I like those seat rails, I've got the KTR subframes and OMP side mounts and I sit too high for my liking. i take it they don't have a part number or anything on them as of love a set.
Well they're a renaultsport part so they should have one. I can't anything anywhere though unfortunately mate. Sure ads can source them though as all the old cup racers used them.
That latest update was fantastic, Naith. Really enjoyable read, aside from the bad points, obviously. Love this car.
Cheers mate, MOT tomorrow. I'm keeping her on the road all year round now with tax being monthly.. 630ccs on route too
Thats good news Naith! We need to meet up to do a North Wales drive at sometime, especially with the plans to make the Horseshoe 40mph!
You're kidding?!? They're bastards aren't they. I mean I've driven it hard numerous times as you and a lot of others have too. It's like a last bastion of speed that's respected and... Oh what does it matter what we think. Bugger!
Just realised, I haven't posted in nearly a year... So hi. Well, I still got the Meg. And it's hard to believe I'm saying this but she's better than ever. I can't think of all the stuff I've been up to with her so I'll just leave a little update. I have a daily runner so I've been spending my weekends pulling bits out and generally playing about with her. I started doing it before lemans this year and it is like therapy for me. Generally speaking a lot of bits have been replaced over the year. Boring stuff like screws, plastics and mounts but it's stuff I've needed to do for years and decided I ain't having a laughing stock of a car anymore! [emoji5]️ So yeh I'll update from earlier this year. In May I got some Powerflex mounts fitted, they really smoothed out the idle, and stopped the shudder on idle, easy to fit and a worthwhile upgrade, around this time I noticed the flywheel was knocking and shuddering. So I ordered a TTV single Mass flywheel, (I still haven't fitted it but it'll be going in at the end of September with an R26R spec clutch and the rear Powerflex bushes at a pals garage). I purchased some 630cc injectors and took the car up to Paul@RST to have them fitted and the car mapped. Got some positives from it and negatives. Basically the power is now being limited by the exhaust, the exhaust has always been an important bit of the car for me... People always ask why it sounds like it does and I've never really told... It's down to pipe restriction, 2.75" down to 2" roughly. It in effect it strangles the airflow but this causes the car to not flow as cleanly as it could. I obviously want more power so I'm going to have to sacrifice a lot of the sound. What I plan to do however is open the exhaust from the decat to rear box to 3" and still have restriction post back box (to 2.75/2.50"). So it'll just be a larger and more free flowing setup compared to what I have now, I just need to find somebody reputable and affordable to assist. Ideally I want the R26R titanium setup but hey ho. It's something I want to sort for the next year along with a Mk3 Megane turbo setup. Had a few spare days so took her to Fred for gearbox mount to be fitted and CV boot fixed.. He found the above sat bolted into a void so we took it out, I think it's for balance or resonance but none of the later megs have it so it was promptly gotten rid of. Weighed a fair whack too. Replaced broken windscreen, ready for LeMans... LeMans 2015. Always been abit of a running joke that my car is crap, that's mostly true, I've tried to sort that over the years and now we are getting somewhere... Sort of. Run to LM this year was just myself and my mate Matt in the car, we convoyed with another Meg down as our party went a day earlier and I had work commitments. I spent the night before doing my vinyls like every year and we set off on the weds, @ForceIndia kindly put us up in Windsor and we said we'd get an early night, which turned into us watching Tron at 3am drinking flavoured Vodka. Waking to the alarm of him living under the Heathrow final approach flight path we trudged off onto the M25 dreary eyed. It's an awesome sight heading off to LM, the further south you get you see more people doing exactly the same as you. We latched on a classic Rolls Royce and a Lotus Espirit and headed for Dover. After a traditional Makkys at Ashford we met MisterC in his Meg, joked that the Meg hadn't blown up and continued down the M20 to Dover, to which we then got stuck in Operation Stack... We were late for the ferry but they laughed at the vinyls and let us on (tickets weren't flexi)... The car had done 1/4 of the total journey faultless. In fact she felt better than ever before. The run down from Calais was lovely, the scangauge which I have showed everything to be ok and the recent relocation of my CAF gave about 3/4 degrees lower inlet temps... There was police all over on the way down so I took it relatively easy, people were getting pulled here, there and everywhere. About four miles out of Lemans at the last toll booth there was a 30 minute queue, me and my passenger actually laughed at how dark the clouds were forming around us, I need my aircon regassing so I had the window down a lot of the way just to cool myself down, as the storm approached and rain started to fall I went to put my window up and my window jammed down.... The next 30 minutes consisted of my passenger holding the wheel as we crawled along, me managing the pedals whilst holding a coat against the door. Needless to say I was fuming, couldn't even laugh, car was piss wet through. We got to the camp site, parked up and I decided to get pissed. As I got more and more drunk I decided to pull my door cards off and swap the mechanisms so I could at least close the window, @Nickson helped me and we eventually got it all done. For some reason once we'd swapped the regulators they both decided to work and have done since. That night another storm flooded everywhere, it was that intense lightning was hitting the ground all around the site, in a drunkern haze I looked out of tent to see the gazebo I'd bought to cover my car had flipped and perfectly landed on my tent above me about 5 metres away, I found the next morning that it had put a mark up the side of the car as it blew from above the car but I hasn't cut the laquer so hoping I can machine it out... Rest of the trip was as amazing as ever, car worked perfectly, we did our usual mad Friday antics and had an absolute ball as always. (I filmed this with a selfie stick!) It would take me hours to write up about the whole trip but let's just say I couldn't have enjoyed the car and the journey more. The same two car convoy we went down in we did on the way back Monday morning, we left at 5.20am and arrived into Calais at 9.30am... That's with two stops one for fuel the other for a coffee. Highlight was belting along with a French Huracan, French chap on his way wearing a pink cravat! The fuel stop on the way back was for my friends Megane. My car for some reason be it mapping, lack of weight or my amazing skills drank considerably less than my mates Meg, I had a passenger too so the weight thing doesn't matter. What's weird is his MPG readings are miles better than mine but I did the whole trip on 3.5 tanks, that's including some rather brisk travelling and general hooning in and around LM. Odd... Alas see you in 2016 Le Sarthe..
