Sound and Revs

May be a strange question but I've had Puma Baby 3 months now and absolutely love her to bits .....have done a fair amount of miles for me approx 1500 and I'm starting to notice things more now I'm used to the drive. One thing is how noisy it is driving her, cant really describe but changes depending on the road surface .... a lot more noisy than my old Laguna, is this normal ?? What should a Puma sound like ??

Also, what revs should I expect when driving in traffic at 30 mph or on motorways at 70 or a bit more

Yup, sounds like a strange question haha. Can't answer you properly on the noise of the engine, but mine gets a bit of grunt.

As for the rev's - that depends on what gear you're driving it in! Always do 5th gear at 30MPH, especially in a Petrol Engine and the rev's are usually around 1500RPM. At 70, I've found mine sits at about 3200RPM and the two mentioned speeds added together at around 5000RPM.

Thanks for replying , haha I do ask strange questions every now and then

The revs you mentioned sound about the same as mine at 70mph, need to use 5th more at 30mph though so that eases my mind on that one.

I think the noise is probably normal as its quite a growly sound not a car in pain sound lol ...... think I've only really noticed it recently because of the miles I'm doing and that made me worry a little I guess.

My projectpuma stickers are looking good in silver ... havent seen any more pumas with them on round here yet but you never know, will keep watching lol

My driving instructor drummed it in to me and made me drive in 5th as much as possible to the point where you have to change down.

You may find the noise alters on the type of tread or amount of tread left on your tyres as you said it changes depending on road surface. I have found that compared to newer cars - the Puma isn't well insulated against road noise, and the (stock) speakers in the car don't do that great of a job. If you think the noise is coming when you put your foot down, and not road surface changes, but sounds too deep it may be worth checking the exhust system as that could be blowing, but I doubt that as it's quite recognisable

Looks like before now you've owned large family saloons which have more sound deadening in them. Wouldn't worry about it if it changes with road surface. As phil said, different tyres are noisier than others. Fuel saver tyres are hard as hell and noisy as f**k.

Thanks guys, feel better now. Not my exhaust as I've had that go before and recognise that horrid sound. Will get used to it I'm sure as no way am I going back to quiet boring cars . Think you're right about the tyres as the ride is very hard, especially over road humps ...... and there are lots round here

I used to live in Northern Moor, just outside of Sale (moved about 2 months ago) and the roads around there weren't very good to drive on in the Puma. The ride of the car is naturally quite firm anyway, plus you sit lower in it than you would with say a laguna so it's bound to feel and sound different anyway just on that front.

Enjoy 8)

Hi, might I suggest that even in Manc the weather has been warm enough to drive with the window down now, so you can hear the tyres on the road more. There can be a real change from one surface to another, believe me you really hear it in a Micra (thin plastic arch liners).
You might also like the induction noise more if you let the reasonator box "fall out" of the airbox if you are running standard there.

Thanks, It has been warm enough but I must admit I havent done that but I will do tomorrow

As for the last bit I'm afraid thats all greek to me ..... you need to explain in simple terms for me lol I've only just mastered topping the fluids up and had to read the manual to find out how to make my wipers go fast

Oh, and while I'm asking daft questions can any of you tell me what the two rods with round things on the ends are that clip into a holder on each side on the inside of my boot ???

Rear seat release.

Why would you drive around in 5th gear?? It MAY save a tiny amount of fuel but will put quite a bit more strain on the clutch / gearbox especially if you try to put your foot to the floor...

I'll mainly do 3rd / 4th at 30, my reasoning is that if I need to get out of a situation fast and put my foot down in 3rd it'll go, try that in 5th and you'll be sitting there for a few minutes.....!

If your driving instructor told you to use 5th as much as possible im surprised! I was always told drive in the right gear for the speed....

If I need to get out of a situ I'll tend to change down. 1.2s yes you would strain to get away in 5th, been there done it many times. However I find 5th picks up really well in my 1.7 from 20 mph without hammering the throttle. You're more likely to strain the engine for driving at a higher rev when you can comfortably drive around in a higher gear to reduce the strain of the engine.

Each to their own I guess on driving style. I tend to plan ahead and drive in as high gear as the car will let me for the speed I am going. I'd like to think I'm young enough to allow my reactions to adapt to changing conditions

Sue, you think yours is bad you can borrow Bee some time- You'll need some ear defenders hehehehehe.

And our roads are worse then abd they are diabiolical- be better off with dam rally suspension on soft settings

haha thanks Scott, someone suggested letting a bit of air out of the tyres to make it a softer ride as I have them as per the handbook lol

Just cant understand why its taken me this long to notice lol

I notice changes in noise and associate it with changing road surfaces.

