Renault Megane - Track Day Car?

[vanman1936]

Thoughts on these?

Can't afford the R26R but other models look interesting.

Cheers


P

[joe_90]

Yep, they are really good, try and go for the that comes with the LSD. I have one (I have used it on the track, but have a dedicated track car now) and often see them flying fast more expensive cars, they are a few hundred to get to around 265bhp and then you can get to 300/320 without forging or messing about internally (using a 250 turbo is the common route).

Loads of bits, lots of fibreglass bits like bonnets and boots to save weight and lots of suspension bits available too.

I guess it comes down to if you want fwd/rwd.

[Oilchange]

Did my ARDS in one, excellent hot hatch.

[Frimley111R]

You don't need an R26R. Just go for a R26 model which has all the bits you need. Lots of tuning potential for these too.

[clarki]

I had an R26 before my .R and it was a great track tool (as well as my daily driver).

Don't go too mad tuning the engines on these, concentrate more on loosing weight and improving the brakes.

Don't get anything without a LSD, so R26 or newer, it really does make a noticeable difference on track.

[NJH]

I bought one (R26). Took it to Thruxton and amazed how well the thing in bone stock form copes with track work (rubbish brake pads the exception). I hadn't noted before just how many are out there on track, on that day I spotted 2x R26.R, may have seen another R26 and a clio or two in between the Porsches and couple of Caterfields. The Renaultsports are odd cars, their fantastic robustness to being thrashed on track is at odds with the french hatch "quality" impression left by things like scratchy plastics, odd squeks/rattles and crazy electric windows with a mind of their own. I have been a long term RWD owner and part time racer (Porsche) but I really love the drive of my R26, its one of those cars that just gets better the harder you push it, coming alive and being surprisingly good fun IMHE. I actually find it a bit to competent and boring as a road car.

[joe_90]

If you go to the ring 99% of the cars are a mixture of:

Porsche's
Tricked out BMW's
Renault Sports.

[the_stoat]

I have a fairly track focused Westfield and an R26. While my friend was out in the Westfield I gave the Result a few laps. It it remarkable how much speed you can carry through corners and oddly it responds well to neat and tidy as well as hooligan mode. You can be so brutal with it and it just hangs on in there without being a handful.

You may want to replace the drilled disks with plain as the drilled ones are silly money and do not stay drilled for long as they clog with pad.

Get one and enjoy.

[daniel-5zjw7]

Hmm.. mixed feelings on these having just sold our one, a very capable car no doubt, but I found the steering far from confidence inspiring, the throttle dim witted and the gearchange possibly the worst I've ever experienced in a performance orientated car. Add to this the build quality is pretty poor, and they can have some pretty major faults in terms of electrical and water ingress.

As a track car I'd much rather have a Clio and wouldn't buy another Megane as a track car or a road car.

A number of people have fitted the Megane engine into a Clio which I'm sure is good fun.

[Vladikar]

I've been looking at R26Rs because I think they are nuts to look at and time and time again I see them doing really well on track.

Other than weight saving, cage and harnesses - is there any different between them and the R26R?

[daniel-5zjw7]

probably less than you'd think, from memory I think they have uprated front wishbone bushes, a short shift from factory and R26R specific damper settings, though I'm not convinced they are much different to an R26. They also have slotted discs as standard rather than drilled and could be had with a titanium exhaust from the factory as an option.

There may be other bits I'm not aware of but don't believe it's anything drastic.

[NJH]

Gear change can be vastly improved with the short shift mod or replacement modified part from KTech. Your other problems Daniel sound like you had several defects with your car, I don't have any issues with the steering or throttle on mine and thats comparing to a Porsche race car with no PAS and old fashioned cable throttle. In fact its an easier car to heel and toe as the peddles are perfectly placed for it and only a tiny brush on the throttle is required. Worn steering arms or rack end bushing are common issues with these cars though. Very few specialists seem to know the cars well unfortunately, mine was tuned by RS Tuning in Leeds and is looked after by the same ex-KTech techie who worked on the car 5 years ago. Its a pretty wonderful car IMHO when everything is good but I can understand anyone getting very frustrated when its not right or a car has a long line of niggles to sort through.

Agree though on the comedy electrics, water ingress is more an annoyance than anything else, recently had to re-seal the speaker on one of my door cards to stop the door pocket from filling up with water. Don't forget the utterly stupid handbrake mechanism which costs 300 quid to replace, all bonkers stuff really.