engine temperature gauge

So picked up my new clio rs 3 today, I noticed that the engine temperature gauge never reaches half way, and fluctuates between the first notch above cold and the second, if I drive it more aggressively it goes down, if I am in traffic or just ticking over it gets to the second dash, is this a problem with temperature sensors? Radiator liquid? Clogged somewhere? As I am new to the brilliant engines in these cars I would like to check it's not an issue, any help would be greatly appreciated
 
Pure Motorsport sell a 75degree thermostat.
any benefit in fitting this over the stock 90degree?
 
I really don't know why people fit a higher temp thermostat. I've read about it a few times but no justification apart from the 'I want to see the temp needle sitting in the middle'. Surely Renault fitted a low temp thermostat (in comparison to 182) for a reason? More compact engine bay than its predecessor, tuned engine, higher temperatures? I know that Cosworth who is a highly respectable tuner fit a lower temp thermostat with their first stage upgrade on the FA20 platform. According to their webiste ''Stage 1.0 provides a high flow panel air filter, low temperature thermostat and custom Cosworth ECU calibration... '' so I guess there are benefits when running cooler?
 
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Hi everyone, any follow-up on the previous posts? My temperature gauge rests a slight bit above the first line/mark. I’m new to Renaults but to me this screams thermostat replacement as I feel the needle should be resting right in
The middle. Any insight on this?
 
Hi everyone, any follow-up on the previous posts? My temperature gauge rests a slight bit above the first line/mark. I’m new to Renaults but to me this screams thermostat replacement as I feel the needle should be resting right in
The middle. Any insight on this?
Hi fella, yeah thermostats are common to go on these. It's a simple job to replace but make sure you buy a genuine thermostat as the standard ones are rated slightly higher than the original part (can't recall the correct figures).


Genuine Renault part number 8200772994

As I mentioned above - easy to do if you're familiar with a spanner, takes ~30 mintues including topping it back up and bleeding.

Make sure you have some coolant to top it back up with. Probably a decent time to do a coolant flush/change too. :smile:
 
Oh wowsa- that’s hella easy. You weren’t kidding. Just watched a video on YouTube. I’d be willing to do it myself for sure.

Although, its safe to say I need to replace the t-stat, then? Do all temperature gauges on Clios face straight up like all the other cars?