As for driving at 30mph in 5th gear, will your ex driving instructor pay for a gearbox rebuild when you bend the selector rods in your gearbox? as above be in the right gear to get out of any situation, thats why the Puma sits nicely at 30mph in 3rd gear, but takes off like a scalded Kat if required, changing down from 5th to 3rd may be the difference between saving yourself and your car.............or a lot worse.

Now you have passed your test you must learn to drive

Can't see any problem with driving at 30mph in 5th whatsoever. The car can do it without any problems, mine doesn't struggle, baulk or strain to do it, quite the opposite.
Most roads I drive on locally are 30mph and with everyone else doing 30 I can't see why I would want to keep it in 3rd or 4th for miles and miles having the engine at higher revs than is necessary and wasting fuel when my speed won't be varying more than a couple of mph up or down for prolongued periods.
Yes, if I need to slow down or want to speed speed up in a hurry then I can change gear but if I'm merrily on my way, in moderate traffic then the need for a lower gear is redundant as I'm not going to get anywhere any quicker. If the speed limit changes then it's not going to damage the car accelerating with the traffic flow normally in 5th whatsover.

Can't see what situations would warrant having to suddenly stomp on the accelerator to get out of the way of an incident (whatever that may be) - if you have enough time to think you could avoid it by accelerating chances are you will have even more time and space to come to a halt by stomping on the brake.

Dunno how many people see an accident about to happen and automatically floor the accelerator :?

pumapilot said:

As for driving at 30mph in 5th gear, will your ex driving instructor pay for a gearbox rebuild when you bend the selector rods in your gearbox? as above be in the right gear to get out of any situation, thats why the Puma sits nicely at 30mph in 3rd gear, but takes off like a scalded Kat if required, changing down from 5th to 3rd may be the difference between saving yourself and your car.............or a lot worse.

Now you have passed your test you must learn to drive

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yippeekiay said:

Can't see any problem with driving at 30mph in 5th whatsoever. The car can do it without any problems, mine doesn't struggle, baulk or strain to do it, quite the opposite.
Most roads I drive on locally are 30mph and with everyone else doing 30 I can't see why I would want to keep it in 3rd or 4th for miles and miles having the engine at higher revs than is necessary and wasting fuel when my speed won't be varying more than a couple of mph up or down for prolongued periods.
Yes, if I need to slow down or want to speed speed up in a hurry then I can change gear but if I'm merrily on my way, in moderate traffic then the need for a lower gear is redundant as I'm not going to get anywhere any quicker. If the speed limit changes then it's not going to damage the car accelerating with the traffic flow normally in 5th whatsover.

Can't see what situations would warrant having to suddenly stomp on the accelerator to get out of the way of an incident (whatever that may be) - if you have enough time to think you could avoid it by accelerating chances are you will have even more time and space to come to a halt by stomping on the brake.

Dunno how many people see an accident about to happen and automatically floor the accelerator:?

Click to expand...

Yippie, Thanks for agreeing.

I've had 5 years driving experience and passed first time driving to this exact method and never had a problem with the gear box or big end bearings, I fail to see the problem. Eco driving styles say to get to the highest gear you can as quick as you as long as the car can cope with it. I go through all the gears and work up to 5th. Sometimes I go from sitting at a traffic light in a 40mph - by this logic you would have me in 3rd/4th for that? I always get to 5th and leave it there, anything under 30mph I tend to leave it in a lower gear yes ... for the puma

What I should have pointed out is that in the 1.7 engine I would do 30mph in 5th (typically) because I know its responsive to a feathers touch on the accelerator should I need to increase my speed (within reason i.e. town driving). I also own a 1.2ltr Grande Punto and yes there are times when doing long stretches of 30 I tend to slip to 5th, but for speed control - as per advanced driver techniques a lower gear (such as 3rd/4th) should and is used in that particular car.

As Yippie's also pointed out, Puma's happily go at 30mph when you press the accelerator when in 5th.

I take on board what you say about being responsive, but as I said earlier, I like to think I'm young enough to be able to recognise the situation and react accordingly - whether that be e.stop or accelerate out (by gear change). There are also different situations when 5th gear is not appropriate at 30mph, for instance - harsh acceleration (standing start/low speed start to national speed limit)

As I said, each to their own. If you wanna drive at 30mph in 3rd, then do so. If you wanna drive at 30mph in 5th then do so. Everyone has their own driving style, its down to the driver to recognise what is best for them and how confident they are at handling the car and their own judgement/experience on the car.

Anyway, I think that's a debate for a seperate topic and not this thread. k:

If I need to really get a move on in 5th I just switch on the NOS and hit the floor then I'm away like a rat up a drain pipe...lol.

What's NOS ??