I've actually owned this car since March last year, but thought I might as well start a little thread for it, as a few changes have started to happen. Before the Megane, I had leased a Golf R for a year. I had almost bought a Megane before the Golf, but got a decent deal on the VW and it was a cool car to have, having never "owned" a new car before. Anyway, with the lease running out, I needed to pick my next car and the Megane was still on the radar. I'd been driving a Clio 172 Cup as a stop gap for a while before the Golf and it had really got under my skin. The Golf R was a really capable car, but I felt it lacked some of the magic of the Clio. I like cars that feel a bit raw or have some sense of occasion when you drive them and, while the Golf was staggeringly good, it didn't give that feeling. It had been a year since I had test-driven a Megane, so I drove a couple and decided to bite the bullet and get one. It's a car I had always fancied and I thought that if I don't have one now, I might never get the chance again. It took me a few weeks to find one, as I was quite fussy on the spec. It had to be a "full fat" car with the Cup back, because I wanted leather and climate control, but also the diff and other Cup bits. It also had to have Recaro seats and Xenons, as well as being any colour other than black. Red was actually my preference (thanks to @odinson), but I would have taken yellow, grey or white too. With so many "must-haves" on my list, I knew I was going to be in for a tough hunt but, after looking at lots of ads where something didn't fit the bill, I stumbled across a red 265 at a Nissan dealer in Lincoln that had everything I wanted and more. It was a bit more than I had intended to spend, but I thought I'd go and take a look anyway. I umm'd and ah'd at first but, after some haggling, a deal was done that, conveniently, coincided perfectly with the return of the Golf. So, on the Friday, the faithful Golf R said goodbye to the Clio... IMG_20170323_175416 by Jon Scoltock, on Flickr IMG_20170324_110519 by Jon Scoltock, on Flickr IMG_20170324_111604 by Jon Scoltock, on Flickr Unbelievably impressive car the Golf. It really is all things to all men. With so many being shifted on cheap lease deals, the depreciation is likely to be reasonable, so it's a car I might revisit one day. I'd like to buy one so I could tinker a bit. I think, with the right modifications, it could be a stormer. Anyway, enough German, by Saturday afternoon, the spot left by the Golf had been filled by a red Renault. I can assure you it is red, but my phone makes it look pink... IMG_20170325_165809 by Jon Scoltock, on Flickr IMG_20170325_164545 by Jon Scoltock, on Flickr I was pleased with the find really. It was in the right colour, is the right spec and has plenty of options; so Recaro seats, R.S. Monitor, R.S. gear knob, black roof, yellow seat belts and 19" wheels. Bit of a result. Unfortunately, my first few months with the car were a bit troublesome. It had to go back a couple of times; firstly for some ridiculous interior rattles, a clonking driver's seat and a persistent knock from the front suspension. If you ever get tempted to buy a car from Marshall group, I would advise against it. Their customer service was horrendous. They continuously tried to deny there were any problems with the suspension and refused to replace the rear brakes before I bought the car. When it went to Renault, they said the rear brakes were dangerous and should have been changed. Live and learn I guess. A month after buying the car, it went on a pilgrimage to the Nurburgring. I didn't do any laps in it, as I am a pussy and can't afford to risk an expensive car, but I always enjoy the road trip over there. Going again this Easter. I don't know if I'll go on track in it. I have driven it before in a couple of cars, so I've ticked the box. I go for the atmosphere as much as anything. Don't have many pictures to hand, but a couple of it with the cars it went with: IMG-20170411-WA0007 by Jon Scoltock, on Flickr IMG-20170412-WA0000 by Jon Scoltock, on Flickr IMG-20170419-WA0070 by Jon Scoltock, on Flickr I've got the obligatory picture of it under the sign near the GP circuit somewhere. One thing I always learn at the 'ring is how awesome modified Meganes are, so it does always make me want to tinker. More on that later though. It was a quiet few months after that. Most my money gets diverted to my rally cars, so the Megane did its daily duties until October, when it ferried me and some mates to Wales for Rally GB. It was parked in hedges on forest tracks and got covered in Welsh mud, as you can see: IMG_20171028_133337 by Jon Scoltock, on Flickr IMG_20171029_113755 by Jon Scoltock, on Flickr IMG_20171029_113804 by Jon Scoltock, on Flickr IMG_20171029_082032 by Jon Scoltock, on Flickr In November it had a run-in with a road sweeper, who misjudged the gap when passing a parked car, removing the indicator from my door mirror: IMG_20171117_114410 by Jon Scoltock, on Flickr IMG_20171117_114824 by Jon Scoltock, on Flickr To his credit, the guy stopped and took full responsibility. The company that owned the truck were very good too and paid for Renault to fit a new mirror. IMG_20171201_112512 by Jon Scoltock, on Flickr IMG_20171201_112606 by Jon Scoltock, on Flickr IMG_20171201_150155 by Jon Scoltock, on Flickr To be continued...
