320Touring's Renault Clio 182 - A different approach to Economy in the UK

[320touring]

Hello,

This came up for sale in October last year as a non-runner. viewed it and got it started on the sellers drive in under a minute, by resetting the immobiliser.

Since then I have done about 6400 miles in it, with it almost daily use.

It had to have some brake work for the UK MOT, and has also had a clutch replaced (was slipping when I bought it), other than that it plods along ok.

What is it?

The Clio is a compact car, generally found with 1.1-1.6 L petrol engines, or 1.5 Dci diesels. The Clio 182 is a development of the basic car, with a tuned version of the 2.0 16v F4r petrol engine out of the Renault Laguna (Renault's large family saloon)

In the 182, the engine makes 182bhp, and 147lbft of torque, delivered via a 5 speed manual gearbox driving the front wheels.

1t weighs in about 2300/2400 lbs depending on trim and options.

Its a light weigh hot hatch with enough power for about 140mph, that will seat 4 and take their luggage, and easily fit in a standard parking space.

Its also very French and flakey - most weeks something needs fixing, but its worth it for the driving experience

Why are you using it for economy?
Its really light
Its the most modern car I own
It has DFCO
Manual gearbox
Fuel injected
Relatively cheap
Easy to get parts for
Has cruise control (a licence saver)
Good at conserving momentum due to good handling


Pictures




It's also going to be used for hillclimbs/trackdays and drag racing as it would be rude not to! This was the result on the drag strip, just before the clutch failed a week later



Modding/Maintenance options (remember I'm in the UK, so cant get away with Kammtails /rubber skirts etc)

Engine
Oil Service
Coolant Change
New spark plugs (they have a 72k mile service interval)
Injector spray check/ replace as required
Warm air intake

Suspension
40mm drop on sports springs?
new dampers

Wheels and Tyres
Move from 16" to 15" wheels
Fit tyres with better economy rating than current than current

Underbody
Identify potential areas for underbody cleanup

I'd be interested to hear if you have any suggestions on how I could improve the efficiency over and above the mods I have listed above..

[320touring]

I had some issues with the picture hosting, all sorted now

[freebeard]

Thanks for that. I'd have pointed it out but I didn't have a solution. What made the difference?

[320touring]

Originally Posted by freebeard

Thanks for that. I'd have pointed it out but I didn't have a solution. What made the difference?

I just re- uploaded the pictures to the original post..

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

Sure it's a cool pocket-rocket.

[320touring]

Originally Posted by cRiPpLe_rOoStEr

Sure it's a cool pocket-rocket.

It is, but not as cool as I would like cos the A/C doesn't work

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

No A/C sucks sometimes. On a sidenote, what about trying to use that moisture taken out of the interior by the A/C for a supplemental water injection?

[320touring]

Originally Posted by cRiPpLe_rOoStEr

No A/C sucks sometimes. On a sidenote, what about trying to use that moisture taken out of the interior by the A/C for a supplemental water injection?

I think we're a fair way away from that at the moment. Just trying to get it to a good base just now. But an interesting suggestion

On that note

Tell me you have a ****ed rear bearing without telling me... Spacer washer ****ed too, will order spacers and discs now. A spare disc is on and grumbling gone. Technical success.

[320touring]

This has mainly been doing commuting duties for the good lady (whilst her mk1 golf gets new injectors)

However, I had the opportunity to go and see my friend who has just opened a campsite on the Isle of Gigha.

The road to the island is a decently twisty, fast flowing road, and the closer you get to the campsite, the lighter the traffic.

I took the opportunity to run the 182 down and back - sticking to speed limits, but enjoying the roads.

The car is great for this sort of drive - you can leave it in 5th and tickle past slower moving cars, or shift to forth if you need to be nippy. Holding 60 is possible on a light throttle and engine braking is aggressive enough to allow attacking the corners with no energy lost to heat from the brakes.

On the way down, I was hauling grain for the island brewery - about 60kg. The boxes were too tall to fit in the boot.



The ferry across is very picturesque


And the campsite is handily just next to the ferry slip


Home for the weekend was set up


The the island was wandered




On the way back, I took the opportunity to get a picture at a cool old garage in Inveraray


All in all, a great weekend away - with the added bonus of a best ever tank over 370 miles!

34.57 mpg (US)
41.53 mpg (Imp)

I expect I'll be back down again, so will see if I can better that