'normal' lumpy idle

[david1987]

Good afternoon.

Im just wondering if anyone can shed some light on the lumpy idling of the 172/182's.

I recently bought a 182, which had lumpy idle but drives 100% spot on. a lot of research later and a lot of people telling me so, i concluded this was normal.

However, surely renault wouldnt have sold the cars brand new with a lumpy idle? People would be put off streight away if they went into a dealership to purchase a brand spanking new car, and it idled lumpy before even leaving the showroom.

And if they didnt do it from new, surely it can be fixed/stopped? Anyone knows what causes it? It just seems odd that its normal for such a modern car to have a lumpy idle.

 

[The Chubby Pirate]

Its just a trait - and not a very big deal??

 

[david1987]

Its just a trait - and not a very big deal??

So even when they wete brand new they would idle lumpy?

 

[DrR]

I never even noticed it tbh, until people mentioned it on here, just seems like a normal characteristic of a highish Reving n/a engine to me.

 

[DaveDreads]

It's a quick little French tin bucket with some character and thank God tbh,
it wouldn't be as much fun if it was a soulless VW or Audi that felt quite numb to drive,
albeit very smooth and comfortable.

I have noticed that when the lumpy idle gets worse on mine,
it needs an oil change, after that it's hardly noticeable.

 

[david1987]

Agreed. you certainly cant fault them in the character and fun stakes. im not saying the lumpy idle is a problem or that it bothers me in the slightest, i was jusr curious as to 'why' it does. Or is it just simply because its in such a high state of tune from the factory.

 

[The Chubby Pirate]

You'll notice they all have a 'smell' aswell - its like a musk that cannot be masked by any air freshener!

All four of mine have been the same!

 

[DaveDreads]

An Fastchip 98ron map improves the lumpiness a fair bit,
as far as I know the lumpy idle is down to the cams and the way it's timed.

The F4R block started life as a 1.8, so it's in a high state of tune even before you start fiddling with it,
that's why it cost a bloody fortune to squeeze any more power out of it.

 

[Andy93]

As Dave said, the fastchip map masks it slightly as it raises the idle speed by about 200rpm iirc. Get the map done, it transforms the car altogether.

The lumpiness is cool anyway!

 

[david1987]

As Dave said, the fastchip map masks it slightly as it raises the idle speed by about 200rpm iirc. Get the map done, it transforms the car altogether.

The lumpiness is cool anyway!

how much is the map and were abouts do you get it done?

 

[DaveDreads]

£200 quid would buy you the unit and the correct map for your car,
you do it yourself with a laptop, it sounds scary but in reality it's a piece of piss.

Or there are numerous tuners that'll do it for you for around the same price,
although you won't get a unit to keep, the come in handy for diagnosing fault codes and clearing them off the euc.

http://www.fastchip.nl/index.php?option=com_virtuemart&page=shop.browse&category_id=7&Itemid=26

 

[jakeg]

Related to lumpy idle, after starting cold up for the first 20 seconds of driving the power seems to come and and off when slowly accelerating?

 

[gez 172]

Yes, that's perfectly normal.

My 172 did it and my 200 since new has done exactly the same.

Just enjoy it, makes me think I own a race car for 20 seconds.

Just leave it come off cold start before driving it, it's only 30 seconds, tops.

 

[DaveDreads]

My Fastchip 98ron map has the cold idle at 1100rpm,
then 900/950rpm when it's up to temp.

OEM map is 1000rpm on cold idle and 850rpm when up to temp.

It's only a small change but it makes quite a difference to how it drives when stone cold,
gets rid of the jerky power delivery it has as standard.

 

[n2x]

my idle jumped from 600rpm-2100rpm usually depending on what mood the flamer was in. In rare cases it went nuts and started revving randomly from 1k-6k rpm and breaking with the engine was out of the question at that point.

Oh, those were the days.

 

[DaveDreads]

Mine revs itself from 900-2000rpm when it's cold, but it only lasts a minute or two when you first set off,
if you leave it for a few minutes before driving it doesn't do it at all.

 

[AlexW]

I dont know how bad yours is, but after changing spark plugs I noticed it was a lot smoother (Friends 182).

 

[DaveDreads]

That's a good point, i've been using the same plugs for the past 5 years.

 

[mike74]

I've been a bit worried about the lumpy idle and over-revving on my 182 since I got it... glad to hear it's just a 'feature' now I can relax and enjoy it as I think it actually adds to the character and personality of the car!

 

[I_scoff_cake]

I never even noticed it tbh, until people mentioned it on here, just seems like a normal characteristic of a highish Reving n/a engine to me.

There's probably a fair amount of valve overlap at idle. It's not really a very highly tuned engine but it has a fatter set of cams than a normal run about.

 

[Moseley]

Get a set of aggressive cams in there and a lightened flywheel - that'll give you more lumpiness than school canteen gravy!