How much vibration is normal?

R

rc968

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Fellow Frogger
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Aug 10, 2003
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148
Location
NSW
Ever since my car ('02 Clio 25,000km) came back from repairs, I felt that there has been increased vibration, or maybe I was just too sensitive and haven't driven my car for 2 weeks.

Now that when the car is going, or revving highishly (2-3k rpm and higher), when I put my hand ont he gear know, it feels like holding onto a vibrat&r, just weaker, but definetly strong enough to make your hand go kind of numb after a few minutes of driving. Plus that the floor (footrest, clutch etc) also vibrates.

Since now I "know" and "feel" it, my arms and legs feel funny after driving for a while, and it's driving me :mad:

It's not bad wheel balance because it also happens as the car is standing still, just revving.

Is there something wrong? Or is it just me?
 
Get it checked out by the dealer. Engine mounts could be loose perhaps, or something else, .. gearbox mounts?
 
No, it wasn;t in a accident. There was engine misfire problems.
I'll get it checked out then.
 
On good authority from my Blonde neighbour, the amount of vibration is directly related to the state of the batteries.
roll_lau whistle mallet whip whistle
 
I would get that looked at! If it had misfire problems, it may have a faulty computer or something that is making the engine run harsh ie wrong advance and/or mixture, both of which are not good for ling term survival of the engine.
 
I hope it's simply a mounts getting slightly loose, may be related to the huge pothole I went over.

But I was thinking about what Haakon suggested on the way home. My car did have a new computer and updated software put in last time.

Here's the part I'm not so sure about:
(May or may not be related to the car vibrating)

I know roughly how things work in relation to EFI/ECU, engine combustion, and petrol octane levels.

My quetion is, for newer cars, to what extent does EFI/ECU programming determines the level of octane the car runs best at? Or is it determined mostly by physical design (compression ratio) etc?

IF a car IS designed to run at RON 91, and RON 98 petrol is used, while it may or may not produce extra power, is it possible that the engine is running slightly off calibration, and producing vibrations etc??

On the other hand, what happens if a car designed to run at say RON 95/98 and RON 91 is used?

The reason I ask is that the new and original versions of software might be set differently (assuming they used the right software), but shouldn't make much difference when it comes to the petrol used?

I'm going to see the dealer as soon as I get some time off. In the mean time thanks guys for your help.
 
All current Renaults are designed to run with minimum 95, preferably 98 RON. The computers can be set to accept a certain level, but they can also adjust from what I've read.
 
Can someone please confirm that their Clio vibrates as well? Detectable vibration through gear lever/pedels and perhaps floor? Thanks.

Went to have the dealer check out the car today.
Road tested the car with a tech and he said that yes there is a bit of vibration on gear lever and clutch pedel. 3 hours later they said that all check out OK and the car has vibrations no different to new ones. So I suppose I was being too sensitive ?...

They said that Renault uses a bigger, more solid linkage between gear lever to gearbox, thus transferring more vibes through. Plus as the "more vibration with age".

While I was waiting I test drove the Clio Sport...
Definetly a much faster car, with a firmer suspension. NICE....
 
rc, when I test drove a 45,000 km old '02 Clio, the first thing I noticed was the amount of driveline shunt detectable through the gear lever; I posted about it on here. It was so bad that it was difficult to drive off smoothly at first. Although this is different to vibration, I think both might be symptomatic of the design of the drivetrain and mounts as suggested by the mechanics.

Stuey
 
Hi Stuey,

Thanks for the pointer to the driveline shunt post. Interesting read. My Clio has surface rust on some mounting bolts in the engine bay, plus what the NRMA tech reckons is the acid/hydrogen spewed from the battery. Perhaps that was the cause of the corrosions?? I should have mine cleaned up to reduce premature wear then.

Gearstick movement, on mine it moves to I would say is normal...

But the vibrations, I understand as engine is running there will be vibrations, just don't know to what extent is considered normal.

Perhaps like Craig mentioned that Clios may have a tendency for engine mounts to slowly come loose. Or perhaps just the nature of the design.

Ps. My Clio was the first batch of the 1.4s in 2002, had no "Renault" badge on the back, only "Clio". Newer batches does have Renault wording however.
 
It is an issue with MkII Clio Sports to have engine mounts coming loose (ie of current shape, not the first 85). There though you have a different engine and obviously a lot more power/torque.

No new Renault Clio in Europe has the "RENAULT" badge. Maybe its an Australian thing to have them added back on because the marque , while growing, is still not so big in Australia.

It was a decision by Renault to use only the badge on all new cars (all models), just like Mercedes and many other marques do not write the name anymore.
 
Craig
[QB]It is an issue with MkII Clio Sports to have engine mounts coming loose (ie of current shape, not the first 85). There though you have a different engine and obviously a lot more power/torque.

No new Renault Clio in Europe has the "RENAULT" badge. Maybe its an Australian thing to have them added back on because the marque , while growing, is still not so big in Australia.

QB]
Click to expand...
Do you mean a lot less power?
(mine is 1.4..compared to Clio sport...)

I remember in the first few months of driving the Clio, people would say "nice car, what is it?", so obviously they didn't know the Reno diamond logo.

Also I had 3 Clio drivers waved at me on the road...
 
Erm, I meant the Clio Sport has a lot more power...
 
hey rc968, did you ever follow this up? just curious as to what the dealer had to say.
 
Yes I did have the dealer look at it.

Basically a tech road tested the car with me and agreed that the car did have vibrations felt through gearlever and clutch, and will have a closer look. However, 3 hours later they said that "the car has vibrations no different to new cars", and everything else were checked and OK. they also suggested wear and tear, as car gets older vibrations increases..(but at 24,000kms??)

I am not 100% convinced though...see how it goes till next service.

I know the vibration does exist even with new Clios, but certainly to a lesser degree, basically undetectable.
 
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