i let it warm up and try to keep it under 3500 on the way there, once warm I use the whole revband but try and keep it over 2500.

 

Or better yet, whats harsh "for you" isnt harsh for the car. Driving like you do might save you a couple of bucks at the pump, however, but it isnt exactly great for the engine. "Pampering" an engine doesnt mean you have to lug it around. If you look in your porsche owners manual, there are factory specs for MINIMUM upshift rpm. Compare a chevy v8 to an inline 4...the v8 will last longer as it isnt stressed as much during daily driving, while the 4 banger is being pushed just to keep up with traffic.

Also, lets say youre accelerating very quickly (or flooring it) you want to keep the rpm's over 3600 (because of the engines' characteristics below that point)....this means youll have to shift approx. @ 5k.

Got Me A Porsha sums it up pretty well...

"How do I drive mine? I don't!

In an effort to keep the miles to a minimum, and the car pristine, I pulled out the engine.

Then, to keep that beautifully polished SFR exhaust luster, I removed it too.

Also, to keep the factory phone dials from fading, I took those off too.

In addition, to keep the seats from cracking, I took them out too.

That flawless dash...in a box in the attic...should be beautiful for years to come!"

Meant to be driven.

 

I'm afraid the answer would land me in jail.
daily.

 

Man, you guys are wusses. Every day during the winter junior year of high school I would jump in my '90 saab 9000 turbo, back out, go to the intersection, rev it up, dump the clutch, and let the f'er spool up to the 6500 rpm redline. Every day. For an ENTIRE YEAR. HAHAHAHHAAHHAHA it had 202,000 miles on it!!! I never had any internal problems either, for 40k.

With my 944S I would wait (defined as keeping it below 3k) for the temp gauge to go up to op temp, then i would proceed to flog the car. I'm sure it will be different with my 951, since it uses more gas than the S and more stuff goes flying off in pieces when you accelerate hard.

 

Now I remember why, when I was looking to buy a house, I specifically avoided being anywhere near the local high school.

 

Like others, I honor the warm-up period and always drive long enough to get the moisture out of the tailpipe. Beyond that, the sky's the limit depending on conditions and intentions.

My 85.5 revs quite happily to the redline with Weltmeiser throttle cam, adjustable fuel pressure regulator, custom down-pipe back exhaust with Flowmaster 40 and wrapped header. This year, the car did six autocrosses (three of them two-day events) and two track day DE's with Hoosier shod 15 x 8 Fuchs all around. Car finished second in class in the Chesapeake Region PCA 2003 AutoX Series and scored four overall top 20's in the wild and wooly Cumberland Airport 2004 Series against a cadre of Corvette, F Body GM cars, ricers and 993/996/GT3 entries. Here's a pic of the car finishing 13th in May:

http://www.nationalroadrally.com/images/TheLap.jpg

With 105K on the odo, but with fresh belts, rollers, water pump and religious oil changes using Castrol 20-50 exclusively, I drive my 944 with the confidence that it was built to run at full potential with the proper care.

My approach to car has shifted since I bought it in 2001. At first, I was so pleased to find such a clean, complete example of the Series II 944 that my focus was on preservation...but after a while I realized that the cars were plentiful and not truly collectable in the traditional sense. At that point I began to methodically upgrade, first with Weltmeister 200# springs, drilled rotors, new Koni's, M030 rear bar, KLA front strut brace and harness bar, Corbeau TRS seats, five point harness and four wheel racing alignment with negative 2.5 camber on all four corners. Oh yeah, thanks Paragon!

These changes came first, then the forementioned motor tweaks. Car went from 60th in a field of 70 in its first autoX to the Top 20 and I get great enjoyment out of it on the country roads that honeycomb the Maryland Mountains...not to mention attracting the envy of ricers around the town who often attend local autox events. They seem to give me a wide berth and long stares on the street (might be the big #'s and sponsor/sanctioner stickers on the car), as their buds can't touch me so far on cone dodging day,

 

Hah, probably a good decision if you ask me. I'm glad I got the vast amount of my immaturity out then. Good times.

 

That's a shame you don't hit the 5's and higher! You know, it is ACTUALLY good for the engine to be opened up once in a while! I think that everyone should let everyone who didn't know how good it is for your engine, and let them know! It is a sports car firstly, and the engine is designed for heavy driving.., just not doing it everyday is what is called moderation, and all things in moderation is better! Punch the gas buddy! (-;

 

I don't lug it around by any stretch. I always make sure I’m doing better than 2500-3000 when I need to accelerate or go up a hill, and like everyone else here I get on it once or twice a week. Driving a Porsche doesn't always have to be done at top speed to enjoy it.

 

i run mine up to 5200-5300 RPM in first gear, and up to 5500 in the others. I refuse to exceed that amount since there's no point on going over 5500 since the power drops off after.

 

Wrong. You have to consider the powerband in the rpm of the gear you're shifting into. Although power drops off above 5.5 (or around there), it is still higher at that point then in the 4k range. Therefore, youre "losing power" in youre current gear, but you more than make up for it in the following gear.

 

Serge's right. The only time you want to stay at peak HP RPM is when you have no more gears left and you're on a long straight.

 

Wide open autoX courses and track driving often creates situations where it is advantageous to run the motor over 5,500 and even up on to the rev limiter. Depending on your gearing, tire diameter and course you're on, staying in a lower gear and nearing the rev limiter can save you a shift and set you up better for what follows.

The Chute at Summit Point is a decent example...if (important word here for drivers of my not-so-stellar skill level I get a good run out of Wagon Bend and don't lift coming down the hill throught the Chute, I hit 5,500 or so in third 200 feet short of the braking point for Gardener, which, in turn is critical to run fast through the Carousel and the Esses.

Upshifting to fourth before Gardner and then shifting all the way down into second to enter the Carousel one turn later can cost a second or more on the overall lap. 200 feet on the rev limiter at this one spot results in a much faster lap, regardless of what the dyno sheet says.

 

Of course, there is an exception to everything.

 

yes. like polishing. When polishing my car I try to stay under 100rpm





hmm..that wasn't (very) funny.