Continued... To be honest, by this point, I had fallen out of love with the Megane a little bit. The problems from when I had bought it had lasted almost to this point and, with the mirror, I was beginning to think about parting ways with it. However, after much thought, I felt that I should persist. As I had wanted one for so long, I thought that, if I sold it, I would only feel like I had unfinished business and come back to one later. In order to cheer myself up and try to find the love again, I decided to have the middle silencer removed. This had always been on the list, as the car sounded a bit flat as standard, so I booked it into Pipecraft in Basildon, where it went in November: IMG_20171130_155528 by Jon Scoltock, on Flickr This guy works FAST. I was in and out in 45 minutes and that included a fair amount of chat along the way! Cutting: IMG_20171130_160435 by Jon Scoltock, on Flickr Silencer in the scrap pile after only a couple of minutes: IMG_20171130_160552 by Jon Scoltock, on Flickr Welding in the new section: IMG_20171130_161304 by Jon Scoltock, on Flickr Done! Just waiting for a link of VHT paint: IMG_20171130_161936 by Jon Scoltock, on Flickr I can honestly say that this mod is the best £50 I have ever spent on a car. It's not loud by any means. It almost sounds OEM. I would say it puts it roughly on a par with some of the newer hot hatches in terms of volume and gives a lot more pops and bangs. These cars sound crap as standard in my view, but this gives it some actual personality. Money well spent. After that, it needed some boring money spending, so it went to Engine Dynamics for a major service, where it found a red friend outside. Anyone from here? IMG_20171219_083313 by Jon Scoltock, on Flickr That hurt the wallet to be honest, but Andy was still about £200 cheaper than Renault wanted for the same work, so I was happy. Also gave me a chance to discuss future plans for the car, so it will be going to visit Andy again soon I suspect. The latest update happened just before Christmas. I was keen to fit some kind of induction kit to the car. Not for any performance gain but, again, just to try and give it a bit of vocal personality. I couldn't bring myself to spend £200 on a ktec kit so decided to come up with something myself. I ordered the GT Performance silicone intake hoses (justified because I wasn't spending £200 with ktec!), which probably don't do anything other than look a bit nicer. Yes, I know the engine bay is disgusting... IMG_20171224_142652 by Jon Scoltock, on Flickr The induction kit itself owes me next to nothing. I bought a Ram Air filter from eBay, along with an alloy bend. These in case you're interested: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/RAMAIR-L...e=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649 https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/70mm-2-7...e=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649 I ended up trimming the alloy bend a lot, as it was way too long. The filter I bought is also a touch on the large side, so was a tight fit behind the battery tray. However, after fiddling, trimming, fitting, removing, trimming some more, refitting, removing, trimming some more and refitting, it's in and turned out like this: IMG_20171224_142651 by Jon Scoltock, on Flickr IMG_20171224_142648 by Jon Scoltock, on Flickr And engine cover back on: IMG_20171224_145624 by Jon Scoltock, on Flickr I really do need to clean the engine bay.... Anyway, it seems to work quite well. I finished the alloy bend off with some VHT paint just so it wasn't so bling. I might yet make a bracket to support the air filter, as it's currently just "hanging", but it seems solid enough. I didn't make a heat shield in the end. I might