Here's a question for those with more (enviable)!! experience behind the wheel....

On a test drive, my P salesman said "drive it at 4,000 RPM"....is this what
you all do??? I would think for long highway drives, 80 MPH in 6th gear at
a little under 3k RPM would be easier on the car?? no????

How do I drive this thing????

 

i usually have it around 3-3500 rpm most of the time. that's my nod toward being frugal with the gas.

on the highway (if i can find a stretch smooth enough on these terrible SE michigan roads) i usually cruise in 6th around 80-85 mph around 2800-3000 rpm.

of course i've only had the car for 5 weeks, so who knows what the summer will bring?

 

On a long highway drive, 4K rpm will just eat gas and wear your engine. I keep it under 3k on the h-way cruise. Now on a spirited twisty drive (most of what I do), I hit the rev limiter quite occasionally.......keeps the engine clean.....

 

what kinda idiot likes to drive at 4k rpm on the fwy? once warmed up, i regularly shift at 4Krpm to hear that pse growl and it's just a good rpm to hit. shifting at 3k is too low. 5k is... a bit spirited.

this is all assuming regular in town driving stylez.

 

Highway driving I keep it as low as I can unless making a move

Around town 3K is a nice range for sound and responsiveness.
Holding 4K for long periods of time is to high 4/me. It is when it comes alive though

 

+1

 

Running the tack up to 4k or 5k when shifting....sure, but not driving at a constant 4k rpm. He is wrong IMO.

 

The idea that it will wear your engine is a bit over-the-top. Like saying exercise wears out your heart. Sure, in theory, but believe me: piston and cylinder wall wear is the last thing you need to worry about with this engine. I would point out that it says right in the manual that even a stone cold engine can be shifted as high as 4,500 rpm. The are built to rev. High rpms is where they're most efficient.

Given the design of this engine, I would be much more worried about the effects of lugging it than I would about revving it too high. Much more.

 

Why bother running at a constant 4K or any target RPM unless you have a specific problem you're testing? On the highway why would you not be in the highest gear you can be unless passing (unless like me you've been trying to burn off a tank of gas as fast as possible!)

Definitely give it some throttle, wind it up when you can and do it often, but why hold it at constant middling rpm when cruising?

 

for cruising, below 4k... for spirited drives 4k+

 

Bruce, I think it said keep it under 4K on a cold start.

I keep it under 3K just cuz I'm special like that.

For me, holding it at 4K on the hwy is a great way to burn gas. That's it. It's too loud, too. Call me old.

 

just came back in from another quick jaunt, just for the hell of it I kept it around 4K on the FDR and as best as I could around town. My gosh that's no way to drive on the street, must be smack dab in the middle of the steepest part of the variocam+ ramp. But it does sound nice.

 

It's hard for me to move a tack at 4,000 or 5,000 rpm. However, I love to see my tach(ometer) hit that range!

 

Maybe that's why the salesman wanted me to drive at 4k rpm.....sales pitch sound effects!!!! Seriously....I got the impression that this was some sort of
Porsche standard....like from a salesman driving school or something???

 

I think down shifting to 4k and then nailing it is a good way to hear/feel the engine! Maybe that's what the sales guy was talking about?

The engine loves to rev and be revved, but not held at a moderately high 4k for no reason at all.