So here are this years plans:
Rear suspension re-design
This is to lighten and improve on the existing wishbones, but still provide adjustment.
Sub frame re-design
This will get rid of the front sub-frame and make a purpose made subframe which should be both lighter and provide better mounting points
Gearbox re-condition
Pretty essential really I'm not going to win anything if I can't get second gear!
Tyres
Something softer and more suited to sprinting
Exhaust and rear bumper
Neaten up the back end, this is purely cosmetic so will probably be at the bottom of my list but it would be nice to bring it back to the standard look, I'll then have another look at the tailgate.
Oh and here's a long overdue clip from my visit to Curborough :)
A Summary
Well being as I wrote a huge advert to sell the Renault, I might as well display it here as it gives a good summary of the project to date.. So here it is:
The conversion
I originally started the conversion in February 2005 and it was March 2006 when I first had it on the road and MOT'd. At that time it had the original renault 5 GT Turbo engine in (slightly uprated) but in early 2008 the turbo went and at the same time I embarked on renovating my house so didn't have time to fix it. However by February 2009 I had picked up a Clio phase 2 172 engine and aftermarket Emerald ECU and had decided this was the way to go if I wanted trouble free performance motoring as the theory is you have less components to worry about. Mid 2009 the car was ready and after a few teething problems mostly down to needing a full tune the car was ready for my first sprint!
I have quite a few photos and details of the first build phase on my website www.gomodit.co.uk, but not so many for the second phase this is something I plan to do. I re-designed the rear compartment in the second phase to be more like the original Renault 5 Turbo 1/2's of the 80's. This also meant there is now a proper sealed fire barrier between me and the engine which was essentially to get it past the scrutineers at a sprint day. This has been created with a steel frame providing additional structure, a steel panel between driver and engine.Plus an aluminium top cover to keep the weight down.
The engine sits in the original renault 5 subframe, and is bolted to a heavy duty crossmember which in turn is fixed to the original rear subframe mounting points. The rear of the subframe is bolted to fabricated mounts which are welded to the rear chassis rails. The rear engine mount whilst standard has been lowered to clear the clio exhaust manifold. The clio top mount has been used to prevent sideways movement and an additional front tie bar has been fabricated to stop engine movement under hard acceleration.
The car is road legal and is taxed and MOT'd til August 2010. I Insure, as being rear wheel drive and based the policy on a Clio 172 with all the mods declared it costs me £360 TPF&T based on a 34yr old with full no claims.
The rear end of this car whilst using mostly standard parts, although it does have modified rear suspension arms to reduce bump steer, this was taken from a modification they use on a pontiac fiero.
The bad bits
It no longer has the bucket seat in one of the photos as that was borrowed for my sprint day
If going from first to second at speed the gearbox will crunch - I'll be honest I think this may be the synchromesh but haven't investigated in detail
There is a bit of rust around the front screen and the odd mark here and there but on the whole excellent condition!
Now onto the good bits
The engine is in the back! and with the Clio 172 engine in this absolutely flies and at my last sprint event posted a quite reasonable time for a first day out. The best thing is that the engine as standard gives around 170bhp so in this state of tune you can run it all day without worry.
Spec is as follows:
- Clio 172 Phase 2 Engine (approx 66k miles when bought) with Phase 1 throttle body (cable type)
- Emerald ECU see www.emeraldm3d.com this will give flexiblity if you want to turbo/supercharge or just modifiy the engine further in the future.
- Four paddle clutch
- recently tuned by Dave Walker of Emerald (seen in the practical performance car magazine) it gave 183bhp (see printout in pictures)
- Full safety devices roll cage with door bars and additional cross bar for harnesses
- 6 point TRS harnesses
- Lotus Elise Stainless exhaust
- Removable engine cover in aluminium
- Professionally Fabricated aluminium fuel tank
- Coilovers these are standard shocks with a coilover conversion see my article http://gomodit.blogspot.com/2007/12/...-december.html
- Spare koni adjustables (ph1 for the front) and a pair of cup shocks (ph2 for the rear) that will go with the car but will need converting to coilovers first – this shouldn't cost as you could use the kit from the shock absorbers already on the car.
- Up-rated discs and pads, I’m not sure which but they stop the car.
- Hydraulic handbrake and brake bias for manually adjusting how much braking the rear gets
- Hydraulic clutch for a lighter pedal and does away with an extra cable
- Fire extinguisher never used
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