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Kangoo Compact (aka Racevan3)



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

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
20181105_113311.jpg


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
RENAULT KANGOO COMPACT.jpg

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
20191119_193217.jpg

Short arse
20191119_214251.jpg

Cleaned up and roof rack removed and pushed into position.
20191120_133349.jpg

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

20191120_132320.jpg


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;)
 
Ill be buzzing if it makes 360/360. If the engine is a little tired and only makes low 300s ill be happy with that. Beggars cant be choosers:LOL:

Interestingly i found a build thread for the r26 i stripped for the engine.


The pistons are actually cosworth (i thought they were wossner) and cat cams rods. It made 318hp/355ft/lb back in 2012 on stock head &19t hybrid.

Engine has done around 20k from my reckoning up. Ive added 250 head, 172 cams & 20t hybrid. High pressure 250 fuel system, decent cooler. I believe the limiting factors at the moment will be the turbo and the clutch .
 
Ill be buzzing if it makes 360/360. If the engine is a little tired and only makes low 300s ill be happy with that. Beggars cant be choosers:LOL:

Interestingly i found a build thread for the r26 i stripped for the engine.


The pistons are actually cosworth (i thought they were wossner) and cat cams rods. It made 318hp/355ft/lb back in 2012 on stock head &19t hybrid.

Engine has done around 20k from my reckoning up. Ive added 250 head, 172 cams & 20t hybrid. High pressure 250 fuel system, decent cooler. I believe the limiting factors at the moment will be the turbo and the clutch .
you forgot to add a decent map to that list of changes :LOL: ;)
 
363/382.4 What an amazing job you've done of the build, hats off to you mate👍. Can't wait to see it at csf next year, I hope you can fit all your camping gear in the back 😂.
 
Cheers all

Just got back from Efi, Mapping went very well and made more power than anticipated, Chris done a great job and feels ballistic for what it is. Its hard to keep in a straight line in first 3 gears so best start looking at suspension upgrades next! Will do a full update in the morning ;)
 
What did it make? Has it got a LSD?
It does indeed have a megane pk gearbox with lsd. I think the main issue is it squats so much on boost, ive dialled in a bit more rebound on the rear shocks and going to look at the overall suspension setup and upgrade as ness. Will get some professional advice on where to go with it to keep it compliant for the road but corner decent.

Needs better tyres too cannot hook it up with the goodyears in first or 2nd in the dry :LOL:
 
Mapping day yesterday. Had prepared as best as i could and packed a few spares "just incase". Steady drive down to Efi made it there in good time.

Pre checks done, fuelled up and parked waiting to get on the rollers. Moggy arrives for a catch up in his epic nimbus r26r.
20210529_141022.jpg

Waited for Chris to finish up with another car on the dyno.

Firstly engine ecu was removed to bench read and write a new base map as the ecu was locked from previous map. I fit 250 map sensors and hook up the vac pipe for the rising rate fuel reg on the 250 rail.

Chris fires it up to check the base map, connects the hardware to map via obd. We run into problems at this point as the software does not recognise the Kangoo 2 vin number that is stored on the engine ecu and wont show any ecu data, boost pressure, charge temp, knock count etc.

This was a problem as cant tune it without any data logging. Long and short of it is, when i done the immobiliser sync i changed the engine ecu vin number to the Kangoo one to try and view it on clip (which did not work). The only option was to reload the megane R26 vin number so the software would recognise it, which was a bit of a carry on as the ecu needed to be a virgin immob file and would not write the vin without a bench flash back to virgin.

Luckily i had my laptop with me so found the virgin immob file, bench flashed the chip and resynced the immobiliser with Ren0link. Ecu vin changed and the hardware recognised the vin allowing logging to be done.

Onto the dyno.
20210529_183423.jpg
20210529_183415.jpg

Chris asked me what i expected from the setup and what my use will be, i told him i want to drive this hard and track use so can sacrifice a bit of power for safety. He mentioned the 172 cams on stock timing may make the setup a little bit more laggy compared to usual megane, but that could work really well and make more power with less boost than stock 250 cams, and keep the drama out low down in the rpm which is good.

Part throttle mapping first.
20210529_193821.jpg

Chris starts dialling it in and the power comes up fast and its looking like its working quite well. Safe 300 hp, 350 hp on 2nd run. Intake/Charge temps are really good and the rising rate fuel system is working well.

Wound it up a bit more and see 382hp @23psi
20210529_200247.jpg

Clutch started to slip a little on spool at this point so had to pull boost up to 4000ish rpm and limit torque.

End result 375hp & 337ft/lb. Made up as i was expecting around 340hp and anything over that was a bonus.
20210530_003641.jpg
20210530_003656.jpg


Video of the final run.



Took it for a road test and it feels ballistic for what it is, its hilarious just squats and goes.

Traction is a major issue in first 2 gears and its quite hard to keep straight so chassis needs a bit of work to dial it in and it definitely needs some sticky rubber for track use, and a clutch upgrade very soon.

Massive thanks to Chris @ Efi for epic service as usual, he totally went above and beyond and stayed back late to get it all dialled in and finished after the initial issues with the ecu. Overall it drives fantastic and very pleased with the results.

