one touch drivers electric window. Is there a simple switch swap (from another model) to add this feature?

· The steering wheel looks ok, but does feel quite scaly. Is there an easy fix for this, or recover with leather the only solution?

· The rear mufflers don’t seem to be leaking at all, although the outside (of one particularly) has a rusty patch. Is this generally a sign of an impending failure?

· The clutch actually feels really smooth, no shudder and no slipping. Given it has quite a few k on the clock, is this something that I’d likely expect to replace in the coming years, or do they generally last forever?

 

I plan on giving her a good detail this weekend (not much to do – paint feels great), lowering the seat (removing spacers), doing the hose / cable tie fix for the LHS exhaust hanger which looks a little worn, fitting some RE003s (current tyres are ok tread wise, but getting a bit old), having an alignment and suspension check carried out (replacing any bushes / shocks if needed), but that’s probably it for now.

 

Apologies, my intro became a bit more long winded than planned.

Ben

 

 

 

 

 

Edited 24, April 2019 by DBG6

[japarn]

Hi Ben

Welcome aboard! I’m a fellow 182 Cup, er, fellow myself! Your car looks super clean!

In regards to the electric window, if you do the shortest of pulls up (or pushes down) you will invoke the auto-up/ down. If you keep your finger on the button for too long it won’t do this.

Hops this helps!

[DBG6]

Thanks mate.  I might have to give it another try!  Sounds like there is a good chance it's the operator, rather than the car...

[Pokinacha]

Hey fella! Glad to see you joined. When I get back to Canberra we’ll have to have a catch up. Maybe we can invite @act180to crawl over his meg4. Ive not seen it yet and being currently unemployed, got plenty of time to faff about.

[act180]

Hey Ben, good to see you here and congrats!

Definitely up for a get together [emoji106]

[DBG6]

Sounds good mate.

[SamR]

Welcome across to OZRS from another former Aussiefrogger and 205 GTi owner, and congrats on the purchase!

I jumped ship and bought my Titanium 182 Cup almost 10 years ago and am still enjoying every drive in it

As mentioned above, a quick pull (or push) on the driver's side window button should have it go up (or down) with one touch.
For the steering wheel - the Australian sun is not kind to them - I guess you could try cleaning and treating the leather (not sure if it really is leather...). Mine really needs to be re-covered.
I'm still on my original exhaust - haven't looked recently for any corrosion, and my car is almost at 160,000 km now. Haven't really heard of issues with corrosion.
I had my clutch replaced last year as the pressure plate was going (was very stiff to operate), and Julian from RenoTech recommended I replace it to avoid another part in the clutch linkage (can't remember what exactly, but apparently no longer available new) from failing due to the extra strain. The clutch itself still had plenty of material and was in great condition otherwise - but I guess that depends on the operator.

[DBG6]

Thanks Sam.  Glad to hear that your titanium is still going strong also.

Yes, I'm not sure if the wheel is leather either.  Feels a bit like rough elephant skin or something (in some areas). Might have to look into costs of recovering.

Ok, that's good to know. The exhaust appears to be original, and doesnt sound like it is leaking, it just has a big rusty looking patch on the side of one of the mufflers. I had read (on the UK sites) that the genuine mufflers barely last 40k, but it sounds like it may not be the case here.

Thanks for that.  The clutch is quite stiff, and travel quite short (which is great), but no worse than previous cable operated Peugeot's that I have owned.  I might get it checked out when I get the cam belt done.  Hoping it's something that will last for a while yet as it feels good.

Edited 24, April 2019 by DBG6

[SamR]

A lot of people have used a guy in Adelaide for their steering wheel refurbs. There's a whole thread here covering that topic:
http://www.ozrenaultsport.com/topic/20548-steering-wheel-refurb-thread-all-models/

 

[japarn]

33 minutes ago, DBG6 said:

I had read (on the UK sites) that the genuine mufflers barely last 40k, but it sounds like it may not be the case here.

Hi my muffler is original and I’m on 130k km. My experience is pretty standard for Australia, as far as I can tell. 

Remember that we don’t salt our roads like the UK, which would explain the differences here.

Anyway if you’re rust patch is excuse enough for an aftermarket exhaust, go for it! There are heaps to choose from and it’s something that I want to get around to myself.

[DBG6]

Thanks for that mate.

