can't handle my 172 - please look help !!!

[Kinsella]

Ok maybe the title was abit ott -

i have an 03 plate clio cup 40k

but i cant get used to my clutch !! ive come from a saxo vtr

to some it up i cant pull off smooth, creep in trafic, trickle along---

the clutch bites 3/4's of the way up and then is in, theres no gradual fade in and engage its either on or off !! it chugs along as if to say give me revs then bites and bogs down and wheel spins, then if i give it what i feel about the rght revs it will stutter as if ive let the clutch up too fast (which i have but only 2mm lower its in fully)

to get it right i have to be stationary and fully in the zone so to speak, listning to the engine, no music on what so ever.

can i just not drive it, do i have the feel of a baby elephant ??

or is it back to renault to get it fixed

i saw my mate today who has got an 03 plate 1.2 and that clutch was bliss compared to mine !!! smooth pull off !!

mine kangaroos - he drove it along with 3 of my other mates and twice stalled it !! all of the opinion that the clutch is very very very sensative, its in or out within 2mm of push

 

[Martin_172]

wrongly adjusted clutch cable or fuked clutch? is the pedal stiff?

 

[Kinsella]

its not that stiff, but its not the easiest of things to push down, also it has a bit of a squeak (spelling)

 

[blink172]

Not being funny, but how long you had the car? They do tend to have a heavy clutch, but shouldnt take that long to get used to.

 

[Kinsella]

ive had it a week today !!

im not a bad driver lol, its just sooooo sensative, its also hard to change gear smooth when driving, it thows your head back every gear change as you engage the clutch

 

[mintblue]

wrongly adjusted clutch cable or fuked clutch? is the pedal stiff?

AFAIK it's supposed to be stiff, well my 182 has. Personally i think it's a good clutch i like them with a low biting point gives you more control, imo. Nothing worse than a clutch with a biting point 10 inches away from the floor. I'm sure somone ITK will tell you if it's fooked or not.

 

[Rufstuf]

They're all like that. Just a bit lumpy in slow moving traffic. You'll get used to it.

 

[Kinsella]

i can handle it being stiff - theres no problem there, or the height of the biting point, its just the 2mm of either fully in or out.

its like brain surgery trying to pull off smooth, jumping out on a busy road from a T junction is a no GO -- ive stalled it 3 times trying to do it

it engages so quick from being fully out seriously

 

[Griff]

All the Renaults I've owned have been like that.

 

[Kinsella]

AFAIK it's supposed to be stiff, well my 182 has. Personally i think it's a good clutch i like them with a low biting point gives you more control, imo. Nothing worse than a clutch with a biting point 10 inches away from the floor. I'm sure somone ITK will tell you if it's fooked or not.

mine is 10 inches away from the floor, 3/4's away from the bottom - this way i cant seem to have any controll with my knee bent, id have more controll if my leg were more straighter

 

[trailerparktrev]

My 182 clutch has quite a high biting point, especially compared to when I had a Saxo VTS, a few years ago. The Saxo's biting point was almost as soon as it left the floor. You'll get used to it. But then again I have driven a fair few cars since I passed my test in 1989.

 

[Phil 182]

i came from a fiesta to my 182..i had been driving my mums reno megane a little and her clutch is same as 182....u will get used to it!

 

[Day]

Sounds pretty normal.
Have you met Mr Torque-Steer yet?

 

[Kinsella]

torque steer haha -o yes !!

my mate was behind and i put ma foot down in 2nd,,,, and O YES i noticed it lol veering like no tomorrow, i loved it tho haha

 

[ChrisR]

My old 19 was the same, must be a Renault thing for their sporty models.

 

[Kinsella]

seriously this is a micro clutch !!!

i wont take this an normal till i drive another 172

 

[mintblue]

My old 309 gti i had years ago was even stiffer, that thing was set in concrete.

 

[benji&eka]

renault sports don't have a cluch they have an on/off swich
LOL
true tho..

 

[GarethM]

all the RS's have clutches like that i took me a few wks to get used to it, its not the best for driving in traffic, but you'll get used to it.

 

[bradfincham]

It took me a while to get used to mine. LIke a month or so as i kept stalling it.

Basically it needs 1500-2k revs to bite correctly.

Just get used to it, but i must admit in traffic it takes some thinking about to get right untill you get used to it.

After that you will be loving ti!!

 

[Waitey]

My clutch is useless. Biting point is too high to be of any use.

LOL at torque steer. Maybe in a car with a fair amount of torque.

 

[sneeks]

It took me a bit of getting used to the clutch in the 172 in comparison to my old Saxo vts but you'll get there with it. It was made even more awkward for me cause I'd owned a C2 VTR for 8 months which didn't have a clutch

 

[Evandim*]

in my old 205GTi you only had to take you toe off the clutch and she would bite.. when i brought the 172 it didnt take me long to get use to the clutch on that but when i jumped back into the 205 again i kept stalling the bugger very embarrassing

 

[MAXIBOY]

think thats bad try driving with a paddle clutch in traffic.on off no slip

 

[Lagerlout]

My clutch is useless. Biting point is too high to be of any use.

LOL at torque steer. Maybe in a car with a fair amount of torque.

Yours doesn't torque steer? I should get it checked out.

The clutch is pretty on/off I must admit. Pulling away from standing has never been a problem, but I find really smooth changes when on the move difficult.

 

[RichMcc]

They do require some skill to drive slowly hehe!
Try going out late one night and try to drive as smoothly as possible just take your time and get used to it. Use the gears to slow down for junctions instead of your breaks. Try and keep the RPM under 3000 and do everything gently and slowly. Once you can drive it slow its even better when you stamp on the pedal and shoot into the middle of next week.

And in a few weeks your left leg will be as big as ours

 

[Kinsella]

cheers for the comments - its givin me inspiration to try and get through this haha - cheers, ben

 

[Turkish]

think thats bad try driving with a paddle clutch in traffic.on off no slip

Funnily i was going to say the same. When i was looking for an R5 turbo years ago i drove several with paddle clutches and they make the 172/182 clutch look like they have a massive bite point. Not to mention the fact all of the ones i drove were rediculously heavy too.

 

[Waitey]

Yours doesn't torque steer? I should get it checked out.

The clutch is pretty on/off I must admit. Pulling away from standing has never been a problem, but I find really smooth changes when on the move difficult.

To me mine doesn't torque steer but then again i've grown up with high power front wheel drive cars. The only car i've really felt the propper effect of torque steer in was a 278bhp Focus RS. Even then it wasn't lifechanging.

 

[Ali]

I've got the same problem, but i'm used to it now. Mine creaks like buggery and it's very difficult to get decent clutch control.

 

[kully]

ive had it a week today !!

im not a bad driver lol, its just sooooo sensative, its also hard to change gear smooth when driving, it thows your head back every gear change as you engage the clutch

imo ...............u aint used to it yet, but get the clutch and tyres checked out

 

[Minx172]

I too have found my biting point a little tricky to master in my 172, i can drive every other car in like 5 mins and work the clutch fine, but the 172 really takes some getting use too, i must say after 7 weeks of ownership i am getting better, but sometimes i still like to rev it at the lights trying to find a bite and people thing im after a race im sure!

Gemma

 

[Fletcher]

Mine was really heavy, untill Mike@Rentech serviced her, shes much nicer to drive in traffic now.

 

[mrc300]

probably not relavant but my car a mk1 clio i found incredible difficult at the start whereas the car i learnt in a vauxhall corsa and nissan almera i found piss easy! my m8s think the same when they drive the car it seems that this is a Renault thing!