As mentioned in the newbie section, I am picking up my 275 Cup-S on Saturday and I have a few questions. I wondered what people thought were the weakest point was on there cars. Is it the speakers (mine has Focal speaker upgrade (no amp) any good?) Maybe the exhaust noise? (I have the Akropovic fitted) Any reliability issues? If I was to remap it, would I need to upgrade the intercooler? What are the benefits of remapping the 275s? More power and better economy? As you can see, I am looking at mods already. Thanks all.
I wonder if the plain discs that come on the 275 cause the brake "issues" that people complain about on here. The grooved discs will give a bit more bite for sure. I didn't run stock pads in mine for long but they were ok for making decent progress on the road. I did find however going back to OEM pads after running aggressive compounds that they were a bit poor mind you but thats comparing them to Pagid RS/CL/Carbotech stuff.
Brakes and I don't find the gearbox that great (the diff excluded- that is superb) i got got my gearbox oil changed at my first service and I genuinely think it's made a big difference in the shift quality. Brakes were a real disappointment to me. I assumed when I ordered the car that because they were Brembo they would be loads better than they are. Fine for quick road driving but don't like big abuse
I'm not sure what is the reason to be honest, but on a single cold application, they just don't retard the car enough. The wifes Clio dci is better. R26 was the same with OEM brakes. I very nearly ran into the back of somebody this morning, in the pouring rain with worn out front tyres (replaced an hour later), whilst trying to push the pedal through the bulkhead. Okay, it was my fault, I was distracted and somebody decided to completely stop in the middle of a NSL road without indicating, but the system didn't even trigger the ABS. How can there not be enough braking force generated in that scenario to overcome the grip I had? I had to swerve round the old duffer in the fiesta or I would have hit him - the thing just wouldn't slow down. The initial bite is good but very quickly you realise there's nothing to back that up, and after a few hard stops, they fade quite badly too. Bone dry, downhill, with hot tyres the 172 system still had enough power to kick in the anti-lock, whilst you were lifted off the seat tight against the belt. I'm sure they just need better pads but why can't Renault get the Megane brakes right when they are praised so much for the Clio brakes (and rightly so)?
I've got a mk3 dci as a daily and the brakes on that are terrible. They're only 280mm to start with but the pad compound is utter crap. Nothing from cold, mediocre when warm and fade easily.
I'm not doubting you, but in the case of my wife's car - that's a new Mk4, and in the case of the Clio's brakes being praised in general, I was referring to the RS version.
Im curious as to if they changed the compounds on the pads for the 275? Saying that, No one has slated the Trophy-R brakes, The stock setup is very good in that even for track use.
+1 from cold just don't seem to have the bite(like there's oil on the discs) , the peddle is firm enough thou, so maybe the standard compound is naff?
Has the weight loss got something to do with that? I definitely agree with Xanda I've been in a few situations where I have genuinely been a bit scared that the brakes won't stop me- once in the wet and once when it was cold. When they are warm they are ok. Its almost as if it feels like there is no/little assistance. Again my missus has a Mk4 Clio and the brakes on that are strong as you like to the point where I go to brake in it sometimes and we both go flying forwards in the seat because I didn't expect so much braking power!!
The only weak point I reckon is the price Renault want from them new. The rest is just niggles. Still the best hot hatch going and even better picked up secondhand. Look at all the hype the new Civic Type R got and now there are loads of nearly new ones unsold on Autotrader and down to £25K.
So speakers and brakes are the biggest disappointment. Speakers - would the addition f an amp cure this? I'm not after competition level sound, just nothing crap! Brakes - braided lines and a change of oil? Or would the pads need doing as well? I'm very glad that the standard intercooler will be ok with a remap. What sorts of power are people getting using the standard intercooler?
I love my 275 trophy. In response to the above comments id comment as follows. 1. Speakers (I have the upgrade too) they are decent enough you just can't have sub bass blasting as they distort. Perfectly acceptable though. 2. Brakes. Again fine I only find they fade when you are absolutely tanking it and try to stop from say 100. To be fair they should perfume better considering how fast the car is capable of going. My Clio 200 brakes felt better. 3. Gearbox / change. I like mine but the change feels a bit rattley and not as precise compared to my Clio 200 again. Shame really. Overall none of these points detract from the car I absolutely love it. Looks and performance it's awesome. You will be pleased with yours mate. Good luck!
I have the trophy. I'm in complete agreement on the brake front. Having come from a 197 the brakes are very disappointing in comparison. Nothing some decent discs, pads and braided lines won't sort when the time comes for a refresh. The speakers I actually find pretty good. I have the arksys upgrade. Again I spent about £500 on aftermarket speakers, tweeters, sub, amp and head unit for the clio as the standard equipment in that was absolutely dire. The standard bits in the Megane have a decent enough amount of bass to them that I can forego a sub and not miss it. Saying that I am debating a small underseat one just to add the oomph back but I really don't feel like the standard speakers need any upgrading as they stand.
I don't see a problem with the brakes at all. (on my 250 Cup, so grooved discs). I did cook my fluid at Llandow (notoriously hard on the brakes with little chance to let them cool), but once I switched to RBF600 I had no issues at all. The stock pads are fine on the road, but most people who do trackdays will change the pads anyway. I had CL5+ and they were staggeringly good on trackdays. I'd be out on long sessions with no fade and lots of stopping power. I've been back on the OEM pads for the last two years for just road use and I've got no complaints at all.
as above, I have no issues with my 265 brakes (grooved discs) - maybe the std pads and plain discs don't go well? I'm not expert but perhaps deposits/glazed pads? Grooves keep the pads clean and my discs still look brand new!
Don't get me wrong the brakes feel good and have nice pedal feel and work well. The only time I feel out of the comfort zone is braking hard from 100+ where I feel they run out of steam. The Megane is a big heavy car really and you notice it under seriously hard braking. Mine whir a bit too even though the discs aren't grooved (again under hard braking). The gear change and brakes 'felt' better on my Clio cup 200 but otherwise the Megane is amazing. I love the thing.
I'm the opposite, the brakes on the megane feel loads better than my clio 200 ones did. I refused to take the brakes apart after every drive to clean and re-fit them though!
The cup 2 tyres have really improved the braking actually. Feel very good now so could've been a tyre weakness opposed to brake performance related one. Saying that I still want two piece discs haha... Btw I think you're supposed to take apart these ones too as the design is the same.