Been looking into the cam belt changed - locked in for next week.  How important is replacing the dephaser pulley?  Should this be done every cam belt change without fail?  It doesnt sound like mine is showing any signs of wear (based on a quick chat with mechanic - no noises at idle and pulls well from 5k), but it's another cam belt change if it goes in the near future.  $417 for the part.

EDIT: I've decided to just replace the dephaser also for peace of mind.

Edited 24, April 2019 by DBG6

[Moosey]

Welcome from another 205 nut. There are quite a few of us on here, owners both past and present.

[DBG6]

So I’ve tried many different quick and long flicks / presses of the window buttons. Unless there is a real art to it (which kind of defeats the purpose), it doesn’t have the drivers auto down / up function. This is what the switch looks like, doesn’t seem to differ from the passenger side switch. Chance the drivers switch has been replaced at some point?

[63x1092]

No, that looks normal, all sticky and shity looking.

[DBG6]

Haha must be the sh*tty pic. They’re not sticky at all, but the centre console definitely is!

[philby]

Welcome Ben, glad to see you on the forum with your new purchase!

If you want to compare window switches we're probably close enough.......

Did you end up booking the timing belt with your mate? Was talking to Reno tech the other day about my airbag light, Miles was really helpful so far and I read a ton of positive reviews about them on this site so will be getting my next belt change through them I think. If only they were a bit closer than Hornsby...

Looking forward to seeing the beast and going for a drive sometime, will be the first drive I've done with a fellow Clio owner.

Cheers,

Phil

 

[DBG6]

Thanks mate. I haven’t had time to drop around since grabbing it, appreciate the offer re the window switches though. I might take you up on that!

 

Haven’t asked the Peugeot guy as yet, decided to go with a highly recommended Euro mechanic with Renault experience. He knew all of the details and has done a heap before. I’ll give you the info when I see you next. Unfortunately not keen to take it to Sydney (already have one car to take there), does sound like the best place though. I’m also keeping it in the garage till the belt is done next week. Prob unnecessary, but better to be safe...

 

Hope you found a solution to the airbag light issue. Drive sounds good.

 

 

 

[philby]

Ps with the window switch, for some strange (French?) reason the engine has to be running for the auto up/down drivers window.

[DBG6]

Hmmm, tricky. I did test it yesterday without the engine running, so there’s still hope!

[japarn]

1 hour ago, DBG6 said:

Hmmm, tricky. I did test it yesterday without the engine running, so there’s still hope!

Yeah the engine needs to be running.

[vaughan]

Engine running: not just ignition in the second position, engine running. French!

[DBG6]

Spent a bit of time on her this arvo. After having a better look around now, she’s def in great condition, especially the paint. Sticky centre console, steering wheel and worn gear knob plastic top need to be sorted though. Did the exhaust bracket mod / fix, refitted the number plates which were both slightly offset (playing with my OCD), touched up some of the little chips (got some titanium paint mixed up), and fitted the Phillips invisible rear indicator bulbs so the ugly orange globes aren’t visible.

Is the bonnet literally the heaviest bonnet in the history of the World? It’s pretty small, why is it so heavy! All the effort with plastic guards etc and the bonnet weighs a tonne!

[DBG6]

So, she’s all registered in my name, belt, water pump, dephaser, aux belt etc all sorted and four new RE003’s fitted (tyres were fine, but old). I’ve also removed the seat spacers, replaces all orange indicator bulbs and ordered a new gear knob cover. She’s running great! Engine, gearbox, clutch, suspension etc all feels really tight.

 

You were all, of course, right about the windows. Quick touch is auto - completely opposite to every other car I have ever owned!

 

Planning on an alignment and full suspension check over this week.

 

Taken her for a couple of quick runs now the belts are done, but looking forward to finding the time for a proper run into the hills.

 

She feels nice and nimble and should be a fun little beast. Two surprises thus far - the steering rack must be quite slow (you need to turn the wheel about twice as far as our 308 GTi) and the suspension is quite stiff (as expected with a cup) but there is a reasonable amount of body roll. In comparison, fast Peugeot’s I’ve owned in the past are generally quite compliant, but stay very flat around the bends. Not sure whether a rear sway bar is the way to go. Might get a bit more seat time first.

 

Gave her a good detail today. She’s in bloody good condition for her age. Couple of pics below:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited 6, September 2023 by DBG6