New to 172s... advice

[Jon1978]

On 22 October my 53 plate 172 Cup arrives at the dealer.

Over the last two years I have owned and run a 1.216V 51
plate Clio. Smashing little car.

I have driven some performance cars, including a TVR
Speed 6, Mercedes CLK AMG, Jag XKR, and (no, Im not kidding)
a race-spec MG Turbo Metro.

Whats new with the 172 Cup? Should I run it in? What should
I expect? Figures in brochures and online are one thing,
but real life driving is another. Any advice on what to expect
would be useful. Oh yeah, and whats the "optimum gear change indicator
all about... a beep, a flash? What is it?

Look forward to hearing from you

Jon

 

[Ben H]

Theres always the debate around running the engine in or not, although the consensus leans towards progressive thrashing from day one!

 

[maxxx100]

Hi m8

You will find 2 schools of thought on running in

1.Drive it hard it has already been run in on the bench and the harder you thrash it the faster it will be

2. Run it in slower for the first 650 miles then it should be ok

So iam afraid its up to u m8 personally i did a bit of both i didnt go mad for the first 650miles but did on the odd occasion give it some stick and (touch wood) it seems to be running well at 1500 miles

Dont know about opt gear change sorry m8 i dont think i have it on mine

but enjoy they r great and put the fun back into driving !

 

[Jon1978]

Cheers guys,
I have a friend who works for Ford Motorsport, and he said you should welly it from day 1 to keep the system clean, and my Dad has an MGZR which MG said should be thrashed from Day 1, to avoid getting clogged. Im tempted to err on the cautious side, cos I dont want to bugger the car or get shafted by the Fuzz in the first month of ownership. Will just have to wait and see....

 

[D-CUP]

I think pottering about like a grandad and watching the rev counter all the time is stupid. At the same time I dont think you should be thrashing the nuts off a new tight engine.

 

[Rich-D]

Read the handbook...

 

[RS-Steve]

Cheers from me too. i was gonna ask a similar question bout breakin in the engine but its bin answered! Reckon ill do as maxxx100 says an do a bit of both.

Ive wondered bout this optimum gear change indicator anall as i took a cup for a T-drive an that didnt have 1?? Does any1 kno??

 

[viceroy]

Id rather watch the rev counter than the speedo

 

[Jon1978]

Well "pottering around like a grandad" will not be the first thing on my agenda... country lanes and some gear change and rapid acceleration will be more likely, but I think that killing myself, blowing up the new tight engine, or getting a speeding ticket are great ideas either. Another thing, as the car doesnt have ABS what is the braking like. IE what happenn when you hit the brakes at 40mph?

 

[SideShowBob]

Well, as someone who has driven a lot of fast cars too, Id say the Cup is tons of fun in comparison to most.

Its not a fast car, its a quick, nippy car, but unless you live on a mile long straight, that is a lot more important.

Handling is spot on, and the power is definitely enough on any twisty bits of road, you can really carry some speed, but dont expect to get shoved into your seat or anything with acceleration.

Brakes are excellent, althou I havent had mine in the wet much. I did a hard braking test, and the tyres screeched, but the car stayed straight, and braked pretty well. For dry general road use, I havent come accross much better.

That optimal shifter is a complete waste of time in my experience. When going against other cars, I find I hit the limiter a few times, and you seriously dont even notice the tiny little shift light you have. A buzzer would be far better, but so long as you dont rely on the shift light, and keep an eye on your revs yourself, its not a real problem, just an extra thats not much use.

Recon youll be happy with your Cup, well cool little cars.

 

[Pete]

My friend got his 172 back in Feb and took it easy for first 650 miles and hasnt had any of the problems mentioned on the forums, so when mine finally arrives on the 14th of October I shall be doing the same.

Btw, the dealer told my friend to take it easy and keep it under 4k for those first 650 miles.

 

[sjd172]

I took it "easy" untill 650 -1k an have had no problems with anything mechanical, no 4k rattle, no gearbox probs, no engine mount failures, its up to you, i just sold the clio which never went back to the dealer for a thing with 9k on...... You take your chances.....

 

[Nath]

i havent got a 172 but i never thrash my clio and she has always been fine. i reckon the 172 fecks up coz people thrash them.

 

[Lee]

Quote: Originally posted by Rich-D on 16 September 2003


Read the handbook...