Confusion on RPM's and engine health

[86TOYO2k17]

Originally Posted by soundman98

Beat it like it owes you last years rent, and then see if the supercharger is still needed.

Fyi, i still average 22mpg, which is incredible for me. My old v6 eclipse averaged 9mpg with my foot, and my ranger has a strict don't-ask-don't-tell policy. I'm happy if a full tank makes it a week.

22!?!? How? you must still be NA? I’m at 17-18mpg on pump gas. Soon as oil hits 170F I go straight to the redline district.

[86TOYO2k17]

In fact this car actually hates to be under 3k rpm. Especially boosted. IAM has never dropped when I’m over 3k rpm but I can’t go more then 5mins in the 2-3k range with IAM dropping to about .88 it’ll climb back pretty quick once I rev it a little. Tuner tried various things. Not much that could be done.

[DarkPira7e]

I also reside in Camp Flog. My car has been driven very hard, and the oil analysis shows that it's in peak condition (from a perspective of engine wear anyway).
If you want a car that demands being babied and driven conservatively, get a Triumph.

[Tristor]

I'm just jumping in to say that this car was designed with an engine that revs past 7k for a reason. It wants the revs. I make sure to bring it fully to temp and redline it at least once on every trip, and my accumulated knowledge over the years indicates that's actually a good way to keep things in tip-top shape. Redlining and engine for short bursts is a good thing, and colloquially is known around these parts as "italian tuning". As long as you aren't constantly bouncing off the rev limiter under no load in a parking lot the engine will be fine.

[OwlDance]

Originally Posted by kev0

Ok, thanks.

as far as your concerns go, I was taught to always drive as conservatively as possible to save on fuel. This means no launching, braking as little as possible, not adding too much throttle, etc.

The not go RPM's part is what I kinda taught myself. I know higher RPM's means more stress on your engine, since its reving high and makes your car louder. I may be wrong, for all I know. I associate high RPMs with car going faster. Feel free to correct me, I am always willing to learn more.

I look away for two hours and the rest of the forum has chimed in but yeah, an engine is not made of glass. While this engine runs hot, it can easily cruise at 3K RPM consistently, as do most 4 cylinder engines. If you want a reference of the "regular" tolerances of an engine's capabilities, the MT version of this car cruises at or above 3K RPM at 70+ MPH which are speeds that my commute often sees.

You might think you'd get terrible gas mileage but mileage is more about CONSISTENCY in power usage, rather than what RPM you use. You can cruise at 4K RPM and get 25-30 MPG depending on the gear, but that's because you *maintain* that RPM. You probably shouldn't but it's doable.

While I have a lot of mechanical sympathy for my car it's 100% knowing when it's safe and acceptable for your engine to do its thing.

Since it seems like you haven't actually ever wrung out this car, do this to get a feel for it.

After giving the car a solid 15 minutes to warm up (that is, regular light driving in regular AT mode, non sport), put it to MT mode. Cruise at around 2.1-3K RPM at the appropriate gear at the appropriate speeds. If you want to accelerate harder, downshift and keep the RPMs above 3K when you go wide open throttle (not in 5th and 6th though, they're both far taller than the MT's 6th gear which means more strain on the engine; when in doubt, downshift). Keep throttle light to moderate in the 2-3K range.

And I should stress this, to NOT shift like regular AT mode where it's literally always 1-2K. Because of a lot of complex hydraulic systems, they can run at much lower RPM than one would an MT car. While it seems obvious, I've seen a few people go to MT cars and try and shift quite literally as soon as possible and keep their RPMs ridiculously low to the point they lug the engine because their only experience with engines is that of an AT.

[jeffchap]

Originally Posted by 86MLR

LOL

I rev the crap out of my 86, once it is up to temp, always have, always will.

I am also a firm beliver in the "hard break in".

Damned skippy. I hit the rev limiter on the test drive, 19 miles on the odo. Nearing 70K miles now and never had a lick of trouble with it, and it doesn't burn any oil. FWIW, I've only ever used Amsoil synthetic.

