Not Normal Dans R26 Megane F1

[George@RTR_Parts]

Goodstuff , nice to see that they improve on parts where they can/think they need to

 

[Gray]

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

I think all the mounts have been updated...

 

[not normal dan]

Well today I was working down at centre of gravity in atherstone changing a clutch and duel mass flywheel on a 330d for a friend who happens to work there and his farther in law owns the business.

There very well known and well regarded within the Porsche circles when it comes to geometry and chassis and suspension tuning although they work on all sorts of road going and race exotica

After finishing the bmw we stuck the meg on the ramp just to makesure things are pointing the right way before my ring trip. As expected the front needed a minor tweak but everything else was above board.

I was very surprised at the rear alignment and how well it was keeping track after experiencing the clio rear beams.

For now it's all been set as standard but once back from Germany I'll be going down the coilover route and full corner weight and geo setup for specific needs

Anyway here's a few pictures

 

[JonC219]

Nice setup that.

 

[not normal dan]

Nice setup that.

Yeah the ramp that the megane is on is a nice bit of kit, has built in corner weights, a secondary lift that lifts the car off the ramp to lift the wheels off and ratchet points to strap the car down the measure bump steer

 

[Renault Wolverhampton]

looking good mate!

 

[not normal dan]

looking good mate!

Cheers mate, I'll give you a shout next week for some service bits. It's only been done 6 months ago but just want to do it for piece of mind ready for me road trip

 

[Renault Wolverhampton]

lol no worries mate just let me know!

 

[JD]

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

Cheers, I have a slightly erratic idle and have had it since purchase in 09. Runs fine, just occasional. Wondered if this could be the fix as it's not boost leak/TB related...

 

[not normal dan]

Cheers, I have a slightly erratic idle and have had it since purchase in 09. Runs fine, just occasional. Wondered if this could be the fix as it's not boost leak/TB related...

Yeah this seems fairly common and when on idle it's quite easy to see movement in the mounts if there worn

 

[not normal dan]

So I couldn't resist, sick of the standard Renault head unit and lack of connectivity so I bit the bullet and got myself a nice new pioneer unit from bass junkies in nearby Derby.

Main features I wanted out of the new unit.

Bluetooth connectivity
Aux/USB/iPod/sd card
Connectivity with car controls
And a non calculator style display

So I went for this unit

Came in at 285 with all the required looms and facias. Also the display illumination colour is changeable which is a nice feature so it blends in with dash.

So here's a few pictures of the fitting.

First off I removed the standard unit and the glovebox

Then drilled a nice hole and fitted a grommet in the glovebox for the routing of the USB cable and to keep things neat.

Then I connected all the connects2 loom and installed the cage, facia and head unit

Then tested it all and I must say I'm really happy with the improvements

 

[Mr R.]

Love the HU mate, i wanted something "low key" looking so i bought a s/hand Becker but it doesn't have bluetooth.

May well end up buying one of these as Alpine units seem to be lots of flashing lights.

 

[not normal dan]

Love the HU mate, i wanted something "low key" looking so i bought a s/hand Becker but it doesn't have bluetooth.

May well end up buying one of these as Alpine units seem to be lots of flashing lights.

Yeah a lot of them seem to be going down the 'bling' route with Casio calculator style screens. In my opinion it really lowers the tone of the HU!

 

[not normal dan]

So had a parcel today, nothing overly exciting just some service bits from Adam at Renault Wolverhampton

Spark Plugs

Oil

Oil filter

Pollen Filter



Also ordered some ferodo DS1.11 front pads from G172



Also popped up to see Dom at



shopnshine.co.uk



for some more detailing supplies, this guy is really competitive and doesn't try to sell you the most expensive products on the shelf. Also full of good advice when it comes to cleaning your motor



Anyway got back and thought I would give it a scrub, here's my method



Jet wash pre rinse

Valet Pro snow foam

Two bucket wash using megs gold class

Valet pro iron out

Valet pro de tar

Autobrite cherry gloss polish

Autobrite project 32 paint seal

Megs tyre gel

Autoglym wheel seal

Megs clear vue glass cleaner



Here's the result

Also sent the v5 off to the dvla to put my private reg on at last

 

[not normal dan]

Well g172 has come through yet again, ordered pads yesterday midday and just been dropped off!

