Driving 1.7 faster for the 1st time...WTF!

[russv]

The puma feels fast in some places and slow in others though. For example:
- On a wide empty road, it feels pretty slow, its ok, but it doesn't really feel fast. But thats ok, speed isn't everything, if you accelerate from 0-60 in 3 seconds, you only get to enjoy the experience for 3 or so seconds before you're breaking the speed limit. So while the puma may take 8-9secs, it may not be very fast, but its still enjoyable (I think I'd prefer about 6.5-7.5s 0-60 though, and more torque, FRP is closer to ideal imo!).

- On a twisty B road it can be very fast, because most fast cars are limited by their handling, and the puma has some of the best handling. A car with 500hp can't really use all that power there, so the Puma can perform almost on par with them, maybe even better in some cases. But just hope that they're aren't many straights ;D

You see it on the track too, puma catches up on the corners, falls back on the straights, over and over again. So for me, the puma is a very fast car, and its also a fairly slow car, depending where it is.

 

[Thunderpuma]

The puma feels fast in some places and slow in others though. For example:
- On a wide empty road, it feels pretty slow, its ok, but it doesn't really feel fast. But thats ok, speed isn't everything, if you accelerate from 0-60 in 3 seconds, you only get to enjoy the experience for 3 or so seconds before you're breaking the speed limit. So while the puma may take 8-9secs, it may not be very fast, but its still enjoyable (I think I'd prefer about 6.5-7.5s 0-60 though, and more torque, FRP is closer to ideal imo!).

- On a twisty B road it can be very fast, because most fast cars are limited by their handling, and the puma has some of the best handling. A car with 500hp can't really use all that power there, so the Puma can perform almost on par with them, maybe even better in some cases. But just hope that they're aren't many straights ;D

You see it on the track too, puma catches up on the corners, falls back on the straights, over and over again. So for me, the puma is a very fast car, and its also a fairly slow car, depending where it is.

But the adrenaline rush resulting from a 0-60 in 3 seconds keeps the rider happy for the rest of the day. Althought it also causes tolerance so the brain does not react to lesser stimuli.

 

[oilburner]

My Honda SP-1 will muller pretty much anything this side of a crazy supercar and I've yet to drive a car that gives the same feeling

 

[yippeekiay]

SP-1 = Awesomeness :thumbs:

 

[Frank]

I feel bad now.

Perhaps you should.

The guy is just rejoicing at driving a faster car than his previous ones. I see no need for any 'raining on his parade'.

My five and a half 2 stroke Suzuki also used to shift pretty quick. But so what? So does a dragster or a space rocket.

 

[PaulQ]

So what do they red line at?

5,500 for the 1.4
6,000 for the 1.6
6,300 for the 1.7
7,000 for the frp1.7

 

[Thunderpuma]

So what do they red line at?

5,500 for the 1.4
6,000 for the 1.6
6,300 for the 1.7
7,000 for the frp1.7

That's the speed for maximum power. The redline for the 1.7 is 6750. 6450 for the 1.6. They reach a maximum engine speed of 6875 for the 1.7 and 6675 for the 1.6. Ignition stops above that.

 

[gingerdave]

The 1.7 sounds very nice above 6 k rpm.But no way can you describe it as fast.Its just a nice balance of performance tactile steering and front end grip.My little Exige feels the same but the performance is in another league 0 -100 in under 9 seconds with a noise from the MP 90 blower that hurts your ears.I enjoy them both...

 

[Thunderpuma]

The 1.7 sounds very nice above 6 k rpm.But no way can you describe it as fast.Its just a nice balance of performance tactile steering and front end grip.My little Exige feels the same but the performance is in another league 0 -100 in under 9 seconds with a noise from the MP 90 blower that hurts your ears.I enjoy them both...

Which engine does the exige have?

