Kangoo Compact (aka Racevan3)

TDLR - im an idiot and keep buying scrap Renaults and a new project is in stock

A few months ago in my old job i had a 68reg Kangoo, got it with delivery mileage brand new. Noted pretty crap in diesel form, and handling average however i had heard that the underpinnings were very similar to meg/mk3 clio, and confirmed when having a look underneath briefly.

Said van

Returned when i left the job, good riddance to tracker and 62mph speed limiter. Thought to myself that it would probably be sound, with more power and better handling.

At the time i still had my old Kangoo 172 (Racevan2), which was leagues ahead. Lacked a bit of straight line speed, and deep down im a turbo man missed the turbo torque so sold which stuck some money back in the pot.

With the drive looking less cluttered and bank balance up a few quid said no more projects until my Extra (Racevan1) is back on the road.

Had the idea of a Megane rs powered Kangoo2 for a while, and seen the compact version. The compact is the same length as Clio2. Compared to the usual ml version of the Kangoo2 its like a micro machine.

Press pic of the compact next to ml

Thinking this would be a great project to do once the Extra is done, sat on the idea. The compact is rare to find for sale, as from what i gather nobody bought them with the 4 foot load space in the rear making them pretty useless as a van.

Mrs was looking and seen one for sale on Facebook marketplace, needing a new engine and only down the road. Made the mistake of going for a look, looked pretty unloved but bodywork quite good, engine totally shot. Stuck a low bid in, scrap money and the fella was up for it.

Collected on the back of my mates truck this week

Short arse

Cleaned up and roof rack removed and pushed into position.

Current engine bay half a dci lump with melted pistons on cyl 1 & 4

Had a good look round and the subframe looks pretty identical to meg2 or clio3. Meg rs track control arms, hubs and brembos bolt on as one as already been done, so handling should be great. Mounts look identical to megane, so in theory a meg lump and ndo box should go in (pk box fits).

Wiring may or may not be tricky, however i have been thinking about this, and there is a few options, if all else fails standalone ecu and stack dash.

So will get the Extra done, and then start on this. Watch this space

 

Did you ever get your cruise control to work?

Not yet but its on the to do list. Need to find a cruise squib.

dont shoot me but i think it'll look smart on a set of R26 alloys

I think it would look alright on a set to be fair. I sold my last set sadly. Going to try the turinis on it one day.

Updates

Cleaned it up again. So hard to keep on top of the wheels with regular use always black with brake dust

Upset an x5 owner earlier. Seen it coming up behind pretty fast on a local dual carriageway. I was in 5th just put boot down and pulled away with little effort. Dirty look off the driver when they finally caught up at the next roundabout with them proceeding to drive off like a knobber cutting up another car.

Thanks for reading!!

 

Updates

Had a little bit of sediment in the cooling system from where the engine had been ran on water by previous owner. Done a mega flush with a hosepipe 20 mins or so each way until the water was perfectly clear.

Front end off, ten mins work. Give everything a once over and no issues to report.

Filled up with fresh type d and bled. Also fitted a good used genuine renault header tank, to replace the flimsy looking aftermarket tank.

Its had a load of heat cycles and still looks clean so job done.

 

Took it to Trax @ Silverstone a couple of weeks ago.

Almost did not make it as had a pencil coil fail 2 miles away from the house at 6am. Limped it back to the house sounding like a subaru (bet the neighbours loved that) and quick scan/coil in and back on the road at 630am. Renaults eh cant win sometimes🤣

Oil change last weekend as its done a fair few miles since conversion.

Thanks for reading!!

 

Updates.

Been chasing an occasional rough start on the Kangoo. Maybe 2x in 20 cold starts it fires up then idles rough and sorts itself out when hot. Typically when its happened i have not had access to diagnostics to log the data and no codes stored.

Fired it up from cold with clip on to log the sensor inputs, typically ran fine.

Upstream lambda looks a bit lazy so have got one on order, also air temp is giving the occasional erratic reading so have replaced that for new oem renault.

Done a compression test to check the engine health as from reckoning up its done 25-30k miles. All 4 cylinders 160psi so nothing to.worry about in that respect.

