172 Cup info

[matt 1b]

Hi

New to the forum as you can see. So hello to you all, seems like a good bit of knowledge and info to take in.

Not sure if I will be welcome as im a bit of a honda nut:clown: iv had a few Ep3CTR's, a few DC5ITR's, a DC2ITR and an S2000 so a bit of a vtec junkie! Due to cash flow I have just had to off load my DC5 and was looking at getting a focus Diesel. But after a week of driving around a 1.6 Sport Ka iv realised I just cant do it. I have always loved the 172 CUP and it was only when breezing the pistonheads ads I noticed I can get a goodun for 5-6k. So everything has gone out of the window and im planning on getting a CUP!

Just a few questions for you guys, how many litres to the fuel tank and what sort of MPG do you get with a mixture of "fun" and normal driving? Are there any know/common problems with them to look out for e.g. recalls etc. Now dont want to pre-judge but iv never owned a French car before iv heard the horror stories lol most of which im sure will be rubbish and could happen to any car but iv drivern hondas for the last 4 years and they havent missed a single beat, no problems at all! Do they really fall appart etc?

A guy I know owns one and is coming over tonight so im going to get my first Cup expirence and if its as good as all the write ups say I will be grinning like a cheshire car!

Cheers in advance

Matt

 

[Cookie]

Welcome \o/

50L fuel tank

Generally get 35-40mpg with a mix of motorway and spirited driving

Don't believe there have been any recalls

 

[daviebroon]

welcome mate.

42ltrs to the brim i think... about 32 mpg avegarge... lots of known problems. Try doing a search for "172 cup problems" should be a few posts lol.

the cup is a brilliant car... renaults don't fall apart as much as they used to.

GET ONE... you'll love it

 

[daviebroon]

*edit* bet me to it lol.

There was a few recalls that i had done.... one was for adjusting the front suspension strut mounts by 2-3mm... another was the the airbag/pretensioner sensor... and one was the bonnet catch lol

 

[MarkCup]

Hi Matt

Welcome to the forum.

Right, fuel tank is 50 litres. Most manage to get 35-40mpg out of them. Some as low as late twenties (lots of town driving) and some as high as mid forties (lots of long trips and motorway use).

There are points to note aplenty - someone should be able to point you to the right section where this info. is on what to look out for etc.. I myself have been lucky - after 3.5 years of high mile commuting, and giving it continual abuse on track I passed 92,000 miles on the way in this morning and have never had a real problem with it.

I hope your ride out later is a good one!

Mark

 

[Don]

They are good cars (Think I'm baised), check if its near 72K/5 years, Cam belt needs doing. If the original suspension is on it, it will have the 4K rattle (just irritating, not harmful), this doesn't happen (usually) with an aftermarket exhaust. The standard exhaust is good, but they are prone to failure. Check the rubber thumb grips on the steering wheel as they are prone to cracking.

They are good cheap fast cars and the 'grin factor' they give you is brilliant. They have the VVTi kicking in at just over 4K (so will be weird to change at 6K for you)

 

[gaz44]

Buy it - good choice.

It should still appeal to your revving history, as you need revs to give it the beans.

 

[Bezza4]

As above really. Think they have answered most of your questions and covered most things to look out for.

The tank is the same size as the DC5 I think. Costs about the same to fill up any way. You will get better mpg. I average 28-30 in the DC5 with mostly motorway driving, but some fun as wel. The Cup I used to manage the same as quoted above 35-40mpg.

If you are looking to downgrade slightly to free up a bit of cash it is a good car to do it with. It is a fun car to drive. Doesn't handle as well as the DC5, but is more chuckable. It is prob as quick or close to it as the the DC5 up to 60/80, then the DC5 ia quicker.

I had a couple of problems with mine, but they are not as bad as some of the horror stories you hear about French cars. If you buy one that has been well looked after and has had its cambelt done you shouldn't have too many problems.

 

[matt 1b]

THanks for your input guys!

Sounds good so far, the MPG is very good! Bezza same as me mate, I was around 28-30mpg on my tegs too but once did £10@99p/L in 40 miles

Would I be right in saying it seems to be little niggles rather than massive problems with the Clios? Guess ill just have to pretend its a TVR then lol

Does the lack of ABS cause problems in adverse weather, guess I will just change driving style to suit no biggy really TBH but would have been handy in black ice situations etc

 

[.GAZ.]

Buy it - good choice.

It should still appeal to your revving history, as you need revs to give it the beans.

i agree

 

[daviebroon]

i feel the more progressive braking gained by not having abs... gives a much better braking performance.... just be careful in the uber-wet conditions

 

[duncansharp]

Yeah a lot of the problems are pretty small e.g. leaking rear dampers (about 50 quid each from Renault) interior rattles a bit, the only major problem that can happen is cambelt failure so it is important to check this had been done as its not simple (500 quid job!) renault say 72k/5yrs but many people get them changed earlier (50k / 3 yrs).

Regarding the lack of ABS it isnt too bad, just have to be a bit careful in the greasy / wet and obvisously snow and ice.

 

[daviebroon]

i feel the more progressive braking gained by not having abs... gives a much better braking performance.... just be careful in the uber-wet conditions

however in the last 2yrs... i've gone through 3 sets of discs and 6 pads at what i can remember to count!

