[c4lvinnn]

Originally Posted by MuseChaser

I can't think of a single good reason why you'd want to drive around "cruising" with your engine at 4000 rpm. If you were climbing an incredibly steep hill with a car loaded w/ cinderblocks and that was the only way to keep the car up to the speed you wanted, then OK. Otherwise... why?!?

Think of riding your bicycle. Would you want to pedal furiously w/ very little resistance in the pedals to go a certain speed, or at a comfortable 60-70 rpm cadence (what most casual bicyclists use, including myself) w/ a bit of resistance felt to work against? On a bicycle, you choose the gear that gets the job done most efficiently and with the least amount of effort/wear from/on the rider (the engine) in a given scenario. Cruising around at 4000 rpm is like riding a bike on a flat smooth road in the lowest gear, requiring you to pedal like mad. Even worse, unlike on a bike, when you take your foot OFF the gas in your car, the engine will create a lot MORE resistance and slow the car down faster than it would in a higher gear. Going down a steep hill, that's desirable.. OK, that may be an another instance where "cruising" at 4000 rpm might be a good idea; going down a steep hill and using engine braking instead of overheating your brakes.

Otherwise, I'm stymied by the original question. Why would you want to? The upper ranges are for acceleration and power. I routinely cruise flat roads between 2000 and 2500 rpm, and downshift when I need more power.

Still confused by the desire to stay in the upper ranges....

Barry

Um, because cruising sometimes means (Texas highways for me specifically) going 80+ and 80 is right at 4000 RPMs? Nothing you can really do about it except change the final drive ratio and I don't care that much.