mick

I did something really stupid this weekend. I think I over reved the engine in first gear and the rev limiter kicked in. Never done this before so am a little concerned if I could have done any damage. It immediatley dropped the revs back to about 3000 RPM and then I just went on. Anybody else done this? More important any body know if this could have caused any damage. Runs and sounds fine and I have no indication of anything wrong but it did teach me to pay more attention. thanks. mick

os993

Hi Mick-

Was your car's oil properly warmed up? If so, then I wouldn't worry about it. From what I understand, hitting the rev limiter "on occassion" is not detrimental. Basically, Porsche has dialed in enough safety to protect us from such "enthusiastic" moments.

Now, if your engine was not warmed up, then more damage could occur, but if the car is running fine, I wouldn't lose sleep over this, just make sure engine temp is warm enough next time to go red line.

Cheers!

Rick in Portland

Mick,

As Oleg said, if the engine was warmed-up, there will be no damage. In fact, many bump up against the rev limiter several times during an Autocross.

You should not have a problem with the engine. It just feels weird when you hit the rev limiter and the ECU cuts the fuel off.

Rick

mick

Rick and Oleg
Thanks for the info. I feel much better now. mick

roger sf

I concur with others on this. However, to my knowledge the rev limiter does not limit RPM if you downshift into a gear at too high a speed for the engine/gearbox to handle. In this instance you can have a catastrophic engine or gearbox failure.

os993

Roger is correct. Be very careful downshifting and especially when implementing heel-and-toe downshifting. If you blip the throttle too much (ie over the rev limit), the ECU will not cut the fuel off, resulting in possible bent valves, etc...not a good situation...

Hey Roger, nice meeting you on Friday at Thunderhill - I really enjoyed going for a ride in your 993TT. Tire pressure? What tire pressure...

Garey Cooper

Firstly I agree with the other opinions expressed here. Hitting the rev limiter on the rare occaison should not damage the engine. That is after all what it is there for!

The reason that you can over rev the engine on the downshift is that the ECU doesn't control the mechanical connection between engine and transmission. THAT can spell disaster!

roger sf

Hi Oleg. I got the tire pressure sorted out and was really happy with how the car performed after that. Sorry if I frightened you. I think everyone should get a chance to experience a 993TT going both forwards and backwards through a high speed turn!

SundayDriver

While we are at this...
There is another case where you can do some major damage. Approaching redline at full throttle in a low gear - go airborne and the revs will zing well past redline.

DJ

Just how is it that you know this, Mark?

SundayDriver

This is one of the very few expensive lessons I learned from someone elses actions. I swear I have never caught air... Well never more than a couple of inches (anything under 5 feet doesn't count in a race car).

DJ

Oh, when you put it that way, me niether.