The first weekend of August I was asked to help out at a SuperCarDriver event, my brother is their official photographer and I'm really lucky in that I get to tag along to all their events. This was to be the most special to date, titled Diamond9. I'm a MASSIVE plane geek and this event was to be at RAF Scampton with the Red Arrows for the day! Some very special cars were going to attend and the track based at the base would be open for the afternoon after the tour! The guys at SCD said I should bring the Meg alone, I thought they were taking the piss but no they wanted me to bring it along to use as a tracking car for shots of the supercars and so I could give her a run out for the day [emoji23] I fitted some new Pilot Sport 5s, set the suspension up, did the tracking and travelled over to Lincoln via the Snakes Pass. On the day I felt a little embarrassed having the car there but everyone bar two guys that walked past without realising I was lay sunbathing next to the car and remarked "What's a f**king Megane doing here" was cool. A guy with a 918 said he wanted to buy one and have it as a track car after seeing it. I was probably overdriving a little bit but the track Marshals said I was properly lit every time I went past them. A few of the Red Arrow lads bought their cars too... a GP Works on slicks, a 182, a TypeR, M3 E92 so it was really good to see some hot hatches running alongside exotica. The day was absolutely amazing for me, level with the birth of my lad [emoji6]... All the guys from the RAF were petrolheads too so there was a brilliant mutual respect for people with supercars and people that live their days in and around the Red Arrows. I took a flight mechanic out on a lap and he was laughing his head off "sounds like one of ours, not as quick mind but what a ball" I'll take that! It wasn't a competition out there but there was a lot of peddlers, I thought I'd get ripped to pieces but the cornering speed and grip of the Meg was phenomenal, enjoyed putting a few 911s, Cayman S's and Astons to bed and wasn't passed during the staggered afternoon runs so again, happy with that! Needless to say I didn't go out when the Veyron and FXX were out! Bar the odd run out over the Moors and days round town that's it really... I'm waiting on fitting my OMP wheel but just waiting on the kit to arrive that is available on CS to retain CC, as soon as it's done the wheel goes on. I've also acquired some 2015 Clio Cup racer pads and I should have the thicker ARB off one to go on within the next few weeks. I ordered some R26R fog light blanks this weekend and I'll be refreshing the brake fluid next weekend to Castrol SRF that a friend from 888 managed to get me. I wanna do Donington or Blyton before the end of year too. Excuse the rambling, those that know me know write as I think.
Great read and some awesome pics! Would love to do lemans one year which OMP wheel have you gone for? I've been looking at them recently. I spotted that kit on CS seems a great bit of kit, I haven't had chance to drop the guy a pm yet. How much did it end up costing? I was bit unsure of how it would fit on the OMP wheels cause I think the face of the wheel is a tad different shape to the Sabelt one. Bolt holes are the same of course.
He's doing mine literally this week I hope. Not even spoke money yet, probably cost a grand knowing my luck haha! My wheel is the one in the pic Chris, apparently the OMP Spec bracket fits the OMP and the Sabelt but the Sabelt only fits the Sabelt...
Ahh that's interesting. Last time I looked there was just the one bracket specced to suit Sabelt. Haha that would be my luck too, I'm sure I read around £30-£40 as it was posted on Facebook too and price was mentioned in there. Is that the trecento uno wheel? 300mm one. Looks the same shape as the one I'm looking at, I quite like the Targa wheel they do, was thinking of getting the WRC one with the slight dish but it's barely any smaller than the original wheel as its a 350mm wheel
Don't get one near the same size of OEM. I had the wheel in the 172 and it was a game changer for me with the car, hope it's the same for my Meg, had it sat around for years. I'm not too sure what it's called mate I could swear it's 330 though? Let me measure it this week and I'll let you know. Ideally I'd like the Sabelt but o have a wheel sat there and I'm not Rockafella.
