Megane 250 CUP Track Car
Discussion
tomkingshott said:
Yeah I'd been watching it for a few weeks the only thing that put me off personally was the mileage but that's because I'm a bit fussy.
I've got a track/road spec one from Performance only with a lot of goodies on it so I won't realyl need to spend much money on it. Already got a track evening booked for next month at Brands to stretch its legs
It's on 95k miles so only just run in I've got a track/road spec one from Performance only with a lot of goodies on it so I won't realyl need to spend much money on it. Already got a track evening booked for next month at Brands to stretch its legs
TBH future plans even before buying the car was to look to forge the engine and upgrade the turbo so mileage was not a problem for me and the rest of the car is in great nick . Only thing I will do will be to give the rear subframe a lick of paint as it has some surface rust .
Got a few things to get done to the car but I'm hoping to get it on a track by the end of the year .
Let me know how you get on with your one at Brands .
Gilhooligan said:
Lovely. I really like the extreme blue, I ended up in a sport yellow one in the end as gave up waiting for the right one to come up.
Probably the best car I’ve owned so far. Can just do most things quite well, they’re good value for money and look and feel quite special.
I did find it a tad frustrating on track as I only had lowering springs and they definitely need more aggressive front camber (common mod is to open up the strut towers).
I do like the yellow ones and that would have been my second choice .Probably the best car I’ve owned so far. Can just do most things quite well, they’re good value for money and look and feel quite special.
I did find it a tad frustrating on track as I only had lowering springs and they definitely need more aggressive front camber (common mod is to open up the strut towers).
I was just looking at the best options for the camber adjustments as there rear is easy with camber shims but the front is less easy as to adjust the coilovers you need to open up the top struts so i will have a look in to what is the best option .
Blanchimont said:
On mine, once setup I never adjusted the camber, and never opened up the turrets. I ran 3degrees of camber and never needed to adjust it.
I did have easy access to the adjusters too, so never saw the need. Opening up the turrets is mainly to make it easier to setup as you can amend the camber on the car. You can still take it off and adjust it. It's a faff, but doable without it.
Think i will look at a 76 mm hydraulic punch to open the turrets ( some one had done this on RSmegane.com) as it will be quicker and neater and will be easier set up the coilovers this way .I did have easy access to the adjusters too, so never saw the need. Opening up the turrets is mainly to make it easier to setup as you can amend the camber on the car. You can still take it off and adjust it. It's a faff, but doable without it.
Evil.soup said:
Just posting to keep this one in my watch list since the last one was a very interesting build thread. Glad to see you survived the crash and not lost the bug for the track weapon, good luck with it fella!!
Many thanks and im itching to get back out on track again just need to keep it on the Black stuff this time Small little update on the car as i will be looking to improve the cooling on the car before taking the car on track so to improve flow to the radiator i have removed the full air con system .
I have installed a Pure Motorsport A/C delete kit as per the below .
Also this gave me an excuse to remove some weight from the car ( something that i got very in to on my old Fiesta build )
The A/C compressor has a weight of 7.5 Kg
The A/C condenser and pipes etc has a weight of 7.1 Kg
So a total 14.6 Kg removed from the car so far .
I know some people will say this is not worth it but i never really used the A/C in the Fiesta so it will be no great loss for me and will give more flow to the radiator and shed a few Kg from the car .
I have installed a Pure Motorsport A/C delete kit as per the below .
Also this gave me an excuse to remove some weight from the car ( something that i got very in to on my old Fiesta build )
The A/C compressor has a weight of 7.5 Kg
The A/C condenser and pipes etc has a weight of 7.1 Kg
So a total 14.6 Kg removed from the car so far .
I know some people will say this is not worth it but i never really used the A/C in the Fiesta so it will be no great loss for me and will give more flow to the radiator and shed a few Kg from the car .
tomkingshott said:
You really do go mad with your cars it’s great haha! Proper man maths that is!
So I picked it up Thursday and had a 270 mile drive home from Manchester to near Brighton where I live and I can already tell it’s a very different animal to the fiesta!
