Renaultsport R27 0465

I'm not going to lie, I'm having serious doubts on the spend. The turbo conversation has cost me a bit more than I thought it would (gone for single mass flywheel, R26-R clutch and and other bits and bobs for more "reliability").

For the money I'm spending I could have something far more exotic with a lot more street cred.

All my friends think I'm mental.

But Ohlins though... And torque's.
Just out of curiosity mate, what sort of cars were you looking at?
 
I did the RWD debate, but I'm very much a FWD fan. So after I ruled out the BMW's and so forth it was down to things like the megane, clio 4 and fiesta etc.

I was close to pulling the trigger on a megane 4. But it just felt less involved than the 197.
 
Ah nice, someone going for the Madeno R&T based kit :smile: What's the cost if you don't mind? I had a quote a few years back for the Ohlins Clubsport based kit before they were doing a R&T option..€6k though which was way too rich for my liking!
 
Ah nice, someone going for the Madeno R&T based kit :smile: What's the cost if you don't mind? I had a quote a few years back for the Ohlins Clubsport based kit before they were doing a R&T option..€6k though which was way too rich for my liking!

Ohlins don't actually produce a road and track kit for the clio so Madeno were going to make a kit up themselves.

However... I've spent a bit more than anticipated in the turbo conversion and so I'm not sure of I'm going to go with the ohlins.

I've had a chat with Leo and I'm just going to have my front bilstein's revalved and new springs and for the rear they are making me some 46mm bilstien covers with custom mounts.

I'm still a little torn as to what to go for.
 
So... a little update.

I've had the car back for almost a week now, in what I thought was its final form at least.

Unfortunately, I've been hit with another slight setback as I've been hit by a common problem with the single mass flywheel throwing up an error on the ecu so I've got the eml light on at the moment. This means I'm going to have to get it mapped again to map out the issue :worried:

Fitting went well, we had some setbacks waiting for parts from Airtec which took ages and if I'm honest I'm not totally happy with them.

The intercooler fit nice, but the charge piping would not work with the megane radiator and so I had to go with a custom alloy rad. Then there was a little wait from forge on a full coolant pipe kit.

After it was first fitted we found that the megane the lump came out of had been mapped and they locked the ecu. I was happy with the map though as after a rolling road session it was making 267 HP and 275 ft/lbs of torque.

But, there was a slight problem. The ecu would not read the lambda sensors.

So, we changed the ecu. Another session to sort the immobiliser, new ecu fitted and... still no lambda readings.

A new loom was made out and the builder had found that it was an earth problem on the lambda circuit.

All fixed and sent for mapping. 266 HP and 335ft/lbs.

After driving it for a week.... not a single regret.

Its quiet, super quiet. I'm running the same exhaust I had when I was running the NA lump which was one of the first designs of the Pure Motorsport 197 system with single rear box. This is fed by a 3 inch down pipe with integrated 200 cell sports cat, vband connected to the straight though centre section.

I have the Airtec induction kit (which needed chopping on a lhd car as the master cylinder fouled the heat shield) this is where most of the sound comes from. It hisses on boost then chatters off throttle as the forge recirc valve throws boost at the impeller.

The gears are long and with the lack of dramatic sound it's a very deceptive setup. Speed comes quickly without warning.

I've heard mixed messages about the r26 lsd. But in my personal opinion it transforms the car. Its point and go, in slow hairpin or junction turns it pulls in like maniac as the boost comes in.

I had a zero point one shifter fitted at the same time and so it just feels like a little rally car to me now. On B roads it's a weapon. Curious to get it on track.

It feels very lazy, but as said, this is deceptive. Its non dramatic but then a glance at the speedo puts you back in your place.

I don't think the conversion is for everyone. Its lost a lot of what makes the Clio RS what it is. The character has gone. But there's no question it's now a very capable car in terms of both handling and speed.

I love it. It's everything I imagined and more. Although I'm a massive paranoid wreck driving it at the moment because of the torque figures and the horror stories of them throwing rods. On the plus side my throttle control is now on point.

This takes me to my next problem with the car. I'm already working the man maths for forging, injectors and a 250 turbo. :/

I'll get a video up at some point. Preferably on track.
 
This weekend's project has been to do a neater job of the gear shift surround to accommodate the ZPO shifter.

Third times a charm they say...20191208_102027.jpg 20191208_102033.jpg 20191208_102049.jpg


As to the rest of the car. It's been driving really well. I've got a water leak somewhere (I think just a lose hose). I've got a slight oil leak on one of the driveshaft oil seals and as if by magic the same bolt is weeping oil on the rocket cover as it was on the NA engine before.

Fuel consumption over the last 6000 KM is 9.6L/100km. Roughly around 29mpg. This is an improvement over the NA lump for sure, but mostly down to the gearing on the motorway.

