Clubsport 250 Cup

[RSRowe]

I won’t bore you with the back story, but I will chuck a couple of photos up so you can see the difference between the first time I drove the Clio, and the last.





26th August 2018 to 23rd September 2022.
Been a great car over the years, but kinda got to the point where I was getting a little bored, and hated how bad it drove on the road.

I really wanted to go RWD, but everything even semi interesting is mega money. As a second resorted, I posted up on the Meg pages asking if anyone had a 250 for sale within my budget.
A lad reached out to me and offered me a price I just couldn’t say no to.





I’ve a few bits I need to sort. First of all is getting the narrow boi seats out and fitting my chonkers Sparco.

 

[RSRowe]

First annoyance, is I need a pair of tyres!

I did the smart thing when going to view it, whereby I made my mind up instantly instead of checking over thoroughly. So I’ve a pair of PS4S coming from Camskill.

Along with that, I’ve ordered some replacement bluestuff rear pads, as the calliper has seized on at some point and worn one side down completely.
I’ve also bought some of the nice SW Motorsport seat bases (only drivers side for now) so I can actually fit my wide seat properly.
The car already has Wheeler direct to floor mounts, but only 3 of the holes line up because of the seat size.

 

[R20BTG]

Very good, now I'm going to have to Meglio to keep up

 

[RSRowe]

You needed to meglio to keep up before anyways

 

[R20BTG]

You needed to meglio to keep up before anyways

I might have found that amusing if it wasn't true

 

[burrellbloke]

Just buy a Megane 260 to keep ahead.

 

[Marsch]

You'll presumably be back in a Clio within a year.

 

[RSRowe]

Well I do still own one still. I just have 0 motivation to do anything to it

 

[Marsch]

Good, sounded like you sold it. I know at least three people that went from a Clio to a Megane but are back in a Clio now. Two of them in Meglios.

 

[Tarticmonkey]

Car looks good. Looking forward to seeing how you get on with it!

 

[Big Ben]

Booooooost!! Love it. See you out there mate

 

[RSRowe]

And this is why it’s important to service every new car you purchase.
Also fitted a set of new bluestuff rear pads, but in desperate need of a new calliper as it took a lot of effort to wind back in and had worn massively uneven.

All loaded up ready for tomorrow. Definitely a little trickier to load compared to the Clio - it barely fits between the trailer wheel arches.

 

[Helpimonfire]

Beauty of those Ifor CT177's is you can roll over the arches, it's not ideal but it's doable! Disco looks boss too.

 

[RSRowe]

You can. But I feel like I’d definitely be losing a bumper in doing so

 

[Nick]

which side caliper do you need

 

[RSRowe]

which side caliper do you need

Right

 

[RSRowe]

Sunday saw a bit of an early wake up, and a trip over to Donington for a day there with Circuit Days doing the GP layout. The weather was pretty grim on arrival, which I was more than happy about given I only had my road tyres. I really enjoy wet days, as it properly levels the playing field with the more powerful cars.

I got it unloaded off the trailer, did the sighting laps, and eagerly queued in the pit lane ready to be let out on track. Donington has recently been resurfaced, and even though it was damp, there seemed to be quite alot of grip. It took me a good few laps to start getting comfortable in the car.
In the Clio, it's very much flat out 90% of the lap, where you have to put little thought into braking points, as you aren't actually travelling that fast - the Megane obviously a bit different to that.

My first impressions, is the car feels rapid and is alot more refined that the Clio was. The Clubsports feel fantastic, but my only gripe is the Pagid RSL29 pads - I will definitely be changing these!







Overall, the day went pretty well, though it wasn't without issues.

A couple of hours in, I noticed a clunk on the front left when coming on and off the throttle. My first thought was the upper gearbox mount, which I believe to be quite a common issue on the Meganes. I set about ripping the battery tray out, but found that the pin was still tight. I then thought it could be driveshaft related, so pulled the car into the garage and set about removing the wheels. Upon undoing the wheel nuts, the N/S ones were barely tight, and having removed the wheel, I noticed that the screw in studs were loose with no loctite on them. I removed them, checked all the threads, and refitted them (i'll refit them properly once i've ordered some new ones).

I had a great few laps with my friend chasing me in his 197, obviously every straight the Megane just pulled clear, but under braking and cornering, he was right there welded to my bumper. Hopefully he got some good footage of it, which will no doubt look really slow and boring.

I also noticed that both driveshafts have leaking boots, so I think I'll replace both shafts unless I can find a genuine boot kit. The rear calliper I mentioned before, and then there's the stuff which I don't need to do, but will..... Front pads, discs, a fluid change, and another set of wheels with some semis on.

 

[EthanMenace]

Looks mega

 

[Nick]

Right

I've got a spare set of rears, NS needs a rebuild, OS is still ok to get you by

 

[RSRowe]

Flames are defo cool as fuck IMO