Quick overview on mine is;
-pole positions
-half cage
-bc coilovers and lots of camber on the geo set up
-308bhp and 350lb ft
-17” ats gtr’s and AR-1’s
So when it comes down to it it feels like an entire different world to what my ST was. But it’s also really good fun so far done about 500 miles in it since I picked it up and I’ve enjoyed them all so far
I cant seem to leave anything alone the mrs has said .So I picked it up Thursday and had a 270 mile drive home from Manchester to near Brighton where I live and I can already tell it’s a very different animal to the fiesta!
Quick overview on mine is;
-pole positions
-half cage
-bc coilovers and lots of camber on the geo set up
-308bhp and 350lb ft
-17” ats gtr’s and AR-1’s
So when it comes down to it it feels like an entire different world to what my ST was. But it’s also really good fun so far done about 500 miles in it since I picked it up and I’ve enjoyed them all so far
The one you have picked up sounds very nice and I bet you will have great fun in it .
I'm not sure if you feel the same commig from a fiesta ST but on the short drive home after picking up the Megane and thinking about how it compares to the fiesta the Megane feels more sophisticated and floats with the road where the Fiesta felt like a bull in a china shop very quick and effective but lacking the layers of the Megane .
tomkingshott said:
I hear that first bit! Got told it looked like I was never going to grow up when I turned up all harnessed up into my seats haha!
I’ve found my Meg so far to be absolutely insane it has an incredible gel set up and you can just hurl it into corners at speeds I wouldn’t have dreamed in the fiesta and it just sticks and takes the abuse. Unreal car frankly and I’m glad I got it!
I have however found the lack of DAB and the quality of the front speakers to be quite a downgrade from the Mk7 which mine was only 6 months newer than my RS265
The Fiesta has Sony units i believe and were very good for OEM .I’ve found my Meg so far to be absolutely insane it has an incredible gel set up and you can just hurl it into corners at speeds I wouldn’t have dreamed in the fiesta and it just sticks and takes the abuse. Unreal car frankly and I’m glad I got it!
I have however found the lack of DAB and the quality of the front speakers to be quite a downgrade from the Mk7 which mine was only 6 months newer than my RS265
A few more updates on the car .
I got offered a second hand Airtec intercooler at a silly price ( i most of the time get new parts for my cars but this was at a price too good ) that is good condition but had the paint flaking on it so after installing it i just gave it a quick light coat of Black stone chip more just for the looks .
Before .
After .
Came out ok but the side wings are hidden by the bumper so i just did a quick job rather than taking it fully back to bare metal .
I may look to change this over to a Pro alloy unit or the Wagner unit but at the moment this will be a nice little upgrade on the Renault stock intercooler .
Next up was a Setrab 14 row oil cooler with thermostat that has been fitted to the car and mounted to the front crash bar .
As the car will be on track a lot i wanted to upgrade the cooling so with removing the Air con and the oil cooler this should help out temps on track .
And this brings us on to the last part of the cooling upgrades a new big Pro limit alloy radiator .
Looking in to what options there are for cooling upgrades they are very few so after an Google search a French company ( Pro Limit ) came up so a new large Alloy spec radaiator was ordered to replace the old unit .
This was part of the reason to remove the Air con as with this unit you cant run the AC due to space .
New Pro Limit alloy radiator .
Again this should help with cooling on track as the stock radiator is not the best and this can lead to the car cutting power if it gets too hot so the combo of oil cooler , big Alloy radiator and Air con delete for extra air flow should keep temps in check on track .
I got offered a second hand Airtec intercooler at a silly price ( i most of the time get new parts for my cars but this was at a price too good ) that is good condition but had the paint flaking on it so after installing it i just gave it a quick light coat of Black stone chip more just for the looks .
Before .
After .
Came out ok but the side wings are hidden by the bumper so i just did a quick job rather than taking it fully back to bare metal .
I may look to change this over to a Pro alloy unit or the Wagner unit but at the moment this will be a nice little upgrade on the Renault stock intercooler .
Next up was a Setrab 14 row oil cooler with thermostat that has been fitted to the car and mounted to the front crash bar .
As the car will be on track a lot i wanted to upgrade the cooling so with removing the Air con and the oil cooler this should help out temps on track .
And this brings us on to the last part of the cooling upgrades a new big Pro limit alloy radiator .
Looking in to what options there are for cooling upgrades they are very few so after an Google search a French company ( Pro Limit ) came up so a new large Alloy spec radaiator was ordered to replace the old unit .
This was part of the reason to remove the Air con as with this unit you cant run the AC due to space .
