Megane 225 Cup
Discussion
Last year I had a Fiesta ST150 track car which was brilliant fun. Cheap, well set up by previous owners and a good laugh if not particularly fast on track.
The Fiesta survived two trips to the Ring in 2024, plus track days at Donington Park, Blyton and Anglesey. This year however, during an evening session at Donington Park, a piston decided to exit the block.
Fortunately getting the Fiesta recovered home was easy enough as I don't live far from Donington Park. All the good bits were sold, and someone came and took away the rest of it for me. Then the search began for a replacement...
I was already a member of a few Facebook groups and I saw a post from someone selling their Mégane 225 Cup. Always had a bit of a soft spot for the fast Méganes and have owned 3 RenaultSport Clios previously. This one had been turned into a track car by the previous owner and had all the bits I wanted, remap, coilovers, decent brake pads, half cage, seats and harnesses and some track wheels with AR1 tyres. It had been done very well and some nice touches, including painting the inside of the car so I bought it. Pic on the day of collection
And a pic of the interior (taken today, needs a clean)
I bought the car on the 18th April and took it to Donington Park for an evening session on the 8th May. Had a bit of a nightmare with the track wheels as I couldn't find the spigot rings for them so I went out on Rainsports. Not ideal but still good fun.
The car was brilliant, so much quicker than the Fiesta and had a good laugh just getting used to the car. Had some tuition but there were two red flags during this so not ideal!
Ordered some new spigot rings and went back for another evening session on the 13th May. This time put the track wheels on but didn't tighten the wheel bolts so had to pull over on the sighting laps (sorry anyone that was there that day...) I'd lost 3 bolts from the front left wheel.
Recovered to the pits and went on a search for some wheel bolts. Fortunately managed to find some and was able to enjoy the evening, this time on AR1s. First time I'd ever driven on those tyres and the grip, wow. I was learning the car a bit more and had a great time.
After this the front brake pads needed replacing so I fitted a set of PBS ProRace pads. I'd used these on the Fiesta and thought they were great.
As the AR1s were also low on the other wheels, I picked up a set of freshly refurbed standard wheels with new AR1s
Next track day was Blyton on the 25th May and this was a success, no lose wheel bolts, new brake pads and new AR1s. It started damp so I did a session on the Rainsports, before coming in and swapping to the AR1s. Blyton was a great track in the Fiesta as the relative low power wasn't an issue on a track without many straights. In the Mégane with approx 80 extra bhp I am not sure I was any quicker! Still great fun though with a couple of mates.
After that the rear pads were finished and I noticed a rattle on the way home, concerning as we were a week away from a Ring trip. Yes, that is one of the old rear pads on the right.
Bit of investigation into the rattle and it appeared to be a knackered exhaust mount. New one ordered and the existing one secured with cable ties and we were good to go to the Ring.
I didn't actually drive the Mégane to the Ring, choosing to travel with my friend in his Alpine A110 while my friends drove it over. Although the Mégane is much quieter than the Fiesta, it doesn't have working air con so I was very grateful to be a passenger in the Alpine!
We arrived in a thunderstorm so didn't go out straight away but as it started to dry up we went for a few laps and it was great fun, never pushing that hard but still having a great time. We swapped driver and passenger a few times and then went to Pistonklause for dinner.
Sunday morning was a bit damp but we went first thing and did a lap before breakfast at Devil's Diner, then did a few more laps before heading home. I love it there. From reading about it on here it sounds like I missed the good old days but this is the 4th trip I've done in 2 years and always have a good time.
Got back Monday and the rattle was back, turned out it was actually the turbo - exhaust bolts that were loose. This appears to be a common problem on the Mégane and I have ordered some different studs and nuts to replace the existing ones. Also at home ready to fit are new rear brake discs, a stud and nut kit as changing wheels with wheel bolts is annoying and Pro-Alloy intercooler.
I've booked in at RS Tuning in a few weeks to get a dyno run and get the existing map checked / mapped again for peace of mind. Then I have Anglesey booked in July, hopefully another trip to the Ring in August, Monza in September and Spa in November so an exciting summer ahead.
