New 197 owner - questions

[GDW3]

Hi all.

I picked up my 56 plate 197 yesterday and am overall pretty happy with it. However, I have a few questions regarding mods that I was hoping you good people could assist with.

The car has had a couple of modifications already, the most obvious being a Scorpion exhaust......I was under the impression it was a cat back, but starting to think it may be mani-back due to the noise coming from the engine bay. I'll check this out later. Should the car have been mapped if going manifold back? I have a feeling it may have been done as it pulls far harder than I expected in 5th and 6th gears. Is there any easy way to check if it's been mapped and if so, by who?

I've also read a bit about the RS tuner. Is this a decent bit of kit? Can you get a proper bespoke e-tune or is it just OTS maps? If e-tune, who is the best person to use? Can the RS Tuner read fault codes etc? Will it overwrite any map that may already be on the car? Any other tuning options out there you would recommend?

Finally - recommendations on induction kits?

Thanks in advance, Garry

 

[R3k1355]

RS Tuner is an off the shelf type deal, although confusingly RS Tuning is a company in Leeds who will do you a custom remap on a rolling road.

FWIW I'd figure out if your car is running a cat first, because unless you've got a mate who will bang it through an MOT without one you'll need to get one sorted for the next test.

 

[GDW3]

I'm not too worried about the lack of cat from an MOT perspective as I know a friendly tester. I'm more concerned about whether it's been mapped accordingly for any mods so as not to cause any damage.

I've heard of RS Tuning through the last forum I was on and they didn't have a great rep for that particular platform, however I hear they do pretty well with Renaults. Are they worth considering or is there any tuning device that will allow you to take logs/flash maps etc and get an e-tune?

 

[Matt W]

Wouldn't bother with an induction kit.

 

[GDW3]

Wouldn't bother with an induction kit.

Why no induction kit? I know there will be no significant power gains, but must be a nice noise addition?

I'm more accustomed to Turbo cars which will compliment an induction kit, but I thought there would be some pleasant noises despite being NA

 

[basket491]

I'm not too worried about the lack of cat from an MOT perspective as I know a friendly tester. I'm more concerned about whether it's been mapped accordingly for any mods so as not to cause any damage.

I've heard of RS Tuning through the last forum I was on and they didn't have a great rep for that particular platform, however I hear they do pretty well with Renaults. Are they worth considering or is there any tuning device that will allow you to take logs/flash maps etc and get an e-tune?

I'd fully recommend rs tuning for mapping wouldn't take my cars anywhere else for a map.

 

[Kosy]

Plenty folk running decat without mapping and no issues.

Personally I would stick to handling mods as you won't get much tangible performance gain unless you spend a lot on cams etc. Induction, exhaust and mapping won't give you much.

I am about to rstuner my car however as its so cheap if you pick one up here and sell on after.

 

[GDW3]

I am about to rstuner my car however as its so cheap if you pick one up here and sell on after.

What sort of gains are you likely to see using rstuner? Are they easy enough to install/use? Any issues with them being locked to a specific car if you buy used or are they basically interchangeable?

 

[Kosy]

Driveability gains supposedly. Better pull from lower in the rev range, better idle and cold running. Unlikely much bhp wise.

I'll be doing mine next few days. Simple to unlock (costs 60 euro plus 29 euro for map).

 

[R-Sport.]

A Couple of things to check
Noise coming from engine / manifold- could indeed be a knackered flexi pipe - Expensive to repair ££££ - Also not many owners pay for uprated manifolds as part of upgrades due to the cost to buy & fit.
There is a cheap way to check if its been mapped- Find a specialist with CLIP & ask them to check on the diagnostics whether its on a standard map or not - there is a screen in CLIP software that can be accessed- it will show you.

S

 

[R3k1355]

Why no induction kit? I know there will be no significant power gains, but must be a nice noise addition?

Problem is with such a large engine stuffed in a small area there are few good choices for induction kits.
The majority of the cheap crap ones stick the filter right near the hot engine, which sucks in lots of hot air and looses you some power.

Whats the point in doing the mod if it turns out slower than the stock setup??

 

[GDW3]

Problem is with such a large engine stuffed in a small area there are few good choices for induction kits.
The majority of the cheap crap ones stick the filter right near the hot engine, which sucks in lots of hot air and looses you some power.

Whats the point in doing the mod if it turns out slower than the stock setup??

That's fair enough then. As I said - not expecting any real gain but a bit of noise would have been nice but I'm not will to sacrifice power for it.

 

[R3k1355]

Yea usually a decat exhaust gives enough noise. You don't wanna go silly because it's not a massively fast car.

There's nothing more cringeworthy than someone attempting an overtake in a stupidly loud car only to have the other person give it abit of teddy and leave them hanging.