RE: Spotted: Renaultsport Megane R26.R

[superman84]

Derek Chevalier said:

superman84 said:

Derek Chevalier said:

superman84 said:

Derek Chevalier said:

Such as?

£15k would get a lot quicker machinery. Personally I went for an Evo 9 FQ360, easily tuneable to 400bhp, superior traction, far more practical and on comparable tyres the same driver would easily dispatch the megane in the dry let alone the wet.

It is funny you mention the EVO, as I was at an MLR Castle Combe track day in summer 2010 - and there were lots of tuned examples there. For some reason I was a lot quicker than the vast majority,and I am a very average driver. Note that I am not saying this to antagonise, just an observation. Maybe the drivers were taking it easy and/or on road tyres.

Well all the track times I have seen are much better for the 9 fq340/360 evos and they're never on semi slicks. Not to say the megane is slow but given that its a stripped out on special tyres is not that quick for £15k and sacrificing practicality (and rwd/awd for fwd). Maybe I need to drive one though.

Edited by superman84 on Saturday 27th October 17:47

I would expect in the hands of a pro setting a fast lap, the Mitsubishis would be a fair bit quicker. In the hands of average Joe over 10 laps, would be interesting to see how much of a difference there was.

You might have a point. I wouldn't be surprised if tracking a r26.r cost a lot less, given the weight and fuel economy.

[don logan]

I have an R and an EVO 6RS and I can tell you that on a long thrash through the Alps in the DRY my first choice is probably the R but that may also have something to do with not wanting to cruise at 5k revs getting to the Alps and stopping eveyr 10 minutes for fuel!

First day out on this September's jaunt from Chamonix to Briancon in the wet saw the R sliding into and out of some surprisingly shallow corners.

My 6 and my R are very similar weights but the R feels lighter.

[R1_NUR]

artdealer said:

Yep. Mugen FD2 Type-RR. There's one, maybe two in the UK. When they came up on the Japanese Auction site they sold for huge money at the same time as Yen vs GBP going awry. Which reminds me, I'm surprised more R26.R haven't gone to Japan given the good exchange rate for them to import them.

If I remember rightly we lost a fair few R26.R's to Hong Kong. I know of 3 UK cars sold on the 2nd hand market that ended up there.

[R1_NUR]

Darren61 said:

Can you comment on running costs...?

Tax
Insurance
M.O.T
Servicing
Tyres

A comparison would see the Megane in a favourable position, and yes that is taken into consideration by 'those purchasing the .R' because generally speaking R26/.R drivers are sub 25 years old (from my experience)

Except for the elderly couple who are regulars at Bedford! I will be polite and say 60+!

[LaurasOtherHalf]

R1_NUR said:

If I remember rightly we lost a fair few R26.R's to Hong Kong. I know of 3 UK cars sold on the 2nd hand market that ended up there.

When I sold no154 there was a hong kong buyer chasing a few down-I thought he was a wind up! I think he took 3 in the end?

[80085]

A nova with 200bhp c20let will show a 400 horse evo a thing or two on track in the dry, lots of videos to prove that on ye tube, 4wd not needed on a dry track, only really comes into play in the wet, This renault will hang on the back of any evo all day long, fact!

[superman84]

80085 said:

A nova with 200bhp c20let will show a 400 horse evo a thing or two on track in the dry, lots of videos to prove that on ye tube, 4wd not needed on a dry track, only really comes into play in the wet, This renault will hang on the back of any evo all day long, fact!

All I'm saying is if you look at real facts ie official track times a fq360 on paper is a quicker track car, for instance even a fq340 is a fair bit quicker round Bedford than a r26.r on r888s and look at the top gear track time for the old fq400 - no standard hatch is going to get anywhere near that (or a chav likely-to-blow-up nova for that matter ) Anecdotal evidence from track days (and YouTube videos) where not eveyone is racing or of the same ability is not fact buddy.

Anyway I was merely answering a question and giving an example of an alternative £15k car with a better bhp per tonne which on paper at least is as quick as the Renault. Pros and cons to both of course my point is its not the only option for that money like some owners seem to think.

Edited by superman84 on Sunday 28th October 18:47

[Derek Chevalier]

superman84 said:

for instance even a fq340 is a fair bit quicker round Bedford than a r26.r on r888s

I think the FQ340 was done on the "old" circuit -

http://www.fastestlaps.com/tracks/bedford_autodrom...

not sure what changes were made....

[superman84]

Derek Chevalier said:

I think the FQ340 was done on the "old" circuit -

http://www.fastestlaps.com/tracks/bedford_autodrom...

not sure what changes were made....

It's not all about single lap times but the evo 8 fq320 was two seconds quicker round the top gear track

http://www.fastestlaps.com/comparisons/renault_meg...

[don logan]

Despite the fact that the R is (was) famous for a particular lap time, it's not just about laptimes!

Not sure how much I would enjoy a 200bhp Nova!

And EVO vs R comparisons? I think the only comparison is the price

[LaurasOtherHalf]

don logan said:

And EVO vs R comparisons? I think the only comparison is the price

welcome to pistonheads

[Herman Toothrot]

R26.R is a fast car. I struggled to keep up with a remapped and boost increased one (think the owner said it was 250bhp) at Abingdon in my old MX5.