The Fiesta survived two trips to the Ring in 2024, plus track days at Donington Park, Blyton and Anglesey. This year however, during an evening session at Donington Park, a piston decided to exit the block.
Fortunately getting the Fiesta recovered home was easy enough as I don't live far from Donington Park. All the good bits were sold, and someone came and took away the rest of it for me. Then the search began for a replacement...
I was already a member of a few Facebook groups and I saw a post from someone selling their Mégane 225 Cup. Always had a bit of a soft spot for the fast Méganes and have owned 3 RenaultSport Clios previously. This one had been turned into a track car by the previous owner and had all the bits I wanted, remap, coilovers, decent brake pads, half cage, seats and harnesses and some track wheels with AR1 tyres. It had been done very well and some nice touches, including painting the inside of the car so I bought it. Pic on the day of collection
And a pic of the interior (taken today, needs a clean)
I bought the car on the 18th April and took it to Donington Park for an evening session on the 8th May. Had a bit of a nightmare with the track wheels as I couldn't find the spigot rings for them so I went out on Rainsports. Not ideal but still good fun.
The car was brilliant, so much quicker than the Fiesta and had a good laugh just getting used to the car. Had some tuition but there were two red flags during this so not ideal!
Ordered some new spigot rings and went back for another evening session on the 13th May. This time put the track wheels on but didn't tighten the wheel bolts so had to pull over on the sighting laps (sorry anyone that was there that day...) I'd lost 3 bolts from the front left wheel.
Recovered to the pits and went on a search for some wheel bolts. Fortunately managed to find some and was able to enjoy the evening, this time on AR1s. First time I'd ever driven on those tyres and the grip, wow. I was learning the car a bit more and had a great time.
After this the front brake pads needed replacing so I fitted a set of PBS ProRace pads. I'd used these on the Fiesta and thought they were great.
As the AR1s were also low on the other wheels, I picked up a set of freshly refurbed standard wheels with new AR1s
Next track day was Blyton on the 25th May and this was a success, no lose wheel bolts, new brake pads and new AR1s. It started damp so I did a session on the Rainsports, before coming in and swapping to the AR1s. Blyton was a great track in the Fiesta as the relative low power wasn't an issue on a track without many straights. In the Mégane with approx 80 extra bhp I am not sure I was any quicker! Still great fun though with a couple of mates.
After that the rear pads were finished and I noticed a rattle on the way home, concerning as we were a week away from a Ring trip. Yes, that is one of the old rear pads on the right.
Bit of investigation into the rattle and it appeared to be a knackered exhaust mount. New one ordered and the existing one secured with cable ties and we were good to go to the Ring.
I didn't actually drive the Mégane to the Ring, choosing to travel with my friend in his Alpine A110 while my friends drove it over. Although the Mégane is much quieter than the Fiesta, it doesn't have working air con so I was very grateful to be a passenger in the Alpine!
We arrived in a thunderstorm so didn't go out straight away but as it started to dry up we went for a few laps and it was great fun, never pushing that hard but still having a great time. We swapped driver and passenger a few times and then went to Pistonklause for dinner.
Sunday morning was a bit damp but we went first thing and did a lap before breakfast at Devil's Diner, then did a few more laps before heading home. I love it there. From reading about it on here it sounds like I missed the good old days but this is the 4th trip I've done in 2 years and always have a good time.
Got back Monday and the rattle was back, turned out it was actually the turbo - exhaust bolts that were loose. This appears to be a common problem on the Mégane and I have ordered some different studs and nuts to replace the existing ones. Also at home ready to fit are new rear brake discs, a stud and nut kit as changing wheels with wheel bolts is annoying and Pro-Alloy intercooler.
I've booked in at RS Tuning in a few weeks to get a dyno run and get the existing map checked / mapped again for peace of mind. Then I have Anglesey booked in July, hopefully another trip to the Ring in August, Monza in September and Spa in November so an exciting summer ahead.
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