Decision time...

[Jsp510]

Hey guys, great info here, you guys are a wealth of knowledge!  Im trying to decide on a suitable vehicle for my needs but may need some direction.  I want something that is a suitable trackday weapon (mainly winton) and still being relitively usable on road (ie still standard interior). I had an evo which fitted into this category but decided to sell to fund another project. The bug has come back after 4 years and im thinking a rs250/265 cup or a clio as a good option and maybe even a little more exciting than the evo which was a tad boring it was so planted. Hoping to be somewhere around the 1.35 - 1.37 range at winton, but no idea if thats likely. Im happy to run a good semi like a hankook z221 or a yok ao50,  love to mod for laptime so engine, brakes, suspension, alignment all a major part of the fun for me and not a drama as i have a daily to cover this. Am i on the right track with this, any help or advice you can offer would be greatly welcomed,

Cheers

John

[apple3337]

You can't go wrong with any RS cars. It'll come down to what you prefer and budget. If absolute best lap times matter, go the Meg 3. For some NA goodness, a Clio 172/182 or 197/200.  For paddles a Clio 4.

[ttimbo]

Meg 3...250-265-275 depending on budget

A low km 275 Trophy should be $25-30k...great to drive on the road; fun and quick on the track

[Moosey]

Agree that the Meg is the way to go if you’re chasing laptimes. Also easy to mod for power, etc. The Clio is more about finesse. the C3 has a sublime chassis but lacks outright power vs the Meg 3. The NA engine is also difficult to economically extract more power from. Saying that, many of us here prefer it because of what it is.

[ak275]

Meg 3 275 can be a bit stiff for daily use, but supposed to be the best track day Meg 3 with it's added benefits. Akra exhaust, suede Recaro's/steering wheel, stiffer suspension revision.

Regardless any Meg 3 is special on track and the engine has been turbo'd by Renault since 2004 so a properly strong engine too for track day use. 

Test drive either a Clio or Meg 3 and you'll experience the RS pedigree. 

 

I went for the Meg 3 only because I wanted more POWAHHH, coming from a Civic Type R.

[japarn]

9 minutes ago, ak275 said:

Test drive either a Clio or Meg 3 and you'll experience the RS pedigree. 

Yes this is the best advice. There’s loads of aftermarket stuff available for RS products, especially Clio II and Meg 3. So find the character of the car you want and modify accordingly.

For example, turbo-ing or supercharging a Clio II is a well worn path if you need the extra horses.

[Jsp510]

On 11/11/2019 at 9:43 PM, joey660 said:

Are you looking at a super clean and more pricey example like the aforementioned 275 Trophy (still cheap for what it is)? Or are you after something a lot cheaper and less ‘precious’ since you’re going to mod anyway? Personally if I was building a track weapon of a Megane I’d probably want it less ‘nice’ since I’d be beating on it constantly. That said there’s a certain Trophy R owner on here with the best of both worlds.

Yeah not looking for a pristine show car but that said want something thats fairly well looked after,  a "cheap" car can quickly become a moneypit if not looked after.  Im not in a hurry, happy to wait for a car id be happy with.

[apple3337]

You really should go for a test drive in each car you're interested in. Shout out here. I'm sure it can be arranged by the helpful mob on here.