RPM's....on the Highway..

[chris kelvin]

What's up guys i hope you had a great turkey day..

Question for you guys, my car is a 95 ford thunderbird 4.6L with stock 3.08 gears w/AT. When i'm on the highway i usually keep Overdrive on to keep the rpms at like 1900@60mph. Normal driving i keep OD off up till highway speed, BUT sometimes i'll cruise on the highway with OD off and i'll be in 3rd doing [email protected]h feels so damn good and responsive, cause my powerband starts at 3200.

Now is it really that much harder on the engine to be running an extra 1000rpms...? I'm talking wear-wise. Someone told me gas mileage won't decrease too much, like alot of people think.

Lol, plus i got no mufflers (straight pipes) and it sound soooo good at 3000rpms. BTW i heard once it's bad for an automatic tranny to stay in one gear for a long time (3rd gear)..?

 

[69Rcode_Mach1]

Well it is not the not staying in one gear that is bad for a tranny, but revving the engine for long periods of time will cause the tranny to overheat and that can do damage. I have no idea why anybody would want to just sit there and listen to their exhaust non stop, it will get annoying and old. It will wear the engine faster, there is no number you can put on it because every engine lasts a different amount of time. But what you want to do is not practical at all nor is it worth it. When you want to feel the responsiveness and your powerband drop it down a gear and go.

 

[chris kelvin]

Yeah you're right man. Thanks, i'll just do what i'm used to 0-50speeds od off, 50+ od on.

 

['03GTinFLA]

I drive 45 min one way on the highway 2x's a day. Doing 90 that puts me right about 2800-3K. Works fine for me. And who gets tired of listening to their exhaust. Sure as hell isn't me. I turn the radio down all the time to hear my car when I'm riding around.
Here's the deal. You are gonna put wear and tear on your engine and at some time it will break down. Would you rather drive the way that makes you happy and enjoy your car or drive the other way and just go from point A to point B. Because if you want to do that, you should have just bought some boring 4 door sedan. Is the difference between driving at 2000 and 3000rpms really going to matter. Drive it, enjoy it and when the time comes, buy a mustang.

 

[69Rcode_Mach1]

[QUOTE='03GTinFLA]I drive 45 min one way on the highway 2x's a day. Doing 90 that puts me right about 2800-3K. Works fine for me. And who gets tired of listening to their exhaust. Sure as hell isn't me. I turn the radio down all the time to hear my car when I'm riding around.
Here's the deal. You are gonna put wear and tear on your engine and at some time it will break down. Would you rather drive the way that makes you happy and enjoy your car or drive the other way and just go from point A to point B. Because if you want to do that, you should have just bought some boring 4 door sedan. Is the difference between driving at 2000 and 3000rpms really going to matter. Drive it, enjoy it and when the time comes, buy a mustang. [/QUOTE]

What you are saying makes sense to me, but you need to keep everything in perspective. Would you rather spend 5 hours driving at a constant 3000rpms with occasional 6000rpm blasts till the engine dies or 5 hours flying the engine to 6000rpms at every stoplight and getting the full power, but cruising at 2000rpms till the engine dies. I would rather feel the power than just cruise to listen to a drone. I still love the sound of my exhaust, and when I drove the mustang no radio or anything, just the sound of my exhaust, and my tires chirping in between shifts, but on the highway believe me it gets old and after a while and then I like to turn on a little beach boys. It is not worth it, our friend here can make better use of his engines life.

 

[chris kelvin]

Thanks for the help guys.

BTW i can't wait to get a 99-04GT 5spd... A month and a half ago i was gonna get 2 jobs, that both pay pretty good..and save up like $12K+$1800 trade in value for my car......but like someone told me one here, don't count your money until you got it..lol.

Ofcoarse the jobs didn't work out and i've been on 5 differant interviews with 5 company's...jeez.. I've been unemployed for the past 4 months and nothing is working out.......sorry i got off on a rant there..

 

[69Rcode_Mach1]

It happens to the best of us. I am currently unemployed and searching.

 

[Mustang5L5]

I have no idea why anybody would want to just sit there and listen to their exhaust non stop, it will get annoying and old.

NEVER!!!

I once drive 3 hours from Boston to Maine enjoying the sounds of my exhaust at 3000RPM in 4th gear the entire way. I could have shifted to 5th, but they it would be too quiet!

 

[trinity_gt]

My winter-beater 94 Probe GT (2.5L V6) spins at 4000RPM at 70MPH in 5th and it's going on 122,000 miles now, happy as a clam. Now, its stroke is only 2.92 inches compared to the 4.6s 3.54 inches but I seriously doubt you're causing a whole lot more wear. Remember, there's an oil film between all moving parts and little, if any, metal to metal contact occuring normally. For instance, how many high-miles engines have been taken down only to show factory honing marks on the cylinder walls?

I wager you wear the engine more in the seconds after a cold start or right after an oil change before the oil system has pressurized than you do in hours of highway driving...

As far as the trans, no, I don't think you're hurting much there either. There's no slippage occuring and if the converter is locked up there's no abnormal heating of the fluid there either. Stop and go driving, towing heavy loads and/or overheating are the transmission's biggest enemies.

 

[98blackmagic]

[QUOTE='03GTinFLA]I drive 45 min one way on the highway 2x's a day. Doing 90 that puts me right about 2800-3K. Works fine for me. And who gets tired of listening to their exhaust. Sure as hell isn't me. I turn the radio down all the time to hear my car when I'm riding around.
Here's the deal. You are gonna put wear and tear on your engine and at some time it will break down. Would you rather drive the way that makes you happy and enjoy your car or drive the other way and just go from point A to point B. Because if you want to do that, you should have just bought some boring 4 door sedan. Is the difference between driving at 2000 and 3000rpms really going to matter. Drive it, enjoy it and when the time comes, buy a mustang. [/QUOTE]


Amen get one now not that a ride in a bird is bad, but a horse is so much faster dont you think?