Test @ Prima Racing

I've booked my car in for a full diagnostic check with these guys as they
are pretty local.£60 and the opportunity to pick some brains.Their RR is
not running at the moment as they have just moved , but charge £70/setup
session ,so will give that a go when it's going.This is all leading up to some mods to the car ,but as mentioned before I'd like to know its current state before spending any big bucks,no use throwing good money after etc.As far as I know the only engine mod is the BBR thing and a head skim

Be careful if you intend turning up the boost pressure if the heads been skimmed. You will have raised the compression ratio which will increase the risk of detonation. I don't think Renault actually recommend skimming the heads at all. Run any suggested mods by me or David first as I've heard some ridiculous power figures quoted from people who have taken their cars to P**** . Don't get ripped off - I've tried loads of tuning mods on gtas and know what works and what doesn't - advice is free.

That's the plan stan.I want to know how the car stands at present.1 guy at Prima is supposed to know GTA's and has restored a few ,but I will check the ballshot rating on this site.I of course will be making any purchases via the links on this site as a MEMBERS DISCOUNT must be available

[stephendell]

I of course will be making any purchases via the links on this site as a MEMBERS DISCOUNT must be available

Watch this space

The guy at Prima that works on the GTAs is Neil. Tuning wise, the furthest extent they have gone to as with most of the other gta 'tuners' in the UK is 'chip', exhaust (no less restrictive than the original though) and boost upgrade. If I remember rightly though, its something like £550 for the chip and boost hike.

Again, as Tony says, be wary of their RR figures. Just get them to set the car up so you are happy with it. They tune Clios, R19s Meganes etc..and are one of the companies that quote a definate power for each conversion...and low and behold it meets or exceeds this power on their rollers....though on many Renault forums I have found many people to have their cars run on different rollers afterwards with varying power figures off from what they were quoted.

Hang on.....you said the RR isnt running at the minute??? What are they going to do for £70 then? Your GTA will have no adjustment available other than the CO pot (and the bleed valve if you have it) and without a RR they wont beable to get the turbo spinning with the lambda up the tail pipe. I assume theres some mistake and they are gonna put your car on some sort of rollers? My closest RR is charging £35 per hour.....so youre paying for 2 hours worth.

They're doing a diagnostic check for £60,DG loan type kit I expect.I need some sort of reference point and as they are my nearest 'specialist' I might as well give them a try .RENAULT LEICESTER I've not looked into RR prices so will shop around to find an unbiased outfit .
Sorry RENAULT LEICESTER WTF is it mate, a lagunah wi a body kit.

GTA Turbo 1990, uprated by prima in 2001. Fully rebuilt engine, transmission, turbo, induction exhaust, brakes, wheels, suspension, etc.
No expense spared, everything possible renewed? 300 bhp/560 nm. £17,000 spent.
Brief spec - azev wheels and new tyres, full body respray. full suspension off chassis refurbishment. all new bushes and links. Tarox grooved discs and pads, stainless braided hoses. lowered and uprated suspension, progressive springs, koni shockers.
Fully rebuilt and balanced engine. uprated organic clutch capable of 400bhp. uprated engine mountings and chassis reinforced. gas flowed head and ports, new valves, uprated springs, new cams. stainless free flowing exhaust. hybrid roller bearing turbo, uprated dumpt valve, actuater and waste gate, adjustable boost normally set at 19psi. specially designed uprated larger aluminium intercooler. remapped ignition and fuel system. This car was sold last year for approx. £10,000.
Who now owns this car? and are they satisfied with the prima conversion?

Andrew

I spoke to this guy when he was selling the car last year, Prima told him it had 300 bhp but no rolling road proof. Spec included unmodified fueling, still on brown injectors. Guy said it felt very quick and was happy with it. I'd want mint 400bhp A610 for 17K - including the car!

I remember this ad in Le Journal, and I remember speaking to Neil about it many years ago. It ran a large T4 with loads of boost, did have different cams which were based around the A610 profiles, but it didnt have different management (still the same 'chip' ) as quoted nor any real gains intercooler wise.

Oh and the tdc sensor had been adjusted to advance the timing - I don't think that counts as 'remapped' ignition.

Don't forget that comparing rolling roads is pointless. Every one will vary in terms of the actual figure for max hp. The important thing to do is to make sure you visit the same one for comparison - to check on the effect of a modification.
When someone says thay had 400hp on a particular RR, well that might be possible, but when they go to another it might be more realistic.
It does'nt matter that it overreads tho' as long as the mods are maximised and give the max readout then you are fine...
As long as it isn't just overboosted........ BANG!!!

[simontaylor]

Lee, stick a calibrated boost gauge in your car. I did and straight away I saw that I was only getting 6 psi of boost and it was idling at -12 inches under vacuum, when it should have been 10 and -20. Obvously it was the Bosch recirculating dump valve leaking. Replaced it with a black Bailey unit from ART and now boosting at 10psi, peaks to 11 mostly and idling at -20. Also on the over run I get a vacuum of up to 25-30 now. Only about £50 and it's like an onboard dynamic diagnostic gauge to monitor engine health, or at least part of it. I can't say the car feels any quicker now, but at least I know that the dump valve is no longer a faulty one.

£17000, bloddy hell, take a few noughts off please.I'm not looking to melt tarmac with the beast.I want the car to be useably quick and in the best health .Firstly,get it running as best it can in its current form ,the engine has done 100k and had a head skim so thats my starting point.If I was looking for major grunt a full engine project would be the only way to go.
The list at present reads,
1. Optimising current set-up/rectifying problems. £60 to start, watch this space £???? already know I need dump valve.
2. Air intake/dump valve/hoses for intercooler + small others/clips etc £400
3. Free flowing exhaust £400
4. Uprated turbo/fuel regulator/gauges/set-up £700
5 Suspension overhaul,has Koni at present but would like adjustable £600
6. Interior refurb steering wheel/gearknob/bits n bobs £200

Now thats getting on towards 2.5k without problem fixing.Its at about this sort of point that it becomes major project.There's a lot more that you could do but that all really depends on your start point .Now, how much
would a low milage/rebuilt donor engine be It's got to have more power than a 100k lump ,so would I get just as much by going down that route

I sold my 40k miler from my GTA for a grand including the turbo. Theres no reason why a 100k engine should be majorly down on power if its been well looked after - but the head skim would worry me, why was it done - overheating causing the head to warp probably. You may have problems finding a low mileage lump. Most GTA's have done 70k plus now so the chances of finding a crashed low mileage one are minimal. The 25 Turbo was the only other car with a similar (not the same, there are detail differences) engine and they are virtually extinct. About £2500 for a proper rebuild from a specialist if they use Renault genuine parts.