Not Normal Dans R26 Megane F1

[not normal dan]

So living rooms looking a little like this!

View attachment 93A76FA5-2CBA-4634-9A8A-BE5460AF79B8_zpswpngkevx.jpg

People slate KTEC, yes there a tad pricey at times but most stuffs in stock and there very helpful and delivery is good.

So far got the subframes and harnesses and there's been another item that's tried to be delivered which I can only assume is the Scroth snap on harness eyelets

 

[NorthloopCup]

So living rooms looking a little like this!

View attachment 148272

People slate KTEC, yes there a tad pricey at times but most stuffs in stock and there very helpful and delivery is good.

So far got the subframes and harnesses and there's been another item that's tried to be delivered which I can only assume is the Scroth snap on harness eyelets

Well that's a first. I've never seen a track car with a orchid fitted! Flol

 

[not normal dan]

Well that's a first. I've never seen a track car with a orchid fitted! Flol

It's to help replace carbon dioxide with oxygen when the plastic windows go in lol

 

[NorthloopCup]

It's to help replace carbon dioxide with oxygen when the plastic windows go in lol

On the ball there Daniel son! Lol

 

[not normal dan]

On the ball there Daniel son! Lol

Switched on today, going all in with this fucker now

 

[NorthloopCup]

Switched on today, going all in with this fucker now

There's a first as well! Flol! :kissingheart:

 

[not normal dan]

There's a first as well! Flol! :kissingheart:

Sharp as an arrow!

Anyway missus was kind enough to pop post office this morning and grab there

View attachment 4942E142-9EFB-497D-B621-5D021A801A32_zps7hc30hr0.jpg

The Scroth clip on mounts.

Just the seats and suspension to turn up now, excited much haha

 

[NorthloopCup]

Sharp as an arrow!

Anyway missus was kind enough to pop post office this morning and grab there

View attachment 148402

The Scroth clip on mounts.

Just the seats and suspension to turn up now, excited much haha

Lol!

I'll give you a hand with the mounting point measurements for the harnesses if you like mate. Make sure we get them in the right place for safety etc. :up:

 

[not normal dan]

Lol!

I'll give you a hand with the mounting point measurements for the harnesses if you like mate. Make sure we get them in the right place for safety etc. :up:

Mounting them the same as R until I get me cage, took a look at Steves

 

[not normal dan]

So these turned up today,

The rear BC racing 7kg rear springs and the matched dampers along with the handy remote adjusters.

Got them through Jonny at TFD, really helpful used him a few times now and service is great!

 

[NorthloopCup]

So these turned up today,

The rear BC racing 7kg rear springs and the matched dampers along with the handy remote adjusters.

Got them through Jonny at TFD, really helpful used him a few times now and service is great!

Excellent stuff mate!!

 

[not normal dan]

Excellent stuff mate!!

Cheers mate, had an email saying seats have been put back a few days but should be here next week!

Roll on Snett hopefully see some nice improvement, not that it was to shabby anyway lol

 

[NorthloopCup]

Cheers mate, had an email saying seats have been put back a few days but should be here next week!

Roll on Snett hopefully see some nice improvement, not that it was to shabby anyway lol

Ah that's a bit annoying! Still on for our Friday road trip??

I'm certain you'll see an improvement mate!

 

[not normal dan]

Ah that's a bit annoying! Still on for our Friday road trip??

I'm certain you'll see an improvement mate!

Yeah still up for Friday, need to pinch me Spring compressors back. Ian failed one today haha

 

[NorthloopCup]

Yeah still up for Friday, need to pinch me Spring compressors back. Ian failed one today haha

He did what?! Failed one?! That's unheard of!!

 

[not normal dan]

He did what?! Failed one?! That's unheard of!!

Just a 1.2 Clio

Front Spring
Rear Spring
Track rod end
Anti roll bar link

Keep me busy lol

 

[NorthloopCup]

Just a 1.2 Clio

Front Spring
Rear Spring
Track rod end
Anti roll bar link

Keep me busy lol

Lol did you not look at it before you took it?

 

[not normal dan]

Lol did you not look at it before you took it?

Nah, tbh last time I looked over it it was fine but that was a few months back!

Used to be a sweet car till she let her teenage daughter abuse it!

 

[NorthloopCup]

Nah, tbh last time I looked over it it was fine but that was a few months back!

Used to be a sweet car till she let her teenage daughter abuse it!

Abuse her teenage daughter for payment??

 

[not normal dan]

Abuse her teenage daughter for payment??