 

[Bezza4]

THanks for your input guys!

Sounds good so far, the MPG is very good! Bezza same as me mate, I was around 28-30mpg on my tegs too but once did £10@99p/L in 40 miles

Would I be right in saying it seems to be little niggles rather than massive problems with the Clios? Guess ill just have to pretend its a TVR then lol

Does the lack of ABS cause problems in adverse weather, guess I will just change driving style to suit no biggy really TBH but would have been handy in black ice situations etc

That is some good going with the £10 in 40 miles. Easily done though if you spent most of the 40 miles in vtec. Probably used as much oil as petrol in that time too

I only ever had one scary moment due to the lack of ABS, car slammed its brakes on in front of me and I locked the wheels up behind him. Very scary. But as long as you leave enough room between yourself and the car in front of you you'll be fine.

 

[JACKO CUP 172!]

only had 1 recall that was the bonnet catch.apart from that have not had any other problems with the lil beast you will enjoy as the others said you will hit the 5k kick and it will put a massive smile on ya face!!!

enjoy..

 

[MickeyO]

absoutly loved my cup, was so much fun

as everyone has said, get one mate you wil love it!!

gave me a good 2 years of joy.

couple things from me....

check the alloys for bubbling / kerbing etc.
check exhaust, better if its got an aftermarket one on it
again cambelt should have been changed as they are getting on to be 5 years old
check its got full service history, and on the 36k service it had its aux belt changed as per the shedule.
Paintwork should be spot on, give it a good going over though for bumps / damage.
check the bonnet near the centre for the usua dints, found my one wouldnt close properly a few times so had to keep popping it and stuff and that could cause a little dint

using shell v power it cost about £38 - £40 to fill it
you can get about 280 - 300 miles out of that. that was me starting it at least 5 - 7 times a day (gym / girlfriends etc)

you will love it, gaurented!!

 

[tommobot]

Very close to getting one myself....

Few questions..

When you push them, what sign, if any do they show of the car about to let go?

Does anybody know a time for 50-80mph?

 

[MickeyO]

when your really pushing tghem tommobot as per most the back end comes out, they can be really really pushed though, much fun!!

 

[matt 1b]

Cheers guys

Well I went out in one tonight and love it, seemed very chuckable and responsive, as said already didnt quite have the legs of my dc5 after 90 odd or the outright grip of the teg but then it does have an lsd so to be expected.

But overall really like it so just gota find a goodun and off I go!

Any cheap mods worth it? I need more sound as I had a full buddy club racing system on my teg and that was 110db+ on full chat:dead: :evil: dont quite want it that mad again but some would be nice! Dont wana spend mega bucks so would a decat pipe and a replacement airfiler be worth it? Would it run lean?

Cheers

 

[duncansharp]

If you look to buy one off here most will have an aftermarket exhaust anyway as the standard ones have pretty much all died and its about the same price for a decent stainless system.

Decat is common cheap mod for performance and sound. With regards to the airfilter a closed induction kit will add sound and may help with performance, but the 172/182 engine doesn't respond with great power or torque gains from most simple mods

 

[philmots]

Glad you enjoyed it mate..

I'll just hammer home the cambelt point, the book says 5yrs or 72k miles, i'd make it 4yrs or 60k to be on the safe side! (bearing in mine most Cups will be around this age and maybe mileage)

petrol, 37ish quid of optimax sees me good for 280 miles. about 37mpg.

 

[MickeyO]

mods i did on mine were what i class as cheap....

decat, had my mate just weld a pipe in, warrenty had gone, and i was not bothered about emissions light (but you could just tape over the bulb, theres a guide on here how to do it) - £40, and it DEFINATY felt more responsive.

Exhaust - i had a powerflow on mine - £150

Remap - i used Rs Tuning in leeds. again more responsive, better mpg, higher rev limit - 40mph in first gear, 69 / 70 in 2nd..... £250 - £275

182 manifold - pick them up for about £150 - £200. fitting them needs doing by a pro or a very compitant person as sub frame needs dropping etc. my mate charged me £60 to fit mine.

close air induction kit with cold air feed and samco bend. £200 for kit, £60 for bend and CAF piping. bit of an arse to fit (bumper off etc)

so all in al

decat
remap
exhaust
182 manifold
closed air induction kit

£860 - £900.

and i reckon i was running at about 188 - 190 bhp (not confirmed or anything but few on here had same mods and were running around there.

 

[MarkCup]

Running costs can be light if you want them to be.

I'm only partly into my 3rd set of discs at 92k, I'm on my 3rd set of front pads, and still on the original rears.

That's including changing when not due from upgrading, and all the track use too.

Brake less

Mark

 

[edde]

Any cheap mods worth it? I need more sound as I had a full buddy club racing system on my teg and that was 110db+ on full chat:dead: :evil: dont quite want it that mad again but some would be nice! Dont wana spend mega bucks so would a decat pipe and a replacement airfiler be worth it? Would it run lean?

Decat is good as stock is quite restricting plus intake manifoild can be poor on some cars.

A good service as with all cars helps.

No need to bother with an air filter until you want to realy spend the money or want noise.

 

[fuel_slut]

172 cup are nice cars, my first mod would be new seats.

You can pick up a clio 182 for £7k now.