Tweet
The 2.0 litre engine is a four cylinder in-line unit mounted at the front of the vehicle. It incorporates a cross flow design head, having the inlet valves and manifold on the left-hand side of the engine and the exhaust and turbo charger on the right. The inclined valves are operated by a single rocker shaft assembly which is mounted directly above the camshaft. The camshaft is driven via its sprocket from the timing belt, which in Turn is driven by the crankshaft sprocket. This belt also drives an auxiliary shaft which drives the oil pump The distributor is driven from the rear end of the camshaft by means of an offset dog. A spring-loaded jockey wheel assembly provides timing belt tension adjustment.
The cylinder head and crankcase are both manufactured in light alloy to reduce weight. Aluminium alloy piston are employed, the gudgeon pins being sliding fit in the connecting rod small ends and in the pistons. No 1 Piston is located at the flywheel end of the engine (the rear). Being of light alloy construction removable wet cylinder liners are employed.
A Garrett T3 turbocharger is used on this engine and is mounted directly above the exhaust manifold. A cooling circuit operating under pressure from the main cooling system passes through the turbo to help cool the central turbine bearing. Boost pressure regulation is achieved by an exhaust system wastegate operated By a pressure sensor in the in manifold. A closed loop by-pass system circuit prevents the turbo from supplying boost on deceleration. There is also a pressure sensor fitted which if boost pressure becomes to high will cut the fuel supply to engine. To keep the air cool the system also incorporates two intercoolers, one mounted above the radiator and the other underneath the air filter housing.
The Transmission is the UN1 type and is located behind the engine. The driveshafts are splined to the side gears of the differential/final drive which is integrated into the transmission casing. Five forward gears and a reverse are provided, and a hydraulic clutch is used to interface these. The Quadra is almost identical to the 2wd version apart from the 4wd system which provides the car with a lot more traction and stability. The Quadra has a new UN7 type transaxle, belonging to the same family whose UN1 type powers the front wheel drive model.
This unit features a hollow output shaft inside which the shaft driving the front axle drive pinion rotates. The conventional front axles drives the front wheels in the same way as the 2wd . The centre differential is located in the rear housing of the gearbox and is an epicyclic gear made up of an external ring gear, three pairs of planet gears and a sun gear. This is connected to the hollow secondary shaft and it drives, via the planet gears both the planet carrier, which is integral with the shaft carrying the front axle pinion, and the sun gear which is connected via the driveshaft to the rear axle. A 65% to 35% front to rear torque split has been chosen by Renault. The rear diff can also be locked ,enabling the car to manoeuvre under extreme road conditions. This can only be achieved in first gear and reverse and if used the ABS system is also turned off. Once second gear is engaged the diff is automatically released.
Other modifications that differ from the 2wd version include a special friction plate for the clutch, a new centre tunnel in the floorpan to accommodate the extra driveshaft, while a new shock absorber layout has called for alterations to the rear wheel arches.
The new suspension layout includes slightly angled coil springs and telescopic dampers which are installed almost vertically and not concentric with the springs.The weight penalty for all this added equipment is around 130kgs although the Quadra has a slightly better weight distribution being 58% - 42% as opposed to the 2wd 62% - 38%.
The braking system on both cars is provided by a 5-parameter Teves ABS system. The fifth sensor indicates the cars longitudinal and transverse accelerations. 285mm diameter ventilated disc’s are provided at the front and 255mm solid disc’s at the rear, which gives the vehicle ample stopping power. Braking lines are split front to rear on both sides and 2 cooling ducts are integrated within the front spoiler to provide extra cooling to the front discs.
Maximum speed mph
142
0-62 mph (0-100kph)
7.4 secs
bhp DIN
175
Las fotos son de propietarios del auto.
