'10 2.5L 120km/h Cruising RPM

[ehsu]

Sorry if this has been posted before, did a search but didn't find any.

Just picked up my 3 and testing on HW, on 6th gear, i'm noticing the RPM is at 3k, and the noise coming out from the engine is noticeably louder than my auto Matrix '09 cruising RPM at 2.5k at 120km/h. If that normal? Thanks.

[WingZero_]

Well mine revs the same, don't really notice any loud noise.

[Roconne]

Yeah around 3k RPM is what mine is at around 120km/h. Just turn your stereo up louder if it is too noisy :chuckle

My previous car would be at around 3200RPM in 5th gear at the same speed so this was an improvement.

[RECREATIONAL_ANXIETY]

Yep, 3K is right.... but it seems really quiet to me... maybe that's because I'm used to driving a 99 Cavalier Z24 with performance exhaust. Everything seems quiet now.

[taz4432]

If stock at 3k seems loud. Take a ride in my car and you'll never have that complaint again. Hahaha but that seems right. In the previous gen cars (such as mine) we sit at about 3200 or so in 5th @ 120km/h. Really shouldn't be all that loud, especially if you're keeping a fairly constant rpm/speed and not going up and down a lot.

[TokyoKiller]

The 3 (First and Second Gen) tends to have louder cabin noise.

[Darkfrosty7]

yea mine is a 04 and we only have 4 gears... plus my exhaust... its pretty loud

[froggy]

you've got an automatic though, the OP is talking about a 6spd manual, I'm surprised mazda didn't give them a much taller 6th gear. It looks like they're keeping the gears very close together to give the car more pep in and around the city than giving it "cruising gears". In comparision my old VW passat 2.0L 5spd in top gear would do about 120 at about 2500 rpm, my 81 yamaha 550 motorcycle will do 120 at 5300 rpm.

[Honva]

Mazda is certainly building the 2.5L with performance in mind. Usually a bigger engine with have lower final drive ratio but it is the other way round with the Mazda 3. Even for the same 5-speed auto transmission, the 2.0L has lower rpm than the 2.5L at the same speed.

[grex]

3k here at 120...but its not that loud lol

[mazdaskit]

mines around 3K too lol

[Roconne]

you've got an automatic though, the OP is talking about a 6spd manual, I'm surprised mazda didn't give them a much taller 6th gear. It looks like they're keeping the gears very close together to give the car more pep in and around the city than giving it "cruising gears". In comparision my old VW passat 2.0L 5spd in top gear would do about 120 at about 2500 rpm, my 81 yamaha 550 motorcycle will do 120 at 5300 rpm.
Yeah I was really surprised at how close together 5th and 6th are on the 2.5L. It's really only a difference of maybe 200RPM.

[Harbour Rat]

My '08 2.0L/5spd turns 3,000+ rpm@120 km/h too. Engine noise is pretty much inaudible, at least to me. But my last car was a Golf with a 1.6L NA diesel - you wouldn't believe the racket that thing made at 120-140 km/h, like a nuclear jackhammer OD'd on Viagra.

[Turok]

Mine revs about 3Kish when I'm going 120KM in 6th. The cabin noise isn't to bad and I have an 07 MS3

[Trinidad]

I know most of the 2.5's in the thread are referring to the manual but mine is an auto and at 120 km/h it's just a bit above 2500 rpm. It's pretty quiet.

[Elusivellama]

My '07 2.3L runs smoothly at 120km/h, and it is easy to get to 140km/h without realizing it because the engine isn't straining or making very loud noises. I usually cruise at about 110 - 115km/h anyway... you save a little bit more gas and you never know where those cops are hiding. I've seen them in rather creative places that you'd never expect, or never see them until the last moment.

[wormburner]

My 2010 GS 6-spd runs at 3000 in 6th gear. I'd describe the sound as ballsy, rather than loud. But if you are used to the tranquility (read sterility) of Toyota's drivetrains, you might find the 3 to be a bit more spirited. But don't worry. That's just the sound of your soul waking up!

[RECREATIONAL_ANXIETY]

...if you are used to the tranquility (read sterility) of Toyota's drivetrains, you might find the 3 to be a bit more spirited. But don't worry. That's just the sound of your soul waking up!