New Pro Limit alloy radiator .
Again this should help with cooling on track as the stock radiator is not the best and this can lead to the car cutting power if it gets too hot so the combo of oil cooler , big Alloy radiator and Air con delete for extra air flow should keep temps in check on track .
Another little update on the car .
On my old fiesta ST i was running a Coolerworx shifter and was looking in to getting one for the Megane but as luck would have it the car came with one all ready .
Not so lucky was that the link shaft on the one that was on the car broke .
So a replacement ZeroPointOne shifter was ordered and installed .
I went with the Yellow shift knob colour to keep the theme going with the car as the Brembo calliper’s are Yellow along with the seat belts and rev counter .
I also got the surround for the shifter base to install to tidy this up a bit .
And all installed .
The shifts are now nice and short and the position of the shifter is now right at hand and will come in to its own when on track needing quick accurate shifts .
On my old fiesta ST i was running a Coolerworx shifter and was looking in to getting one for the Megane but as luck would have it the car came with one all ready .
Not so lucky was that the link shaft on the one that was on the car broke .
So a replacement ZeroPointOne shifter was ordered and installed .
I went with the Yellow shift knob colour to keep the theme going with the car as the Brembo calliper’s are Yellow along with the seat belts and rev counter .
I also got the surround for the shifter base to install to tidy this up a bit .
And all installed .
The shifts are now nice and short and the position of the shifter is now right at hand and will come in to its own when on track needing quick accurate shifts .
Another update to this build this time for the steering wheel .
On my old Fiesta ST i had the OEM steering wheel re trimmed in Alcantara and have done the same with this one .
The wheel is a OEM Renault unit so keeps the C/C functions etc but has been re trimmed in Alcantara and Yellow stitching with 12 o clock yellow band ( keeping the Yellow theme going on the car ) .
Also the handbrake was done in Alcantara and Yellow stitching .
On my old Fiesta ST i had the OEM steering wheel re trimmed in Alcantara and have done the same with this one .
The wheel is a OEM Renault unit so keeps the C/C functions etc but has been re trimmed in Alcantara and Yellow stitching with 12 o clock yellow band ( keeping the Yellow theme going on the car ) .
Also the handbrake was done in Alcantara and Yellow stitching .
Up next on the list is a rear roll cage as the AET one in my old Fiesta saved me when i had my off at Goodwood .
So the car has been installed with a JP half roll cage again done in Yellow to keep the yellow theem going .
I also installed my fire stick to the cage for quick access ( i hope to never need to use this )
I need to tidy the carpet up a bit but im happy with the cage and again hope i do not need to use / test this
So the car has been installed with a JP half roll cage again done in Yellow to keep the yellow theem going .
I also installed my fire stick to the cage for quick access ( i hope to never need to use this )
I need to tidy the carpet up a bit but im happy with the cage and again hope i do not need to use / test this
A few more parts for the car have arrived .
I will be looking to run two sets of wheels on the car one for road use and wet track use and one light weight set for dry track days with some sticky rubber on them .
I managed to find some 18 inch Team Dynamics pro race 1.3 light weight wheels with Nankang AR1 tryers at a very good price and in very good condition .
There is still a fair bit of meat left on the AR1 tyres .
Then to see what the weight difference was with the two wheels as both are 18 inch but the AR1 are 225/40/18 and the road tyres are 235/40/18 .
Stock Renault Cup 18 inch wheel with 235/40/18 Kumho PS71 tyres .
Team Dynamics pro race 1.3 18 inch wheel with 225/40/18 Nankang AR1 tyres .
The weight saving from the stock wheels to the Team Dynamics is 10.2 Kg per wheel so a total of 41 Kg saved .
Not that I’m going to get too obsessed with weight saving on the car this time but the total weight removed from the car so far is the below .
Air con 14.6 Kg
Rear wiper motor and wiper 2.5 Kg
Team Dynamics pro race 1.3 41 Kg
Total 58.1 Kg
I have a few more things to change to get the weight down a touch more but will not be going too crazy on the weight saving .
I will be looking to run two sets of wheels on the car one for road use and wet track use and one light weight set for dry track days with some sticky rubber on them .
I managed to find some 18 inch Team Dynamics pro race 1.3 light weight wheels with Nankang AR1 tryers at a very good price and in very good condition .
