Me and a friend have been in touch with K-Tec Racing about a group buy on the CAE Shifter If we can get 5 people the prices are... Megane 3RS Silver - £560 +Vat Megane 3RS Black - £660 +Vat Megane 2RS Silver - £665 +Vat Megane 2RS Black - £770 +Vat Needless to say these are a great discount with a silver RS3 shifter coming in at £672 Delivery is a flat £8 +Vat All orders need to be placed before September 30th to qualify for discount. To order please ring K-Tec or place an order on the website and put in the comments box 'CAE Group Buy September 2018' If you order one please add your name here so we can see how many are in. If we get to 10 there will be a further discount 1. RSPhil 2. Leeds106 (not sure if he's on this forum but a friend in real life)
Very tempted with this. Would love the black CAE but it’s just over a £100 more, £50 saving on current price. Will never have any spare money on these forums
I just pulled my credit card out and shut my eyes -ordered the black one cos I think it'll fit nicer in the interior Nearly bought a 2nd hand one the other day - when I found out I could get a new one for £50 off I just went for it You only live once
Too much of that i’ve been doing. Haven’t long had hybrid turbo conversion done. Lol. Agree, the black looks so much better, looks the nuts. Yes, seen the 2nd hand CAE in the classifieds, was tempted myself but price too close to that of a new one. Would have to source ball joint and i would rather a red gear knob too.
I went black with the titanium grey knob I was considering red but kinda want it to look as blended in as possible, not that that's likely with a foot long gear stick lol
Don't really know what you expect. It's nearly 10% off lol. They're over a grand direct from CAE. 3 people ordered now
It isn't the best really, but Ktec ain't the cheapest to start with lol. Probably of been better going direct.
Yeah great debate. It's a group buy, with some money off, either buy one or don't - I don't think an entire page of people debating the price is really helpful?
CAE will do discounts on multiple shifters. 50 quid is nothing when spending that much, people are just trying to justify the cost of them using the small discount [emoji23] I still stand by the fact that they are a massive waste of money and I wish I never bothered.
Great thanks for that. That pretty much kills the group buy on here. And for what it's worth after driving a car with one in I'd buy one full price. Was just trying to get a few quid off for folks as I know 3 other people who were about to buy one too. All the "it's too expensive" nonsense seems stupid to me when people will pay the same for an intercooler with a stock core and a few ends welded on. Ho hum, I think last time I bother posting anything here
I can see it from both sides. Jamies had more track time than most on here. If he says its a pointless item that adds no benefit for the cost, its valid as he owns one. If CAE can sell the shifters to KTEC who then sell it too us at a discount but still for a profit, there is more money to be had off them.
Well let me put it this way I used to drive a track day clio cup (jenveys, 12 point cage, buckets, 150kg weight loss, cup suspension etc...) with one of the first Pure Motorsport shifters on it, I've known satchell engineering for many many years. It made a measureable difference in GPS lap times at cadwell. I've been doing track days for nearly 15 years now. I drove a car with a CAE shifter the other week and the fact that it's less than the rear tyres cost me on the M3 it seems good value for money to me for a well engineered bit of kit that will outlast the car. I obviously haven't tried the CAE on track but the standard gear shift is what I'd describe as 'stirring porridge' and was horrible around Donington. So like I said I'll be buying one regardless of if it's at this price or the full price. If people are wanting one too and want to save a few quid then here we go, if not then nevermind.
Are they easy to fit for a novice (improving) home mechanic with a set of spanners and a few screwdrivers?
There's an installation manual here - https://cae-racing.de/mediafiles/Sonstiges/Renault/IMAN_Megane_III_RS_10061-V3.pdf I believe the most difficult part is removing the center console. Though I found a guide and it seems mostly clips. The lad I talked to reckoned it took about an hour or two on the drive. It's all done inside the car.
