Re: Ollie's Silver Cup - JMS RS2/428s/Wilwood/2118
Now that my RS2 package is finished, I thought I'd spend a bit of time writing a more in-depth post about my experiences.
I've made a number of comments and posts, since having the kit originally fitted, about how impressed I was by the product and way the car felt; regardless of any bad publicity and reviews it may have received in recent weeks, I still stand by my opinion that it's a very good product that achieves its purpose very well.
Starting with the group buy; I joined it and ordered the kit way back January. So, it's nice to finally have the work completed and be happy with the results.
The time waiting obviously included the development of the newer design single piece base manifold (MR25). This was something that made the group buy enjoyable for me; as the new base manifold was being designed, it was good being kept in the loop with updates on how it was progressing and the work involved in it's development at different stages.
There's no denying that there were some quite serious issues with communication towards the end of the group buy and from a customer perspective it became quite frustrating at times.
However, I also think it's really important to add that, James has been fantastic at sorting things out over the last couple of weeks since the closure of JMS.
I do hope that he picks up the building and sales of the RS2 in the future.
I took a trip down to JMS in mid-July to have the kit fitted. The workman ship was spot on, with a very neat installation of all parts.
Alongside this, the lads also fitted the black silicone hoses and mocal catch tank I'd bought to supplement the manifold. There was no real reason for these additions, other than aethetics and tarting.
So, to throw up a few photos of my engine and the RS2 finished. Some I've posted previously, some not;
Even running on the standard Renault map, I was very impressed with the product and loved the way the car now felt. It's much smoother and more linear in it's power delivery, the car feels to pull much stronger than previously as though it would just go and go and go.
I ran unmapped like this for almost a couple of months, before yesterday, I took a trip up to Leeds so that Paul at RS Tuning could work his magic.
A quick iPhone snap from yesterday, after the car had just been pulled onto the rollers;
When it went in yesterday, on the standard map, the car produced 171bhp.
About an hour later, with Pauls mapping, it was up to 185.1bhp and the torque was looking much better.
I think it's a healthy figure for an RS2'd car and it's something I'm very happy with.
Most importantly though, the mapping really brought everything together and improved on the things I loved about the kit in the first place; the smoothness of the power delivery.
Figure wise, I don't know exactly what I've gained as the car was never put on a rolling road prior to having the intake fitted; however, given that standard 172's are around 165bhp, I've achieved around a 20bhp increase with the RS2.
The kit, as part of the group buy, was a little over a thousand pounds. There's then the fitting and mapping which took the package price to around £1,350, again as part of the group buy. In terms of the Clio tuning market and comparable products, at present, an approximate 20bhp increase for £1,350 is pretty good going. The other option I was considering before ordering my RS2 was the ITB route; undoubtedly it would have given higher levels of performance, but, the costs would have been almost double.
Ultimately, I really am very happy with the end result. It's a car I absolutely love driving. :evil:
