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Just joined - wow big community!


Fays

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Great to see such a big community for ‘niche’ French sports cars. And darn just missed the event a few days ago! I’ll look for the photos.

I bought my first RS last year from a dealer (Bright orange RS 225 Phase I - called Orangina) - always loved Renaults since first seeing the Renault 5 Turbo in France and the 6 wheel Renault F1 car at Charles De Gaulle Airport in the 80’s. 

A little bit about my RS 225:

The car didn’t feel stock and Auto Paris in Melbourne confirmed that its had a few mods including intake, suspension, exhaust and ECU. I took it for a spin to Great Ocean Road last year and wow does it come alive in the curves.  

Although would prefer less front body roll and under steer (welcome any ideas? Beef up from anti-roll bars?).

Mechanically good and reliable so far but looking a bit shabby inside - I dont know how the previous owner managed to put sticky residue all over the center console (covered it in black alcantara, painful job!) and stained all the orange seatbelts (fixed with elbow grease and warm soap water). Also the leather looks like it has never been cared for. 

Overall its a fun little car, won’t depreciate much more, seems to be reliable but handling could be improved - maybe I was too spoilt as my last performance cars were a modified Lotus Elan and modified Daihatsu Copen. 

RECENT MODIFICATIONS

  • Added a new model audio head unit and a ultra compact 10” subwoofer - the audio is now fantastic. You don’t even need to upgrade the speakers as the head unit improves their sound. Makes driving even more enjoyable.  I got the head unit and sub for $220 on gumtree in excellent condition. It connects to my phone via bluetooth. Highly recommended.
  • Black plasti dipped logo, side mirrors and tired black plastic. Easy job if you have a dust free and well lit garage. My car is an ‘04 so it really brought it back to life. 

CHALLENGES

  • The dealer also did a good job concealing the broken RH side mirror with black paint - it needs to be replaced so I’ll look out for the part on here. I should have tested the side mirror functions when I was at the dealership!
  • I’ve been getting intermittent injector warning lately but couldn’t get an error code when plugging to a VAG. Tried injector cleaner which helped for a few days but the lights are back on again. It seems to not rev as freely when the injector lights are on.
  • Fuel consumption is not good when driving economically - not sure if this is related to injectors or because of the performance mods. 11.4 l/km gentle city driving.  
  • Gear lever is sometimes a bit sticky in 1st, 2nd and 3rd.
  • Loud rattles in the back of the car - still trying to isolate where. Very annoying on bumpy surfaces.
 
 
ADVICE
  • I thought that turbo timers and cooling turbos are just for older cars. But I learned from experts that its best to let the car idle for a couple of minutes after hard driving before switching off. It lets the turbo internals cool.
 
Look forward to connecting with the community!
 
Fays
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Welcome Fays! Plenty of nice knowledgeable people on here willing to share their 'know how' and experiences. As is said on here, 'pictures or it didn't happen'. Look forward to seeing your drive.

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On 09/11/2018 at 11:31 AM, Fays said:

Fuel consumption is not good when driving economically - not sure if this is related to injectors or because of the performance mods. 11.4 l/km gentle city driving.  

Sounds ok to me

On 09/11/2018 at 11:31 AM, Fays said:

Loud rattles in the back of the car - still trying to isolate where. Very annoying on bumpy surfaces.

Might be the tailgate. Try wrapping some gaffer tape around the metal loop that the tailgate latches to.

 

On 09/11/2018 at 11:31 AM, Fays said:

I thought that turbo timers and cooling turbos are just for older cars. But I learned from experts that its best to let the car idle for a couple of minutes after hard driving before switching off. It lets the turbo internals cool.

Not as important since turbos gained water cooling but still not good to shut down straight after a thrash.

No need for a turbo timer, just don't  drive hard just before switching off. Drive normally for the last km or so before arriving at your destination.

Edited by Bingle
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Welcome to the forum!

If throttle heavy they tend to understeer hard because no LSD.

Obviously rubber is always a personal choice. Try running 29psi front (cold) and 32psi rear (cold). This is what I daily drive on and it changes the dynamics of the car greatly. A ton of grip up front and the rear is lose. it isn't for everyone.

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Welcome ! The Meg 2 is a future classic so hang onto her 

Elan ? Lotus people are always welcome here - there’s a special connection between RS and hand built cars from Hethel - details of your Elan please ! 

Edited by rob 240
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Yep....interested to know which Elan it was.  I was interested in the 1990 to 1995 model at one stage but could never find one in reasonable nick. They were a little road rocket with an Isuzu turbo.

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On 09/11/2018 at 11:31 AM, Fays said:

The car didn’t feel stock and Auto Paris in Melbourne confirmed that its had a few mods including intake, suspension, exhaust and ECU. I took it for a spin to Great Ocean Road last year and wow does it come alive in the curves.  

Although would prefer less front body roll and under steer (welcome any ideas? Beef up from anti-roll bars?).

The first really good Meg was the Phase 2 cup I think, but if you have lowering springs, I suspect they might be the main cause of your handling woes. I’ll spare you the details why.

Short of coilovers, there’s very little aftermarket suspension stuff available for the Meg 2. I reckon you’d achieve just about the best road handling possible by finding a Phase 2 Cup at a wreckers and transferring all of the suspension over including the rear beam. Some adjustable top mounts might then be the icing on the cake.

