Has anyone gone from a 265 to an R26? My reason for selling my 265 is to free up some money now I have a company car. I was always going to look to replace the 265 with something around half its value. My two options have been a mint Clio 200 which is local, and having owned a 197 for 5 years and loving owning it the Clio is top of the list. However I've also taken a real liking to the Megane R26 and was wondering how they compare with the 265. Obviously less power and a bit more dated certainly interior wise but apart from that, how are they? Bare in mind the car would be covering sub 4,000 miles per year. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
What's considered low mileage? They are mostly 2007/2008 so 10 years old, are we talking 50k mileage or even less? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Bought an R26 in April for £4200. 53k miles. Remapped to 256bhp. Looked in decent nick but needed to spend another £1500 to get it ok for the track. Didn't go from a 265 but a 600. As in zx6r and I don't feel I've lost out. ;-) Absolutely love it.
My 2 pence.... I've had an r26 and Clio r27 Now in a 265 I'd go back into Clio over an r26 Could have just been bad luck but my r26 became a rattley money pit. For fun I loved my Clio, I was more confident in that on track than I am currently in the 265! My main issue with the Clio was the running costs for the power in it if that makes sense.
I was going to post something similar when the OP posted this. If I was getting a cheapish second car I'd be looking at a mk2 Clio Trophy or 182. I too have had a R26 and it cost a fortune.
I owned a 197 for around 5 years and it was a great car. Though I've seen first hand through work the money that can be spent maintaining one. I've also the opportunity of a Clio 200 with around 30,000 miles and belts etc changed, again I know the car through work and its immaculate. The thing in my mind about the Clio is the lack of boost, I think I'd miss it lol Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Can I ask the R26 owners who said there's was a money pit was it just maintaining it or upgrading it?
I'm sure you're right in that you'd miss the boost. I miss to NA scream of the Clio in the same way. Would be nice to have both
I would say the Clio was the more fun car over the Megane. Megane feels effortless at times, in the Clio you may not be going very fast but feels as though you're flying lol. Both would be great...!
Maintaining it. It cost me 29p/mile whereas a 172 cost 13p/mile - both bought at similar age & mileage and driven the same/maintained the same. £3350 in 14 months!
then you were unlucky..had my R26 for 7 years. No mechanical faults. Have just done the swivel bearings,but other than than,general servicing each year. They are coming to a age though,where suspension and clutch/flywheel will be getting tired if at average mileage.So thats defiantly something to think about.
Don't get me wrong I don't mind keeping the car mechanically sound. I've done that with all my cars so far as I realise there will be upkeep to them. It's just in my mind that I'd jump into the R26 from the 265 and be left a bit underwhelmed. But I do see it as a good compromise as I can pocket some money from selling the 265 and still have the R26 for track and a weekend toy, and have a fair bit more tuning potential than on the Clio I was looking at! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
you wont get left behind,with some select mods. down on power ,will be something you will certainly notice,compared to your 265 If its mechanically all there,then good pads,disks and fluid,premium tyres,shortshift plus a remap will put you right on the pace of a 265. I have Carbotech xp8`s up front and ds2500 in the rear with rbf 600 fluid for the brakes...stand the car on its nose from cold everytime..no matter what you throw at it. Ps4 tyres..a great all round compromise. Shortshift,a absolute must..it makes the horrible vague standard shift, so much more positive. Remap..the tried and tested RS Tuning stage 1..270hp/285lb/ft on my own car. Been on the car for 6 years..no problems.
Awesome, sounds great @andrewjeffs and just what I wanted to hear. I'll not be chasing power so I would be more than happy with an RS Tuning Stage 1 (I say that now lol). What about suspension wise? Is everything there that you need for occasional track use? It's something I've been looking into but can't seen much except GAZ or KW. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
That is actually one of the great things about the R26, if the suspension isn't kippered its already decent enough for some track fun. On mine however I went and spent a packet on new shocks all round, new top mounts and Cooksport springs. I really like mine but echo some of the other comments that they can be a bit of a moneypit at this age and typical mileage. I am well over £3k into mine now over the past 2 years and it needs the cambelt doing again this year on time.
