Doesn't feel like 182 bhp!!!

[The Seer]

I purchased my 182 Cup the other day. OK I hadn't tried anybody elses before buying this one as it is such a nice example.

However,even though the engine feels fine it's doesn't climb through the rev range as a car with 182 bhp should. As I drove it home I could tell it doesn't pull as I feel it ought to.

I owned an Integra Type R for years and this IS NOTHING close at all by accelerative terms. This has been proved by going up against an ST Fiesta. I struggled to keep up with his 150 bhp.

I figure the engine may of developed a fault. It's not unresponsive or hesitant in any way. Just drives like a normal hatch. Has anybody experienced this with their 182?


Many thanks for your help.

 

[Fred@BTM]

do you notice a "kick" at around 5000rpm

(they're acutall 182 PS, so just under 180 bhp)

 

[RichMcc]

A 182 wont rev like a teggy will.. it will climb steadily to 5000rpm then spaz and launch to the red line

 

[The Seer]

Yeah there is certainly an increase in power after 5K rpm. I'm aware they're no Integra. Although the car just really feels too slugish and isn't entertaining to drive. Could it be an air flow meter that is malfunctioning?

 

[RichMcc]

there is no air flow meter on the 182s

 

[Day]

Did you take the handbrake off?

 

[RichMcc]

Its a remote possibility you've either bought a cat-d, the clutch is dead, or the cars been screwed. Saying that you've gone from a faster car to a slower one so it wont feel as quick.....
Also it took me a while to learn how to get the most out of my RS and judging that you've not had the car long... work with it a bit.

As you said you've not driven any others so you dont know how it "should" feel.....

182's have a drive-by-wire throttle so you wont have that crisp throttle response that you get with a propper cable one which your probably used too, Ive noticed this on the new clio 3. Are there any modifications to the car we should know about? What fuel are you using it should be at least 97 ron.

If your that worried theres a fault go to renaults, get them to run a diagnostic and claim it back from your warrenty if you have any.

 

[Andyman]

Between a standard Teg and a standard 172 / 182 there's only half a car length or so in it when ever i came up against one.

Teg will feel quicker because of the Vtec. When its off Vtec its as weak as a puffs handshake.
My mate got his rolling roaded once and when it came on Vtec the bhp shot up a instant 30 bhp!!

Due to the Clio's high driving position, i find they dont look/feel as quick as they really are.

 

[G_F]

Get it on a Clip and see if any faults have been registered, try giving it a good service aswell. Try shake the rear exhaust silencer and hear for rattles, i noticed a decrease in power when my exhaust started to give way, a new one sorted it

 

[Jesske]

You really have to learn how to drive it, but imo you also have to do that with a type R

 

[VXR killer]

you can get signal booster now for electronic throttle that plugs into the accelerator plug, ive heard that it does make a diference in response.

 

[pjdicky]

I've just brought a 182 and was thinking exactly the same thing. Thought it would be quicker than my VTS but it isn't, bit disappointed. Like you I never had a test drive.

They just seem to have a bad flat spot between 3000 to 5000 rpm. Feels quicker if you squeeze the accelerator rather than just floor it! That's the same with all fly-by-wire throttles I think.

 

[lasbazrre]

you can get signal booster now for electronic throttle that plugs into the accelerator plug, ive heard that it does make a diference in response.

Has anybody got one or tride one?

leon

 

[Dan R]

I had a saxo vts with thousands spent on the engine. Cams, exhaust, intake, mapping etc and my 182 is definately quicker! there a bit s**t below 5000rpm but if you rev the thing you can keep it above that.

 

[The Seer]

Took the car to my local Renault dealer. They're gonna run a diagnostic on her next Tuesday.

Also she's going to be dynoed on Saturday. I suspect that not even 175 bhp will be present judjing by the way she accelerates. Maybe the diagnostic will pick something up.

As for my 182 (no mods, 16K on the clock) keeping up with the Integra I had (no mods either) no chance.

I agree with with pjdicky. There is a flat spot between 3 & 5K rpm. The pick up before 5250 rpm just isn't good enough for a car with a supposed 182 bhp.

I reckon the cars which are supplied to the press are somewhat more powerful and develop (near enough) the quoted bhp figure. Cars sold to the public could be rather different. It wouldn't be the first time manufacturers have done this. TVR are certainly gulity.

 

[deviltronics]

i "heard" someones 182 produced 162 BHP and that was with the usual intake and exhaust mods!

 

[RichMcc]

As said most cars aren't actually 182bhp its PS, on the rollers you'll get anything from 160-180bhp depending on the engine and its condition.
One thing these cars suffer from is poorly cast inlet manifolds, this can be resolved quite cheeply by getting them matched. A remap on top of that to sort out the fueling with the extra airflow would get you an actual figure of 182 or over.
They all have a bit of a flat spot between 3-5k it comes on cam at 5 and thats when most of the power is delivered.
The clio's aren't the quickest cars in the world at the end of the day but can still own a few 20k+ cars and are quicker than most other every day cars. Clio's are born to be track animals, they handle like a go-kart and pump plenty of power if driven correctly. The clio's are not straight line drag racers at the end of the day.

Paul at RS tuning RR'ed a new 197 and I think that only put out 191 bhp.. go figure

 

[deviltronics]

^^true and good advice, just been to pauls today.

 

[ChrisR]

Paul at RS tuning RR'ed a new 197 and I think that only put out 191 bhp.. go figure

197ps is about 194bhp though, so 3bhp when you take into account RR inaccuracies etc actually seems ok

 

[RSTuning]

It was about 184 before the map i think!

Paul

 

[RichMcc]

LOL

 

[nikstar]

Just a silly thought is your mat stuck under the throttle pedal. My 172 felt quite slow one day and after i got home found the mat was stopping the throttle pedal getting full travel, just a thought anyway.

