New (to me) Megane RS 275 Cup

[japplex]

Just doing this as a way of introduction.

I have just purchased a silver 2016 Megane RS 275 cup.

I an in Adelaide (Gawler area) and bought the car from Brighton Toyota in Melbourne. Drove it from Melb to Adel and went to  Regency Park to get it "checked" and now registered etc. I have ordered plates for it as REN 275.  If you see me around give me a wave.

This is my first European car after a run of Aust and Japanese cars. All of my family have European cars with VW/Citroen/Peugeot/BMW/Fiat etc in the family history. I know which side the indicators are on as a good start.

Couple of questions/comments/observations and any replies appreciated.

The car was previously owned by Renault Aust and by the GPS addresses it was located in both NSW and Vic over its life. It is a very clean car and so far I have no complaints. The Owner/Vehicle ID in the handbook has it listed as Megane RS 275 Cup 2.0L T/P 6Spd Man (Hertz). I was told that many of these were used by Hertz in their Adrenaline range. Given mine was owned by Renault Aust, I guess it was not a hire car - any thoughts?

The car has now done 59000 km and is due for a service. Does anyone have any experience of service centers in SA? I would like to have one that is not a dealer service, where the technician/mechanic is personable and upfront. What should I expect for a 60k service costs etc? What parts are required? When should the timing belt be done? On UK site I saw recommend 70000mi?

There is a vibration when on smooth tarmac at around 90kph. I am guessing this is wheel balance? Slow down and it goes away. Any thoughts?

I updated the RS Link for time fix etc - are map updates worth the cost? I am thinking not, except for the improved speed camera locations.

Can the information panel next to the speedo be increased in brightness during the day? I like having the digital speed readout there.

The tyres are in reasonable cond. Has Michelin Pilot on rear and some weird brand I have never heard of on the front. What do others replace with?

My general driving is normal commute and some fun on the weekend.

The auto off at standstill sometimes does not cut in and there is a message to say something about it in the info panel, then further down the road it cuts in. Is this normal?

So far I love the car and its ride is good. Have not been in RS mode as yet.

The car is quiet, I don't want a loud car, but any exhaust mods that can give a bit more deep tone to the exhaust?

Thanks and I look forward to any replies and further posts.

JA.

 

 

[Deet]

Welcome

cant answer any of the model specific questions sorry

Adelaide is tuff for serving as not many a Renault specialists that aren’t a dealer ( and just one dealership )

you might want to join the local FaceBook group RenaultSportSA for local advice 

[roblee8g]

Timing belts are 60,000km or 4 years, whichever comes first.  Looks like yours is due now.  Vibration sounds like it is a balance issue, and I would suspect the Chinese? brand front tyres.  Michelin PS4 are recommended by many (including me). 

Try Sport mode, it may satisfy your desire for increased exhaust note.

As for a local (non-dealer) service specialist, especially for timing belts, I have had experience with Manta at Richmond.  They are very good, but may be pricey.  Many have used Eurogarage, but I visited them and there were over-run with crappy non-runners outside which concerned me about parking scratches etc.  The timing belts on my Trophy-R are due, so I'm investigating all options.

I've had the same issue with intermittent start/stop but didn't worry too much about it.

[Matt205]

Hey Mate, welcome!

RS-Link, map updates probably depends on cost, other option is to enable Android Auto (if you're an Android user). No updates required and using an app like Waze gives you up to the minute traffic and speed camera info.

Brightness of the instrument panel is controlled via an adjustment wheel to the right of the steering wheel.

[slashdotdash]

9 hours ago, Matt205 said:

Hey Mate, welcome!

RS-Link, map updates probably depends on cost, other option is to enable Android Auto (if you're an Android user). No updates required and using an app like Waze gives you up to the minute traffic and speed camera info.

Brightness of the instrument panel is controlled via an adjustment wheel to the right of the steering wheel.

Is Android Auto available for the Megane?  I have a 2015 RS 275 Cup Premium and I would love to have Android Auto but I haven't seen it anywhere on the screen?.  I just checked the R-link site and it says I have an update 11.346.  Currently I'm on 11.344.  Is Android Auto part of this update?

[slashdotdash]

Interesting you mention about the 90kph vibration. I had a 2012 RS250 that had the same vibration.  Nothing at 88kph nothing at 92kph but sit on 90kph and I got the vibration on a smooth road as you said.  This was after a new wheel balance as well.  Never sorted it out.  As for the exhaust note standard factory seems to be a bit dud.  My RS250 had an after-market stainless muffler and when I came off the throttle I would get a great gurgle / pop in the exhaust.  My RS275 is stock and even in sports mode I don't get that noise anymore.  My wife is not so keen on the cars but loved that noise as well.

[slashdotdash]

Also about the auto stop.  I think it is related to what the engine is doing.  I notice first thing in the morning it won't auto stop.  I think because it isn't at operating temperature.  Also running the A/C affects when it start / stops as well.  Some sort of fuzzy logic that probably determines the load on the car at the time and the ability to restart if needed.

[Matt205]

1 hour ago, slashdotdash said:

Is Android Auto available for the Megane?  I have a 2015 RS 275 Cup Premium and I would love to have Android Auto but I haven't seen it anywhere on the screen?.  I just checked the R-link site and it says I have an update 11.346.  Currently I'm on 11.344.  Is Android Auto part of this update?

It seems that's it's a bit of an unofficial feature, not listed in any updates, but with ddt4all software (free) and a modded obd cable it can be enabled, frankly it transforms R-Link into a much more useful platform. So much so that I retro fitted an R-Link into my 250.