Failing this, get some good tyres, accept the car’s limitations and enjoy.

An LSD conversion would be good but very expensive and secondary to suspension IMO

 

Edited by Bingle
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17 hours ago, rob 240 said:

Welcome ! The Meg 2 is a future classic so hang onto her 

Elan ? Lotus people are always welcome here - there’s a special connection between RS and hand built cars from Hethel - details of your Elan please ! 

Merci Détraqué!

It was one of those Elans that were licensed to Kia. So it had a 1,8 liter Kia engine. The car was far from stock though - suspension, engine tuning, exhaust and sound system mods to name a few.  Handling was other level! One of the most fun cars I've owned. 

I have seen some of the Isuzu powered Elans in Australia - mostly in stock condition. 

I'm curious. What is the connection with Hethel?

DSC00053.jpg

DSC00074.jpeg

My Elan.jpg

Edited by Fays
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15 hours ago, Bingle said:

The first really good Meg was the Phase 2 cup I think, but if you have lowering springs, I suspect they might be the main cause of your handling woes. I’ll spare you the details why.

Short of coilovers, there’s very little aftermarket suspension stuff available for the Meg 2. I reckon you’d achieve just about the best road handling possible by finding a Phase 2 Cup at a wreckers and transferring all of the suspension over including the rear beam. Some adjustable top mounts might then be the icing on the cake.

Failing this, get some good tyres, accept the car’s limitations and enjoy.

An LSD conversion would be good but very expensive and secondary to suspension IMO

 

Thanks for the advice Bingle. Yes, I've considered donor suspension from a Cup if I decide to keep the car longer term. 

The car is still very impressive and I feel it just needs some damping improvement and reduced roll in the front. 

Agreed LSD isn't worth the cost benefit. 

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On 15/11/2018 at 9:39 AM, Bingle said:

Sounds ok to me

Might be the tailgate. Try wrapping some gaffer tape around the metal loop that the tailgate latches to.

 

Not as important since turbos gained water cooling but still not good to shut down straight after a thrash.

No need for a turbo timer, just don't  drive hard just before switching off. Drive normally for the last km or so before arriving at your destination.

Again good advice Bingle!

Glad that 11.4 liters seems to be bout right.

I have some time this weekend to look into the rattles and will test the tailgate. 

And yeah, I always let the car cool down by driving gently for the last few minutes.  I don't ever drive the car very hard anyway. 

Besides its not easy to access good twisty roads in Melbourne. 

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On 15/11/2018 at 10:39 AM, Faeros said:

Welcome to the forum!

If throttle heavy they tend to understeer hard because no LSD.

Obviously rubber is always a personal choice. Try running 29psi front (cold) and 32psi rear (cold). This is what I daily drive on and it changes the dynamics of the car greatly. A ton of grip up front and the rear is lose. it isn't for everyone.

Thanks for the welcome Faeros. 

Interesting tyre pressure setup. It makes sense. I'll try it but maybe gradually change the pressure first. 

How has dropping the front tyre pressure to 29 psi affected your tread wear?

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On 09/11/2018 at 2:16 PM, dartology said:

Welcome mate! It's a pretty active community for an online forum which is great to see.

Can we see some pics of your car? Keen to see it. The orange is a great colour on them.

Thanks! Just posted a bunch of photos. 

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1 hour ago, Fays said:

Again good advice Bingle!

Glad that 11.4 liters seems to be bout right.

I have some time this weekend to look into the rattles and will test the tailgate. 

And yeah, I always let the car cool down by driving gently for the last few minutes.  I don't ever drive the car very hard anyway. 

Besides its not easy to access good twisty roads in Melbourne. 

Welcome to OZRS and congrats on the purchase!

Before you go adding tape to the tailgate latch, I would try adjusting it first (if it is what is causing one of the rattles). You should be able to loosen the bolts holding the metal loop bit on the car (not the actual latch on the boot lid) and shift it down a little bit so that it will hold the boot lid closed tighter.

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2 minutes ago, SamR said:

Welcome to OZRS and congrats on the purchase!

Before you go adding tape to the tailgate latch, I would try adjusting it first (if it is what is causing one of the rattles). You should be able to loosen the bolts holding the metal loop bit on the car (not the actual latch on the boot lid) and shift it down a little bit so that it will hold the boot lid closed tighter.

Thanks Sam! Good thinking.  The boot latch works fine but that doesn't necessarily meant its not the culprit.

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23 minutes ago, Fays said:

Thanks Sam! Good thinking.  The boot latch works fine but that doesn't necessarily meant its not the culprit.

I suspect that the boot latch can rattle - even when adjusted correctly - due to a touch of body shell flex. It doesn't mean there's anything wrong with the latch. Of course your rattle might be something else altogether.

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1 hour ago, Fays said:

Thanks for the welcome Faeros. 

Interesting tyre pressure setup. It makes sense. I'll try it but maybe gradually change the pressure first. 

How has dropping the front tyre pressure to 29 psi affected your tread wear?

The wear is a tad more aggressive for sure but I don't feel like I'm going through tires that much faster. Maybe 10-15% faster than if you ran stock pressures.

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