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V6 Manual Low-RPM Mechanical Sounds

scc.131.fe

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Hey All,

So I'm still only 300 miles in on a 1st Ed V6 Manual and I've noticed an interesting sound from the drivetrain that is most easily witnessed in 2nd gear around or below 1800 rpm. You know, those tighter slow turns when you're thinking "surely, not 1st gear..." and you just keep 'er in 2nd? There is a gravelly, mechanical rubbing/abrasive sound that is easy to hear one you put the engine under load to speed back up and seems to remain present until you're above 2k rpm.

Others have hinted at this in The great big "all the customer test drives" thread, and @Forlorn referred to this video which has some comments on Evora gearbox history.

I'm not convinced that what Tony was talking about at minute 6:10 is relevant to what I'm hearing. My wife's V8 Vantage is a Sporthshift II (clutch controlled by TCU) and the Emira low-rpm gravelly noise is all but identical to the sound her car makes when the clutch is modulating through the slip point. But I hear it in the Emira with the clutch pedal fully released.

I might try to get an audio recording, but I'm confident that everyone with a V6 manual probably hears this when loading the engine in 2nd below 2k. It might happen in other gears as well, but reaching low in 2nd is probably just more likely to happen than in other gears.

Mostly I just want us to know if this is indicative of stress or wear and whether it should be avoided by using 1st gear more on the slow turns. I appreciate anyone's thoughts or references.
 

Nova

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I have this same "issue" with my car. It was explained to me that this is normal gear noise with lightweight flywheels.
 

Speedy Emira

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It would be good if could try and record the noise so some of us could compare as I’ve not noticed it myself. Saying that I haven’t been actively listening out for a noise.
I’ll check tomorrow.
 

kertong

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I have this on mine as well, and afaik, it's normal, as some transmissions tend to be noisier than others. I've heard this referred to as clutch chatter - my T56 tremec based '95 camaro z28 way back in my younger days had this noise as well, as well as an '04 c5 z06 that I had.

I don't mind it personally, adds to the raw mechanical-ness of this car, haha.
 

Raskits

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My 2022 Bronco Manual is th same in 1st/2nd gear. There's a big thread in bronco forums about it as well and in conclusion also normal.
 

MrClean

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Yep, standard analog noises. 🤓
Figured we all had them.
Reminds me of several other cars I’ve driven including 2008 ACR Viper, 2001 E46, and couple race cars I’ve owned.
 

410 JPS Fan

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Yes, Evora has it too, the 400 was pretty loud because Jean Marc demanded cost reductions so the minimal sound deadening that was there to cover it was removed and customer complaints went up lol
 

nimbus

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IIRC this is from the adaptor Lotus makes to mate the Aisin diesel transmission with the Toyota engine (which is ordinarily connected to an automatic gearbox).

They all make that sound to some degree apparently, it's a feature not a bug!
 
OP
scc.131.fe

scc.131.fe

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Thanks all for the replies!
 
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scc.131.fe

scc.131.fe

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As I drove the Vantage again today, paying closer attention, I realized that this sound is not the clutch being modulated, but likely a result of a similar lightweight flywheel on sport-focues transmission. Learning something new everyday!
 
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