Oh yeah got my 172 dynod on sat and it came out at 163.8hp and 154ft/lb, so hp under wot the book says but tourque was up on book spec, car is totaly standard.

 

[RichMcc]

Yeah the "Renaultsport Clio Random Horse Power Sport Model" wasn't as catchy as the 172, 182 or 197

 

[Graham Gooch]

Lol @ tride.

 

[rory182]

as said takes a bit of getting used to where the power is, dont floor it at 3k when rolling, drop a gear.

Not a lot in it between a DC2 and these. Mine made 179brake which is 182ps but rr's are nonsense anyway.

 

[bradfincham]

The integra, civic type r all feel like you going silly speeds due ot the revs.
I know that because ive driven both and used a CTR as a company car for 6 months.

The clio reallly needs to be 4700 - 6700 rpm really. If you keep the power in that region then you wont have any troubles. And be fast on the gear changes. I have out my 172 against a CTR on a airfield and there wasnt really much in it. The clio was a car length ahead after 90+ mph.

 

[The Seer]

Looked at the drivers mat to see if it was restricting the throttle travel. Hoping it was something as simple as that but it's fine.

I'm driving the car in the usual manner as I would with the Integra. Changing down more so and using the power of latter part of the rev range (5K rpm plus). Yes it does have go to it, but seriously it really feels it's not what it ought to be. The dyno will tell on Saturday I guess.

However the chap who sold it to me says he treated the car very easily and apparently so did it's previous owner beforehand.

He says that the engine is tight and not run in (now has 16K on the clock). Some hard driving should do the trick so I'm told. Is this the case with these sort of cars?

 

[Justin182]

They loosen (speed) up much more with higher milage mate and like a bit of abuse. Cant see why yours should feel that slow though. And a ST fiesta should not be bothering you ! I do have a speedo vid i could send you to compare but mines been mapped etc.. so not really fair.

Hope you get it sorted. Could maybe meet someone local to you to test theirs.

 

[rory182]

yeah give it hell when it's warm, hopefully its not too late.

They loosen up well with age, mines enjoyed it's life for 34k miles from new and goes well.

 

[Neil G]

Definately true about the engine loosening up.just gone over 20k on my 172 and it's feeling quicker

 

[Jesske]

It has only 16K! Mine went fine since 30K. Now have 80K and still the same power and I amlost NEVER drive under 5K. Last week we went out to compare the difference between my wifes Z4 2.5 Si (218hp). We took it till 110mph and there is almost no difference. It was no sprint, so we took a turn, put it into 2nd gear and floored it. The Z4 is a little faster, but neglectable. We couldn't do a sprint because it rained and we would have had spin. Above 110mph I know the BMW is faster!

But learn to drive that Clio and it's a real fun car

 

[VXR killer]

well i raced an integra when my 172 mk2 was standard, i hardly gave my car any stick, i was p****ng all over the thing, so i think your motor must be slow due to miles. oh and them signal boosters i mentioned before, the rolling road i go to have tested them and found they do actually work and they dont sell any s**t.

 

[E-ray_172]

when i test drive vtec/vvti engines i usally find them feeling slower cos u really need to be in the correct gear and revs well up or it feels like a 1.8 modeo...when it kicks tho it sure does go! most N/A engines usually pull well in every gear so its more drivable quick without having to choose either FAST oR sLOW like the vtec's/Vvti.

 

[murcod]

Here's a dyno run from my stock 182 (only mod is the acoustic valve)- that's power at the wheels. To me 103kW (138hp) is about right- compared to my "116kW" Pug 306 S16 that only managed 68kW @ the wheels I'm very happy.

http://users.on.net/~murcod/RSC/Dyno/Murcod1.jpg

Note the flat(ish) torque curve- impressive for a highly tuned 4 cylinder IMHO.

 

[ed_172_cup]

my mate has a Teg 1.8 vtec and my 172 can easily keep up with it (he has a race spec exhaust/filter, leads, etc etc...)

http://s84.photobucket.com/albums/k27/ed_172_cup/?action=view&current=nah007.flv

 

[172cupwizard]

my mate has a Teg 1.8 vtec and my 172 can easily keep up with it (he has a race spec exhaust/filter, leads, etc etc...)

http://s84.photobucket.com/albums/k27/ed_172_cup/?action=view&current=nah007.flv

Cups are quicker anyway!

 

[RichMcc]

knows it

 

[Griff]

I've driven this actual car and having owned and driven 172's/182's since 2001 I can say there is absolutely nothing wrong with the car other than it's been driven like miss daisy from the day it left the factory and in real world terms the engine has barely even started to loosen up yet.

 

[The Seer]

I've owned the 182 a week now.

Just covered 600 miles in her. I'm noticing that perhaps she could loosening up. Not entirely sure, but I'm driving the car spirtedly and with enthusiastic intent.

I'd agree with everybody that until 5250 rpm is reached there is a bit of a lull in performance. She's booked in for a dyno run next Saturday. After a year when another 15-20K is on the clock I'll return for another dyno to see if the performance has increased since it'll be difficult to notice driving her day in, day out. The warranty elapses in a year and if the bhp isn't anything over 175 (which I suspect it won't be) then some mods and a map to bring it up to the figure it should be.

I dare say the quoted figure of PS isn't actually the figure of most cars sold to the public...the cars driven by the press were a different matter.

I'd like to thank everyone who has commented on this post. I was very concerned and thought I'd bought a type of car that'd been hyped up, and that doesn't deliver. From the information I've gathered my concerns are now put at rest.

Much appreciated!!!!!

 

[RichMcc]

I'm driving the car spirtedly and with enthusiastic intent.

Pretend your a pikey and drive like you stole it.... she'll soon loosen up!