Con alguna que otra modificacion:
When people talk of fast cars, thoughts generally turn to expensive kit. You know the sort of thing: Ferraris ,Porches, Mclarens and so on ,but as every modder knows ,there are cheaper ways to mind-numbing power and speed. And if you're sneaky, you can find a powerful car at rock-bottom prices. Just ask Simon perks of the "Renault 21 Turbo Owners" Club." The 21 Turbo comes with 175bhp as standard and you can pick one up for £1500, " he told us. "The insurance isn't even too bad as they were sold and bought as family cars so the premiums are relativley low." Not bad for a car which was sold between 1987 and 1992 for £17-22000. The only problem is finding one, as Simon explained "They're quite rare as only 1600 right-hand drive ,two wheel drive models were made, and just 140 of the four-wheel drive Quadras. Of these, we reckon there only about 800 or 900 on the roads" For the three lads who came along to our shoot, this was a major factor in choosing a 21 Turbo. Paul Beckett, who owned the silver 2wd 21 for six years, certainly felt the attraction of having a car few other had the keys to : " I did not want anything that anybody else had got - I didn't want to see myself coming the other way on the motorway"
Trevor Robinson owner of the red Quadra, continued: "Its just different, not your run of the mill performance car at all, more of a wolf in sheep's clothing. Not a lot of people know what it is when your out on the road." Mind you, it took some effort to find one of the remaining 100 Quadra's in roadworthy condition. He had to travel the length of the country to achieve that exclusivity. But, as all the lads will tell you, this sort of effort is well worth it and, once you've laid your hands on a 21, getting more bang for your buck is quite an easy process. Just turn up the boost, to around 16 - 17 psi, and you'll see your power jump up to around 210bhp, which is fast approaching the legendary Sierra Cosworth's territory. If you keep the exterior standard, you're looking at one hell of a street sleeper which will make Subaru Impreza Turbo owners sweaty. The standard power and ease on increasing it certainly played its part when David Thomas was looking for his white 2wd 21 five years ago. "I bought it for power for your money" he said, "which you just can't beat." But, as you'd expect, he wanted more power and has added a fair amount to the standard spec, including a Stage Four MD80 hybrid turbo, FSE power boost valve, over boost valve and Group N dump valve. Thanks to this work, his 21 is putting out close to 250bhp, leaving him presently vying for the club's top power honours with Paul. He has, however, taken a slightly different route to this output combining a Turbo Dynamics turbo with more internal engine work/ A 270 degree cam, ceramic top pistons and dry film lubricated bottom end were his chosen path to performance. Although Trevor's Quadra has the best potential for being able to handle big bhp, his is currently the least tweaked. It's only running with increased boost and a replacement air filter from the States (for which he is eternally grateful to Kevin Carrington).
But this is a temporary situation. "I have only had the car for about five months," he said. "It's an on-going project, so I'll be doing a lot more." Even though his is the most recent purchase, Trevor has in fact had a long-term love affair with the 21 Turbo, as he explained: 2I've always wanted one. I worked in a Renault garage for 12 years and actually used to PDI (pre-delivery inspection) them before they went out to the customers." As this was once his job, it's hardly surprising he's continued to make the 21 look its best with his own project. Despite having owned it for so little time, he has done an amazing amout of work, some of which was made harder by the peculiarities of the Renault production line. "I removed all the bump strips from the sides, which sounds easy enough but it is actually a pig of a job on the 21, " he confessed. "Instead of just being stuck on as most manufacturers would have done, Renault instead chose to use locating holes which obviously need filling, smoothing and painting." Mind you, Trevor created some tough work for himself by blending a NACA duct into the bonnet and fitting colour-coded door handles. He's also removed the boot lock and its opening button (which now opens using an old central locking solenoid wired to a switch on the dashboard), an idea that other members of the club have also used, including David.
One feature which does seem to be a regular on the modded 21's is the Evolution front bumper. A direct derivative of the one used by competitors in the early '90s Renault race series, all the cars here had one, with just David's having the matching bonnet and rear spoiler. However, everybody has completed a fair amount of exterior changes, a move which becomes very understandable when you find out how much standard replacement parts are. "They are very expensive," revealed Simon. "To give you an idea, you can expect to £700 for a front bumper." Ouch. If you're interested in becoming the latest owner of a 21 Turbo, and the price of parts hasn't put you off, there are a few things to watch out for. The key problems are the water hoses, head gasket and oil leaks, all of which can be pretty pricey to repair. As with all French cars of this age, the electrics can also give you the runaround, and apparently the electrically operated cooling fans never work. None of these will be enough to deter the true enthusiast though, and generally the cars are pretty dependable. " I use mine everyday and I've done 80k miles without any major problems," David assured us. " You don't get stooped by the cops either," piped in Trevor "thanks to its family car image." So, if you fancy doing some power pound stretching of your own, turn to our Clubs page and drop the 21 Turbo Owners Club a line and find out more.
Comment