Excellent service and competitive pricing, top bloke

 

[Iain C]

looking good. I did the engine mount on my r26. I was amazed at the difference.
I want the wheels off your 1 series!

 

[George@RTR_Parts]

Well g172 has come through yet again, ordered pads yesterday midday and just been dropped off!

Excellent service and competitive pricing, top bloke

No worries Dan. Thanks mate!

 

[not normal dan]

looking good. I did the engine mount on my r26. I was amazed at the difference.
I want the wheels off your 1 series!

Yeah I didn't see many 1 series with those wheels until I bought ours, now every fucker has them haha.

Yeah I changed all the mounts and it's improved it now no end, still a small vibration but I think that's normal and I'm just being picky

No worries Dan. Thanks mate!

No worries any time

 

[Scutch]

Excellent this mate. Great read.

I've got this in mine: http://www.caraudiocentre.co.uk/product_m-alpine-ida-x100_p-23162.htm but I'm actually looking at maybe a double din unit in the future. Can't fault the Alpine though, it's done well. Maybe I should uprate the speakers but the Megane has a bit of a piss up when it comes to door speakers as they don't help with the water retention at all. I'm fairly sure I've custom fit Pioneer door speakers currently but the passenger side has been known to collect water in the door pocket.

 

[not normal dan]

Excellent this mate. Great read.

I've got this in mine: http://www.caraudiocentre.co.uk/product_m-alpine-ida-x100_p-23162.htm but I'm actually looking at maybe a double din unit in the future. Can't fault the Alpine though, it's done well. Maybe I should uprate the speakers but the Megane has a bit of a piss up when it comes to door speakers as they don't help with the water retention at all. I'm fairly sure I've custom fit Pioneer door speakers currently but the passenger side has been known to collect water in the door pocket.

looking good. I did the engine mount on my r26. I was amazed at the difference.
I want the wheels off your 1 series!

Yeah the shop I bought the stereo off said they do the direct fit pioneer speakers which I will no doubt go for. I keep all the door drains unblocked but if needs be I may try and vacuum form a nice plastic enclosure

Had spare twenty minutes today so swapped the plugs so just the oil to change tomorrow and she's good. Had a good look over it last week on the ramp and all seems good. Hopefully get the pads done and the rear brakes cleaner up in the next week too and she's ready for the ring

 

[not normal dan]

Well progress been a little slow, been getting ready for me holidays and new job at work coupled with loads of work on other peoples cars but I have a small update

Finally got me paperwork off the DVLA to put me reg on the car, now it feels like me own haha

Also just booked me first proper open pit lane track day at Donnington Park in October. Really looking forward to it hopefully I can make some good improvements with me driving style and highlight areas of improvement for the meg

 

[not normal dan]

So today I decided seeing as I finally had a bit of spare time I'd fit the bits that were gathering dust behind the sofa.

These were

Ferodo DS1.11 race front pads
Me Pink brake pins
And oil and filter

First things first I thought I'd crack on with the brakes. Now I've fell victim to these w**k pins before on a few 197's which resulting in me angle grinder coming out but I knew these hadn't been done that long before I bought the car.

So I did the passenger side first and a good whack on each pin and they shot out! Then I removed the pads and gave the calipers a good clean

Old pads and pins out

New pads

New pins that use an R clip to secure instead of a w**k piece of what looks like lead

I fitted these and then moved onto changing the oil in prep for it's first trackday next month.

Genuine oil and filter was used supplied from Adam. Just been following the bedding in procedure on way home so hopefully I'll be able to give the brakes some stick soon but they already feel great over standard

 

[NorthloopCup]

Shed!! What bedding in procedure did you do mate? (Serious question btw - I know unusual for me!)

 

[not normal dan]

Shed!! What bedding in procedure did you do mate? (Serious question btw - I know unusual for me!)

It's a shed alright but it's a rather fast one

Ferodo stated in the instructions that came with it 25-30 brake applications at 50% pedal pressure slowly bringing the vehicle to a stop, was handy as I was driving to derby through repton which has humps haha

 

[NorthloopCup]

It's a shed alright but it's a rather fast one

Ferodo stated in the instructions that came with it 25-30 brake applications at 50% pedal pressure slowly bringing the vehicle to a stop, was handy as I was driving to derby through repton which has humps haha

It made for a good van as well! Lol!

