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Megane R26 - Standard to Track

Oooft, next level.... Like it, really like the way this Megane is turning out. What's happening with the BC setup now?
Thanks mate!

I will probably list them once I manage to get them off the car, I've had a couple of people asking about them.....
 
Update time:

Well the ASTs are on the car, albeit in the softer 8Kg/8Kg spring rates as I have been badly let down by AST-UK in getting hold of the 10Kg rears I had actually ordered.

The new geometry is a slight tweak on the previous versions I had been running..

Its now -2.5 degrees camber up front (was -2.0)

Toe is now -0.5mm on each side (4 minutes on each side, so -8minutes in totaly), was previously 5 minutes on each side, so -10mins total - so not much real change here.

The printout:

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Work was carried out by renaultsport specialists SWR in Stirling in Scotland (a change from my usual goto Rentec in Edinburgh as SWR have a 'motorsport' pedigree for suspension set up) - I've thrown the car into some serious technical compressions since, with no issues at all - seems like the preload and right height is bang on..

I will create a better separate thread with more detail, and more feedback on the dampers in due course :)

Thanks for reading
 
Haha yes - good to have my footage to review my driving standards as well - I was maybe a little too frustrated/agressive with him - but it was 3 laps of him pulling over, but flooring it with around 360BHP on the straights.

Here's the on board....the lap after the STi lets me pass is my current PB at Knockhill, 1:02.53



Video goes silent for a second on the hot lap - best leave out what I said :bp:


Ive had similar with an M5 in the Westy. Couldnt quite pull past him on the straight but was MASSIVLY faster than him in the braking zone and round the twisties. He got full beam and i was closer to the back of him that you were to the impreza! :D

Are you up on Saturday night?
 
Yes mate I will be, but sadly only as a spectator - didn't manage to get a slot in time for this one....

I did manage to get a slot on the TS reverse in May though - got the dreadnought a few days before it on the Thursday also...

SWR couldn't source a 10.9 tensile rear bolt for my new suspension, so Rentec will fit it in the next few days or so, along with some fresh RBF660 bought from @opieoils on this and the car will be good to go :)

Need to try and get something else booked for June time...what about yourself? any bookings coming up?....whats the latest status of the westy ;)
 
Yes mate I will be, but sadly only as a spectator - didn't manage to get a slot in time for this one....

I did manage to get a slot on the TS reverse in May though - got the dreadnought a few days before it on the Thursday also...

SWR couldn't source a 10.9 tensile rear bolt for my new suspension, so Rentec will fit it in the next few days or so, along with some fresh RBF660 bought from @opieoils on this and the car will be good to go :)

Need to try and get something else booked for June time...what about yourself? any bookings coming up?....whats the latest status of the westy ;)
Ill be there tomorrow in the westy - come shout me if you see me.
 
Update Time:

This time is wear and tear on the brakes........

Car went to Rentec in Edinburgh to fit the stronger 10.9 tensile rear axle bolts that should of come with the ASTs anyway in the first place......

While I was at it, they had a good look at the brakes for me, hairline fractures in the R26.R Grooved Brembo's caused by the heat from the DS1.11 pads - they were actually fully worn as well (the discs) so no biggie, but they didn't last too long (5 half trackdays)..

So off with the expensive R26.R discs that are a big fragile, and in with the cheaper, but more robust and very well performing plain HC Brembo Discs: at under £90 for the pair - they are a steal!

i1302.photobucket.com_albums_ag123_papps1_brembo_disc_09_1_zpslfubupij.webp

Pads were down to 35% or so, and they didn't look too great when they came off anyways, so it was like for like, and new DS1.11's went on the front as well. Call JJC Race and Rally and ask for a discount on them ;) - never ask, never get and all that ;)

Went for a slightly more uprated fluid, RBF660 instead of RBF600, price different with OPIE's Turborenault discount is negligible, and with my better track braking technique, I had been able to make the pedal go really long with the RBF600 so thought it was worth going up a step in terms of its boiling points.

i1302.photobucket.com_albums_ag123_papps1_brakefluid1_zpsb9doc2s7.webp

Still waiting on those 10Kg springs from AST that I ordered back in January...smh, anyway, I will track as soon as I can - there even might be a slight window this week as knockhill run the 6-8pm nights now we have the daylight for it!

Thanks for reading :)
 
So a VERY last minute move on my part (literally called up at 2pm and got the last slot) for a 2 hour track night at knockhill - no better time to test out and get a feel for the new suspension set up than a dry evening open pit session..........
Tyres still AD08R, ran them a little hotter than the last outing (don't know if you'll remember the pic of the tyre folding on itself) and it seemed to work out better tbh - wear seemed nice and even also, so that was 34 hot front and 32 hot rear (y)
This was one of knockhill's own nights, not the usual clubs/private trackdays I attend up here - and the standards, eqtieute / atmosphere kind of reflected it.
For some reason, fatigue, my own analysis of maybe slightly too aggressive driving in the last outing on my part & also sadly a nasty crash involving one of the clio guys up here last week meant I wasn't as 'on it' as I had been, often backing off in certain situations, and not trying to pass certain cars/drivers. I guess the new suspension also needs time to get fully used to.....
Looking back at the laps, my turn in's and braking was off at certain points, driver error of course (the above factors playing on my mind maybe) and the fact that the ASTs can probably carry a lot more load in a much more stable manner through the corners, meant I was adjusting my lines a few times mid-bend etc - you'll also see me no where near the edge of the track on the exit on turn 3 (slow downhill right hander 'mcintyres') and also I'm not turning in the car fast enough and with enough speed at the hairpin - the car on ASTs is capable of a lot more than I was able to give on the night.
Towards the end of the night I could kind of sense a storm was brewing a little, the clock was winding down, and I said to a couple of guys even, I wouldn't be surprised if there was a coming together....and there was sadly....