This sound's like something from a Mazda marketing campaign...lol

[Impressive]

you've got an automatic though, the OP is talking about a 6spd manual, I'm surprised mazda didn't give them a much taller 6th gear. It looks like they're keeping the gears very close together to give the car more pep in and around the city than giving it "cruising gears". In comparision my old VW passat 2.0L 5spd in top gear would do about 120 at about 2500 rpm, my 81 yamaha 550 motorcycle will do 120 at 5300 rpm.


2.0T? I had a 2.0 N.A engine in my Jetta before I had it swapped and it cruised at almost 3800RPM going 120 in 5th....

[dave2010GT]

I'm the same but I put dynamat down under the floor and against the fire wall so I'm really quiet at 120KM/h, when I get around to doing the hood I'm hoping it will be whisper quiet.

As I watch my fuel eceonomy go out the window with all the extra weight in the car :(

[froggy]

2.0T? I had a 2.0 N.A engine in my Jetta before I had it swapped and it cruised at almost 3800RPM going 120 in 5th....
no mine was a normally aspirated engine, they must have had taller gears back them mine was a 92

[sarujo]

Which Dynamats did you use? Expensive? Any pics you can share of your install? (I assume your firewall install was in the engine compartment)

How much weight do they really add?


I'm the same but I put dynamat down under the floor and against the fire wall so I'm really quiet at 120KM/h, when I get around to doing the hood I'm hoping it will be whisper quiet.

As I watch my fuel eceonomy go out the window with all the extra weight in the car :(

[McGuyver_3]

talk to wildcard50 he has dynammatted his car and put down carpet underlay and is stating the car is SUPER quiet now. I am going to do mine soon to but i am starting with the doors. the stock system and the brutal rattle from the speakers is killing me. As for cruising speeds yeah 3k at 120 sounds about right. Mine is noisy because of the exhaust but I love it. Its relatively tame at cruise but when I am on it yeah its gonna make noise

[kckev99]

talk to wildcard50 he has dynammatted his car and put down carpet underlay and is stating the car is SUPER quiet now. I am going to do mine soon to but i am starting with the doors. the stock system and the brutal rattle from the speakers is killing me. As for cruising speeds yeah 3k at 120 sounds about right. Mine is noisy because of the exhaust but I love it. Its relatively tame at cruise but when I am on it yeah its gonna make noise

I'm sure dynamat works great at reducing noise but I heard it is quite heavy. So it is at the long term expense of fuel Economy and carrying around dead weight.

The Japanese spirited engines tend to rev a little higher so quite normal IMO.

Anything is probably quieter then mine as I'm almost at 4K cruising at 120kph. Then again mine will start to scream between 5200 RPM - 7400 RPM. That's with a stock exhaust and intake.

[McGuyver_3]

Again why the hell is everyone so concerned about weight? If you aren't tracking the car don't worry about it. My old car was sound deadened and I didn't notice an ounce of difference in fuel economy. I also didn't buy a car for fuel consumption although I have complained about it before but I was in break in period at the time. Now I honestly don't care anymore fuel is a necesity and I cannot afford to run out of gas

[kckev99]

Again why the hell is everyone so concerned about weight? If you aren't tracking the car don't worry about it. My old car was sound deadened and I didn't notice an ounce of difference in fuel economy. I also didn't buy a car for fuel consumption although I have complained about it before but I was in break in period at the time. Now I honestly don't care anymore fuel is a necesity and I cannot afford to run out of gas

I guess it depends on the individual. some people are concerned about fuel consumption. extra 100lbs can add 1-2% on your fuel consumption. For me that could be $40-80/year depending on how you calculate it. Or just call me cheap. My advice to the original poster... you should have noticed the noise level when you test drove the car before purchasing.

http://fueleconomy.org/feg/driveHabits.shtml

[McGuyver_3]

Its not about beeing cheap but if you are going to add this stuff like the deadening or the stereo or whichever you put in you don't really care about the rest because you want more bass or a quieter ride and usually their is always a consequnece somewhere. My motto however is you have to pay to play

[wildcard50]

Dan is right. My car is great after the dynamat. Plus it feels more solid ( like a european car) because it reduces harhness and vibration. Just finished a trip to brantford and the car was a joy to drive. The added weight did not effect my fuel economy but we did not need 100 lbs of dynamat to line the car. Another thing think about changing your tires ,my old bridgestone turanza's were real noisy until I changed to general altimax hp's

[aZuMi]

Hmmm...I checked my 120kmph cruising speed today and I was between 2700-2750 rpms

[antifuse]

you've got an automatic though, the OP is talking about a 6spd manual, I'm surprised mazda didn't give them a much taller 6th gear. It looks like they're keeping the gears very close together to give the car more pep in and around the city than giving it "cruising gears". In comparision my old VW passat 2.0L 5spd in top gear would do about 120 at about 2500 rpm, my 81 yamaha 550 motorcycle will do 120 at 5300 rpm.

