Anyone with a slow 172

[Cord-172]

Just a question really. Havent had mine RRd yet. Sometimes I have races that really suprise other cars (N/A GTO couldnt overtake me till we got to about 80-90), (Mk2 Golf GTI 16V that I kept leaving behind but the driver was mental and wouldnt give up!)

Then other days it doesnt seem as fast. Some Lads in an XR2I were burning around (3 people in it). I could have overtaken him on a straight or from a standstill but be was flinging the car about so much the tyres were shrieking across the road. - I couldnt get enough grip to keep up (+ I was genuinely worried I would stack it!!)!! that cant be right?

Then yesterday I could not overtake a grey RS Turbo escort. He was 1up and was slowly creeping away from me. Pizzes me right off when something like that happens

 

[RobFenn]

Well a lot of RS turbos have over 200bhp, dont be too sad!

 

[Norfolk-172]

You will find there are plenty of ppl who think the 172bhp is a little optimitic! a clio 16v with 137bhp can keep up!

I have had loads of trouble with races, I just dont belive my car has 172bhp NO WAY!

 

[Ben H]

That always happens to me too - nothing to worry about. In the real world of roundabouts, corners and junctions, 0-60 and top speed dont mean as much as they do in a straight line and cars become closer in performance as driver skill plays a more important role.

Id be surprised if many 172s are making less than 170bhp - but remember that bhp isnt everything that makes a fast car. I remember an old Mini Cooper giving me a hard time around roundabouts and twisty roads - and have you ever seen the performance stats for that?!

I just enjoy the thrill of a bit of competition and find that as often as I surprise supposedly faster cars, supposedly slower cars surprise me. Its all fun and I always make sure that I acknowledge a good effort in a gentlemanly way!

Its best to RR your car with loads of other 172s in a similar state of tune, as you cant accurately compare results from different days/RR places.

 

[geordiepaul]

The RS Turbo was most likely modified tough. Get a MK2 they are much quicker

I find the same though, on Friday night driving through Newcastle this Cooper S come up beside me and slows down. I knew he was up for a race but to be honest I couldnt be arsed so he blasted off. He was weaving through traffic like a nob so I changed my mind!! Caught him up and was right behind for ages (no room to overtake) everytime I put my foot down I had to take it off so I didnt go into the back of him. If I could have got past I reckon I could have fairly easily.

Then later that night.....coming across the Tyne Bridge this Porsche Carrera 4 comes up behind me at a set if traffic lights. They go green and I floor it about a second later I have to pull in and let him zoom past. Gees I must have a bad 172!! The worst thing was when I caught him up again there were 2 kids in the back looking round at me laughing

 

[McBunny]

i was out yesterday and i supprised my self when i held off a bike it was down a backroad, he was sat on my bumper i overtook the car infront and floored it from second and he gave chase he just couldnt seem to catch me untill backed off at about !20 then he flew by it was in my favour as it is a very bumpy road, but we both left this corsa gsi for dead, when he pulled off he waved and both whent away happy, and no it wasnt some kid on a bmx dunno what it was exactly but it wasnt small by the sound of it when he passed. i know he would have wasted me on a decent road but it was fun non the less

 

[RobFenn]

I have to fight off white van men so i wouldnt be to embarrased!

 

[Norfolk-172]

Hang on ppl, Renault sell you a car like the 172 and what do you find, mmmm not as quick as I thought. Yeah......... then you go making loads of excuses for it (i do to!) but just think for a second:

Little Clio+172bhp=fast, what should be F**KING FAST

My 172 is really not much quicker than a 1.8 sxi Astra i had (Mk4) and that had 115 bhp! my bros 1.6 Corsa 105bhp!, his 2.0ltr Cav 136bhp, my old 2.0ltr Focus 123bhp.

So do you really think you have 172bhp? I dont!

 

[geordiepaul]

Quote: Originally posted by Norfolk-172 on 24 March 2003


My 172 is really not much quicker than a 1.8 sxi Astra i had (Mk4) and that had 115 bhp! my bros 1.6 Corsa 105bhp!, his 2.0ltr Cav 136bhp, my old 2.0ltr Focus 123bhp.

What do you class as not much quicker?

 

[Ben H]

Well, if you put it like that, it does sound a bit suspect...