You'll see from the video, that I take the choice to stay well back and let a very fast black evo through - 1 lap after that there was a coming together at the exit of the chicane - the scoob had fairly bad front end damage tbh, didn't see the Evo in the paddock, they both came on trailers at least.

Next on the agenda is sadly to write off the ad08r's - just not my cup of tea on track really, probably get some R888-Rs
 
Great fast road tyre the AD08R, but they do go off with track use. You will struggle to better the R888 or A048R unless you go rally slicks or full blown Avon Slicks.
 
Great fast road tyre the AD08R, but they do go off with track use. You will struggle to better the R888 or A048R unless you go rally slicks or full blown Avon Slicks.
Thanks mate! - yeah, sadly they were a mistake, will use them on the road, they are much better than I thought for that..

Thinking the new R888-Rs next, being able to rotate them as they are asymmetric will be a bonus as well - I had used 888s before I got the AD08Rs
 
Update time:
Wanted to go back to a more agressive trackday tyre, so decided to take the plunge with R888-R in 225 40 18 92Y config, GG compound.
Local Mobile tyre fitting specialist at knockhill really done us proud with the price - not a lot more than PS2s would of been from blackcircles.
For the record - they came with 5.0-5.5mm

i1302.photobucket.com_albums_ag123_papps1_IMG_20160501_124620_zpsk8qzsvtw.webp

As the AD08Rs have loads of life, and I thought the PilotSuperSports would be easier of the tyres to sell if I decided to, I stuck the 888s on the OEM rims :)

i1302.photobucket.com_albums_ag123_papps1_13147326_1007815822624e97e09d7532ec38873e8fdc4204680.webp

Myself and a couple of other megs had a little 2 hour tracknight at knockhill this week, which was a hell of a lot of fun...
Managed to get a good stint chasing a Megane 265 CUP (B14s, decat, RC6, pax, road tyres std map) vs my R26 - the MG only splits us for 30 seconds, normal service is resumed after that - A lot of fun :)



We both carded low 1.03s laps the first lap after the warm up = great to see a mk3 megane being thrown around a track - though I'm scared for a pax ride in one, as I'm worried I'd want one too badly haha

A couple of pics from the night

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i1302.photobucket.com_albums_ag123_papps1_13147402_174277624933cecce98b6832947a03e7e01d9aa8773.webp

i1302.photobucket.com_albums_ag123_papps1_13174176_1007815912607bf559298b0cfb182af93ea7384f65c.webp

As always thanks for reading ;)

Next update will be fairly soon ;) haha
 
How did you find the new tyres ?
I mean they are very good - don't need much warming up to work, they seemed to overheat quicker than I thought......


There's no doubt the outright grip is good, but if its actually better than the old 888s, hard to tell to be honest.
They feel very like the old 888's in terms of the increased steering feel through the really stiff sidewalls, and also the 'whine' road noise they give you above 50mph gives you that 'racecar' feeling again.

I'll need to asses the wear - certainly I got on a lot better than with the AD08R :) but the AD08R is still capable of near the same levels of grip, just for a much much shorter time window.
 
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Nice one Papps, love seeing a meg on the track mate; that 265 was shifting so good job!
I'm coming up for new tyres for road use (haven't tracked my 250 yet) and briefly contemplated 888's which would be silly I guess for a daily
 
Nice one Papps, love seeing a meg on the track mate; that 265 was shifting so good job!
I'm coming up for new tyres for road use (haven't tracked my 250 yet) and briefly contemplated 888's which would be silly I guess for a daily
Haha, nothing is silly if you enjoy it mate!, they aren't so bad on the road in the warmer weather!, they do really firm up the ride, and go create a fair whack of road noise from 50mph and above (whinning you hear on nurburgring Megane videos) but it all adds to the drama of the experience! haha

For a road going semi, AD08R will tick most of the boxes, I'm convinced there outright peak grip isn't far off the R888-R on track, they just overheat quicker than the 888s, but that means they require less temp to work fully - hence a fantastic option for a road focused car that wants to do trackdays also.

in the wet they are great at putting the power down and great on the brakes - just a little weak in the corners - but its a semi at the end of the day! :D
 
Papps, got to disagree with you their comparing the AD08R and R888. The AD08 is a fantastic compromise between road and trackday tyre. If only running one set of wheels with a one set of tyres, the AD08 is probably the best option on the market.

However, R888 is a designed track day compound meaning low return in mileage wear but increase in grip levels. The 2 really are night and day. Just remember though, a tyre is only going to be as good as its supporting parts..(Suspension, Geometry, Bushes, weight distribution etc etc)
 
Mustn't of explained myself properly - I was trying to get the same point across lol!

I would totally agree with what you said re 1 tyre for all - that would be the one I'd use now over the PilotSuperSport now I've had a chance to drive both fully on road and track :) Incidentally I took the PSS's off a set of tyres to stick the 888s on so I could keep the AD08R on as my road tyre :)
 
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