Dave's super clean trackday machine

Thanks very much john for those pics. I am tempted now. Will be looking into this in a bit more detail now. Expect a pm from me pretty soon haha. So mounts and slider all bought from ktec? Seats and mounts separately?

 

thanks john will have a look around. we should definatly try to all meet up at donington later this year.

 

It comes that colour northy. Its a pretty perfect match the other grills on the car. Just keep it coated with trim gel as any paint is going to chip and quickly look a mess mate.

Dave

 

after talks with both steve and john ive decided that the next bit of modifying will be some fixed bucket seats. ive ordered the floor mounts from Ktec and will hopefully speak to someone from GSM motorsport on monday regarding what will fit / work.

these are what id like as long as they fit me and the car.



i'll probably also bolt some normal belt clips to the side mounts for ease of driving on the road. updates to follow shortly i hope.

regards

Dave

 

GT size Steve?

 

says 'GT' on them if that counts

 

Ah ok mate. They do a few sizes so ill try them out when I go down.

Dave

 

Thats them mate. GSM motorsport there called. If your free when I head over would be good to meet up and compare with your seats.

Will let you know how I get on tomorrow when ive spoken to them.

dave

 

Looking good mate. Glad you got it on ok and are pleased with it. Certainly gives the front some real presence.

Dave

 

Went to motoscope yesterday to view and try the sabelt seats as they keep a few sizes in for fitting purposes. Seats felt great snug without being tp tight. They were also much cheaper than GSM where I originally planned to get them from.

The seats are due in from italy in 2 weeks which gives me time to round up the other bits.

Ktec mounts have arrived already and side mounts and fixings are currently on order.

Dave

 

had a busy few days with the megane starting with a trip to collect the seats from sabelts uk distribution site near penrith. if id waited for them to be posted to motorscope then again onto it would have been another week due to the easter weekend.






















the fitting wasnt as bad as id expected. the ktec mounts lined up perfectly with the floor and the only drilling required was through the side mounts as these taper with the shape of the seats and weren't square.

ive only been for a short drive since fitting but am very happy with the lower driving position and the amount of hold from the seats high sides. the angle at which you attack the pedals is also a lot better. im slightly disapointed with the finish of the fibreglass from sabelt but they are track seats not show seats after all.

next trip for the car will be donington park next week so cant wait to see how they perform of track.

thanks for reading. comments welcome

Dave

 

haha you cant beat the stripes mate. used to do the recaros as well

not to bothered for now its just gel coat so already has the odd mark from fitting the seats. could prob go straight through with my finger nail if i tried! need to get my rear brace collected from mark and a net to stop anything touching the backs.

 

haha thanks mate. yeah there a decent looking seat as well. amazing how much more support you get from them. i never realised how much you tense up normally to support yourself through the turns. no good for reversing though haha.

Dave

 

thanks Rich. im really pleased with them. cant seem to stop driving the thing since ive fitted them. hoping to go out again later when the roads are less busy to get used to the lower driving position and the increase in feel though the seat.

also saved a bit of weight too. around 20 - 25 kg lighter than the treadlines which is something else im perhaps feeling.

Dave

 

Thanks steve. Not as compromised on the road as I though. Gives the car a very special feel as well. Give me a bell wed.

Dave

 

Thanks mate. Really appreciate the kind words.

Dave

 

Thanks chris. Yeah thankfully this is just a track toy and something to clean. Youd certainly get some funny looks turning up to work and unclipping the harness lol.

They do make for quick trackday cars even as std.

 

had another trackday at donington park this week in the megane. a few days before the car developed a misfire that turned out to be a dead ignition coil. thankfully mark black came to diagnose the problem and i managed to get an OEM renault one the day before the trackday.

the old coil had cracked badly



thankfully the car ran perfectly after this all day at donington. the track was very busy with the majority of cars on circuit being proper race cars from various championships including a GT cup spec chevron with about 15 mechanics for one car. sadly this ment that some cars where trying to overtake though corners rather than on the straights as instructed and didnt like to move out of the way when cars behind were quicker.

the megane held its own though thankfully against cars of simular size and power that will have had much less weight and much slicker tyres including some minis (pictured) civic type R and a fair few BMWs but it was sometimes a case of letting cars past to prevent them diving up the inside through the corners although i was the quicker car then getting stuck behind as they wouldnt let me back past and i wasnt willing to risk my car by passing cars mid turn.





i ran the car with 25psi all round cold so about 30 - 32 once hot and with the BC's at 15 front and 18 rear to help counter some understeer. the front tyres have just been replaced and didnt have as much grip as i had got used to on the previous worn pair.













although quicker than some of the proper race cars its fair to say the catering and hospitality of out pit garage was a bit lacking...



below after passing one of the minis and type R in the background



and by the next lap beginning to pull away




the new sabelt seats in the car were a massive improvement over the recaros providing much more support and a much clearer fell for what the car was doing under braking and through the corners. i was a tad numb though after the 2 hour drive back from the circuit. next time ill be taking a cushion!

thanks for reading

Dave

 

thanks Corey. im always fiddling with something on it so will try to keep the thread up to date with it all.