I collected my new toy on Saturday, pictures to follow. I have done 100 miles today and there is a worrying rattle developing from somewhere in the drivetrain. The bevel box is quite quiet the noise is further forward than that, it manifests itself when revs drop below 2000 most noticeably in 4th and 5th.
I assume I should be able to drive around at 30 mph in 4th gear which equates to about 1800 rpm. I have driven a couple of demonstrators but do not remember what the typical speeds in gears were. Could some one tell me what gear you normally use around town at 30 mph. I will call the dealer tomorrow in any case.
Apart from that the car is great, been assaulting the senses all day.
Mine is just shy of 4,000 miles in after only a few months. I have learned to treat the entire drive train like it is diesel powered. The tachometer is your friend. What the mph is becomes irrelevant. I might let the engine go as low as 2500rpm but the real sweet spot is between 3000rpm to 4500rpm. Everything smoothes out. I've hit 5k rpm a number of times but it is stressful to the engine and unnecessary as well. If this thing had wings it would be a different story...
30mph is second gear. Period.
35 to 55mph is third.
50 to 65mph is fourth.
60 to whatever is fifth.
These ranges are flexible due to terrain and all but the biggest thing is keeping the engine from lugging and causing the entire drivetrain to not make nice. Yes, one can drive it at a far lower rpm but then the vibration will not be readily absorbed by the cush block and then the tranny will be under stress.
