Im not a current or previous owner but I'm aware of how capable they are etc. I'm tempted between one of these or an e92 M3. Ill be keeping an eye on your progress and feedback.
They are incredibly capable out of the box and don’t really need modifications but improve really well with them. It’s interesting you’re looking at the E92 M3 as well because this seems to be the route of progression for most Mégane owners. Track spec cars anyway
There is a 265 Trophy at KTEC at the moment with low miles and the boxes ticked on upgrades. Not cheap but you can see where money spent........ and its yellow.
There is a 265 Trophy at KTEC at the moment with low miles and the boxes ticked on upgrades. Not cheap but you can see where money spent........ and its yellow.
So, after a lot of effort, my friend and I finally managed to get the seat in after messing around for a few hours last night. There's still a minor amount of tinkering to be done to make sure the seat is in my perfect seating position but after first impressions of driving around, it inspires a lot more confidence to corner faster. It's quite tight but once I have it in my proper seat position it should feel a bit better as I won't have to overextend with everything and I'll get more used to the seat. I'm going to be adjusting the seat belt at the weekend so that it goes through the right leg side to make it look a bit smarter too. One thing for sure is with fast road and track driving, it is going to feel so much better. Eagle-eyed people will notice the seat mount over the mat, my OCD will make sure that when adjusting, this is sorted!
After the track day, they just feel a little exposed. Don’t get me wrong, they’re really comfy but when you get going, I’m moving too much and especially where they’re made of leather. Having a cloth seat is 10x better and the support is next level.
Completely agree, my brother has had the two most recent generation STs and the seats are super supportive
So... the Ohlins are gone! I'd been speaking to a few companies about my options with suspension for replacing them. There were a few options, I won't go into detail what they were but I made my decision a few weeks back. My biggest intention was to have something more fast road/track focused giving me options of further adjustment than the Ohlins could offer. In the end, I decided to go with the Raeder Motorsport specification KW Clubsports. After speaking with several people who had installed this suspension on their car, all I received was nothing but positive comments. After a lot of conversing with Manthey Racing in Germany, Raeder Motorsport is a division under them now, I decided to place the order and wait for them to come. There was the possibility that the KWs would be delivered after Manthey Racing had shut up shop for Christmas but luckily they arrived before and I managed to receive them and get them fitted. Huge thanks to Regal Autosport for fitting them, they were very understanding and we managed to get a good setup for the time being to my specifications without any rear camber/toe shims. Courtesy of one of the guys at Regal Autosport, here are some great documentation photos of the install, excuse the utter state of the car! Needless to say, we didn't go for a proper setup on the car, more of a time filler. I need to tinker more with the ride height as the springs have settled and it needs to be raised, as well as more front and rear camber on the car. However, after having them on the car for a few days I can say that the car feels completely different. It feels so much more stable and confidence-inspiring. The camber has really improved the initial turn-in and I can't wait to make further adjustments to the setup. There's still one more big goodie to arrive in January which I can't wait for.
The differences are that Raeder Motorsport spec have stiffer springs, I believe from 8kg to 11kg but if I’m wrong, someone feel free to correct me! They also have modified ground valves in the suspension in comparison to normal KW Clubsports. Where I’m trying to focus more on fast road and track driving, I went for the Raeder spec as it would’ve been quite a bit more expensive to modify the standard KW Clubsports to Raeder spec if I had wanted to.
Right i see. Feel like my BC's are waaayy to soft so i might see about getting some. I googled Raeder but couldnt mind anywhere to buy these? Also have you opted for the drive shaft spacer?
I’m not completely clued up on BCs but I’m pretty sure you can change out the springs for harsher ones, can you not? R.E driveshaft spacer, I personally haven’t but people keep asking so I might look into it. To buy them you need to go through Manthey Racing in Germany, Raeder Motorsport is a division under them now. If you’re genuinely interested, you can drop me a PM and I can forward you the details of who I spoke to if that helps?
I have BC's fitted, i went with 10kg front and rear, i still think there to soft for track work, it rides way better than my 225 did with 8kg front and rear, i have not fitted a spacer to the drive shaft as i was told its not required, unless you lower it massively then i will be needed.
Ah i thought you couldnt because of matching the damping to the springs, thats what ktec told me anyway
I could be wrong, it might be that you do have to spec the coilovers with the appropriate spring rates when buying them to match damping? I’ve just seen other people, like Ian’s comment above, running harder springs.