Ah right ok. I usually do 10 hard applications from 30-10 then up it to 60-10 for the same amount of applications. Once I've done that it's drive normal and not touch the brakes to let them cool down a bit and hey presto, brakes bedded in!!

 

[not normal dan]

It made for a good van as well! Lol!

Ah right ok. I usually do 10 hard applications from 30-10 then up it to 60-10 for the same amount of applications. Once I've done that it's drive normal and not touch the brakes to let them cool down a bit and hey presto, brakes bedded in!!

Yeah I was thinking of getting it sign written tbh "MEARS TURBO REMOVALS" haha

Yeah I normally do some firm applications leaving them time cool in between and then just take it steady for a few miles but I thought I'd follow the instructions this time haha

 

[not normal dan]

Well weekend just gone I decided to attend the West Mids Cliosport.net drive out meet to Barmouth in Wales and the Infamous evo triangle.

Was really looking forward to this as it's the first time I've had chance to take the Meg for a good leg stretch since bringing it back from Ascot when I bought it.

Needless to say it performed faultlessly all day as expected and the car really did impress me how composed it was when pushing on and making progress.

Anyway here's a couple of pics, one courtesy of steBurns

Enjoy

 

[Mr Burns]

Good to see you're happy with it, Dan!

It seemed to waft along with ease through Wales, and I'm certain it was a more relaxing journey than mine!

It's still on my list of car I'd like to own... One day maybe!

 

[not normal dan]

Good to see you're happy with it, Dan!

It seemed to waft along with ease through Wales, and I'm certain it was a more relaxing journey than mine!

It's still on my list of car I'd like to own... One day maybe!

Yeah I'd say that's the main benefit of them over a clio, the extra low down power means you can be a bit lazy with it and still make progress.

Looking forward to tinkering with it though as mapping them etc really transforms them into a bit of an animal.

Hey that ignis still help its own that's for sure and for a 1.5 it certainly shuffles

 

[Mr Burns]

We'll have to make sure we get another go in Wales and make it to the EVO Triangle this time!

 

[not normal dan]

We'll have to make sure we get another go in Wales and make it to the EVO Triangle this time!

Yeah I was a bit gutted we didn't do it all and personally I'd of liked to carry a little more pace then we were doing but wasn't sure on the route exactly

 

[Mr Burns]

Curborough next Sunday dude, see you there

 

[NorthloopCup]

Yeah I was a bit gutted we didn't do it all and personally I'd of liked to carry a little more pace then we were doing but wasn't sure on the route exactly

Let me know if your going again anytime soon! More than happy to sit at a better pace!

 

[not normal dan]

Curborough next Sunday dude, see you there

Could be possible, I'm actually off next weekend. What event is it next week?

Let me know if your going again anytime soon! More than happy to sit at a better pace!

Haha we'd certainly make progress at "our pace" haha

 

[Mr Burns]

Could be possible, I'm actually off next weekend. What event is it next week?

Members day, so I'll be going round in my car

 

[Mr Burns]

Haha we'd certainly make progress at "our pace" haha

Big fat plus one right there!

 

[not normal dan]

Members day, so I'll be going round in my car

Steve "black flag" Burns so I hear, that's gotta be one to see haha

 

[not normal dan]

So I went down to Pfc expo today at donnington park, seemed rude not too seeing as it's only 10 minutes away.

Had a great day and parked on the CS stand and top marks to the guys that organised the stand as it was in a good location and good show of cars and of course good refreshments (which the missus seemed rather happy about).

Now I've been having a bit of a dilemma with what route to go down with exhaust for the Meg, do I go 3inch and risk it being tad on the loud side or do I stick to 2.75?

Well after speaking with @Gray who informed me scorpion were making a new system and I did a bit of digging but didn't quite find the info I wanted.

Well today the scorpion guys and the Whybee guys (distributor) were there and answered all my questions and even had a demo car there.

Now the system with downpipe/decat 3 inch with one silencer retails at £645 which seems to be going rate for all other systems.

Well the inevitable happened and took one away with me, for a steal at 420! The demo car was ever so quiet with the same system even at 4500 so that made my mind up

 

[TimR26]

Good deal on the exhaust!

 

[welshname]

Bargain! Get some videos up when it's fitted.