revisit this in the future but, with the battery tray and the brake fluid reservoir, the air filter is actually pretty enclosed anyway. Is it as good as a ktec kit? Maybe not, but it was £50, not £200. Even with the silicone hoses, it was still £60 cheaper, so I am happy with that. How does it sound I hear you ask? Loud! I ditched the sound generator and fitted a recirc. blank at the same time. There is a lot of rushing air sounds as the turbo spools up and the obligatory chatter when you come off the throttle. Some people would hate it I'm sure, but it certainly makes driving it more of an experience. There's much more theatre now, that's for sure. That brings things about up-to-date for now. I have a few things in mind for the car. One of the most pressing is a good clean. I am not big on cleaning cars to be honest. I can't be doing with having five different buckets and hundreds of cleaning products, but the paint is a bit dull and there are quite a few swirl marks, so I would like to address this really. One of the lower front wheel arch flares seems intent on popping off too, which is deeply irritating. In terms of modifications, I have a few things in mind. The ride height is ridiculous, so I want to change that. It's not a track car, so I think some H&R springs will solve that issue. To counter any potential ride quality degradation, as well as to improve the looks, I want to change to 18" wheels. I've not decided what yet. The Mazda RX-8 PZ wheels tempt me, as I think they're quite nice, but I think people asking £500 for some used, scuffed to shit wheels is a bit of a joke. TD 1.3s are an option. I also quite like the Calibra Suzuka wheels that I saw on an Oyster Meg at Castle Combe last year. Not a fancy brand, but quite nice wheels to these eyes. Elsewhere, I will remove the Megane lettering from the back at some stage and I am toying with doing the exhaust surround in satin black VHT paint. I don't particularly dislike the chrome, as it ties in with the other chrome details like badges etc (which I don't actually mind, unlike most!). What annoys me about it is that it always looks crap because of the staining. I need to look at how to remove it first. Easy enough to put right if I don't like it I guess. I do keep thinking about the Maxton spoiler lip too. Some people on here seem to hate it, but I quite like it. I think I'll wait until after other things are done though. Finally (though it might happen before some other stuff), having spoken to Andy at ED, he offered me a good price on an Airtec intercooler and remap. The car isn't slow by any means but possibly not on the level of the Golf, so it is tempting to go down this route. It depends on how long I intend to keep the car I think, which is partly influenced by other things in life. We'll see. Sorry, nothing too new or brave in my plans, but there it is in all it's glory. As I say, it's secondary to the rally cars really, so I don't want to spend too much time/money on it. Maybe I should do a thread on those instead! Enjoy.
Awesome stuff dude. U must live local to me in southend. Been down to dean so many times over the years at pipecraft on so many of the cars i have had. Also been to andy quite a few times .he does all my big renualt work,hes suoerb at what he does.
Thanks Mikey. I actually live in Norfolk, but my work is based out of Chelmsford, so I spend a fair bit of time in these parts! Handy for owning a Renault it seems, with ED and Mark Fish both close by.
The one thing the golfs are good at it getting power easy for not a lot of money. They are dull as dish water but some current pcp deals on the golf R are silly cheap. I don't think it's easy to compare a new 40k golf with a 2nd hand megane at 3/4 of the price.
