I bought my R26 last summer but have only just signed up on here so hi! I've previously owned a Clio 172 a few years back, which was a great car, so naturally the next progression was an R26, after briefly owning an S2K in between I had a hankering for turbo power again, and that was that. My old 172: I was after an as near standard example and found this one at the right price, albeit miles away but I wasn't bothered by this. Its pretty much standard apart from a RSTuner Stage 1 map which I was happy with so the deal was done. UB R26 the day after I got it My current work situation has had me in the North of Italy for past 2 years which has been a blessing as it means I get to enjoy epic roads and views at the drop of a hat On my way back over to Italy I stopped off at the Nurburgring for a lap but it was SO SO wet!! I did a very careful lap nonetheless. Then it was onto the Furkapass and Gothard pass in Switzerland.....truly breathtaking scenery and an amazing drive! A few months in and myself and some friends took a road trip up to The Dolomites for a gathering of modified cars from all over Europe, and then to spend the whole day driving around the mountains!! If you've never heard of it, I can highly recommend a trip to "Dolomites Street" in October. The Meg performed flawlessly all weekend and it was the only R26 there amongst hundreds of cars A pic from the trip: The chance to take the Meg around the famous Imola circuit came up in the form of a public track session, and with it being 15mins up the road I just had to. Its a very fast track for sure! So that's a little background of my ownership so far More on the car itself: I've recently taken the car back to the UK and whilst I was there I had the belts/tensioners/water pump replaced by Mark Black, highly recommended. Backbox chopped and replaced with a pipe...sounds so much better now. Recently serviced with new plugs, oil, filters etc New standard upper engine mount, Powerflex dog-bone and gearbox mount inserts RSTuner Stage 1 map K&N Panel filter DS2500 front pads RBF660 brake fluid Recent Michelin PS4's all round Future plans: 330mm brake ugrade Airbox mod. I want to keep it standard-ish, I like the way it drives and rides because I'm past rock hard crashy cars these days :rolleyes: A couple of random pics: Ok I'll wrap it up there for now, thanks for looking. Chris
0Great stuff .Do you live in Italy . What part of Italy . We Ride or drive to Italy every year. One of the hotels we use is the Enzian hotel on our trips as a stop off http://www.hotel-enzian.com/tirol-l...4tod-j-75IHOltpTbFOqJqmkFQn3zmIIyuRoC4wnw_wcB and love the Dolomites and the Northern end of lake Garda. Look forward to meeting you at a club run maybe ,I'm at cars in the park this Sunday and the French car show as well as the clio festival and Classics on the common.
let us know if there are any more of the "Italian Jobs " I would be up for that (but you would have to put up with Matt Monroe on Days like these ") booming out of my R26 open windows . https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V1Bv47GyPj8
Well, I've just taken delivery of a very expensive box of bits from England After diagnosing shot swivel bearings (play, rather than corrosion and seizing) I took one side apart and replaced the lower bearing, but to no avail. This was due to the "turret" that sits in the bearing also being worn. I had to bite the bullet and order 2 new swivel hub assemblies from Renault, plus a couple of wheel bearings to go in them. Whilst I was at it, and had a 20kg shipping weight (from my mates in the UK, not Renault) I bought some Carbotech XP8 front pads and Yellowstuff rears. The offending "turret" is the threaded piece shown here which sits in the needle roller bearing. My current ones are sloppy to say the least. The new one is perfectly snug with absolutely no side to side movement whatsoever, so I'm happy that this will fix my issues 100% It'll be nice to drive again, and to restore the awesome handling that was there for the first few months. As I've got XP8's to go on, I thought I'd go all out and get a PF 330mm upgrade, braided lines etc to go with them. Now I just need to find time to tackle it all
Also thanks for the previous comments! John I'm in the North, not too far from Bologna. Garda is a beautiful area, some amazing views and roads around it. If you're over here some time give me a shout.