My new beru pencil coils arrived from Autodoc the other day so fitted them. Identical to oem Renault, without the price tag. £15 each compared to £55 each.

Started up and idles great with the new coils in. Just waiting for lambda sensor to arrive and hopefully thats it all sorted.

Thanks for reading!!

 

Good updates.

Also good tip on the coils, I'm making a trip to efi once some niggles are sorted out with the Laguna and been thinking I'd refresh the coils, plugs and injectors to make the most of it. They've done nearly 90k so it's about time really.

 

Good updates.

Also good tip on the coils, I'm making a trip to efi once some niggles are sorted out with the Laguna and been thinking I'd refresh the coils, plugs and injectors to make the most of it. They've done nearly 90k so it's about time really.

Well worth doing the ign parts cost nowt from autodoc.

What intercooler is on the Laguna? Might be worth upgrading if its the same as stock rs250, as it was terrible at stock power levels. Charge temps of 60degrees on a hot day on stock map.

 

Not sure tbh, it's an ok size but nowt to write home about. I'll see if I can find out in a really lazy way!

 

What baffles me is why Renault charge so much for parts they don't even make🤣

And people that scream from the rooftops "they're not genuine" are the biggest plebs. Also @Djw John some of the Laguna petrols have massive intercoolers, a bit like some of the old dCi 80 Clio's where they're full height like the rad. It's worth checking because the 250 plaggy end tank ones are tosh

 

Na mine isn't that style, it sits below the crash bar and is the same depth as the rwd support beam. It's not a bad size I reckon but don't really know for sure

 

Hook something up to the obd, torque or whatever and see what charge temps are like when its had a good long pull on boost. If its not much good, could go for a cheapo toyosports bar and plate intercooler like mine. Charge temps are always around ambient.

 

Grand shall do, cheers for that

 

Updates

Replaced upstream lambda sensor and its not had a hissy fit since, runs great again no more rough cold starts.

In other news ive been chasing what i thought was a boost leak for the last few weeks.

Just before Trax i noted that it did not feel as lively as just after mapping, it still went well enough and would still light the tyres up on boost in 2nd gear easily though. No warning lights or nothing.

Stuck torque on the obd for a quick and dirty check of what boost pressure the map sensor was reading - boost was quite low, spiking for a split second to around 1.3bar then straight down to 1.1bar. Almost wastegate pressure, when mapped it was set up for around 1.5/1.6bar.

Hooked up clip and done some logging to confirm torque was not telling lies.

Next step was to pressure up the boost circuit to check for leaks. Had it to around 2bar pressure and leak tested the inlet. No leaks, so comp tested it as above and all good.

I had a feeling this was n75 related or actuator. I run a 250 green dot actuator which are fairly strong but never say never i guess.

I had a new gen ren n75 in stock as bought it just incase before mapping. Fitted it and took it for a test run, straight up to 1.5bar and back to a handful on boost.

Torque steer is ridiculous once again, if you hit a bit of camber or a bump on boost you really need to hang onto the steering wheel. Its down to crap spring/shock combination which will be sorted soon. Ive narrowed it down to the fact it squats so much on the back, it makes the front lift 25-50mm which must chuck the toe out massively.

Good suspension and a bit more positive castor and a good geo setup should fix this.

Ps has pleasure of showing up a lad in a m135i when testing. I was making a little bit of progress and passed him, his neck nearly snapped, then from a 4th gear roll i pulled away pretty easy so much fun on the roads.

Thanks for reading!!

 

Had the Compact on the weigh bridge earlier. Guess the weight😁

 

1150 kg ?

 

1140 (as i was going to say 1150)

 

Judging by the smiley face I'm gonna say 1090kg without you in it👀

 

960. It is only half a van after all😂.

 

1380kg with 20kg tolerance on the weighbridge. Heavier than you would think, similar weight to mk2 meg.

On the plus side as its got plenty of power its alright😆

 

Wowzers. What a fatty, but as you say its got the power in reserve to drag it along 👍🏻

 

Yeah that's definatly a chubby little t**t😂. Better for traction though eh👍.