I'll give it a miss lol, why have gammon when I've got steak at home lol

 

[not normal dan]

So yesterday the weather held out and I got some work done on the Meg.

First off I swapped out the rear BC 4kg rear suspension setup for the 7kg trackday setup. Didn't get any pictures as I got stuck in but for saying they've been on a year I'm happy to report that all adjusters were free, top coating!

Then I moved onto the front, first off I swapped out my tired looking Ds1.11's for a fresh set and swapped my cracking Ktec discs for some brembo HC's

Then I set about swapping my inner steering joints and track rod ends and my steering rack bush with a new TFD item

That's the new bush in place, was certainly a fiddelry little bugger!

I built everything up with anti seize to save any future issues.

Once I built the rest of the it back up they was still some play in the passenger side and a small knock! Frustrated to say the least and at first I thought it was a steering issue but after disconnecting the track rod turns out me lower hub bearing has play in it!

Now I replaced these back in July but there's a pretty nasty pothole that caught me off guard on the way to work a few times so I suspect I've fell victim to that!

So fingers crossed Derby bearings delivery turns up today so I can get it swapped and the geometry done!

Few more pictures

Old rack bush

Old parts

 

[not normal dan]

So just had a delivery!

New seats thanks too GSM performance, can't recommend these guys enough! Gareth and Felix are both really helpful!!

Also had these

Genuine TRW bottom balljoints from mister auto (correct ones after some searching)

One of the arms has some play in it on the car so going to rebuild my spare arms with new balljoints and powerflex bushes which is the only things I'm waiting for now!

 

[NorthloopCup]

So just had a delivery!

New seats thanks too GSM performance, can't recommend these guys enough! Gareth and Felix are both really helpful!!

Also had these

Genuine TRW bottom balljoints from mister auto (correct ones after some searching)

One of the arms has some play in it on the car so going to rebuild my spare arms with new balljoints and powerflex bushes which is the only things I'm waiting for now!

Seats look good mate!!

 

[Gray]

Genuine TRW bottom balljoints from mister auto (correct ones after some searching)

 

[not normal dan]

Seats look good mate!!

Cheers mate [emoji106]

Yeah I didn't take all the credit on Rs Megane

 

[not normal dan]

So the 4 new Federal RSR's turned up the other day from 4x4 tyres, happened to be cheapest on the day and great service.

On another note me and the missus did a single seater experience day, I ended to spinning it purely pushing too hard on cold tyres but it was spectacular haha!

Missus loved it, she's done super car days before but with this you were kind of left to your own devices and she loved it! She loved it so much she's decided she wants to get into Trackdays so fingers crossed we will hopefully be off to look a 3rd car this Saturday that'll be a 172 cup for her to use and learn the ropes in and that I'll use as a run around to keep the Meg tucked away

 

[Grandpa Joe]

I cut the bars out under the Ktec subframes. Saved an extra 2kg or so and no issues with rigidity once bolted to the seats.

 

[not normal dan]

So then it's here, my new daily that's going to be used by the missus to get into track days.

It's going to have a couple of choice mods

RS tuner
Ds2500 (already has)
Brembo hc (already has)
Cooksport springs and a good old check over

I've also bought this to take some strain off the Megane and 1*2 are stupid cheap to run and I've never owned the ultimate 172 as far as I'm concerned

 

[not normal dan]

So spent the afternoon redrilling one of the Ktec frames for the seats as due to the width the mounting holes don't quite own up.

Seems quite common issue when going for wider fitment seats with these frames.

Just a little bit of filing on the new elongated holes and a dusting of black paint and then it's time to trail fit them in the car or at least the first one

 

[not normal dan]

So then cracked on today despite the lack of sleep after last nights night shift.

Tidied up on the first frame I drilled with a little bit of round file action.

This has since had a dusting of paint to make it look more presentable and is now drying.

So I removed the drivers Recaro and plonked the new subframe in and loosely bolted it into position

Excuse the mess, it will be getting a tidy out tomorrow once the rear interior is removed and before the seats are finally installed.

So test fitted the seat

I'm not running adjusters as I want to get the seats as low as I can tbh, the side mounts will be dropped another hole or too before fitting too.

I then measure the passenger frame for drilling. As it doesn't require any form of adjustment I only drilled 4 holes that allow it to be mounted in the same position as the drivers seat.

Again it's had a dusting of black paint to get rid of the bare metal.

The joys of running a daily are paying off already!

 

[not normal dan]

So just woke up, ripped the majority of the interior out.