Oh unless you have a Megane 2 - then it's under car and exhaust off job https://cae-racing.de/mediafiles/Sonstiges/Renault/EBA_Megane 2 RS_10062.pdf
So challenging but not difficult. Thanks for the response When I get my R26 back from the garage and I've seen the final bill, I may take this offer up.
Jamie has a wealth of experience and I would never discount his opinion but on this issue we disagree. It may not provide any improvement in lap times but its feel is awesome and its placement closer to the steering wheel makes it so race car! To me this guy explains it best:
Not really had much time to drive my 250 since buying it but did manage some time today and was really surprised by how poor the gear change is it's clunky vague and just pretty crap. I have raced an Impreza for years and the shift on this would be a joke on track. Unless there is an issue with mine ? In terms of cost it is not a cheap shifter so is there actually a real improvement in terms of gear selection, loss of notchyness (is that a real word lol) and ability to shift very quickly ?
The gear knob is moved up to near the steering wheel The shift movement is reduced to about an inch in any direction, if that And it's absolutely like cocking a rifle It's very very similar to how good the shift is on the MX5 but even quicker
There's no doubting they are superb bits of engineering and quality and the shift feels great. But not at that cost, I'd be shouting from the roofs about them if they were sensible money but for what the cost is for what they offer is why I feel how I do about them. Coolerworx are working on a shifter for the Meg that's likely to get a good few hundred cheaper. Since we are posting videos of them
Yeah but coolerworx were gauging interest in them a year ago on here!! I'm not sure on the timelines and the prices they posted on instagram are gonna be about only £100 less than the CAE one. And I'm impatient. I do get what you're saying about the prices - it's 1/10th the price of a Megane 250 these days. But it's less than rear tyres used to cost me on the M3 so meh..
Not throwing a spanner in the works or undermine what your doing but over bank holiday k-tec were doing 10% discount on everything online. That priced the CAE at MK2 RS - £629+vat MK3 RS - £539+vat Just saying
Well I don't know if that 10% would have applied to the shifter or not. I'm just gonna leave this here now. If people are interested go for it. If we get to the end of the month and there's just me and my two mates I'll phone up and pay full price.
It did apply to the shifter as I nearly bought one but had just bought new wheels so decided against it. It’s more so you can maybe discuss a better price with k-tec as you know they can do the discount
Just found this.... I am ordering the ball joint piece for mine from CAE to make selling mine a little easier, that in itself is painful enough lol... I bought mine directly from CAE as Ktech would've taken ages to order it and I don't have the patience for that. It cost me about 1K delivered in Euros. It's an expensive piece of kit, but since having returning the Trophy to standard, selling it, and buying a Trophy R, I would probably not buy one new again. The gear change on the R is spot on, it's rifle bolt sharp. I know it is the same as the unit on my previous Trophy but it just feels better somehow. That being said, when I went back to standard on the Trophy I was happy with the feel of the OEM shifter vs. the CAE. I used my Trophy everyday and it became a ball ache in traffic changing with the CAE. It is true that it enhances the driving experience by bringing the gear shifter closer to the wheel, but it's increasingly stiff compared to the OEM shifter, and it's still possible to miss a gear when spanking it despite being 'better' (I did a couple of times). I had installed it correctly and adjusted it correctly, I've been messing about with cars for a long time so have a decent level of handiness when it comes to them (installed a Satchshift on my 106 Rallye ages ago) so it was definitely set up correctly, it's just stiff. You need to try one to see what I mean. The pivot points are moved so it's logical. In my opinion the only reason to buy one would be if you love the look and feel of them, and if it's a second vehicle. I am a sucker for bling so had to get one, but if I were to do it again I'd go with other mods first. Not trying to be negative just provide an honest account of why I bought one and my own experience, in the hope it will help others with their cars. I would argue that it makes zero difference to your laptime, other than being a bit closer to the wheel and easier to find when shifting in a hurry. In terms of the actual 'feel' yes it's nice but stiff compared to OEM. Hope that helps lads!
