Not Normal Dans R26 Megane F1

[not normal dan]

So thought it was about time I should start a little thread for the trophies replacement. After 5 years of fun filled clio sport ownership (172,197 and trophy) I had the sudden brain wave that I fancied a change. All sorts of replacements went through me head from r26's, e46 m3's, 130i's, various Honda's and a selection from the vag stable but after a few chats with friends I decided to stay loyal to the brand and go for a Megane f1

So I set out joined rsmegane.com and meganesport.net to get a bit of back ground information on common faults to look out for and had a little chat with @Gray

So I advertised the trophy on pistonheads after sticking 12 months mot on it and I thought due to the market for these cars it may take a while to sell but after advertising it on the Saturday and a few text messages on the Sunday it was sold for the full asking price to the first person who viewed it.

So with deposit in hand I set off scouring the net for the replacement sent a few PM's on here and various other forums I had no real reply (strange for saying people want to sell there car) but I found a contender on pistonheads that had only been on there 4 hours so I grabbed the phone and arranged the viewing.

So with the car located in Ascot a few streets from the famous horse racing venue I jumped in the sensible 1 series diesel we've recently purchased and set off on the 300 mile round trip.

So I arrived there and it was better then described, car was spanking clean and wheels really popped in the sun. So I gave the owner a knock and after a good chat and a good test drive we got down to the money. I knocked him down 100 quid due to it really wanting a set of injectors in it (common fault and now resolved) but it was totally as described with loads of history and receipts and the owner was a real enthusiast and petrol head.


Few pics from the advert

So a deposit was placed down and I returned a couple of days to collect the car, cracking drive back and instantly fell in love with the extra wave of torque produced by the boosted f4r and it really made progress on the way home and even averaged 33mpg sat at 80

Day I fetched it

and night after parked up at work

So after mentioning the injectors I got on the phone to Ads at Wolverhampton Renault and ordered a new set. They promptly arrived and I set to work

So I stripped off the boost pipe and the injector loom off and removed the fuel rail and injectors

Old injectors

New injectors

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, Calibri, Geneva, sans-serif]

[/FONT]

All done and back together and fault resolved, seems injectors are fairly common for clogging on these so I've kept hold of the old ones to get cleaned and keep as spares

Next up due to my insurance stipulating my car had to be modified I ordered a ktec intake kit, I'll get some pics up but it's a nicely made kit which includes a nice heatsheild and bracket.

 

[Gray]

Looking good mate, best colour too

 

[not normal dan]

Looking good mate, best colour too

Cheers mate

Got a few more updates but got board of writing haha, just got some mr pink brake pins too so they'll be getting stripped this week

Looking at upgrading the front pads but not sure what to go for, I loved the ds2500 on the 197 but they seem to get mixed reviews on meg forum

Also sussed that occasional vibration at idle, looks like gearbox mount is worn but I'm gonna order a full set tomorrow from Adam

 

[Gray]

We'll have to meet up soon mate.

I didn't rate the DS2500's on mine.... they where dead after a few big stops

 

[not normal dan]

We'll have to meet up soon mate.

I didn't rate the DS2500's on mine.... they where dead after a few big stops

Yeah defiantly mate, what pads you running at the minute?

 

[Robiniho77]

Looks great!

How hard was the injector job? Im going to need to do it myself very soon...

Thanks

Liam

 

[Gavin.]

Nice mate, looks lovely.

 

[not normal dan]

Looks great!

How hard was the injector job? Im going to need to do it myself very soon...

Thanks

Liam

Cheers mate

There's easy mate, I'm a mechanic by trade but if your are competent with a set of tools and confident it's easy.

 

[RDH]

Love these in silver.

I'm going to view a couple this weekend, can anyone advise me on some tips to spot common faults etc on the viewings?

 

[not normal dan]

Window regs are common, as are swivel hub bearings, injectors and engine mounts.

Tbh just make everything electrical works as the scuttle drains and doors drains are common for blocking

 

[imprezaworks]

Awesome car mate, looks great. One day I may own one

 

[lemonnobby]

I'm thinking of upgrading my car to one of these. Good looking car.

 

[Andy93]

I'm picking mine up this afternoon. Mercury silver too

 

[Gray]

Yeah defiantly mate, what pads you running at the minute?

DS1.11 - AKA Man Pads.

 

[not normal dan]

DS1.11 - AKA Man Pads.

Link?

 

[Renault Wolverhampton]

http://www.ferodoracing.com/products/car-racing/racing-brake-pads/ds1-11/

 

[Mr Burns]

Nice... Wouldn't mind one of these myself.

 

[not normal dan]

Nice... Wouldn't mind one of these myself.

Yeah I think it's a great stepping stone from the clio's, like I said it's nice to have the extra wave of torque the turbo gives you as you don't have to ring it's neck to make progress.

Also after speaking to a mate who's a regular track day nutter he's now buying one after seeing one in action at Caldwell last week

 

[Lawro]

Looks lovely! Correct colour too, enjoy it.

 

[not normal dan]

Well thought I'd post a few pictures of the ktec induction kit I fitted last week.

In terms of quality of the kit it's a nice fit and comes with a nice looking heat shield and a couple of mounts

Recovering the old airbox involved removing the battery and battery tray and swinging the ecu over to one side, then I had to cut down the intake pipe a few inches to accommodate

Battery out

Old airbox out

Battery tray and ecu out the way

And the kit fitted

I must say the daft sucking noises and noises it makes when letting off were kind of addictive (small things, small minds lol)

Also just ordered the replacement mounts from Adam at Wolverhampton Renault, set to be here tomorrow so hopefully get the worn ones swapped out this weekend.