 

And these things come out the box with 75bhp 😂😂😂

 

This would look mint with a Facelift front end if its a straight swap!

 

1380kg with 20kg tolerance on the weighbridge. Heavier than you would think, similar weight to mk2 meg.

On the plus side as its got plenty of power its alright😆

That’s nearly 200kg’s heavier than my 4x4 saloon car! 😂😂

(yours is considerably more reliable mind you!)

 

Small update

Breather plate was leaking oil as the sealant had failed (as per most f4r) so took the opportunity to fit the correct meg 250 larger volume breather plate compared to the r26 one i fitted previously.

Its knacker tight to fit with turbo on but just managed to slide it in on an angle. Used a gasket instead of sealant this time, see how that fairs.

Also took the opportunity to remove the pcv valve that goes the breather plate, removed the pipe and fitted an 1/8 npt grubscrew and bunged the hole on the inlet with a samco end cap. Thats the last of the emissions crap gone.

Fitted a new Ramair proram airfilter. I had a foam one fitted previously, but not too keen on them now as seen a couple fail and damage turbos.

In other news had a chat to Cooksport/Ast about suspension options so will be looking into ordering soon.

Thanks for reading!

 

Updates

Had the Kangoo in for a map tweak at EfiParts, as changed a few bits since last map, new clutch, new oem n75 valve, air filter etc.

The short story is - clutch basically failed straight after mapping earlier this year, it was slipping on the last power runs and once fixed with uprated clutch it was quick for a short period of time then boost dropped a bit. Que fault finding and replacing a load of bits (Renault life?!) New n75 valve got the boost back up and felt quick on the road again but didnt really log boost.

Strapped on the dyno and first run was 335hp ish hp, down on power from last time due to lower boost pressure. Looks like the n75 valves can differ a lot from new, which might not cause too much bother on stock power but quite a difference on a mapped setup with raised boost.

A few more runs and more n75 duty was dialled back in to raise the boost pressure back up to around 22psi resulting in 378hp & 345ft/lb.

Feels mega quick again, and loads smoother power delivery which helps with traction. Great job from Chris as usual, it feels loads better to drive now.

 

Will be a proper riot to drive on track that🤣

"Who's this knob in a van... And why the f**k is he getting closer and closer... Oh s**t he's just passed me and made me look slow"🤣🤣

 

Also a few pics of it cleaned up before the trip. New reg fitted that my mrs got me for my 40th birthday last month.

Thanks for reading!!

 

Will be a proper riot to drive on track that🤣

"Who's this knob in a van... And why the f**k is he getting closer and closer... Oh s**t he's just passed me and made me look slow"🤣🤣

Cant wait to embarrass some track cars with it once suspension is done

 

Cant wait to embarrass some track cars with it once suspension is done

Ill be part of the group you pass, I'll be sure to stick the indicator on asap🤣🤣🤣

 

I remember seeing vids of the old extra van and im sure it was an r35 on track ages ago, cant wait to see this kicking ass everywhere

 

That won't be slow!

Mega that Jon, that'll embarrass M3's and anything this side of a GT3 on the straights 😂

 

What a sleeper. Bloody epic job you’ve done with that.👍👍

 

Long time no update

All has been well with the Kangoo.

Just before xmas i took it to Cooksport for a rolling road day/catch up with a few good friends. It was a long journey approx 600 mile round trip but no issues at all.

Had a run on the rollers whilst there

The main reason for the journey was to measure up a custom Ast rear coilover to replace the current separate spring/shocker fitted.

On the lift for measuring up.

A design was made and i put my order in, including front megane 2 rs coilovers/solid mounts. Spring rate of 70NM all round which should be decent for road use.

Waited patiently for them to arrive and a nice large box turned up this morning.

Quality looks fantastic. Cant wait to get them fitted and set up for some fast road/track use.

Thanks for reading!!

 

Oh wow! This is awesome.

 

Long time no update

All has been well with the Kangoo.

Just before xmas i took it to Cooksport for a rolling road day/catch up with a few good friends. It was a long journey approx 600 mile round trip but no issues at all.

