New engine in the Clio :D

Lowe

Lowe

Lowe

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I've done it again. :rolleyes:

Since the 1.8 blew up (my fault, it died on a rolling road power run) I needed to get her back on the road. So, I was lucky enough to source a Spider Cup racing engine.

Basicly it's the same engine as the 1.8, but stroked (iirc) a little to bring it to a 2.0l. The sump's slightly bigger, and the head's a little different and it's got some slightly wilder cams in it. The engine's been blueprinted, balanced, the valves are triple angle jobbies, compression's been raised by skimming the head and decking the bottom end... Needless to say, it's a pretty good spec. It's capable of revving to 8k on the race management, but I'm running a basic remap of the factory settings which limits the fun to 6.8k - but to be honest there's no need to take it that far. :)

Whilst the engine was out it had a few new things thrown in as well - new clutch, gearbox, PAS pump (which is buggered now, joy), water pump, all the belts, steering bushes, filters etc, so she drives like a new car. It's still economical too - 35-40mpg on a run which i thought was more than acceptable.

Only niggles so far are the PAS pump which is on the way out and the exhaust which is knocking since things have been moved about. I'm going to get a midbox put in to help give a bit more backpressure soon and whilst they're at it get them to fix it in place a bit better! :)
 
The PAS pump wasn't brand new - it was from a tat yard so you take your chances I guess. It's not completely dead, it's just when the car's very cold and the PS fluid's thick, under load the pump stutters, causing the belt running on it to jump. Once the cars warmed up a bit (I'm talking got to the bottom of the road) it's fine. I could go to a manual rack, but for the ballache involved I dunno if it's worth it. I didn't have PAS in the CGTT and that was one thing I enjoyed when I got a new car!

Nick Hill (Hillpower) did the conversion since it blew up on their rollers. By the time I worked out how much it'd cost to get the car back home, sort somewhere to do it, source an engine, and find the time to do it, then get it all remapped etc it was more than the price Nick wanted! :eek:

As for the power? Well, I don't know to be honest. In the Spider, it put down 170bhp, but that was with the higher limiter, and a far superior exhaust and manifold. I'd imagine it'd be around 140-150 at the wheels, which is more than enough for a car weighing in at about 980kg :)
 
Hehe, tempting I know but I kinda like it as it is. She's a pretty good example of a Clio 16v even if she is a hybrid now and I think it'd be a shame to track **** her for the road. Believe me, it's quick enough anyway!
 
Cams/head are standard - Cup rules only allowed for certain improvements to be made. I meant the Spider cam is wilder than the 16v version, but it's still mild compared to what could be put in. Idle is OK - little lumpy due to the chipping, and it sounds very rough for the first 30 seconds which makes me laugh - the look on peoples faces when they here her fire up in carparks is ace :D
 
Yup, they always break. Makes me giggle how people always say GTT's are unreliable and always breaking. Valvers are just as bad, if not worse!
 
Merlin - I'm going to Kidderminster on Thursday... I might be driving 'that' road...

Very tempting, but I'm not sure if I want it on video to be honest. :D
 
The missus happened. ;)

We moved in together and a 20mpg Clio really wasn't practical so I had to sell her on. Sadly within a week of being sold she blew up. She's now been bought by a lad off the owners club for £200 and is in the process of being rebuilt, kitted and generally 'maxed'.

http://premium1.uploadit.org/tonyforster//100_0890.jpg
http://premium1.uploadit.org/tonyforster//100_0889.jpg

I bought a Megane Coupe and had that for a while, then Doll got a company car so I had chance to buy his Clio 16v off him. I jumped at the chance, and all was going well till I showed it a set of rollers and the bottom end gave me the middle finger.. :D
 
The Valver core is pretty reliable, though they do have a tendency to drop the bottom end eventually - hence why theres quite a few 2.0l Clios floating around. ;)

What I meant was general Valver ownership. You get to know your car very well when you own a Valver since every other weekend you'll be under it tinkering with something else. There's always something which needs fixing, be it brakes, suspension, bulbs, dials, engine etc.

As for the transplant, GTT is hilarious fun but not practical these days. You can really only use Super/Optimax, you get poor economy and to be honest unless you're a petrol head and know how to look after them they *can* be hugely unreliable. Point in case, mine - I ran it for 2-3 years and the worst thing I had happen to me was a starter motor or two and an accelerator cable snap. Yet, within a week of being sold it died...

Get some Valver brakes on yours ASAP - the standard Bendix units are aweful and really, really are a liability. Valver brakes are better, but still are far from perfect.
 
Nope, Williams/Megane boxes are the same - just a geared for higher top end speed in 5th, they're still made from chocolate.

Standard RT brakes are solid 239mm. Valver brakes are easy to come by these days, and bolt straight back in. Don't forget to bleed and change the fluid though. ;)

The K-tec kit is just R21 TXE brakes, albeit with spacer brackets. Certainly not worth the money they're charging for it.

Regarding engines:

www.hillpower.co.uk

Call em up and speak to Nick. I bet he could source a 1.8 16v and fit it cheaply enough. Cheaper if you're an RSC member too. ;)
 
I've not given it too much stick to be honest mate, this has put me me in the bank's pocket somewhat so if it died tomorrow I'd be in a bad, bad way.

It doesn't seem too bad, the power comes in nice and progressively.
 
Guybrush said:
It's the 21TXI that has 285mm brakes (2L N/A). 21 Turbo also has 285mm brakes but they're 5 stud so you can't use them on a 19/clio.

The 1.8 16v engines are not 'unreliable' it's just that they get thrashed and neglected.

Williams/Megane JC5 box is stronger then the 16V JB3. Also, for some reason I've never heard of a GTT JB3 popping the clip out :confused:

Clio 16V/willy PAS pump is the same as the 19 16v and the 2.0 F7R megane.

;)
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TXE / TXI - I can never remember which is which :D

Regarding unreliability, it was the car in general that I was refering to rather than the lump itself. As you say, they tend to get neglected these days since they're cheap money now.

I managed my GTT on the standard Clio RT box, with no problems whatsoever despite running silly torque through the box (150+ lbs/ft). A new driveshaft let go before the box did.
 
Ev0 said:
So if you want a "new" second hand PAS pump Lowe lemme know!
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Ev0 - YGM pal :D

Flibster - I can only imagine it's to do with the mapping. Also, that's with staying off the second throttle. Once you push through that and the second butterfly opens, it drinks fuel like you can't believe. ;)
 
Nothing to show really - it looks exactly the same as a 1.8 engine. Only a real expert would notice the difference. There's no external differences either. :)
 
FincH said:
For all the people holding out for a Williams engine and gearbox, you can use the Megane F7R bottom end and gearbox on the 1.8 head with a Williams Ecu (about £100) or a remap.
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But, the cams aren't as good - even if the valves are a bit bigger. Willy engine is the better way to go if you ask me, but you do have to pay for it, or wait for one. :(
 
I guess it's the ballache with the dizzy cap that people like to sidestep though, even if it means losing the better head.
 
How many people have access to a machine shop cheaply that'll do the job though? That's why people don't do it. The other method can still be done in a garage...

You're right though, it is crap. :)
 
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