Let's talk stats.

"Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell." (oppisitelock)
09/03/2016 at 16:06 • Filed to: None

A lot of car magazines are good at providing various real world measurements, like in gear acceleration numbers and such. However I’m yet to see one quote cruising rpm. For example the rpm the engine is at while cruising at 70mph. Especially on smaller engined cars or cars with shorter gearing that figure can tell you how noisy theyre going to be at normal motorway speeds. Just a thought.

DISCUSSION (15)

jariten1781 > Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell.
09/03/2016 at 16:12

They usually give a dB at idle and XX mph for that.

TheTurbochargedSquirrel > Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell.
09/03/2016 at 16:14

In my Dad’s BRZ 70mph is 3000RPM. In my Mini it is about 3,600RPM. Driving my Mini on the highway for long periods of time is a bit annoying.

Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. > jariten1781
09/03/2016 at 16:15

Thats pretty helpful but I think the rpm figure would be good too. It’s not just noise but high rpm will affect how smooth the drive is, fuel economy etc.

Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. > TheTurbochargedSquirrel
09/03/2016 at 16:17

Yeah at the speeds I cruise in my Twingo I can crest 4000rpm (80mph) which gets pretty tiring on longer drives. Luckily the sound deadening is good to dampen it down a bit.

Danger Ranger XLT > Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell.
09/03/2016 at 16:19

Some classic car magazines quote cruising rpm! It always struck me as the type of real world info a potential classic buyer would want to know, especially with affordable stuff, as it gives you an idea of what it would be like living with a daily driver classic on todays highways.

They will sometimes quote it on things like $2 million Voisins and aero-engined specials from the early 1900s which, while cool, is somewhat less helpful...

Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. > Danger Ranger XLT
09/03/2016 at 16:23

Ah so some actually do it, pretty neat. Definitely would be most helpful on older classics, particularly ones that are 3 or 4 speed only.

I have to admit getting DD relevant stats on rare classics does seem interesting for some odd reason.

Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies > Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell.
09/03/2016 at 16:29

My FiST is around 2800 at 70mph. It’s relatively quiet as long as the throttle doesn’t bounce around too much and open the sound valve thing.

Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. > Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies
09/03/2016 at 16:32

Is there no way to disable the sound thingy (technical term) for higher speed cruising?

Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies > Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell.
09/03/2016 at 16:38

You can plug it, but it disables it altogether. Unless you are travelling for hours at a time, it’s not that annoying.

Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. > Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies
09/03/2016 at 16:39

Ah fair enough, thought it might have an on/off function like exhaust butterfly valves or similar.

Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies > Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell.
09/03/2016 at 16:41

It kind of does, but it’s mechanical, not electric.

Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. > Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies
09/03/2016 at 16:50

Ah I see.

Laurence > Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell.
09/03/2016 at 17:19

This is actually a good point, and it’s something you don’t really appriciate until you’ve spent some time driving in a car that’s noisy at highway speeds

(For reference, my mini only has 4 pretty short gears, and feels like it’s going a lot faster than it is, so normal motorway speeds end up being so loud and shaky that you have to shout over all the noise)

jdrgoat - Ponticrack? > Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell.
09/03/2016 at 17:54

It’s either C&D or R&T (I always get them confised), that from what I remember has always had “top gear revs at 60mph” as a stat, maybe both mags. Also top gear 30-50 and 50-70mph acceleration.

My Colorado is 2000rpm at 60mph. GTO doesn’t need 2000rpm until after 77mph. My 4 speed Fiero is the shortest now, with 70mph around 3000rpm.

Dusty Ventures > Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell.
09/03/2016 at 19:06

The issue I see with cruising RPM is that there’s such a variation in redlines. Especially when you factor in diesels, which usually rev out around 4,000 RPM. For what it’s worth, I have seen publications give an decibel level at 70 mph cruise, which is arguably more valuable as that’s both engine noise and wind noise, and also reflect the quality of a car’s sound deadening.