I think somebody else mentioned this on the forums in another thread... What they said is that the 6 speed gearbox is aimed more at getting you out of 1st/2nd more quickly, improving city driving mileage. Which makes sense, as the highway mileage is already pretty solid.

[McGuyver_3]

Hmmm...I checked my 120kmph cruising speed today and I was between 2700-2750 rpms

I assume you have an auto? Or do you have a 2.0 5 speed? Auto are ALWAYS geared lower then a standard. The 4 speed auto In the previous gen reved lower then the 5 speed previous gen. Same goes for any auto versus standard tranny that I have ever seen. That's why standards used to get better fuel mileage as the engines reved higher and were quicker to get power where the autos are lower geared you hit the gas it accelerates notices its to high in gear kicks down 1 or 2 gears and works its way up.

[dave2010GT]

Its not about beeing cheap but if you are going to add this stuff like the deadening or the stereo or whichever you put in you don't really care about the rest because you want more bass or a quieter ride and usually their is always a consequnece somewhere. My motto however is you have to pay to play

BIG +1 on that point

[Charlie S]

The engine sound is just sweet !

[aZuMi]

I assume you have an auto? Or do you have a 2.0 5 speed? Auto are ALWAYS geared lower then a standard. The 4 speed auto In the previous gen reved lower then the 5 speed previous gen. Same goes for any auto versus standard tranny that I have ever seen. That's why standards used to get better fuel mileage as the engines reved higher and were quicker to get power where the autos are lower geared you hit the gas it accelerates notices its to high in gear kicks down 1 or 2 gears and works its way up.

That's correct, it's an auto tranny. I see, makes sense.

But doesn't that mean, AT would be better in long crusies compared to MT because of the lower gear ratios?

[McGuyver_3]

That's correct, it's an auto tranny. I see, makes sense.

But doesn't that mean, AT would be better in long crusies compared to MT because of the lower gear ratios?

like i said before yes and no according to statistics the 2010 autos are better on fuel then the standards regardless. Still hard for me to beleive but with all these new advancements such as i think its called "smart tranny" the car reacts quicker and better accordingly to the situation you are in where as before on the previous gens that technology was not encorporated. So long story short yes I assume it would be. BUT then again my moms truck revs at like 1500rpms on the highway and still gets way worse mileage then my 3 lol. But then again its a CVT

[VaderX]

2007 2.3L Auto - 120 km/h @ 2900 RPM

2010 2.0L Auto - 120 km/h @ 2450-2500 RPM

[sarujo]

Here are the drivetrain gear ratios from the Mazda Canada website since we have been talking about final drive RPMs. Notice that both the 5MT and 6MT have the same final drive of 4.10.

http://i1041.photobucket.com/albums/b411/sarujoku/M3DrivetrainGearing.png

2010 2.0L 5MT M3's cruise around 3200-3250rpm @ 120km/h.

I'm wondering why Mazda decided on 0.755 for 5th gear on the 5MT's. As others have pointed out, probably to keep things more performance minded. It's quite surprising how well the 2.0's in 5th can accelerate when needed.

[Freakzaz]

I have a 2010 with the 2.5L, 5-speed auto and 2500rpm sounds about right when driving at 120km/h

[Derek13]

Yeah I was really surprised at how close together 5th and 6th are on the 2.5L. It's really only a difference of maybe 200RPM.

It would be nice to be able to get a smaller sixth gear and get it to like 2300 @ 120kmph

[Fuyuzora]

It would be nice to be able to get a smaller sixth gear and get it to like 2300 @ 120kmph

+1.

If a good-quality sixth gear with a lower ratio (0.700 or lower maybe?) were available I'd certainly be interested in one. As has been said, there just isn't much difference between 5th and 6th at present.