Hi guys and gals. I am from a Subaru back ground predominantly but began my modding life in a Clio 172 (its was prepped by GDI running 201bhp) before moving to turbos (my last impreza was a wagon, cosworth forged running 420bhp with a 6 pot Porsche big brake conversion). I am about to bite the bullet and get back in an RS! Sold the wagon about 9 months ago for a 1.6 TDi A1 and I hate myself a little! Family and new business forced my hand but things have settled now so I am wanting something to enjoy on the commute again. Here's my questions for you and don't worry I know the score having beee a scottishscoobies.net and cliosport.net forum user......i'll include pics!! From what I can gather regarding these Megans I need to check belts, inner and outer steering rods, engine and box mounts, swivel bearings and injectors (idling) as they're know 'soft' spots? I'd also like to know if I can swap the wheels out for the original 225 8-spoke alloys? I had a quick look and cant find anyone that's done it! They'd be a winter wheel set running a slightly narrower tyre (215/225) but is the offset sufficient to get over the Brembos? All going well I should be the owner by end of next week so I look forward to getting to know a new forum. Thanks in advance
Welcome mate! - whereabouts in Scotland are you? Great choice with the R26 haha, you will love it. My bro owned a P1 for a number of years and couldn't believe how good the megane was when he drove it: he got rid of his famliy friendly polo diesel and replaced with a 172 cup shortly after. In terms of things to look out for, you have nailed it pretty much. Ideally look for a car that has had the clutch done as its an expensive job (850-950 ish fitted up here) and quite a few have been done recently (My car on 78k a 2008 for example). The original 225 alloys will fit no problem - plenty of the phase 1 225's have switched for the R26 alloys for example. If you want complete overkill protection, you can check that it has the proper LSD gearbox stamped with ND0 020 underneath - I have known of 1 instance only this year where someone bought an R26 with a 225 box in it......hopefully this would never happen again though. Good luck in the hunt!
Spot on! Thanks I am in Kinross (work in Auchterarder so I go over glen devon everyday!) and I have always used RA Motor SPort in Perth (lochty) so I'll let them know too. I have found a 230 F1 in Dundee (Auto Ecosse) with 47K. Drives well, feels tight and actually goes like its putting out more than 230 imo. It has SS Exhaust, BOV, New discs and mintex pads all round and a 'suspected' cambelt done 18months / 6k ago. It really did feel and sound great. THe sound proofing is immense!!!! Love them Reccaros too!! ANyway, for £7.5k I'm in!! Oh and she's Ultra blue as well!
That Glendevon Stretch of the A823 is probably my fave piece of road hands down - I just love it, hugs the river for a bit as it twists, then hugs the cliff till you pass that nasty bridge, then through the forrest downhill section I can see why you'll need the winter tyres though......
That's a nice hawk eye! The scooby is a great car but you'll not be disappointed with the Megane. One of my mates had a hawk eye STI and he still preferred the way the Megane drove.
I recognise that Wagon...! Welcome to the club Donnie - nice choice with the R26, it'd have to be yellow for me though.. I think you've listed all the main issues there. As mentioned clutch is an expensive replacement due to the dual mass flywheel and the labour involved. There are a couple of smf options available that can be compared with the uprated R26.R if it does come to replacement time. Details should be on here or I can send them to you/ RA. Quite a few of the Meganes suffer from bad stone chipping around the bottom corners of the door frame from the doors sitting slightly under flush - worth a close look. The small front plastic moulded mud flaps help a little bit to prevent this.
Ah, you know it well! There was some heavy snow coming down over it today! I test drove an early 225 maybe 10 years ago and I thought it was superb. I;ve been through 3 Subarus and they are great - so much mechanical grip but they're soft engines let them down. Having the last one forged and running bigger turbos is fun but it took huge expense to make it perfect but it's just not practical and doesn't 'fit' well with my life now (I own a bike shop and have a young family so stepping out of a rally car each morning to that is a little off!) I hope the megane can bring some thrills without any of the hassles and worries of running modded motors not to mention nagging from the wife - she should be able to drive the Megane just fine.....I hope! I
HOLY SH*T!! Is that really you?!! What are the chances! That said I remember you saying you had one of these now! Small world. Thanks for the input dude - funny how these things come back to you huh?! I trust all is well and you're looking after her!!
Haha! Indeed it is! I don't post on here particularly now but occasionally have a browse as it's still on tapatalk! Very small world, must be due to shared good car choices! All is good with her, the new year will hopefully see some KW V1s or V3s (wallet and head say 1, so no doubt I'll get the 3s). I do need to find someone more local than Scotland to look after her though, she's been to my local 'specialist' and I wasn't that keen, the closest RA recommended was in Leeds, and the only other I have found near by don't deal with EcuTek, so I need some further research. I take it you've sold the Forrester?
Sadly it fell through but truth be known it was a blessing really! The megane was my 'original' choice but I couldnt find a 5 door for love nor money so moved on. My Little one now can sit in a fixed seat though so putting him in the back of a 3 door is a lot easier so the search reopened! The Mrs is coming up with me on tuesday to give it the nod so fingers crossed and I'll do the deal!! Sorry you're having trouble finding a garage. I'm sure a scout on scoobienet would yield some options for you. Remember if you come up here I can show you lots of nice roads!!! and we can swap some very similar stories!!!!
It probably was... it wouldn't have been long until the Forrester would have been having a rebuild at RA too! Wow - time does really fly, I remember how small he was when I came to collect the wagon! My Mrs enjoyed driving the Megane so hopefully yours does too - as with you there is only one person driving the wagon I had been considering sending her up there to have the work done and then making the journey up myself to collect and stay for a few days (a mini break was how I managed to swing the purchase past the mrs after all...) I'll let you know if I decide that's the best option!
What kind of mpg is realistic for everyday B roads?! I came home tonight at normal speeds with the odd blast and was returning about 23mpg! This is 420bhp awd Impreza territory!! Where does the turbo come in in the Rev range? It's pretty progressive with no real sense of a sudden shove.
Did you get the blue one then? With 255Bhp I would get 20-21 if going for it - 28-31 if not on a B road, 32-36mpg at 74 on cruise control; 25 in town. If its the A823 23 sounds about right - faulty injectors can cause higher consumption - they are a common fault on the Mk2 - £140 or so to remedy.
Superb. That price sounds too low to clean injectors!? I'm on a take home test (auto ecosse Dundee are great) to show the Mrs and get the 'OK'! What happened to my life?? Think I'll get them done then a swell as mounts and a suede wheel!!
£180 for a totally new set mate - http://renaultpartsdirect.co.uk/products/Renault-Megane-R26-Injector-.html That brilliant of the dealership - great way to sell the car. The Turbo if its not been remapped will kick in at 3k rpm.... My remap it comes in at 2.5, I'll dig out my power graph....
Have you got the OK yet?? Normal driving which is returning around 21-22mpg through a tank in the Impreza was seeing about 24mpg in the R26 from memory, however mine had 630cc injectors so would expect it to be a bit worse. Worth popping a new set in for that price. There is a guy called 'snappy' on Cliosport who is meant to do a very good job of steering wheel trimming - I'm waiting for one back from him as a present for someone at the moment so can pass his details on if you want the standard one retrimming.
