why does my car handle like crap?

[Williams-Jr]

i have recently brought a 172 from Renault.

And it handles like crap.

My mk1 i can throw around corners, but this thing just slides forwards insted of round the bend im trying to put it in.

The car isnt lowered, the traction control is ON and i have some slim line continental tyres on standard 172 16" wheels.

I thought they were supposed to handle just as well if not better?

Do i need to lower it to make it handle more like the mk1 or have i brought a duff 172?


Gav

 

[Djw John]

Get the tacking sorted, make sure tyres are in good nick, swicth tc off and remember the roads are the greasiest ever just now!

 

[bill]

resort back to your mk1

 

[Martin_172]

make sure the tyres are the same condition on opposite sides, front and back.

get the tracking checked

check dampers & bushes

check tyre pressures

and as john said, remember the roads are terrible at this time of year

 

[Ian_182]

Get the tracking soorted
ian

 

[Williams-Jr]

thanks lads, i will have a look into the tracking

 

[Winston]

Mk2's ...*tuts*

 

[Subway]

Probably you’re driving in all fairness.

 

[TheJesus]

its a mk2... they dont handle as well... even when coilovered. bit of a let down, but it shouldn't break as much though lol

 

[Lee-182]

my mk2 172 is the same, Crap.

Also got continental tyres. When cornering its like being on a ice rink

 

[MCG]

You should've bought a 182.

 

[The Hoff]

^Yeh cause the extra 2-3k outlay is really worth the extra

Could be your tyres mate, check the pressures on them, i'd shoot for something like 31 front, 29 back this time of year. You might also went to ask Renault when the car was last serviced, dodgy shocks won't help you corner if they are shot, or indeed bad springs.

Never any problems with my 172, coiled or not it used to handle pretty well. Only time you get understeer is trying to kick it through a corner too quick, or putting the power down too early.

Oh and ignore these folk, leave your TC and ESP engaged this time of the year, especially as you haven't had it at the limit yet. People that drive round that have the TC kicking in on the roads are just hooning too much, it's hardly the most obtrusive of systems, although it can be a b**ch when launching.

Just take some time learning about the limits of the car mate, but as said...the roads are a deathtrap right now, I had the backend fling out on me last week, luckily the ESP and some wheel work corrected it, but it's a reminder to sloooow down

 

[Stryker]

resort back to your mk1

Must Agree lol

 

[TheJesus]

You should've bought a 182.

lol, yeah, buy a 182 if you just want pants handling and a 172 if you want s**t handling... you should have just got a Williams mate, handles better than any other Clio and goes quicker, depends if you like your creature comforts, but speaking of comfort the Willy seats take the piss out of the Mk2 ones... why are they soo bloody hard, my back is in agony after long journeys

 

[D_Harrison_172]

Handling is a subjective term, what i think you mean is that you feel the car is less able to respond to your commands in the way your mk1 was. There are a number of reasons for this and wont bore you with the technicalities, as i feel many people would disagree anyway. If you ask yourelf which two cars stand out above other renault cars, youd have to say the Williams and Trophy are the two. Why are these cars better then the rest?

Well we found that most of the difference was down to the weights of the standard alloys. Im pretty sure the Trophy knocked around 3 kgs off the standard wheel weight for the 182 and the williams a little more from the standard valver rims. Unsprung weight is a killer to front end response. Personally i doubt the legitamacy of the claims thast the dampers add much at all to the responsiveness of the Trophy. From our data id say the improvement over the standard cars for the williams and Trophys was roughly 80% down to less unsprung weight (and possible 10% down to placebo effect for both cars too, plaques do stange things to your head).

Renault didnt run circa 4-5kg 17 / 18 inch magnesium wheels on the maxi rally cars for no reason.

Id suggest gettting some lighter wheels.

 

[TheJesus]

sounds like a Stromba post...

handling may be subjective but it's not as if I'm new to hot hatches, I've had them all my driving life and the 172 simply wont go round the same corners I like at the same speed as the Williams does without understeering or provoking the rear to get the level of turn in required and going into a drift. No idea about all the technicalities, I just know when I turn the wheel and want to get from the entry to the exit as quickly as possible the Williams does it much faster, but 'feels' less composed due to the amount it leans... no big deal though, it's designed to go on 3 wheels. I'd like some Leda's eventually for the 17poo to see if it can better the Williams' handling.

 

[White16valver]

Ditto that comment young Jesus...

Handling is a subjective term, what i think you mean is that you feel the car is less able to respond to your commands in the way your mk1 was. There are a number of reasons for this and wont bore you with the technicalities, as i feel many people would disagree anyway. If you ask yourelf which two cars stand out above other renault cars, youd have to say the Williams and Trophy are the two. Why are these cars better then the rest?

Well we found that most of the difference was down to the weights of the standard alloys. Im pretty sure the Trophy knocked around 3 kgs off the standard wheel weight for the 182 and the williams a little more from the standard valver rims. Unsprung weight is a killer to front end response. Personally i doubt the legitamacy of the claims thast the dampers add much at all to the responsiveness of the Trophy. From our data id say the improvement over the standard cars for the williams and Trophys was roughly 80% down to less unsprung weight (and possible 10% down to placebo effect for both cars too, plaques do stange things to your head).

Renault didnt run circa 4-5kg 17 / 18 inch magnesium wheels on the maxi rally cars for no reason.

Id suggest gettting some lighter wheels.

from our data?

Who is Our?

 

[D_Harrison_172]

Of course your right, and reanult knew this. I know they knew this and you know they knew this. There is no secret the mk2 cars were watered down a little. The oldest trick in to book to improve a car as cheaply as possible is to fit lighter suspension components. Like i say, hence racing teams will spend thousands on aluminium dampers and magnesium wheels. Improves all the areas you mention. Try a lighter wheel (borrow some if you can) and see how much it helps the overall feel of your car.

 

[Ali]

Mk1's are light and nimble. The 172 is more grown up! I'd hardly say mine handles bad. But my williams is....Well better lol (When the fucker goes)

 

[Patrick1964]

Also may be worth mentioning that the previous owner of your car may have fitted coilovers or something, throwing the standard parts back on to trade it in. You may be well advised to get the whole suspension geometry checked rather than just the tracking. There are plenty of places that can do this for you, it's not too expensive and at least you'd know the car was set up as it should be.

 

[Renaults_rock]

cos its a clio, get a golf GTI init

 

[172cupwizard]

fpmsl! just get a cup!

 

[D_Harrison_172]

Also may be worth mentioning that the previous owner of your car may have fitted coilovers or something, throwing the standard parts back on to trade it in. You may be well advised to get the whole suspension geometry checked rather than just the tracking. There are plenty of places that can do this for you, it's not too expensive and at least you'd know the car was set up as it should be.

This is a very good point.