There is still a fair bit of meat left on the AR1 tyres .
Then to see what the weight difference was with the two wheels as both are 18 inch but the AR1 are 225/40/18 and the road tyres are 235/40/18 .
Stock Renault Cup 18 inch wheel with 235/40/18 Kumho PS71 tyres .
Team Dynamics pro race 1.3 18 inch wheel with 225/40/18 Nankang AR1 tyres .
The weight saving from the stock wheels to the Team Dynamics is 10.2 Kg per wheel so a total of 41 Kg saved .
Not that I’m going to get too obsessed with weight saving on the car this time but the total weight removed from the car so far is the below .
Air con 14.6 Kg
Rear wiper motor and wiper 2.5 Kg
Team Dynamics pro race 1.3 41 Kg
Total 58.1 Kg
I have a few more things to change to get the weight down a touch more but will not be going too crazy on the weight saving .
Few more bits done to the car last week .
First up was to change out the fuel filter for a new Bosh one .
Old filter .
New Bosh fuel filter .
And installed .
Next up was to change out the stock clutch damper line that has a bad habit of braking brake and clutch fluid .
New Hell braided clutch line installed .
Last up was what i thought would be a quick job but is with out a doubt one of the biggest PITA jobs i have ever done .
I ordered a new cabin filter as im not sure that the old one has been changed in a long time .
After looking at the location of said cabin filter i know this would be a fun job as you need too remove trim panels and remove the clutch pedal to then just about get access to change this out but the space is so tight .
After much fighting i managed to remove the old filter .
New filter .
Old and new .
Was just as much of a pain installing the new filter and a job I don’t look forward to doing again and i can see why people skip this little job .
First up was to change out the fuel filter for a new Bosh one .
Old filter .
New Bosh fuel filter .
And installed .
Next up was to change out the stock clutch damper line that has a bad habit of braking brake and clutch fluid .
New Hell braided clutch line installed .
Last up was what i thought would be a quick job but is with out a doubt one of the biggest PITA jobs i have ever done .
I ordered a new cabin filter as im not sure that the old one has been changed in a long time .
After looking at the location of said cabin filter i know this would be a fun job as you need too remove trim panels and remove the clutch pedal to then just about get access to change this out but the space is so tight .
After much fighting i managed to remove the old filter .
New filter .
Old and new .
Was just as much of a pain installing the new filter and a job I don’t look forward to doing again and i can see why people skip this little job .
Small little update from last week but one i like .
The rear of the car has been de badge taking away the big and IMHO ugly Megane chrome lettering but the previous owner has also removed the Renault Sport badge for a clean look i think this is called .
Im happy with the Megane badge removed but wanted to re instate the RS badge so i ordered a replacement original unit and also a exact metal copy in a nice Black and Yellow style .
I like both options but went for the Black and yellow as this is the theme of the car at the moment with lots of black and Yellow going on .
Silly but im very happy with such a small little change .
The rear of the car has been de badge taking away the big and IMHO ugly Megane chrome lettering but the previous owner has also removed the Renault Sport badge for a clean look i think this is called .
Im happy with the Megane badge removed but wanted to re instate the RS badge so i ordered a replacement original unit and also a exact metal copy in a nice Black and Yellow style .
I like both options but went for the Black and yellow as this is the theme of the car at the moment with lots of black and Yellow going on .
Silly but im very happy with such a small little change .
Some more small things done to the car last week before some bigger jobs that will be coming up .
First one was to remover the sun strip that came with the car .
There is nothing wrong with this but its just not to my taste .
Sun strip on the car .
And then with the sun strip removed .
I also received my new Renault Sport front mats that i got installed as well .
First one was to remover the sun strip that came with the car .
There is nothing wrong with this but its just not to my taste .
Sun strip on the car .
And then with the sun strip removed .
I also received my new Renault Sport front mats that i got installed as well .
Edited by Kaveney on Friday 29th July 20:02
Firthv10 said:
I managed to remove 12.5 kilos from each front door on an Audi a3. Still has glass in so could be lighter. Be a bit plain as a road car though.
Yeah I did this with my old fiesta ST changing the door cards and removing the speakers to save a good few Kg .I'm just going to focus on the big stuff to get the weight out like A/C , seats , battery , wheels etc so if I can get to around 70- 80 Kg I will be happy .
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