Just picked up R26 no. 059

Hi guys,just joined the forum as i picked up an R26 last night,a straight swap for my LY Clio 200.

I had the 200 a couple of months,but while being awesome on b-roads,i found it not great for commuting,it needed a remap due to the well known flat spot issue,and the Akrapovic fitted was a bit on the loud side for motorway daily driving hehe.

Ive been scouring the sites for weeks for a R26,and finally found this LY R26 just a few miles from me so i went for it. It has 65K miles on the clock, RS tuning remap (262 BHP),backbox chop & atmos dump valve. It has Xenons and keyless start,but not full leather,so not sure what 'pack' it had..

First impressions are that its so much smoother to drive,the boost and power is on another level to the Clio! The ride is a little firmer but the handling feels epic from the 10 minutes ive had with her so far.

Im planning to go to the FCS next month so might see some of you there.

I take it this is one of the very early ones at number 59?

 

Cheers mate,yeah the bodywork is in very good nick for a 10 year old car - im surprised the vinyls still look good.

I just need to get an 'R26' plate and a new gear knob.

Theres the usual creaks & rattles you get from a Renualt..

 

some pics from its first clean...

 

Yeah ive got to say ive seen very mixed prices - so called 'good' condition ones at £4.5K,all the way up to £8.5K!

 

How come?

 

Yeah i told the guy i bought it off and he reported them on saturday. So god knows why its still up.

 

I found a picture of it from 2014 - glad it went back to near original state after that!

 

Yeah, tbh i wouldve have bought it looking as it did then in 2014. Those black strips are horrendous.

 

I opened up the bonnet for the first time and theres a pipe with Forge written on - i take it thats the dump valve? Engine bay looks in pretty good condition considering the age.

 

Just got the logbook back,including me shes had 10 owners in 10 years!! Quite surprised to say shes in good condition...

 

Thats weird,its not something someone would really put in...

The metal base of my recaros dont have the R26 decal on either - was that an extra or has it come off?

 

Ive had people comment its a quiet car for what it is - are R26's fairly 'quiet' even with a backbox chop? Im comparing it to my previous 200 with Akra,so im bound to think its quiet compared to that hehe.

 

Yeah id like a bit more 'growl' to it but its better than having the constant loudness of an Akra.

Are all turbos much quieter than an NA like this? I thought a 'backbox chop' wouldve made it a little louder..

 

I learnt since that its had the mid box chop and not the back box chop - so it could go louder if i wanted it.

 

Really? Can anyone confirm this by looking at the pics? Should the wheels be darker?

 

If i look closely at them they do have a 'speckle' to them so it does look like theyve painted,but they do look too light. They look better when dirty hehe! I might look at getting the painted the right paint code.

Tbh,my rear bumper is a slightly a different yellow to the rest of the car - looks like that painted with the wrong code aswell! That is bothering me more than the wheels hehe,so hoping to get that done this summer.

I will update this thread with the progress i make with the car.

Hoping to get a R26R spoiler on there aswell at some point.