I did ring BC as well and they told me the same thing ktec did. However because im a sceptic i took it with a pinch of salt as of course they would want you to buy new shocks as well
You can change rates on BCs by upto 2kg either way. I know this because I've been asking similar for my kit on the E92 as a stop gap til I get some Nitrons or Intrax and the current rates are too soft up front
I went out for a Sunday blast with a few guys yesterday. We went through a bit of everything, even single track tight roads, which I was not warned of! However, we made it through to some brilliant roads like the infamous Zig Zag Hill in Shaftesbury, the KWs were really put to the test through some of the bumpiest roads I've driven but it felt super agile and gave me confidence at all times, I'm 100% sure the Mégane could've taken a lot more. After the majority of the driving, we stopped off at Picket Post in Ringwood to have a chat. The seatbelts look so good threaded through the SPG, gives an awesome contrast! Just small things. Since the fitting, I raised the front 10mm as it was looking a bit too low. After speaking with several Mégane owners, I've got a proper geometry in mind but all credit to Regal Autosport, they absolutely nailed it first time off after getting it checked today, I know what little adjustments I need to perfect it. In other news, the steering wheel has seen a lot better days so I'm hoping to replace it before the end of the month with a retrimmed wheel from Royal Steering Wheels. I'm sure it will really improve day-to-day interactions driving the car.
My rear camber shims have turned up from Pure Motorsport. I’m hoping to get the car booked back in with Regal Autosport to get them fitted and finalise the geometry setup on the car. Can’t wait to have the finished product and feel the difference in the drive.
Hoping to finalise it while I’m there. I’ve got a good rough idea but different owners have told me different things on what’s the best, as you’d expect, so I want to get some expert advice before a decision.
I've bought some new smaller plates, I got the sizes from Scott with his panda Mégane as I've always thought my plates looked a bit too chunky. However, in-between taking the front plate off the car before the weekend to add the new plates it's made me want to run plateless. Case and point the photo below. Glad to see the sun coming out slightly as well after the crap weather that has taken over the past few days. A slight change of plans R.E the alignment, I've been able to get the car in with Select Motorsport next Wednesday to perfect the setup on the car, I can't wait.
I've just come back from a bit of a Sunday blast/photo session. This car literally never fails to amaze me, parked up in the sunlight with Flame Red showing its variation of colour, like some sort of "show car" and then blasting through tight bends absurd speed without losing any composure. More updates coming soon on the Mégane!
After a long waiting period, the bits for my car have finally arrived that I was waiting for! With this in mind, I've booked Bedford Autodrome with a friend in his Clio 197 on February 24th. I'm hoping the sun can manage to show itself but I'm not holding my breath. I'll be doing a reveal in a few days of what turned up but I couldn't be happier with them. I'm undecided on whether or not to fit a satin black sun strip to the car before the day but we shall see.
They've finally arrived, the bit that I've been waiting for since early December. They're ATS DTC in 17x9j ET48, finished in the factory silver. A lot of people I spoke to thought gloss black was the way to go but it seems like everyone chooses black and I wanted to be a bit different. I couldn't be happier with the finish and how they look, it's going to be a real contrast on Flame Red. Originally, I had some Nankang AR1s to go on for track days only but after seeing these in person, it would be a crime to use them for only a few days a month! I've still got the AR1s in the garage ready to go on when we have some better weather but for now I bought similar tyre spec'd Nankang NS2Rs. A few of my friends cars have these on and when I've driven them, they've felt very confidence inspiring. I'm hoping to get them mounted on the car at the weekend, tinker with the bump and rebound of the KWs to be more track ready and I'll be good to go for Bedford next Monday. Can't wait.
Ns2r, great in the dry but absolutely shocking in the wet! I was spinning the wheels up at 80mph in the wet a couple of days ago, that's not normal!
I think it depends on how wet it is really? But people have told me mixed things about them. I’ll have to give them a try for myself and see how I get on.
I found them great on a dry track, but damp conditions weren't great and wet horrendous tbh. On dry roads they're okay but I find that they need some heat before they're at their best and that can be difficult on the roads. Getting some Goodyear supersport next week on spare rims, will be interesting to share thoughts on the ns2r and my personal experience with both sets!
I’ll have to see how I get on with them at Bedford this Monday. It’s still a little uncertain what the weather is going to be like but hopefully I’ll get some experience on a dry track. At the end of the day, it’s still a semi slick, I’m not expecting it to have similar grip levels in the wet and dry. It’s all a compromise but I’m sure I won’t be disappointed.
Okay, I went for mapping today and the existing map was insane with a massive wallop of torque and huge boost spikes etc. It may be that I've assumed the tyres were poor but in fact, it was the map that was the real issue! It certainly feels much better and it's not lighting the tyres up at every touch of the throttle! Will be interested to see how you get on at Bedford.