Great write up!! Sounds like a great mod for £50! Can I do a mid box chop on my R26? Sent from my SM-G955F using Tapatalk
Yeah the tuning potential is pretty unreal in the Golf. 400bhp is easy and 450bhp only seems to require a bigger turbo. Mental what modern cars can do. The comparisons are an interesting one. When I was shopping at the time I got the Golf, I was looking at a new Focus ST/Megane RS/Astra VXR etc, which were all in the order of £25k (or less) with discount. The Golf is a bracket above those cars, even when they're full price, but with the deals about as you said, they suddenly become a direct rival in terms of monthly lease/PCP costs. It's an awful lot of car for the money. As I said, it's something I may revisit as I'd love to modify one, and it is a supreme all-rounder, but I do like the focused feeling of the Megane more right now. Thanks. I write about cars for a living so thought I might as well write about one of mine lol. I don't really see many Renault Sports about. I do occasionally see a LY around Chelmsford, think it's a woman driving it. There's also a grey 265 on the estate where my work is, again driven by a woman. Not sure if she knows what she has or not Thanks I believe people do mid box chops on MK2s as well. Think some prefer to do the rear instead. Have a search on here, I'm sure I've seen threads about it. If it does for your R26 what it's done for my 265, it's well worth it!
Great read! I agree on the ride height, mine is the same so will be lowering at some point. Also agree with you about the golf, I swapped a golf for the meg. I think I read a small review on your rs2000 rally car online somewhere recently. mmmm rally cars.
Good detail, I'm interested to hear how the airbox mod changes the sound, I was considering this next. Pipecraft removed my centre box, I'm just outside Colchester. I've seen the LY Megane on the A12 a few times and a white one used to take the Feering turn off, they the only two I've seen around.
That was a good read. Like you the love gets lost at times and needs a nudge to get it back, as I know if I sold it then I would end up buying another one pretty soon, like I done the last time when I sold my 250.
I've been meaning to try and get a video of how it sounds. Will probably be next weekend now, but will try and post one up. Yeah it's been up and down, mostly due to the garage I bought it from being a total nightmare. Will see how I go now. Would happily keep hold of it for a while but, with talk of moving afoot, you never know!
Great read that mate. So refreshing to see a build thread with pictures since the photo bucket ransom. Interesting you parted with a Golf R as I considered one but it left me a bit numb, just not as engaging as the Megan.
Thanks mate. Yeah I switched to Flickr, much better! I agree. The Golf is a great car but, as you say, it's just not very engaging.
Nice read young man, i must say to i miss my Rs250 cup, sold to buy Cupra 280, that was a dull car and i think it was only a week of ownership and huge axle tramp that made up my mind to sell, sold it with in a year for a mk3 focus rs, god the thought of a mk4 megane trophy buy the end of the year could see me back in a Megane.
Great write up. I’m assuming the exhaust chop does not have any MOT implications? Would you be selling your current wheels when you find some 18s that you like? I’ve just picked up a 265 Trophy and the previous was not shy of a kerb or two!!
As above, I can't imagine it would cause any MOT issues. I doubt they will even notice to be honest! Will find out next month though... I'm not sure on the wheels yet. I may sell them. Mine have a couple of marks too though unfortunately.
Things have been a bit quiet lately, just driving the car! It passed it's MOT this month, which is good, so I decided to treat it to a bit of a decontamination and polish up, courtesy of a local valeter. Looks much better for it: It needs lowering. Badly. Until next time...
Thanks Mikey. Mine was well overdue! I don't think it had ever had more than just basic washing. The tar and crud that came off it was unreal.
Been meaning to upload this for a while. A few people were interested in how the home-brew induction kit and recirc. blank sounded, so here it is. For those not in the know, the car also has a middle silencer delete, so you can here the odd crackle in the background: In other news, sad to say, I took a deposit for the car this week. I really need something that can tow my rally car and it was proving very difficult to justify having the Megane as well as a tow car. It's getting collected next week. Sad times to be honest, as I had a lot of plans for the car, but have to be realistic. Once things have settled down, I might well try and pick up an early 250 Cup as a second/track toy.
I know this is an oldpost, what did you use to block up the vac pipe after fitting the blanking plate? I've been thinking about getting a stopper, But im concerned an 8mm outside would be abit to small.
Cheers, okay just want tidy engine bay, need to try get hold of some bolts to replace the rusty ones under the hood at the moment. They looks rough as.