 

[Cub.]

I'm awaiting your resignation from Team Mincer Racing.

This isn't mincing enough

Looks good bud, and hopefully see it at Oulton in August?

 

[not normal dan]

I'm awaiting your resignation from Team Mincer Racing.

This isn't mincing enough

Looks good bud, and hopefully see it at Oulton in August?

Haha it soon will be

Afraid not mate, it appears I'm on holiday in Italy when the oulton day is, this I fly back late that day iirc, shame cause I really want to do a day at oulton and that would of been ideal

Another pic with the sensible 1 series

 

[James28]

Waaa I want one

 

[not normal dan]

So I missed the post man the other day so just popped into the sorting office just on me way home from work.



I had a suspicion it would be these

The redesigned Mr Pink brake pins, I had these on my old 197 and the design is much better and makes brake maintenance pretty much hassle free

 

[ChewyB]

after speaking to a mate who's a regular track day nutter he's now buying one after seeing one in action at Caldwell last week

Which one at Cadwell? Black?

 

[not normal dan]

Which one at Cadwell? Black?

Not sure, it was my mates mate who owns an e90 m3 said there was nothing touching it all day even a decent powered fd2 civic.

 

[not normal dan]

Well he's done it again, Adam @WolverhamptonRenault has done a sterling job.

Ordered the mounts yesterday and here this morning

Can't rate this guy enough, knows his onions and very competitively priced and a top bloke

 

[JD]

Looks great.

What were the symptoms of the failing/gunked up injectors? Lack of performance?

 

[not normal dan]

Looks great.

What were the symptoms of the failing/gunked up injectors? Lack of performance?

Cheers mate

I got a slightly irregular idle but more noticeable was the "coughing" from the exhaust.

Eventually I think they bring a light on and can cause fuel cut but mine weren't quite that bad but I don't do things by half so I just stuck a set in it.

I'm having the old ones cleaned and flow tested and keeping them as spares, the actual injector coils resistance tested bang on

 

[George@RTR_Parts]

Looking good mate, I can help out with the pads if you need any DS1.11

 

[not normal dan]

Looking good mate, I can help out with the pads if you need any DS1.11

Awesome, drop me your best price delivered mate cause come next week I'll be ordering some

 

[Robiniho77]

Well he's done it again, Adam @WolverhamptonRenault has done a sterling job.

Ordered the mounts yesterday and here this morning

Can't rate this guy enough, knows his onions and very competitively priced and a top bloke

These lower control arm bushes in there?

 

[not normal dan]

These lower control arm bushes in there?

There the engine stabilisers and the near side and offside mounts

 

[Gray]

There the engine stabilisers and the near side and offside mounts

You'll find the mounts have been updated since ours where originally fitted

 

[not normal dan]

You'll find the mounts have been updated since ours where originally fitted

I haven't fitted them yet as rain fucked up the plans today and I ended up fitting a screen into someone's van but the new mounts do feel rather stiff

 

[George@RTR_Parts]

Awesome, drop me your best price delivered mate cause come next week I'll be ordering some

PM'd with brake prices and options mate , ta

 

[not normal dan]

PM'd with brake prices and options mate , ta

Yeah got them mate, very competitive and I'll drop you a pm next week at some point.

 

[not normal dan]

Well today I woke up after me last night shift and thought I'd crack on and get these mounts changed before I head up the pub this afternoon.

Started with the lower stabiliser, nice to say I found no nasty surprises underneath too which is always a bonus.

Anyway I removed the reinforcement plate to gain better access so here's a few pics

Old mounts showing signs of cracking and delaminating

Renault have clearly changed the design slightly

I then went ahead and changed the drivers side mount and the small link there, this was a little more awkward due to the aircon pipe being in the way but it came out in the end

This was one of the mounts i suspected to be causing the problem due to common issues owners have, here's a picture of it showing the crack formed and sagging caused by this

And here's the new mount

Next up was the gearbox mount which also had a lot of movement in it whilst the car was idling, this involved removing battery and battery tray and moving the ecu, also had to remove the ktec induction kit

Old mount showing extensive wear

New mount

And the new mount fitted

Another picture of the old mounts

And the car all done

Must say it's transformed the car and the annoying vibration on idle has now gone and the gear change is a lot more positive.

Next up I'm gonna be ordering a new stereo, it must have ipod controls and work with the steering controls.

Any recommendations? I've been looking at mechless alpine units but not sure if I'll regret the fact of not having a cd slot :s

This is the unit in question

http://www.caraudiodirect.co.uk/alpine-cde-175r

I'll also being giving the car a bit of a service for piece of mind and uprating the front pads and bleeding the brakes in prep for my Nurburgring trip in September

 

[George@RTR_Parts]

Yeah got them mate, very competitive and I'll drop you a pm next week at some point.

No worries mate

Those new mounts look a big improvement over the originals/what you took out

 

[not normal dan]

No worries mate

Those new mounts look a big improvement over the originals/what you took out

Yeah it really has transformed the drive, I'll be keeping the stabilisers as spares but the rest will be in the bin.

Looks like Renault may have changed the design/materials too