For now this is as far as its going for the next few months, going to pop the rear panels out and then the carpet, roof lining etc will be coming out when the cage comes out

 

[gambit]

Great work ! Does yours have an lsd?

 

[not normal dan]

Great work ! Does yours have an lsd?

Yeah it has mate, the R26 comes fitted as standard with an LSD [emoji106]

 

[not normal dan]

So there's been some updates today finished off me seats and harnesses when I got up.

First I started cleaning the car out and the stuff that collects under the seats over the years and then removed the rear seats

I built the seats up on there mounts and set about fitting them.

The seating position is great, much lower and still fairly comfy

I mounted the harnesses using the Scroth snap off eyelets (used buy the likes of Porsche) which are great as they can be mounted in restricted areas.

*harnesses weren't adjusted there, hence the slack angles

The harnesses are mounted in the same location as the R so meet the requirements for the acceptable angles.

Eventually when the cage is installed I'll have a harness bar that be ideal!

 

[not normal dan]

So yesterday I cracked on swapping my wishbones. Whilst carrying out my steering refresh I found substantial play in the NS bottom balljoint.

Now luckily I have some spare perfectly usable R26 lower arms so I swapped the pair out. The plan was to rebuild them before hand as I've already got new OEM TRW balljoints but due to powerflex cocking my order up last week I decided it made more sense to fit the R26 arms as they were and rebuild the knackered ones I took of especially with Snetterton looming and me being short of time in terms of getting the GEO done.

Unfortunately all this has to come off to get to the front bolt on the lower arms! Fun fun times!

Luckily it's all been off before so no dramas although I have decided that the Megane has the worst designed front bumper in the world haha

Anyway it's all back together no and service is resumed. Since the refresh and upping the rear suspension rates I haven't been able to really drive the car knowing there was play in the balljoint but so far the improvements seem to have increased the turn in dramatically

Roll on Thursday!

 

[not normal dan]

So then Geometry is done!

Added some more camber to the front from around a degree and a half up to 2 degrees after the passenger side outer edge took a beating at Mallory and Oulton.

Other then that not much to report, rear beam still in spec which is nice as you can't adjust or shim them like the clios.

Only issue we came across is that the tie rods have near enough bottom out off adjustment after we added extra camber, if I want any more I think I'm going to have to chop 2 or 3 threads off them but all good for now!

 

[not normal dan]

So yesterday I did Snetterton 300 in the Megane, open pit lane with MSV.

I travelled down the day before with the missus and stopped in a travel lodge about 10 minutes down the road to save the 2 and a half hour trip in the morning.

Got to the circuit about half 7, welcomed by a lot of race teams but I guess they see them as cheap test/shakedown days although MSV really enforced the "NO TIMING" rule!

So headed out did a few decent laps and came in and adjusted tyre pressures to my usual hot settings.

It's a very fast track, every straight section you easily see 100 plus no problem so the brakes can take a hammering but it did make for an exciting day.

Missus snapped a few shots from the pit wall, she sat out the session before dinner as she reckoned the weight of the helmet gave her a little neck ache.

Sack the photographer

All in all cracking day, clocked near 200 mile on track again and really can't fault the Megane yet again!

Videos to come soon!

 

[-D4N-]

Snett 300 is a great track, I've booked to go back in July. What's the travelodge like? I usually stay in Breckland lodge it's about 5mins past snetterton.

How did you find the stiffer rear set up?

Looking forward to the videos

 

[182jwilliams]

Man that 'sack the photographer' photo makes me laugh! Something my missus would do. Car looks very good mate, I wish I had booked Snett instead of Donington haha

 

[not normal dan]

Snett 300 is a great track, I've booked to go back in July. What's the travelodge like? I usually stay in Breckland lodge it's about 5mins past snetterton.

How did you find the stiffer rear set up?

Looking forward to the videos

The premier inn I stopped at sorry, it's bang and attached to a decent little pub where we ate that evening tbh and it's about 10 minute drive in the morning.

Yeah liked it tbh mate, car seemed to turn in better and with less weight in the back the back did want seem a tad more lively but it's a trade off I'm happy to make.

I think my only real hold back now is tyres, I feel I could get much more from 888r or a DZ03g.

I had a few laps in a 250 with some KW club sports on and that felt nice, he seemed to be able to carry maybe 5-10mph more through Coram but he was on 888's

Man that 'sack the photographer' photo makes me laugh! Something my missus would do. Car looks very good mate, I wish I had booked Snett instead of Donington haha

Yeah she got used to it now, by the end of the start finish straight I was carrying 120ish so I wasn't hanging around.

What date you booked donington?