Spot the Clio 2 RS addition ;D

20191130_131844.jpg
 
Clio 3 RS_JG.01.jpg



The suspension is done. Drove it back today. Its a shame I can't share with you how it feels. Words just don't do it justice.

The rear unit's you've seen above. For the front, we kept the same springs and have gone with higher low and high-speed compression and rebound damping on the front.

Ride height has been lowered on the rear a little (I'll get some stance pics up soon).

It's a different car. Turn in is phenomenal and the car is way more composed, especially when you hit bumps at high speed on the motorway for example.

Oh, and the weight of the car was quote supprising even with the Megane engine and box. It's currently 1275KG with 3/4 of a tank of fuel in there.

I just need the tracks to re-open now!
 
Suspension looks amazing and the car looks great there.

What was the difference between this option and Ohlins? I guess about 1/2 the price?
 
That suspension looks amazing! What actually is it? A custom B14 set or something?

Sent from my ONEPLUS A5010 using Tapatalk

It's a completely custom rear damper. Madeno will make pretty much anything. They have built this in the past for the cup racers that take part in VLN.
The fronts are just the b14 on the outside and completely different gizzards on the inside.

Suspension looks amazing and the car looks great there.

What was the difference between this option and Ohlins? I guess about 1/2 the price?

Pretty much this. The fronts were priced a lot more reasonably as it was basically a rebuild. Rears were not too far off with the brackets making up etc.
 
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I'm not one for detailing and I rarely wash my car. I am a bit weird like that, I love wheel's baked in brake dust for some reason. Post Le Mans cars look so much better than the shiny pre-race examples.

Anyhow, stuck it through the car wash today so I thought I'd share a few pics.

Here's what it looked like as standard...

old.jpg


Here is how it sits now...
20200407_133442.jpg



20200407_133504.jpg
 
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View attachment 139074



The suspension is done. Drove it back today. Its a shame I can't share with you how it feels. Words just don't do it justice.

The rear unit's you've seen above. For the front, we kept the same springs and have gone with higher low and high-speed compression and rebound damping on the front.

Ride height has been lowered on the rear a little (I'll get some stance pics up soon).

It's a different car. Turn in is phenomenal and the car is way more composed, especially when you hit bumps at high speed on the motorway for example.

Oh, and the weight of the car was quote supprising even with the Megane engine and box. It's currently 1275KG with 3/4 of a tank of fuel in there.

I just need the tracks to re-open now!
Glad you got it weighed. Mine was 1280kg with about 3/4 of a tank. Was worried that it was too heavy but sounds right now
 
Finally got round to getting some vids on track. Ordered a Go-Pro last night next day delivery as I went full GP Harrys pack and got all excited. Despite paying the extra for same-day delivery it's still not with me today. Oh well, got the lap data at least. Cronky old action cam and complete lazy ass raw footage.
This was the best session to watch, my fastest lap is on the next vid which I'll upload but the track was empty for a lot of the time.

 
some nice steady and fast driving.

i quite like what they did to the track, but in some places it's still a quite narrow. will be interesting how the F1 cars will go.
definitely a track i'd like to try.


looked like a close call right there at the end (green 911 and white 3-series). :fearscream:
 
looked like a close call right there at the end (green 911 and white 3-series). :fearscream:

Yeah. The problem is you come into that section committed and there's not a lot you can do if you suddenly have to react there, especially in a fwd car. I knew as soon as I clocked them from a distance that there was an accident waiting to happen.
Nerves and indecision are pretty dangerous on track and unfortunately a natural occurrence.
 
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Quick update. I'm going for something a little out there. I've decided to go with a side exit exhaust. As a kid I adored the Escort Cosworth and its rally counterparts. I had the tamiya model and everything.

Tarmac spec just looked godly to me. Those huge white O.Z wheels, the stance and the piece de resistance to me was that side exit exhaust spitting flames.

My cat is in the downpipe which is 3". I'll have a short run of three inch pipe into a slim silencer in the exhaust tunnel (where the heat shielding is) and then a 3 inch to 3 inch oval adaptor and probably 2 45 degree bends in flat oval piping to in front of the left rear wheel (as far forward as I can).

If it turns out terrible the back up plan is to keep the centre section a la side exit, but then 3" in the usual direction over the beam and then a 3" to 2x2.5" connector and then straight pipe to the tips from the pure exhaust I have at the moment. Either way goal is to remove the huge backbox to save weight and move the weight to a better location

New track wheels and tyres are in the post. Looking forward to seeing what they look like, I've not seen a Clio on them before. Either way they are light and strong. Will post pics as soon as they are fitted.
 
Oh and I forgot. There was some experimenting for the crazy under bonnet temps. Ran an undertray cover fitted and this lot. I know it looks rough, but it worked and will be refined. 20200731_120909.jpg20200731_120914.jpg20200731_120919.jpg20200731_120944.jpg20200731_120954.jpg
 
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