Had a run on the rollers whilst there View attachment 1579367

The main reason for the journey was to measure up a custom Ast rear coilover to replace the current separate spring/shocker fitted.

On the lift for measuring up. View attachment 1579368
A design was made and i put my order in, including front megane 2 rs coilovers/solid mounts. Spring rate of 70NM all round which should be decent for road use.

Waited patiently for them to arrive and a nice large box turned up this morning. View attachment 1579363View attachment 1579364View attachment 1579365View attachment 1579362View attachment 1579361

Quality looks fantastic. Cant wait to get them fitted and set up for some fast road/track use.

Thanks for reading!!

Those look epic!

 

Long time no update

All has been well with the Kangoo.

Just before xmas i took it to Cooksport for a rolling road day/catch up with a few good friends. It was a long journey approx 600 mile round trip but no issues at all.

Had a run on the rollers whilst there View attachment 1579367

The main reason for the journey was to measure up a custom Ast rear coilover to replace the current separate spring/shocker fitted.

On the lift for measuring up. View attachment 1579368
A design was made and i put my order in, including front megane 2 rs coilovers/solid mounts. Spring rate of 70NM all round which should be decent for road use.

Waited patiently for them to arrive and a nice large box turned up this morning. View attachment 1579363View attachment 1579364View attachment 1579365View attachment 1579362View attachment 1579361

Quality looks fantastic. Cant wait to get them fitted and set up for some fast road/track use.

Thanks for reading!!

Are those totally custom for you?

 

Long time no update

All has been well with the Kangoo.

Just before xmas i took it to Cooksport for a rolling road day/catch up with a few good friends. It was a long journey approx 600 mile round trip but no issues at all.

Had a run on the rollers whilst there View attachment 1579367

The main reason for the journey was to measure up a custom Ast rear coilover to replace the current separate spring/shocker fitted.

On the lift for measuring up. View attachment 1579368
A design was made and i put my order in, including front megane 2 rs coilovers/solid mounts. Spring rate of 70NM all round which should be decent for road use.

Waited patiently for them to arrive and a nice large box turned up this morning. View attachment 1579363View attachment 1579364View attachment 1579365View attachment 1579362View attachment 1579361

Quality looks fantastic. Cant wait to get them fitted and set up for some fast road/track use.

Thanks for reading!!

How does the customer coilover work? I’ve got a car where some would be ideal. Do Cooksport do all the measuring then send them off to be made? Or did you have some donor springs and shocks to use as a starter?

 

This is awesome!!!!

 

Cheers all. Cant wait to get them on and set up.

@Waitey the rears are custom to fit my Kangoo. Cooksport had the rear shocks off to measure it all up, discussed a few options and it was agreed best option was to do away with the inboard springs for the full coilover, to save the hassle of custom rear springs.

Its very basic eye to eye shock in reality so was just a case of them selecting the parts to build it from the Ast catalogue. The fronts are just meg2 rs legs which are plug and play.

@Big Toe Cooksport will be able to make something up to suit your needs. I was not confident enough to measure up myself so was worth the trip to get them to measure it up right. Great service all round.

 

Updates

Finally pulled my finger out and started fitting the Ast's, rears first.

Started with bushes as got some powerflex in stock

Done

Shocks trial fit and fit well. No issues bolted straight on.

Im no expert on setting up coilovers but ive went with the approach of leaving 1/3 shock travel for droop and 2/3 for compression when on the floor. Ride height slightly lower than before. It will be getting cornerweighted and setup at some point.

Remember that large ballast weight i talked about ages ago? Pulled it off earlier. I gunned the bolts off and it suddenly dropped with a bang luckily was not in the way. Its in 2 parts removed both bits, as light is fast?

Grabbed the scales to weigh it

53kg!! Thats 8.5stone in old money or 2 bags of cement with change!! Crazy saving.

So from last weigh in it was 1380kg, it should be down to around 1327kg which is quite a result id say.

Fronts to fit next weekend and driveshaft oil seal to change as weeping.

Thanks for reading!!