How tough is this boxer engine?
 

My wife mentioned to me a couple of times while I was driving that I treated my car badly due to the way I drove.
I drive like normal most of the time but I sometime floor it all of a sudden after driving normally for most of the trip. This is mostly to beat the traffic lights or to prevent some inconsiderate aggressive numnuts from cutting into my lane.

Mind you I don't rev past 7k but for example I drove at 40 mph say at 3krpm, I'd then floor it to past 6k within 2 seconds or so just to get extra speed quickly and then I would drive at "normal" rev again. Sometimes I could hear the engine residual whirl after that short burst and back at lower rev because I released the gas pedal to drop speed gradually.

Would this damage the engine in a long run? I've been reading many comments that the engine is designed to be revved high, if that's the case, what I do here won't really harm the engine as long as I am not doing it when the engine is cold?

I do feel guilty after doing those occasional short burst as I plan to baby and keep the car for a long time.

Should be fine. The rev limiter will generally prevent you from damaging your engine and transmission VIA the accelerator.

BUT!

Lets say you are doing 70 and you downshift from 6 to 2 thinking you were going from 6 to 4...that can smoke an engine and transmission really quickly.

That would make your engine go to 9k+ RPMs. Usually a gear box will fight you and not let you engage at that point...but it still happens.

Those jumps into way over red-line due to a bad downshift or missed down shift can also trigger limp mode rather quickly and trigger engine error codes. A stealership that sucks could try to use those error codes to deny warranty work.

Are you saying you are listening to her because she knows more than you?

Thrash the living shit out of it otherwise it will get ideas about being a garage poodle.

Subaru engines are popular with custom aeroplane builders because they will run at high revs constantly and reliably for hours and hours and hours on end.

Those of us who bring the car to the track are constantly at 5000-7400 RPM for 20-30 minutes at a time, and no issues there.

Just make sure to:

1) Warm the engine up first, and
2) Keep the RPMs under 7400 (redline)

and you shouldn't have any problems.

You should know that wives are never wrong. Lol.
No seriously the reason I was asking was because I wanted to make sure it's okay.
I have auto one by the way, so no risk of downshifting from 6 to 2 all of a sudden.


Back to the pedal flooring, I'm curious what that whirring sound is when you suddenly floor the gas and then let go of the pedal.

No problems at all with that as long as the engine oil is warmed up already.

Babying and driving it like a granny isn't always the best, try stretching its legs out every now and then, the full rpm range.

Do you ask your wife what brand of tampons you should use?

Why not ask someone with experience?

Hey I get that sound too when I floor it or cruise!

Why wear tampons if he's already been snipped? :bellyroll:

On topic, warm up then :burnrubber:

Some people have reported a fan kicks in for a second after they lift off.

Of course, wives know more that husbands. If you don't believe that ..... you are either not married ...... or miserable or soon to be made miserable.......:cry:

@djmm, I can see why yourt wife (as co-pilot) can feel the engine is being abused ..... after all, when it gets fully reved up, it does sound and feel like it's about to explode.

I'd just reassure her that it has a rev limiter, that won't allow it to blow itself apart (most of the time .... especially with an AT).

:popcorn:


humfrz

Seems pretty logical temps go up at high revs, then the fans kick on and then turn off because airflow through the vehicle has already increased