Bit of an update on this.
First up, ordered a new pollen filter and got round to fitting that today. Old vs new picture below, never quite understand why they get fitted in such a way like the old one was. They are a bit of a fiddle to get in the gap, but a bit of patience and you can have them sitting how they are supposed to instead of squashing it in and just leaving it. Probably just me being anal. Also coated the scuttle panels with some CarPro Perl (love this stuff).
Ordered a thin paint brush so I could paint the “Sabelt” logo on the steering wheel red...
Also ordered some new side repeaters (as I just like new parts!) which arrived this week, along with some Diadem chrome bulbs to match the front and rear ones, so got those fitted.
That pretty much brings me up to date in terms of how the Trophy is sitting now.
Have been told my dash vent bars are in the post; been waiting on these so I can get my upper dash fitted back on (if you missed it before, a chap who is handy with 3D printing is making some new ones for me so I can connect my vent slats back together).
Onto other news, thought it was about time I revealed that I have been buying lots of parts over the last 2-3 months, all brand new and just sitting around the garage waiting to be fitted. The list is pretty comprehensive and should result in an almost brand new car, and hopefully a very focused machine!
Braking
Brand New 197/200 Brembo Front Calipers
Pure Motorsport 280mm Brackets & Fitting Kit
Godspeed 280mm J Hook Front Discs
EBC RP-1 Front Pads
Godspeed J Hook Rear Discs
Brembo Rear Pads
Braided Brake Hoses
Motul Brake Fluid
Pagid Handbrake Cables
Engine/Gearbox
Refurbished Gearbox by Mark (NorthloopCup)
Red Line MTL Gearbox Oil
New Driveshafts
Genuine/Valeo Clutch Kit
Genuine Clutch Cable
Pure Motorsport Lightweight Flywheel
Pure Motorsport Exhaust System with Decat
Pure Motorsport Shifter Kit
PhilipM Dog Bone Mount
Ever since I bought the car, I have noticed a gearbox related noise which concerns me. It goes away when clutch is engaged and comes back when you release back up. Difficult noise to describe, but after talking to Mark, he suspected either input shaft or main shaft bearing related. A new clutch was fitted by the previous owner within the last 1k miles, so it’s not the release bearing. Anyway, I bit the bullet and decided to go for a fully refurbished unit, and knowing me, that meant new driveshafts, another new clutch kit, and an opportunity to fit a lightened flywheel too!
Suspension/Chassis
BC Racing Adjustable Coilovers & Solid Top Mounts
Genuine Wishbones
SNR Front Wheel Bearings
Pure Motorsport Rear ARB
Pure Motorsport Bump Steer Kit
Genuine Inner Tie Rods
Powerflex (Black) Steering Rack Bushes
Powerflex (Black) Inner & Outer Front ARB Bushes
Whiteline Rear Axle Bushes
Pure Motorsport Rear Stub Axle Spacers
Pure Motorsport Rear Camber Shims
Pure Motorsport Front Wheel Spacers
Speedline 2118 Wheels in Anthracite
NS2-R Tyres in 195/50/15 Fitment
TPI Black Wheel Bolts
Appreciate a lot of people will think I am mad for swapping out the Sachs suspension as this is what essentially makes the Trophy, but I wanted the adjustability and the additional lows available from coilovers when going with 15” 2118 wheels. Not normally one for buying budget coilovers, a category which the BC’s fall into due to their price point, but I ran them on my Megane 265 Trophy and can honestly say I was very impressed with them for the money. I spoke to Mark Fish about suspension options and placed the order through him; he himself said the BC’s are remarkable given their relatively low cost, especially when you consider that you get solid adjustable top mounts with them too. I opted for the digressive valve version (DS series).
I am going to see how I get along with them, and if they don’t perform how I want them to, I will look to upgrade to a set of AST’s or Pure Motorsport’s custom Bilstein full coilover kit; funds were a little tight given how much has been shelled out in total for all the other parts!
So, some pictures of all these parts.
Braking stuff (forgot to include handbrake cables in the picture but I do have them!)...
Engine/gearbox parts (the gearbox is in that black box, Pure exhaust system is with my friend which I will be collecting next weekend)...
Parts in bubble wrap is the PMS shifter (left, 1st pic), clutch cable (right, 1st pic), and the PMS decat pipe (2nd pic).
Suspension parts (just waiting for the Whiteline rear axle bushes to arrive, and wishbones are in the bubble wrap)...
Speedline 2118 wheels; had these for a good 3-4 months now!
About 4-5 weeks ago, I had the NS2-R tyres fitted onto the 2118’s so they’re all ready to be bolted up...
Then earlier this week, I set about sealing the wheels with Gyeon Q2 Rim...
Also took the opportunity to seal the Brembo calipers with the same Gyeon coating. Bought these brand new from Godspeed, and then had them sent to Pure Motorsport to be machined to accept their bracket kit.
Some pictures of the BC coilovers which will be going on. Will be treating them with ACF-50 some point later this week. Also bought some stainless ABS sensor brackets, inspiration taken from Frayz on his Inferno 182.
A better picture of the front pads I have opted for on the Brembo’s. These are pretty new to the market, have read some good reviews on them, they have stainless backing plates which should help with lower heat transfer to pistons and fluid and hopefully they will not corrode. They look so nice that they warrant a picture being posted up; almost don’t want to fit them!
Hoping to have all the above fitted within the next 2-3 weeks, can’t wait to drive it afterwards, should be epic.
Just need to degrease gearbox and then paint it silver, and fit the new end casing I have (there is a can of spray paint and new end casing in the pic of all the transmission parts above).
Also trying desperately to get hold of some (decent) red brake caliper paint so I can tidy up and paint the spare pair of rear caliper carriers I have. These can then be swapped over with my current ones to match the Brembo calipers. Any recommendations on paint? I was hoping to go with Autotek or POR-15 but both are sold out absolutely everywhere! Guess everybody has had the same idea over lockdown and painted their calipers!
Said caliper carriers which I need to tidy up and paint this week...
Appreciate some will think I am mad for modifying a Trophy, but ultimately it is my car, and I always use top quality/better than OEM parts. Everything can be improved in my opinion. I will be keeping all the standard parts, and everything I am fitting is completely reversible (no drilling of any new holes etc). As already mentioned, the only component I might look to upgrade further if they don’t perform how I want are the coilovers, but will see how I get on first and if needs be upgrade to a better quality set when funds allow!
There is also one other fairly big modification I will be doing to this, which I reveal in due course. Order has been placed but due to Covid, likely a 3-4 week wait. Couple of you know what I am referring to, the rest will find out soon!
Thanks for reading!