Thanks for reading!!
 
Awesome work man, great when the graft pays off and you get more than expected isn't it 😁💪🏻. Chris really is a legend of the tuning world.

Know how you feel with traction and I'm on a chunk less power than you are!

Can't wait to see it at somepoint soon, keep up the good work.👍🏻
 
Cannot wait to see this in action, its gonna be a right f**king laugh nailing everything in sight on track🤣

I went conservative with Adey's power figure so went above what I thought it might make and it made even more than my guess🤣🤣🤣
 
Mapping day yesterday. Had prepared as best as i could and packed a few spares "just incase". Steady drive down to Efi made it there in good time.

Pre checks done, fuelled up and parked waiting to get on the rollers. Moggy arrives for a catch up in his epic nimbus r26r.View attachment 1541044
Waited for Chris to finish up with another car on the dyno.

Firstly engine ecu was removed to bench read and write a new base map as the ecu was locked from previous map. I fit 250 map sensors and hook up the vac pipe for the rising rate fuel reg on the 250 rail.

Chris fires it up to check the base map, connects the hardware to map via obd. We run into problems at this point as the software does not recognise the Kangoo 2 vin number that is stored on the engine ecu and wont show any ecu data, boost pressure, charge temp, knock count etc.

This was a problem as cant tune it without any data logging. Long and short of it is, when i done the immobiliser sync i changed the engine ecu vin number to the Kangoo one to try and view it on clip (which did not work). The only option was to reload the megane R26 vin number so the software would recognise it, which was a bit of a carry on as the ecu needed to be a virgin immob file and would not write the vin without a bench flash back to virgin.

Luckily i had my laptop with me so found the virgin immob file, bench flashed the chip and resynced the immobiliser with Ren0link. Ecu vin changed and the hardware recognised the vin allowing logging to be done.

Onto the dyno.View attachment 1541042 View attachment 1541043
Chris asked me what i expected from the setup and what my use will be, i told him i want to drive this hard and track use so can sacrifice a bit of power for safety. He mentioned the 172 cams on stock timing may make the setup a little bit more laggy compared to usual megane, but that could work really well and make more power with less boost than stock 250 cams, and keep the drama out low down in the rpm which is good.

Part throttle mapping first.View attachment 1541041
Chris starts dialling it in and the power comes up fast and its looking like its working quite well. Safe 300 hp, 350 hp on 2nd run. Intake/Charge temps are really good and the rising rate fuel system is working well.

Wound it up a bit more and see 382hp @23psiView attachment 1541039
Clutch started to slip a little on spool at this point so had to pull boost up to 4000ish rpm and limit torque.

End result 375hp & 337ft/lb. Made up as i was expecting around 340hp and anything over that was a bonus.View attachment 1541038View attachment 1541037

Video of the final run.



Took it for a road test and it feels ballistic for what it is, its hilarious just squats and goes.

Traction is a major issue in first 2 gears and its quite hard to keep straight so chassis needs a bit of work to dial it in and it definitely needs some sticky rubber for track use, and a clutch upgrade very soon.

Massive thanks to Chris @ Efi for epic service as usual, he totally went above and beyond and stayed back late to get it all dialled in and finished after the initial issues with the ecu. Overall it drives fantastic and very pleased with the results.

Thanks for reading!!

tenor.gif
 
Can report that it drives awesome on the road, I reckon this is as fast as my Extra van with around 270hp per ton. Hard to get the power down in first 2 gears but all systems go in 3rd;)

The power has highlighted the wishbone bushes have seen better days so have ordered powerflex black to fit and new balljoints. Brakes next as stock meg brembo pads defo need an upgrade, then i reckon it needs a visit to Croft
 
Not much in the way of updates, been using it quite often and no issues. Seen off a 15 reg audi tt diesel with ease the other night the lad driving it was gobsmacked :LOL:

Waiting for my powerflex front bushes to arrive so can refurb the front end.

Thinking about suspension upgrades. Not sure what route to take, meg2 coilovers up front and custom springs on the rear or keep the r26 shocks on the front and custom springs. Need some advice on what route to take off somebody who knows what they are doing.
 
Which one is cooler, I honestly can’t pick!
Its really hard to choose a favourite out of the pair. Both are s**t on fuel, the Kangoo is quite refined with pas and electric windows and the torque absolutely nails you in the seat, fast as for what it is easy to drive, good modern brakes with abs. Its something that you can drive day to day without being too tiring, and once ive really dialled the handling in it will be quite the weapon on the corners, already feels pretty decent.

The Extra on the other hand has the Bosch 044 whining behind you, snappy 4 paddle clutch and no driver aids. But on the plus side its raw and rewarding to drive, handles great, sounds great, stack dash and pms shifter is awesome. Apart from that no refinement whatsoever and terrible to drive in stop start traffic😆
 
They are both cool, personally I think the extra is more iconic but I can remember loads of them about when I was younger which is probably why plus the 5 is hot s**t right now.
 
Both are epic motors, be hard pressed to pic one on a nice day. I think the kangoo would get picked most mornings though.
 