 

[wongy008]

lol

a honest 172 owner.

norfolk 172 best get ur car checked out mate. oive seen 172 make like 120 mailtodd@tw">odd@tw on the roller which is welll down on power, reno seem to have crap quality control and buying a 172 is a funny game

120 odd @tw in a porky mk2 shell= slow car



wongy

 

[Norfolk-172]

Well what more can I say.....not much faster, if I put another 57bhp In my Astra (remember it would still be heavier than the Clio) Im sure it would be faster.

My dads E320 (218) will eat the Clio above 80, and thats a massive E class estate! but power to weight ratio is in my favor.

Think of a Williams 150bhp, now they will give ANY 172 a run for there money, a good 20 bhp down, lighter i know, but not loads.

Just expecting more from a 170 bhp light car?

 

[McBunny]

right 172 not much faster than a 1.8 astra sxi dont know where you are getting that from as a ctr is way faster than a astra and my 172 isnt far behind a ctr

comparing my previous 2 cars xr2 (105bhp) and primera si (115bhp) the 172 is a hell of a lot faster than them both, the 172 actually gets to 100 b4 i get to london there is so much more torque in the 172 i can actually over take stuff in 5th and not just 1 car at a time either unlike the primera where i had to take a 5 mile run up and kiss my ass goodbye.

 

[Nagra_mk1_172]

Its not about horsepower alone, its the power to weight ratio you should be looking at.

A Lotus Elise only has 118 BHP and they fly !

 

[wongy008]

its not a light car dont they weight like 1100 kg

wongy

 

[mikeherts]

I agree with Norfolk-172 here. Fact is, 172bhp in a little car should feel like sh*t off a shovel and (for me at least) it doesnt - far from it.

 

[McBunny]

the willy is alot lighter than a 172 just look at the difference between a 172 and cup and thats 80+kg

 

[Norfolk-172]

Could be wongy, but then if it is down on power what can I do about it? bet Renault would just laugh at me!

Had the same trouble with my Focus, the Ford guy who had a look, said "try turning the heater off"..........lol!

Car manufactures really dont seem to be able to turn loads of cars out with the same power figures? Maybe the good ones are more scarce than the bad ones?

Remember Autocars test of the Skoda Octavia vRS, they thought it had the 225bhp 1.8 Turbo, cause it was faser than a 330 BMW!

 

[geordiepaul]

Think your expecting too much. If you dont drive it properly (Im not saying you dont) then I find it hard to believe (unless there is something wrong with yours) you will have trouble with the cars you have mentioned.

My dad has a E36 328i and I dont have any problem keeping up with him to 100 and they had a book 0-60 in 6.8 and 0-100 in 16.something. With only slightly quicker in gear times. If I get bogged down in a gear, miss a gear change to early/late then I get left for dead!!

 

[geordiepaul]

Oh and if your going to play turn the air conn off!!!

 

[mikeherts]

From what people with 172s on here say, I cant even believe Im driving the same car. I dont identify with anything being said. Im almost intrigued enough to fork out on a rolling road to see if I have one of these supposedly bad ones!

 

[Norfolk-172]

Dogmaul, my last car was a 1.8 sxi, a lot faster than 115bhp would suggest, but then Vauxhalls allways have a strong engine.

Lotus Elise has 164bhp per ton, a 172 has..........156 per ton, wow a whole 8 bhp per ton more WOW!

A 172 and a cup, mmmmmm BIG differance, half a second or so to 60, when EVO first tested one they said to tell the difference on the road you really are nit picking, round a track sure, but on the road mmmmmm

I just dont think Renault have got the 172 they say they have.

 

[172man]

mines fast. I pull huge distances on cars. Raced a new megane 2lt 16v the other day i know there not supercars but i was GONE dont know how many lengths but looked like 50 LOL. Mines on the RR this week ill tell you what power ive got. Also make sure you only use 98 ron.

Mine feels 170bhp, Although when i first test drove one(not mine) it didnt feel that quick. Give it a hammering as rens respond well to this. I can hold off a mitsub vr4 till 5th with one up.

 

[Norfolk-172]

Well it seems like its just me and Mike?

Its wrong though, if i got a sh*t TV then i get it replaced. If I spend £12,000 I get shat on ppl........That aint good!

