Not sure if this has already been covered, but I sure didn't find any topics.

My car is an 84' and I had a valve job, head gasket, and timing belt done last fall. Other than that it would probably be safe to assume that everything else in the engine is original. I have always assumed that I should be playing it safe and shift at 5,000rpm. I've never gone higher than that but maybe 3 or so times since I had the car.

Am I being to conservative here? Or would it be safe to go all the way to 6? Not sure how prone these cars are to blowing at higher rpms.

Thanks in advance!

 

Max power is like 5600rpm stock on the late cars, dunno about early. You won't kill anything by going higher, enjoy yourself. Just don't rev it like a teenager in a civic.

 

If you were thinking of taking it above 5000rpm I would increase slowly over maybe a few thousand miles rather than just up the revs 500rpm+
There isn't much point in unduly stressing a 26 year old engine if the power has already peaked before 5000rpm. You could get more power by shifting up.

I'd be thinking about all the reciprocating parts flying around at over 100 times per second!

 

I personally have always shifted it in the 6000-6500k range if I am hammering on it. The powerband starts to fall off at 5500rpm for the early cars and the maximum permissible rpm is 6500. I do drive the car hard but don't abuse it. The car was designed for this. The later cars although I could be wrong are redlining at 6250rpm.

 

I only drive my car at events, and commonly only rev to 6k. From time to time the course requires a second or two at 6400 or so, but I try to never rev it higher than that.

There is a #2 rod bearing worry due to oiling concerns, so I try to keep the revs in mind during hard cornering. I'll usually go up a gear rather than hold 6k+ RPMs through high G-load corners.

 

It won't hurt your engine to take it higher than 5000 rpm. Just try not to bounce off the rev-limiter...

 

Nothing much happens after 5500 rpm. I too have done lots of track sessions in my 924S on the stock motor and found, at points on the track, that it helps to hold the rpms at a elevated point and I never felt real good about it given the #2 bearing deal. So, I explored different shifting stratagy on the track and found that grabbing a higher gear didn't have a detriment to my momentum, but I am not wheel to wheel racing either.
I'd say don't push it too far and exercise a little restraint. NA cars are not outright acceleration cars anyway and I find lots of usable torque in the midrange.

 

Not only is it ok to rev past 6k, but your engine will LIKE IT!

There have been a few threads in the past about this very subject, and quite a few people (including me) notice the idle being smoother, and it seeming to just run better after some high RPM driving.

These engines like to breathe. Aluminum and iron don't care about being 20+ years old. You can't hurt hard parts any more now than you could when they were new...... seals on the other hand.....

Drive it like its a Porsche

 

My personal observation:

If you just grandma the car around, and never rev it past 3k or so, you'll likely begin to foul the plugs over time. If you give it some load and rev it to 5k+ from time to time, you help keep the plugs clean. Hence, a smoother idle and running better. Fouled spark = poor efficiency.

 

 

+1

dont be a puss, i take my 944 up to redline all the time

 

i drive the **** out of my car, 6400rpm shifts are commonplace, even driving around town lol

 

Italian tune up. I do think sustained full throttle with full load lets the DME "work" in all of it's parameters which keeps it on it's toes. Full throttle=dump fuel.

 

Thanks for all the replies. I actually have noticed a smoother idle after a I hit 5,000 a few times. And talk about lack of power in a N/A if you always keep it under 5! lol

 

for some reason I always think my engine will blow up if I rev it ofer 3k rpm lol.

I usually shift at 3k rpm.

and on the highway sometimes i cruise at 4krpm but too scared to cruise at higher rpms for long periods.

but i'm worried about my rod bearings failing after I my car lost oil pressure last year.