There's a "how to" in the ICE section.

Edited 16, March 2020 by Matt205

[slashdotdash]

Great any chance you can point me in the right direction for gear that has worked for you.

[Matt205]

In the how to as well, if you're handy with a soldering iron it's pretty simple.

 

Edited 16, March 2020 by Matt205

[slashdotdash]

Yep that's no problem, however, I still have a year left of warranty so unless the modded cable is plug and play I might have to wait.

[Matt205]

It won't effect warranty, it's a plug in, change setting, reboot R-Link, unplug, job done. There's no physical modification done to the car.

I dare say that the dealer could.do this change, not sure what they'd charge though.

Edited 16, March 2020 by Matt205

[Dave200]

14 hours ago, roblee8g said:

Timing belts are 60,000km or 4 years, whichever comes first.  Looks like yours is due now. 

This is incorrect. Timing belt is due every 100,000km, not 60.

the 60k service is coolant, brake fluid and spark plugs.

[roblee8g]

Sorry Dave., you’re right. His belts are due anyway. My 225 Cup is on its 3rd set of belts, but still hasn’t reached 100,000km.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Dave200]

8 minutes ago, roblee8g said:

Sorry Dave., you’re right. His belts are due anyway. My 225 Cup is on its 3rd set of belts, but still hasn’t reached 100,000km.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

All good mate. I read your post and had a panic attack myself 😂

[japplex]

Hi All,

thanks for replies/thoughts.

My research is timing belt required after 100k and plugs coolant etc @ 60k as noted above.

On 15/03/2020 at 11:00 PM, Deet said:

Welcome

cant answer any of the model specific questions sorry

Adelaide is tuff for serving as not many a Renault specialists that aren’t a dealer ( and just one dealership )

you might want to join the local FaceBook group RenaultSportSA for local advice 

Signed up for the RenaultSportSA FB page - thanks

Will check the Android auto link. I like the sound of it.

As for the brightness of the info panel the wheel mentioned only changes the brightness at night when lights come on.

 

[ak275]

On 15/03/2020 at 11:21 PM, japplex said:

The car was previously owned by Renault Aust and by the GPS addresses it was located in both NSW and Vic over its life. It is a very clean car and so far I have no complaints. The Owner/Vehicle ID in the handbook has it listed as Megane RS 275 Cup 2.0L T/P 6Spd Man (Hertz). I was told that many of these were used by Hertz in their Adrenaline range. Given mine was owned by Renault Aust, I guess it was not a hire car - any thoughts?

Do you know what the rego of the vehicle was before you took it from Melbourne? 

I could check on Hertz system for you. 

[japplex]

11 hours ago, ak275 said:

Do you know what the rego of the vehicle was before you took it from Melbourne? 

I could check on Hertz system for you. 

Vic AYZ 824

Cheers

[ak275]

11 hours ago, japplex said:

Vic AYZ 824

Cheers

You're in the clear mate. Doesn't appear to ever be rented in Hertz system australia wide 👍

[japplex]

On 18/03/2020 at 9:31 AM, ak275 said:

You're in the clear mate. Doesn't appear to ever be rented in Hertz system australia wide 👍

thanks - was a bit nervous. All good.

[speedfiend41]

Welcome!

Most questions have been answered but:

Michelin PS4 or 4S if you have 19s. Brilliant. RE003 and Hankook Evo are good too and a bit cheaper. You can go up to 245, which are sometimes cheaper and not lose any handling.

The stop/start won’t work til the engine is up to temp.

I’ve had my car serviced at Southern Vales Renault and they’re excellent. I’ve used MN Renault years ago and they were good too.

If you want a bit more exhaust noise, hit the R.S. button, throttle map set to Sport or Extreme. If you want even more noise, have the centre resonator removed. Mine makes a brilliant noise with these mods. It now has a stage 1 tune and sounds even better - lots of pops and overrun bangs. And goes like stink.

See you in the hills!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Safetyman]

On 20/03/2020 at 11:34 AM, speedfiend41 said:

RE003 and Hankook Evo are good too and a bit cheaper. 

Having just gone from the Hankooks to the RE003s, they're similar in the dry but night and day in the wet.

The RE003's are like driving on ice in the wet, at any speed.

They're hard as nails though so likely I'll have to put up with them for many years now.

The Hankooks are pretty good but wear very quickly. 

Only 10k with 2 track days out of the set on my 265 and 20k out of my wifes daily driver GT220.

[speedfiend41]

31 minutes ago, Safetyman said:

Having just gone from the Hankooks to the RE003s, they're similar in the dry but night and day in the wet.

The RE003's are like driving on ice in the wet, at any speed.

They're hard as nails though so likely I'll have to put up with them for many years now.

The Hankooks are pretty good but wear very quickly. 

Only 10k with 2 track days out of the set on my 265 and 20k out of my wifes daily driver GT220.

Good to know!

They came with the car so I’ll run them out and then go back to PS4S.

[Dave200]

1 hour ago, Safetyman said:

Having just gone from the Hankooks to the RE003s, they're similar in the dry but night and day in the wet.

The RE003's are like driving on ice in the wet, at any speed.

They're hard as nails though so likely I'll have to put up with them for many years now.

The Hankooks are pretty good but wear very quickly. 

Only 10k with 2 track days out of the set on my 265 and 20k out of my wifes daily driver GT220.

We ended up getting 55k out of the RE003s on the GT220...probably another 10k until the markers but they were borderline dangerous in the wet so got them changed.