 

[gingerdave]

1.8 Toyota lump with an MP 90 supercharger.Makes a very reliable 250 bhp at the hubs.Had it done in 2007 by a Swiss tuning company called Bemani.Its been totally reliable for about 25k miles.Done about 35 track days and a few long runs in Europe.The engines are OK to about 300 bhp .After that they really need uprated valve springs,pistons and oilpump.Think there was a race series in Germany where they were running up to 400 bhp.weakest part of the car is the gearbox which strip 3rd 4th gear mine has been OK but I'm sure it will brake soon.Only down side is fuel consumption.Its hard to get 30mpg on the road and on track does about 10 mpg.They really are special little cars.Should really sell it as I'm 73 now and its OK getting in but not so easy getting out.They do need a lot of concentration to get the most out of them which gets harder as you get older.

 

[moondustka]

I hope when I'm 73, I'm still into cars, racing around and doing track days.

:thumbs:

 

[Tommy_Puma]

Ha, love the excitement from a few people in this thread, I too enjoy the power from the puma, I wouldn't say it pulls like a train, or feels like you have been rear ended by a HGV like... But VVT does seem to work very well, I was shocked how well it can pull on the motorway for an NA. No where near as much of a pull as my RS, but for such a little car, this engine is great. This puma is gonna take some beating when it comes to my next cheap runaround. May even keep it a few years if the rust doesnt get it first haha

 

[Sylvester]

My topic has reached 1000+ views, I'm so proud

A bit update:

Timing belt set change was done. I pushed to the RPM limiter a few times, to test it, if they had messed it up at the garage, but looks good. Unfortunatelly the WHOOOOOOOS sound has gone Now, above 4.5k only the BRUUUUUMMMMMM comes from the engine, which still really good, but I miss the "turbo sound"... :-(

Oil filter was rusty, previous owners didn't care much, but now oil change done as well.
The coolant hose was leaking, got another another one, thanks to IanG. But when I took it of the hose, I saw the problem wasn't with the hose, but the pink deposite all around it!Cleaned it, put the other hose back, just in case, with screw-type clamps. The problem is, the coolant is still leaking....

I tightened the screw clamp around the hose on the engine side, as much and as strong as I could, but still leaks the coolant. Even more then before. 1 day I lose from max to min level. I have to carry the coolant bottle with me. Tonight I screwed that clamp to the very max I could, hopefully won't damage the hose itself and in the morning I will inspect it. If still leaks from somewhere, I have to visit the garage...again.

Apart from this, I like the sexy beast even more, still floats like a butterfly and stings like a bee, tough due afternoon shifts, can't really push it with that much traffic around - but from next week I get the 5am shift back. Bad to wake up, great for driving!

 

[cubapuma]

Have to say that one of my favorite things is zooming into little gaps in the traffic in town. Pumas are rated to do 0 to 30 in 3 secs which is quite handy if you need to get out of a junction in a hurry!
I am not too bothered about top end speed as I live in London and there are speed cameras on most of the roads and especially motorways round here so have to stay legal and don't want too many temptations to do otherwise!

I love the whole package and after having a Puma for 6 of so years it still raises a smile when I see it's fab curves waiting for me across a car park!

 

[tractorboy]

I just came back from a night drive, I was trying to high rev the engine a few times, to test the new cambelt.

Tell me to sod off if I'm teaching your granny to suck eggs, but did you pull the tensioner locking pin out in two stages? Just asking because my Son's belt jumped because it wasn't done right and I found mine was wrong too.

Bob

 

[Sylvester]

I just came back from a night drive, I was trying to high rev the engine a few times, to test the new cambelt.

Tell me to sod off if I'm teaching your granny to suck eggs, but did you pull the tensioner locking pin out in two stages? Just asking because my Son's belt jumped because it wasn't done right and I found mine was wrong too.

Bob

It was done by a garage, but if you make a topic and ask this question, you will get the answer soon. ProjectPuma guys are good at this stuff.

 

[Sylvester]

Have to say that one of my favorite things is zooming into little gaps in the traffic in town. Pumas are rated to do 0 to 30 in 3 secs which is quite handy if you need to get out of a junction in a hurry!
I am not too bothered about top end speed as I live in London and there are speed cameras on most of the roads and especially motorways round here so have to stay legal and don't want too many temptations to do otherwise!

I love the whole package and after having a Puma for 6 of so years it still raises a smile when I see it's fab curves waiting for me across a car park!

Puma is love. Puma is life.