What all have you had to replace? What mileage are you on? How do the Cooksport springs perform on track? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Currently close on 80k miles, have done all 4 engine/gearbox mounts, clutch and slave cylinder, all 4 shocks, top mounts, steering arms, one swivel bearing, Cooksport springs, chinese intercooler (took it off again for insurance reasons but drives better on standard cooler), RS Tuning remap, a couple of services including the big 72k one + loads of odds and ends I can't all remember. To my shame I haven't had the car on track for 18+ months now, just had one of those years last year and didn't get to do anything trackside so I don't know what the Cooksports are like on track. Just being naughty on the road with them I will say the car understeers more up to 95% but is pretty wonderful in that last 5%, if anything the standard setup is too lively/neutral and really far to easy to get loose on track anyways, or for that matter on a hoon if you end up having to brake mid corner.
If an R26 I'd Ben looking at 60-70 examples maybe even more. Mines on 86k now but has never wanted for anything has had everything but a forged engine done and it shows in the feature in PFC. I've heard of people buying low to average milers for decent money that then need brakes suspension clutch etc etc doing. Soon looking at chucking north of £2k in maintenance at it if it needs it.
There's a lot of talk about clutches in this thread about the R26, do they eat clutches!? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I wouldn't say so - I bought mine with 104,000 miles on it - had a KTech Stage 1 remap on for much of its life and was still on the original clutch. I did swap it for an R26R clutch when having work done on the engine though, as a precautionary measure as much as anything else.
mine has 285lb/ft for 6 years..no clutch yet. Its more a age related answer..If it hasnt had a clutch,and at the age they are now. It will certainly be requiring one soon. And again,if you do the clutch,you should do the flywheel as well..so thats a tidy bill.
there is a very nice R26 for sale on here now..cant see you finding one any better. http://rsmegane.com/threads/silver-megane-r26-f1-265bhp-2007-£6-5k.14533/
Only just seen this thread - I had a 2015 Mégane 265 and went to an R26 (which is now for sale in the 'for sale' section if you want to take a gander). It has been remapped and the first thing that struck me on the test drive is that the R26 felt barely any different in terms of acceleration, and handling which was confusing! Guessing extra weight of the 265 goes against it. R26 is more fun to chuck around, but I'd say the biggest difference is the interior quality. Far superior in the 2015 265, however the R26 knocks it out of the park in terms of storage space, cubby holes and a huge glovebox you could keep a raccoon in.
Upgrades - upgrades galore and individually they aren't that expensive, but totted up I've shelled out the price of the car again
Just had it fully serviced + cambelt + others repairs at ED and already asking what they'd recommend for upgrades. Next year.... next year....
I went from RS265 remapped to R26 with 113k, cooksports, remap etc. Its much smaller cheaper and more fun to drive. The RS265 is a big car so heavy on tyres, brakes etc. For a daily driver the RS265 was much nicer but for a fun car the R26 was much better.
That deffo works if you keep the R26 cheap and simple. Lots of modded trackday type R26 with big ££ spent that just end up having issues with clutches, gearboxes, cooling etc when a cheaper 250 Cup would lap just as fast with a small ££ spent. A 250/265 is only 40 kg heavier than a R26 anyway so not much difference in consumables, plus highly modded cars don't sell well, never get the money back, although lots of of owners try but end up disappointed.
Selling mine soon. R26 silver 69k all the usual mods, map (efi), ttv smf, R26r Clutch, pro race wheels, etc. 7
Yep. I went down the cheap R26 route because I do a lot of (covert) weekend drives with a group of friends and a few track days and trying to keep my RS265 nice and lovely for daily driving too was always a challenge. Plus it felt big and heavy even it if it isn't much heavier than the R26. The size put me off. My R26 cost £3500 and has a Stage 1 remap plus (things I have never had before) , AD08Rs, cooksport springs, quickshifter, decat, uprated engine mounts etc that someone else paid for. Its surprisingly solid and the engine is lovely and smooth. Its definitely more fun to drive as the windows give better visibility and its size means it is easier to place on corners. I feel I can thrash it like you can a small car without it feeling like there is a lot of metal moving around. No issues so far, I think the previous owners sorted all those. The only notable work on the car has been coil packs, otherwise nothing related to build quality.
You've got it just right. Keeping it cheap and fun. For people they pay £5K+ for an R26 for trackdays and then spend large on mods for a few seconds a lap would be better off just buying a £9K 250 Cup of similar mileage and then just lap at the same pace. No need for the big mods.
Don't really understand why Aero whatsit gets so upset when someone buys something for their car, sounds really uptight about it.......LOL
Indeed, I met a friend of mine at the weekend who paid £6k for their R26 and has spent the same getting essentially to where my car is (far fewer miles though) for £3.5k. He was shaking his head at the value I got.
as always with buying second hand performance cars..you pay your money and take your chance. You cant always see what could potentially be lurking underneath.