Nice pics Naith! Does your Meg still sound like a jet fighter? I bet the pilots thought it was trying to take off!
It's a little quieter but still got the sound yeh.. All the RAF lads loved it, I quite enjoy people's bemusement at the shriek it gives out.
Awesome update Naith. This years Le Mans vid was posted on Meganesport face book group last night by some bloke asking who's the TDK was.
never seen your car before its quality and enjoyed what I read so far, will read the whole thread later
Haha! You just think I was some misery that locked threads and banned people? Yeh had her since 2007! She my babyyyy!
TDK's alive! Got my f1s ready to be powder coated and fitted (eventually)... Inspired by this awesome car!
yer the steering wheels in the 172/182 were pretty monstrous lol, I thought the Megane wheel was a little better than the earlier It's one thing I didn't get round to doing as I didn't want to loose my cruise control functions lol. If you could have a look/measure that would be awesome I do like the targa as you say it looks identical to the Sabelt one. Only thing that puts me off a little is the suede, I would prefer leather as its a little more hardwearing. I have been looking at the trecento wheel in leather, it's 300mm though and didn't know if it would be too small if you get me.
I've not updated this in absolute yonks and a few people have been messaging me asking if I still even own the car. Well I do and she's still fighting fit. I've tried to update twice now and the tapatalk app has crashed so I'm going to do it now and if it fails well you won't be reading this. So... Over the winter I drove the car about a little bit, but spent most of the time to just get together parts, be them modified or OEM. Spent a fair bit of time pulling more weight from the car, I also put the battery back in its OEM position with all the associated gubbins. I've bought some tools to cut the metal brackets down though so the weight of the battery tray and housing I can really pull down, all OEM in the battery setup now though. Fast forward to May and I got her over to Mark Blacks. Whilst there Mark lived up to his absolutely sterling reputation and worked his magic. I had all the bushes Powerflex'd, new steering rack bush, hub refurb on both sides, new SMF, .R Clutch/CSC, service and all faults cleared. Apparently the DMF had a week or so left in it, white burns on it and could have been nasty if it failed. Ended up with a little mishap whereby the clutch ordered was the wrong one, my guy at ECP made the mistake but its no biggy, these things happen. I left it with him for the week to do other bits and picked it up ready for Lemans. Did LeMans, she was perfect, trip was epic, well bar the fact I didn't have the time to put the interior back in, about an hour before we set off the OMP boss started clicking and I had to temporarily put the OEM wheel back on. This is her at Dover. Dont ask. Trip down, faultless, bar the fact we encountered some of the worst weather Ive seen. Had to stop on the motorway at one point as visibility was zero, saw a few write offs too, proper bad stuff. Unfortunately one of my headlights steamed up due to this and a xenon started flickering. But I have a spare one that I'm going to whack on, thats the only fault from the trip! Managed to get on the circuit on my own on the sunday night, noticed a gap at Tetre Rouge and drove the circuit, there was just pissed up french guys trackside cheering me on, stopped and managed to nab this shot... how good! Nearly lost it in the torrential rain outside Rouen on the way back home but I'm 99% it was spilt Diesel as the car just snapped from the rear, luckily it was a junction onto the autoroute and I was going about 30mph. Noticed on the trip that the Passenger side topmount was squeaking and the pass driveshaft clicking, I'll get them sorted the next few weeks and then mechanically she's absolutely perfect. I know, its a first.
I got invited to a 'Supercar Days' trackday at Anglesey Trac Mon during mid July. AMAZING run down with a new R8, few GT4s, Huracan, GT3 and a Corvette. And theres me and my brother in a 12 year old Megane on its arse trying to keep up haha! Gotta be honest bar when you go a few mph beyond triple figures and aero kicks in the Meg really held its own. Did a few laps in the morning, made some setup changes out for a few more laps, the track was boiling during the day and it started to rip the tread block from my Michelins and after an off I decided to call it a day, lick my wounds and enjoy watching the others go round. Above anything it showed me that I can set up my car to a level I like with pressures and damping better than I used to be able to, I am going to invest in some track specced road legal tyres. The Nankang AR1s are in pole position but I am doing work with Michelin and the Pilot Sport Cup tyres keep whispering in my ear! We'll see. Great play with a Caterham, Elise and I hung onto a GT4 (just about) for a few laps, epic day.
Still looking good Naith even after all these years.... You need to sort out a meet somewhere central like Rs tuning. Lee
Cheers Lee. No time to sort a meet now really. If I did its gonna have to be a little bit more interesting than at RST mate.
