'lurching' when changing up?

[AlexRogers]

I'm getting a lurch forward sometimes when I am slowly accelerating and dipping the clutch to change up. A lot of whirring and gear train noise too in general.

I also get a slight 'tapping' noise when coming on or off the throttle. Any ideas anyone? Gearbox knackered? Back to Renault on Monday me thinks.

 

[Willis]

All normal behaviour by the sounds of it. Watch out for crunches going into gears but chattering noises when you're letting off the throttle are nothing to worry about, just the gearset moving about under the change of load. The jerking is a typical low rev characteristic and can be reduced by being smoother on the clutch.

I think a lot of people get unduly worried as soon as they hear any sort of mechanical noise from the drivetrain due to the reputation these have for blowing gearboxes. Plenty of cars make similar noises, but people think nothing of it or can't hear it due to thicker sound insulation in the cabins etc..

 

[AlexRogers]

It's very very whiney when off the throttle. Definitely shouldn't be as noisy as it is!

 

[Willis]

Try and get a video of it if you can mate. They do make quirky little noises though these.

 

[PaulV]

lurching in 1st and second coming on an off the throttle is a problem i have. I think its just the piss poor throttle response to small movements of the accelerator pedal. By whiney do you mean the timing belt? My timing belt is whiney compared to previous C2 VTS which was pretty silent. My exhaust heatshield rattles/ taps on overrun so that could be the tapping. Also the drive shafts/transmission are noisy on overrun too but i guess that's because the 197 Cup is made out of old baked bean cans, gaffer tape and old renault tractor parts. I got every symptom mentioned on this site including the 'unknown noise' paranoia, the 'empty wallet' syndrome, the 'intimate relationship' with Renault Garage with a sense of humour, and the the oh fuck I'm only getting 20mpg and still being overtaken by Priuses

 

[LOCKE]

lurching in 1st and second coming on an off the throttle is a problem i have. I think its just the piss poor throttle response to small movements of the accelerator pedal. By whiney do you mean the timing belt? My timing belt is whiney compared to previous C2 VTS which was pretty silent. My exhaust heatshield rattles/ taps on overrun so that could be the tapping. Also the drive shafts/transmission are noisy on overrun too but i guess that's because the 197 Cup is made out of old baked bean cans, gaffer tape and old renault tractor parts. I got every symptom mentioned on this site including the 'unknown noise' paranoia, the 'empty wallet' syndrome, the 'intimate relationship' with Renault Garage with a sense of humour, and the the oh fuck I'm only getting 20mpg and still being overtaken by Priuses

And the negatives of owning a Renault would be.........

 

[sevenfourate]

lurching in 1st and second coming on an off the throttle is a problem i have. I think its just the piss poor throttle response to small movements of the accelerator pedal. By whiney do you mean the timing belt? My timing belt is whiney compared to previous C2 VTS which was pretty silent. My exhaust heatshield rattles/ taps on overrun so that could be the tapping. Also the drive shafts/transmission are noisy on overrun too but i guess that's because the 197 Cup is made out of old baked bean cans, gaffer tape and old renault tractor parts. I got every symptom mentioned on this site including the 'unknown noise' paranoia, the 'empty wallet' syndrome, the 'intimate relationship' with Renault Garage with a sense of humour, and the the oh fuck I'm only getting 20mpg and still being overtaken by Priuses

You Sir perhaps own what is known as a Lemon. Or indeed perhaps ownership of an RS Clio is akin to comparing ownership of a Ducati as opposed to a Japanese crotch-rocket. The Ducati (I speak from experience) needing more of a rounded and hands on day-to-day fettling approach to keep tip-top and cant be left untouched for the stipulated 10'000 miles between service a-la fore-mention Honda Fireblade. Not without falling apart anyway. The' price' of a specialist car (?)

Touch wood; i'm pretty much completely rattle free, have only really experienced blowing manifold flexi's in terms of typical RS Clio faults, and other than that i have had zero mechanical issues: last time i looked at the trip it was over 37 mpg (I had driven like a girl for 500 miles previous i fully admit) and other than having a brake service every 6 months regardless as preventative medicine - its been barely more expensive than anything else i've owned in terms of running costs.

I have had a remap i admit - and i'll fully agree the standard cold / low speed mapping is quite the most appalling fuelling on a car that i've ever had the misfortune to experience. If mapping didn't improve this by 300% - which it did - i wouldnt have owned mine long either. My enjoyment of that was zero. And my distain extremely high ! Good news is Renaults over exuberance in regard of getting around emission laws is easily sorted these days hence.

Having owned a succession of various warm / luke-warm / hot French tin-tops; i'd even stretch my neck out and go as far as to say this (Mine ?) is actually quite a solid feeling car for something derived from so much plastic, aluminium and other materials more akin to making a decorative window display from....

Is that such an alien statement around here ?

Good luck

 

[LOCKE]

My self certified mechanics apprentiship has been time served with 7 years of Renault ownership!

 

[PaulV]

Aw my 197 is great, really. Not a lemon. It does run well when I commit to it ( revving it out, keeping it in the right gear and losing all hearing in the process!). Handles very well and the harder the you push it the better it gets. Has taken about 9 months since purchase to get rid of all the rattles and has cost a small fortune to replace all the broken and worn out components ( so much for a FSH and an MOT!) so have only recently got to the point where I can hoon it with total confidence, (hence 20mpg on winter tyres!). Cup suspension is a little too harsh for the roads here in Lithuania, so am looking forward to coming home to the UK in the summer to fully road test and remap.

 

[CallorFold]

Most experiences here sound pretty normal, I think these cars just take a bit of a knack to drive. As has been said the throttle isn't the most linear or responsive, especially at the very top of the pedal travel - I think that's down to the drive by wire system. Things are generally much smoother when your're on a bit of a hoon and keeping the revs above 3K

As has been said unless the gearbox is crunching it's way through the gears I doubt there's much to worry about.

Lurching can be somewhat resolved with the powerflex torque arm if you dont already have it fitted (circa ~£30 and easy enough to do yourself).

 

[Doogle]

I find the same as above, changing gear at 2k in the lower gears was not productive, take it to 2.5k and it feels happier changing, cant say why.

 

[Antti O]

@PaulV
I live in Finland and we have such bad road networks. That is the reason why i sold my gordini 200 with cup package.
It was just too uncomfortable for me.
Now i have clio 197 which is full fat standard suspension and it is much better for my driving.
Many people say cup is only way with these cars, but it depends location you are driving.

 

[PaulV]

Yeah, when I was looking to buy an RS I settled on the 197 Cup over the 200 Cup because various reports on internet were saying that its suspension is 17% less stiffer/harsher than the 200 Cup suspension ( though could be wrong, fake news and all that!) and frankly the 197 was already on the limit of what my ass and bones could handle on the reasonably good UK roads. Think you're right about the Cup suspension on the 197 as it isn't really that fast unless you absolutely rag the living daylights out of it and wear yourself out in the process. What I mean is that you just cannot exploit the potential of the car on rough roads or around town. Of all the cars I have owned the Fiat Coupe 20V Turbo was quickest and its 5 pot sounded the best, the Saxo VTS was the most fun to drive, and the C2 VTS was the best handling. The 197 is a compromise between all these cars having good speed, good handling and sounding nice when on cam but it doesn't really excel in any one area, except needing to be repaired with monotonous regularity