# Cruze 1.4 turbo question regarding engine sound



## obermd (Mar 3, 2012)

That Impala must be incredibly quiet. My 2012 Cruze ECO MT is the quietest car I've ever driven.


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## Tomko (Jun 1, 2013)

obermd said:


> That Impala must be incredibly quiet. My 2012 Cruze ECO MT is the quietest car I've ever driven.


Yeah, but isn't your other car a Solara?


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## _MerF_ (Mar 24, 2015)

I went from a Malibu to the Cruze and I also noted that the engine was louder. I attribute it mostly to being a lighter "economy" ca rwith less sound deadening material for weight.

Possible that the smaller cabin means the firewall is closer to the engine as well, allowing more sound to transfer through.

All my opinion, no scientific evidence to back up any of that.


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## obermd (Mar 3, 2012)

Tomko said:


> Yeah, but isn't your other car a Solara?


My wife's car is a Solara Convertible - possibly the noisiest car I've ever driven - with the top up.


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## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

Smaller engines - specifically those under the 2.0 liter size- typically have more NVH (noise, vibration, harshness) at high RPM than larger displacement engines. The larger 4 cylinders (2.3 and bigger typically) have a fairly hefty counterweight on the crankshaft to smooth out the vibration from much more evident power strokes. Engines become even noisier still when you're forcing more air into the cylinders than they can suck in on their own. 

4 cylinder engines also have a power stroke only every 180 degrees instead of the 120 or less of an engine with more cylinders. Because there is a full stroke in the 720* rotation without a power stroke, a 4 cylinder will always sound more "buzzy" than a 6 or 8 cylinder engine, no matter what engineering team designed it. 

We've got a pair of large displacement (2.4/2.5) Honda/Toyota 4 cylinder engines in the family. Compared to the Cruze, I'd say they're noisier at startup and lower RPMs and butter smooth at above 3000 RPMs where the Cruze begins to get thrashy. Driven gently, the Cruze is one of the quieter cars I've had - the huge engine mounts probably help with that. Definitely way more refined than Chryslers 3.7 V6. 

None of the 4 cylinders I've ever driven, BMWs included, can shake a stick at the 2 buttery smooth, quiet, and refined Toyota V6s I've had. But they sure get better gas mileage.


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## chevrasaki (May 1, 2015)

My 1.4L engine makes some pretty strange clattering and whistling noises that are amplified when I get next to brick walls. I've only noticed the engine getting loud when I'm bogging it and the engine is struggling. I think it might be piston slap. I remedy that by changing gears to get higher in the RPM range. I hate the shift light, it has no idea where the engine is comfortable it just thinks I should drive the car in 6th gear all the time.


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