A great deal of my around town driving is done in 3rd. Gotta keep it in the fun range.

Sent from my moto g(6) using Tapatalk

[86MLR]

Originally Posted by jeffchap

Damned skippy. I hit the rev limiter on the test drive, 19 miles on the odo. Nearing 70K miles now and never had a lick of trouble with it, and it doesn't burn any oil. FWIW, I've only ever used Amsoil synthetic.

A great deal of my around town driving is done in 3rd. Gotta keep it in the fun range.

Sent from my moto g(6) using Tapatalk

I do find it funny that the people who do the hard break in never really have any problems with blow by, leak down or power.

My car too was broken in straight from the dealers, paid cash, got the key, checked the fluids and drove it till the temps came up, maybe 5 minutes, and then..............gradually brought up the RPM in stages till 7k rpm, with a heap of engine braking, did that for a 30 minute session, then home for a full oil change, and whalla, engine, drivetrain and brakes broken in.

Hard break ins to get a good ring to bore seal, and Italian tune ups are sorely overlooked.

Sound engineering principles are forsaken on the recommendation of manufacturers.

Imagine the liability claims if the manufacturers gave the hard break in procedures in the manual.

"I'm sorry officer, but my manual said going full throttle through the gears is good for my ring to bore seal".

[soundman98]

Originally Posted by jeffchap

Damned skippy. I hit the rev limiter on the test drive, 19 miles on the odo. Nearing 70K miles now and never had a lick of trouble with it, and it doesn't burn any oil. FWIW, I've only ever used Amsoil synthetic.

A great deal of my around town driving is done in 3rd. Gotta keep it in the fun range.

Sent from my moto g(6) using Tapatalk

I religiously followed the manuals break-in procedure for the entire agonizing 1000 miles. It was like trying to keep a kid away from a candy jar for 3 months. And the car got totalled at 3000 miles. I left the dealer sideways in the replacement.

[soundman98]

Originally Posted by 86TOYO2k17

22!?!? How? you must still be NA? I’m at 17-18mpg on pump gas. Soon as oil hits 170F I go straight to the redline district.

I am bone stock. The oem power level keeps me out of jail. Give me a hellcat, and watch for the police chase!

[bcj]

Throwing a blower into steady 2k rpm is good money down a black hole.
Use the revs and you won't need FI.

There were a young lad
from Cork what got limericks
and haiku confused.

[86TOYO2k17]

Originally Posted by soundman98

I am bone stock. The oem power level keeps me out of jail. Give me a hellcat, and watch for the police chase!

Lol I’m just talking shit. That’s actually impressive. I was 27mpg bone stock about 24mpg full bolt ons 22mpg with 4.56 Fd swap. And now about 17mpg with a sprintex. Although with each mod the car sees a lot more WOT redline pulls then before and to higher speeds, which is probably the main factor for the drop in mpg and not as much the mod itself.

[Decep]

Cruising on a flat highway takes very little power, your car isn't being stressed at all. On a flat road with the manual you can get into 5th at 35mph and not stress it at all, providing you are not doing something dumb like flooring it at that gear.

[Lantanafrs2]

Hard to believe op hasn't been run over from behind.

[radroach]

@kev0 this engine actually is fine cruising 2500 - 4500 rpm. This engine was made to breathe just fine in the upper midrange, and if you're driving around at 2000 RPM then you're practically lugging it, realize placing load on an engine that is barely above lugging at 2000 rpm probably puts more stress on your crank, bearings and pistons. At low rpm and high load, you can also risk low speed preignition, and you're compounding the issue by trying to throw boost at it.

At 3000-5000 rpm this car makes plenty of oil pressure to supply the bearings. It has optimal fuel swirl when its breathing properly, you probably get better combustion properties here. Cruising at 4000 rpm I can still easily get 25-30 mpg, which is what its rated for on the sticker.

Seriously if you haven't tried driving the car around at higher rpms, I suggest trying it! Just change your oil regularly so it operates smoothly.