[80085]

80085 said:

A nova with 200bhp c20let will show a 400 horse evo a thing or two on track in the dry, lots of videos to prove that on ye tube, 4wd not needed on a dry track, only really comes into play in the wet, This renault will hang on the back of any evo all day long, fact!

Evos are not exactly the pinicle of reliability or un-chavness, factor in running costs of your 4wd evo and a tuned R26R makes more sense and would be a much better car to live with unless you need back doors/seats. Also red tops are good solid engines to tune so a well built one would be unlikely to explode, and if it did there are lots of them about to replace it. How much would a good evo8 onwards engine cost? Love evos but the costs involved put me off.

[darren9]

What's the *deep breath* Renault sport 230 F1 dealer team R26 like? There's one at a dealer a mile from me looks great. Brembo 4 pots, limited slip diff, rector seats but I've heard horror stories about running costs. Nearly a grand for a Cambelt? And I've been told a bulb change is a bumper off job is that true?

I'm really tempted to trade my current car in for it.

[TameRacingDriver]

darren9 said:

What's the *deep breath* Renault sport 230 F1 dealer team R26 like? There's one at a dealer a mile from me looks great. Brembo 4 pots, limited slip diff, rector seats but I've heard horror stories about running costs. Nearly a grand for a Cambelt? And I've been told a bulb change is a bumper off job is that true?

I'm really tempted to trade my current car in for it.

As with any Renault, expect niggles, and don't expect particularly cheap running costs. A friend (who is also a PHer) told me at the weekend he received a £2K bill for the R26 he had, and is still paying for it now. I didn't ask what it was about but it didn't sound too good.

[the_stoat]

darren9 said:

What's the *deep breath* Renault sport 230 F1 dealer team R26 like? There's one at a dealer a mile from me looks great. Brembo 4 pots, limited slip diff, rector seats but I've heard horror stories about running costs. Nearly a grand for a Cambelt? And I've been told a bulb change is a bumper off job is that true?

I'm really tempted to trade my current car in for it.

I have an R26 and think it is an awesome bit of kit for the money. It is a really good alrounder, happy in town, cruises well and can carry a good bit of speed when required. What you may find is that it does not feel very quick until you look at the speedo and see just how much speed you can carry through corners.

Brakes and tyres are rather expensive. With the brakes if you are happy to go with plain rather than drilled this makes them a lot cheaper. The R version has plain discs if I remember correctly. As for servicing I have found that certain Renault dealers are teh same price as an idependant so not that bad at all. I need a cam belt soon and from memory this is about £500.

I have not needed bulbs yet but had a look and think you could change them with a bit of swearing through the wheel arch access panels. Some take the bumper off as when you know how it quicker and easier than going through the access pannel.

[Darren61]

darren9 said:

What's the *deep breath* Renault sport 230 F1 dealer team R26 like? There's one at a dealer a mile from me looks great. Brembo 4 pots, limited slip diff, rector seats but I've heard horror stories about running costs. Nearly a grand for a Cambelt? And I've been told a bulb change is a bumper off job is that true?

I'm really tempted to trade my current car in for it.

RenaultSport Megane F1 Team 230 R26. LSD, Leather Recaro's, Brembo 4-Pots. Build No. (although never limited) it appears theres only about 1200 on UK roads now.

I've owned my Liquid Yellow R26 for 18 months now. Cam Belt was £475 at a specialist incl. water pump and aux belts etc. Brakes, front and rear will set you back around £5-600 excl. labour. Tyres (if you want premium) can be anything from £140 to £230 a corner.

I run mine on V-Power and the tank fills bottom to top at £78. I'll get around 320 miles to that (if I drive like a granny) and 260 if pressing on more regularly.

Other than that, take the plunge, all about the SPG (smiles per gallon)

[DanDC5]

R1_NUR said:

artdealer said:

Yep. Mugen FD2 Type-RR. There's one, maybe two in the UK. When they came up on the Japanese Auction site they sold for huge money at the same time as Yen vs GBP going awry. Which reminds me, I'm surprised more R26.R haven't gone to Japan given the good exchange rate for them to import them.

If I remember rightly we lost a fair few R26.R's to Hong Kong. I know of 3 UK cars sold on the 2nd hand market that ended up there.

There's one Mugen RR I believe. It came up for sale about 6 months ago.

[Inverted]

TameRacingDriver said:

darren9 said:

What's the *deep breath* Renault sport 230 F1 dealer team R26 like? There's one at a dealer a mile from me looks great. Brembo 4 pots, limited slip diff, rector seats but I've heard horror stories about running costs. Nearly a grand for a Cambelt? And I've been told a bulb change is a bumper off job is that true?

I'm really tempted to trade my current car in for it.

As with any Renault, expect niggles, and don't expect particularly cheap running costs. A friend (who is also a PHer) told me at the weekend he received a £2K bill for the R26 he had, and is still paying for it now. I didn't ask what it was about but it didn't sound too good.

In 10k miles I never had a single thing go wrong/need me to go to a dealer. Mine was stage 2 remapped and the only time it was driven was either on track or a sunday B road blast. Yes it was looked after but it didnt particularly have an easy motorway life in my hands. Maybe I got lucky.

Tyres and fuel on the other hand.....I think it cost more to run than my CSL.

[darren9]

Thanks for the replies. I'm really tempted but it would mean we (as a family) would have to go to 2 cars as the baby/wife just mess cars up and the megane would have to be my plaything.

I don't know if I can justify 2 cars when I live a 12 minute walk from work.