Moving on from a Clio 172??
Discussion
gashead1105 said:
I bought an S2 exige after my 182. Adored it and did loads of trackdays but in hindsight I should've bought an MX5 first as I think that would've made me a better driver. The exige is very quick after a clio and modifiable, but it isn't very slidey and can get quite snappy at the limit. Had a few offs...
I guess with the r26.r then it's still going to be fwd like the clio so still only lift off over steer to consider rather than going rwd and having to learn a totally different type of driving.egor110 said:
I guess with the r26.r then it's still going to be fwd like the clio so still only lift off over steer to consider rather than going rwd and having to learn a totally different type of driving.
Exactly. It will just be a bigger, faster 182 basically (actually I forgot, I had a 250 megane cup between clio and exige; which was exactly that!). I should've gone for something RWD. FWD is fun for a while on track and the 250 was pretty quick, especially in the wet but ultimately RWD is just more fun. Oh Behave said:
My thinking behind a R26R over a standard R26 is as follows:
To buy a half decent R26 will set you back say 6k, to cage, strip it, put buckets and harnesses in, realistically 3k, and then a few more upgrades and I'd say you're easily approaching 12k outlay which is pretty much dead money once you want to change/sell. If I buy a R26R for say 19k, I don't think I'd essentially lose 12k on it doing limited miles per year and already it is set-up for track etc
Thing is that apart from less weight and the buckets an R26.R is no more a track car than the R26 is. Have a look at the rear cage in the ones fitted with one, its nothing like a proper MSA/FIA compliant job with harness mountings etc. Suspension no better (for the few parts that are different), brake system no better, transmission no better etc. etc. You get my drift. If you do seriously track it you will end replacing the suspension and brake components with much the same uprated components as you may fit on the R26. You don't have to put buckets, cage and harnesses in an R26 anyway, I don't in mine its a compromise but CG-locks on the 3 point belt and the stock Recaro Trendlines works OK for me. Your comparison btw would put an R26 at about £7.5K as plenty have done it by fitting come cheap buckets, half cage and stripped out rear of the car. The carbon buckets are cool but very expensive + once the easy stuff has been done all the carbon bonnet and other lightweight bits are well into the ole diminishing returns v cost problem.To buy a half decent R26 will set you back say 6k, to cage, strip it, put buckets and harnesses in, realistically 3k, and then a few more upgrades and I'd say you're easily approaching 12k outlay which is pretty much dead money once you want to change/sell. If I buy a R26R for say 19k, I don't think I'd essentially lose 12k on it doing limited miles per year and already it is set-up for track etc
Also will your £19K R26.R will still be a 19 grand car after you have spent a few years ragging it? This is the same mistake people always make with regard to limited run collector cars. I know someone who tried this with a mk1 996 GT3, in the end he gave up and sold the thing as he barely ever drove it but was spending money on the thing every year to have it just sat in the garage looking pretty. Don't under-estimate insurance costs and its implications on what you will be willing to track as well. I have fully comp on my race car for trackdays and on £10K cars or less the insurance becomes quite reasonable and therefore feels worthwhile, again my mate with the GT3 couldn't afford to insure it for track days so ended up never driving it on track.
Not saying the R26.R is a bad car but at nigh on £20k they really don't make a lot of sense to me for a track car given all the other options available, there collector stuff now much like the aforementioned 996 GT3, a few years back both would have been mega track day car options.
A friend of mine and myself used to track our road cars but wanted something more track focused so bought a lightweight Porsche 924 but fitted with a 944s2 engine.
Great q car as it looked standard but with the right suspension,good tyres and the fact that the whole front was fibreglass and hence light it was very quick.
We then like you wanted something for the next level.
Cheap tow car plus good trailer and a Radical clubsport was the answer.
Unbelievable,all of our friends who drove it came back grinning from ear to ear exclaiming words which I cannot put into print here.
Worth a thought for something different
David
Great q car as it looked standard but with the right suspension,good tyres and the fact that the whole front was fibreglass and hence light it was very quick.
We then like you wanted something for the next level.
Cheap tow car plus good trailer and a Radical clubsport was the answer.
Unbelievable,all of our friends who drove it came back grinning from ear to ear exclaiming words which I cannot put into print here.
Worth a thought for something different
David
Oh Behave said:
are these good on track?!
Indeed, even with just a set of coilovers and some good tyres and they are very capable car's 200kg lighter than a clio equivalent to two large 15 stone men that's a significant difference in a little hatch back engines are easy to tune for more power, 180ish hp is simply a larger turbo, inter cooler and change the carb jets. 200+ easy enough with a cam and a bit more boost and don't be put off by the old school pub talk of reliability, chavs just used to fit bleedvales and wind them out thus running lean any wondering why they went pop, run any turbo car lean and that will happen, fit an AFR guage and set them up correctly and you will have no issues with hard track use. plenty of people from the rtoc had dedicated renault 5 track car's with no issues with reliability what so ever.Edited by Nuttah on Tuesday 28th June 10:52
Nuttah said:
Indeed, even with just a set of coilovers and some good tyres and they are very capable car's 200kg lighter than a clio equivalent to two large 15 stone men that's a significant difference in a little hatch back engines are easy to tune for more power, 180ish hp is simply a larger turbo, inter cooler and change the carb jets. 200+ easy enough with a cam and a bit more boost and don't be put off by the old school pub talk of reliability, chavs just used to fit bleedvales and wind them out thus running lean any wondering why they went pop, run any turbo car lean and that will happen, fit an AFR guage and set them up correctly and you will have no issues with hard track use. plenty of people from the rtoc had dedicated renault 5 track car's with no issues with reliability what so ever.
Thanks, I've seen a few of these at Mark Fish and by all accounts they go well. Might be worth investigating further...although I expect finding a clean one might be difficultEdited by Nuttah on Tuesday 28th June 10:52
Yes good original ones are rare and fetch a fair penny now.. but of course that's not what your looking for, Mark Fish may well be the very man to ask if you were in the market for one of these as could no doubt put the word out. Following on from that, with such a vastly experienced contact at your disposal, It may be worth asking Mark himself what he'd recommend when moving up from a clio?
Had my totally standard N/A VX220 at Donington last week and what a car! Corners virtually flat, plenty turn in and the brakes (even on crap makey do disks and pads) were all I needed. It really was a joy to feed through the corners.
That said, it needs about 150 more BHP.
If you're still looking at N/A VX's, budget for a super charger!
That said, it needs about 150 more BHP.
If you're still looking at N/A VX's, budget for a super charger!
Vladikar said:
I've recently bought a R26R and my last car was a GTR so I was a little worried about the obvious difference but having now owned it for over a week I would 1000% recommend one of those from your list!
It won't lose any value either which is a massive benefit for me.
What is you like about it? On holiday next week but starting to look when I get back It won't lose any value either which is a massive benefit for me.
Oh Behave said:
What is you like about it? On holiday next week but starting to look when I get back
Its fun, light, nimble, cheap to run, a bit of a sleeper? Mine is 300bhp+ and has uprated brakes which have not faded yet since owning.The other major plus point for me is that I will also never lose any money on it!
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