Updates

Still no track control arm bushes. They never arrived and after excuse after excuse got my money back from the seller on ebay. Have ordered another front set of powerflex from Kamracing this time with rear vibratechnics bushes.

Clutch has almost given up and slipping all the time on full throttle after a bit of spirited driving yesterday when the match was on. Not a car on the road was awesome.

Ive gone for a new genuine renault dmf flywheel, Rts dual friction clutch from Kamracing. Ive stuck with dmf as the pk gearbox rattles like a gooden with smf.

So here we go again! Even though waiting for parts to arrive made a start today. 30 mins to remove subframe, nice and easy. Weather turned shitty so will revisit next weekend.
20210704_212418.jpg

Random pic of it back to back with my old Kangoo 172 outside my mates unit.
20210704_133745.jpg


Thanks for reading!!
 
Updates

Parts all arrived from Kamracing, great service. So started to crack on with the work.

First job was to clean up the track control arms and pop the bushes and balljoints out. 20ton press and knotted wheel on the grinder made short work of this.
20210711_135644.jpg

New vibratechnics rear solid bushes pressed in, powerflex black up front and new trw balljoints. The rear vibratechnics are a rose joint with rubber boot, look pukka. The main advantage over powerflex rear bushes is they can pivot properly like the oem rear bush allowing proper droop on the front suspension. Best be good as they cost double the price of powerflex.

Coated in hydrate 80
20210711_161926.jpg

Zinc primer, epoxy mastic and a gloss top coat.
20210718_185116.jpg
20210718_185120.jpg

Next job was to upgrade the front arb. Stock Kangoo is 19mm and r26 is 21mm so a decent upgrade. The bars look identical so relatively straightforward swap.

The easy way to do this would have been to use the r26 subframe which bolts straight onto the kangoo. The downside to the megane subframe is that it runs crap bushes in the subframe, and the Kangoo is solid mounted like a clio 197 cup racer subframe, so was worth sticking with it.

Kangoo subframe mounts
20210717_135652.jpg

Stock arb brackets were no good as for smaller bar and very flimsy, and r26 would not fit as different.

Had a sniff round the renault parts bin and found the megane 3 bushes were for a 21mm bar and looked similar to kangoo. Slight elongate of the holes and straight on.
20210717_135649.jpg

Next job was to change drivers side outer cv as clicking. Easy job just messy.
20210717_135632.jpg

So next job was to pull the box out to replace dmf for new oem and fit the new rts clutch. Its the dual friction type which is tested and good for decent torque.

Pk gearbox a bit of a lump to remove but not too bad. Clutch did not look all that bad but noted that self adjusting mechanism on pressure plate was not set even though it was fine when fitted!?

Dmf was shot play in all directions. I knew this was not the best as had a bit of vibration off it


Crank seal i fitted with the proper tool still nice and dry. Actually cant believe its leak free.
IMG-20210718-WA0000.jpg

Dmf/Clutch fitted, note self adjusting mechanism set properly.
20210718_150406.jpg

Box back on, new oem renault slave cylinder fitted. Bled up straight away and a good clutch pedal. Just bolting it back together at the moment should be finished tomorrow, need it running for Friday to pick up a petrol patio cleaner:LOL:

Thanks for reading!!
 
Vibratechnics stuff is great. I’ve used it on Vag stuff mainly and it’s always been awesome.
I tried 2 different brand engine mounts on my current Leon and both were crap so went VT mounts 👌🏻
 
Updates,

Got it all back together and back on the road. Toe was miles out with new tie rods fitted so got that set and started running in the new clutch setup. Clutch feels good not too snappy and handling feels absolutely on point with refurbished suspension and 21mm arb, its absolutely transformed over version 1. Corners nice and flat.

Cleaned up as it was looking sorry for itself after a few weeks of sitting on the drive
20210724_164610.jpg

Black induction pipe to replace the red hose
20210722_210728.jpg
20210722_210720.jpg

Tank filled up
20210725_132834.jpg

21mpg average around the streets.
20210725_132848.jpg

Been using it loads this week to get some good mileage on it, no issues to report.

Thanks for reading!!
 
awesome news, glad the suspension changes have worked out (y) ready to slay on the street now?
Hope so, its driving great at the moment. Just trying to get this clutch bedded in before hard use as its recommended to run it in for 750 miles of street driving.
 
Updates

Running well no issues to report, just jump in and drive. Makes quite a good daily to be fair

Can just fit a set of 18s in the back at a squeeze :LOL:
20210830_172127.jpg

Speaking of wheels, as per my dci thread ive gathered another pair of compomotive 1880 to make another set. They appear to be all from the same batch as all were black originally. Note damaged wheel on the far left, might make a table out of it
20210830_163724.jpg
Might get them powdercoated anthracite as the white wheels currently look like this unless cleaned once every few days
20210819_151231.jpg

Currently looking at suspension options as i feel the current springs are too soft and its a bit overdamped. It handles good but theres a lot of room for improvement with a good suspension setup.

Im looking at ast5100's for the front as plug and play and see if they can make me a custom coilover shock for the rear to do away with the current separate spring/shock setup. Suitable poundage springs to suit road and occasional track use.

Thanks for reading!
 


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