 

[McBunny]

i must have a good one then lucky me

 

[Ben H]

I know its no consolation, but theres a long history of Renault hot hatches with mixed performance.

On the one had there are Clio 16vs like Aarons and BenJs that are pushing out way more power than they should as standard (with over 100k on the clock!) - and then you hear about 16vs that are well down on power. Ive seen tests for 19 16vs that give 0-60 in 9.4 and 7.4!!

 

[adam_priest]

Could it have something to do with how the car is broken in? some people here have broken 172s in gently and others have just thraped them from day one. Just a thought.

 

[wongy008]

well i would say dont run properely

i would say progressively open it up after say eace 100 miles,

think our one is run it too good and now its slow

wongy

 

[KDF]

i will admit .. somedays my 172 feels slow, others it feel so faast..

either way all i need to do is jump in my mums mk1 1.2 and go for a spin.. when I get back into my 172 it puts a smile on my face..

imagine how I am gonna feel when I get back into my 172 after having my 3 day 1.2 dynamique courtesy car

 

[Daz]

I think every car has its off days.. Sometimes mines feel really nippy, sometimes, it just seems to be really sluggish. Weird.

Daz.

 

[mikeherts]

LOL - my off days are every day. Interesting something that _KDF said about "puts a smile on my face" - I can honestly say that my 172 has never really done that. Im not saying its a slow barge, but it doesnt do anything special to make me smile. I expected the VVT bit at 5k to do it, but to be honest, I dont notice much more happening at 5k - just gets a bit coarser.

Funnily, most passengers crap themselves in it but then again, most of them dont drive performance cars.

I think Ill just accept that Ive got a slow one and carry on using it from A to B for a year and then sell it on and get something with a whopping turbo on it. Although as Norfolk said, if you bought a sub-standard TV, youd get another - why should you have to accept a car with less than the stated power output? (the bloody thing is named after its BHP figure for christ sake!)

To be honest, I dont know! For all I know, I might have a normal 172 - Ive never been in another Mk2 before and Ive only driven a Mk1 for 10 minutes (which I do remember as feeling better)

 

[rt172]

I ran mine in carefully and it wasnt earth shatteringly quick. It got 136bhp on the same day as Paddy got 152bhp in his MK2 and he thrashed his from day one. If the transmission loss is around 15%, then that means mine was actually a Clio 156 and Paddys was a Clio 174. Quite a difference!

 

[RobFenn]

Ouch

 

[mikeherts]

Double ouch - 156bhp in a car of that weight really isnt great. Is that the reason you sold it Rhys?

 

[JonC]

Dont race slow cars. Try racing faster cars, eg Ive kept up with the old imprezza turbos, bmw 330i, TT 225, CTR etc. Theyre probably on their repective forums saying how slower cars like the 172 keeping up with them.

 

[Ben H]

Good point about experiencing other cars - I was in the passenger seat of BenRs 16v the other day and it reminded me of how fast it really is! Ypur senses numb over time with the same car.

 

[rt172]

Mike - sold it because I needed the money at the time. Still regret it from time to time, but I reckon the Willy is faster (with the de-cat) so getting over it now. I actually stripped out the interior and lowered it and it was great fun and I loved it to bits, but it didnt have 172bhp!!!

Rhys

 

[Carlouk]

Mine sometimes feels slower than usual, especially on 95 ron fuel, only ever run it on optimax now and it makes all the difference!

Was fast this morning on the way to work though, some Passat TDI was right on my bumper so I let him past and then gunned it past him, the 172 absolutley flew all the way upto !40 (indicated) without hesitating, then I slowed down, should have tried to hit the limiter, interested to see what it would have read!

 

[Norfolk-172]

Hang on ppl, most of you are saying that your 172 really doesnt feel like a 172 every day? I know temp, altitude, road type, tyre pressure etc etc males a difference........but hang on!

My dads merc NEVER feels like its on an off day, why should we put up with a fast car for 50% of the time. Hell I can save a packet on insurance and get what should be a slower car which will be slower 100% of the time.

Great car for 50% of the time mmmmmm

 

[Carlouk]

Air temp/density does make a significant difference apparently!

Talking about mercs myn old mans E55 never has an off day! Itll toast anything