Well back from a long ass few days 'up north' where I left the car with RST.
When it was first run up it made 193bhp. This is 8bhp more than the last run at SRR where it made 185bhp. so the v6/green cone setup has restored the missing induction power (the ITG dyno'd with 8bhp@wheels less on Engine Dynamics rollers vs a similar ish setup to what I have created).
However between the 195bhp and then 185bhp runs at SRR - I of course had the centre silencer (and decat) added. So this makes me wonder if a new exhaust might might liberate a few more ponies, after all that 10bhp went somewhere! So I haven't ruled out an Akrapovic in the next few months.
Anyway, next step was timing. So RST removed the cam cover etc to measure, turns out my 403's are basically indexed perfectly by Catcams. I.e once setup with a dial gauge the standard Renault timing horseshoe fits the horizontal groves. Good to know, almost 'wasted' labour - but I was at the point where it had to be known if they were correct or not.
So then onto mapping...........215bhp. A good result for sure, though personally I am still a bit disappointed as I was really hoping to crack 220bhp. But it's the highest NA car I've seen results for on RST's roller so at least that is something. Paul thought it was a great result and my expectations are nuts (and I should buy a Honda if I'm hell bent on chasing NA numbers on the dyno!) :lol:
And as for how it goes...........like ****ing stink!!! :thumbup:
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I've been thinking about the R3 manifold, I have a feeling it's only helping the midrange and possibly at the expense of the top end (on mild cams). The primaries are much longer which is good for torque, whereas short primaries are better for top end. I know the R3 cams are quite a bit more wild than the 403's, so I think R.S use this long branch manifold to help the midrange on wild R3 cams. - On the short primaries OEM manifold I bet the midrange was pretty dire.
I have a hunch that the Ktec manifold would actually gain me a bit of top end power, but likely end up losing me some midrange.
-I can't afford to test this theory though because the manifold is so hard to change. But as a lesson to others......don't buy this R3 manifold, buy the Ktec IMO.
Another couple of interesting things, firstly the 403's are right on the limit of what the OEM ECU can handle, Paul had a nightmare mapping it (apparently it was easier to map a supercharged Clio on the stock ECU than mine was!). Something about too much overlap and the ECU is constantly trying to either pull or add fuel because of the lambda readings - or something like that. So another bit of advice...........stick with 402's unless you have a standalone.
Second thing is high comp pistons on these engines do nothing for top end power (heard that now from 3 places since buying them, including the place that sold them! grrr). Basically even on 99ron fuel, the high compression ratio is just making the engine run too close on the knock limits, so you can't get the same level of ignition advance which completely defeats the benefit of the higher compression (at the top end at least). They do help with the midrange torque and is probably why the car feels so strong on the road.
So no knee jerk sell the car antics now, it sounds insane, goes bloody well - and should be bullet proof. However I'll def be eyeing up a Mustang in 6months when they're out!
In the mean time I now need to try and fix this annoying ticking noise since fitting the 330mm discs!!! First I think I'll bash in some cheap **** pads to see if it goes, second I'll try OEM pins instead of the Mr Pink/R-clip ones I have. Failing thse 2 things, I'll have see what Cazan/Reyland can do regarding the rotors - because I've spoken to a couple of people with J-hooks and they don't have an issue.
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