solsavr

"Well I had a great drive through the desert this past week...took it up to 150 after a little cat-n-mouse with a silver Vette, smooth as silk! The ride at that speed is really incredible!"

I think that represents my feelings on this question!

Enjoy the thrust!

Pierre

Yeah, but the exhaust might get dirty...

Now, if someone can afford to buy a 911 Turbo, I think he can at least choose how hard he wants to drive it. Keeping the revs below 3'500 rpm isn't really my style either, but if he's happy with it...

And I agree with Moogle: around town, I try to keep the revs rather low too. What's to point of keeping 'em above 4'000 all the time? On the other hand, I'm now about to go to a friend's place. The shortest way is about 230km, but I'll make some loooong detours over a few mountain passes and it'll probably take me more than 4-5 hours. And no, I won't keep the revs below 3'500 all the time...

Greetings,
--Pierre

greyghost

Don't feel bad, I did the same thing. After Iadded my exhaust the car was so loud I had to re-learn all the shift points to keep the noise to a minimum on my 40 minute daily commutes twice a day. In time you will, and need, to blow that thing out to keep the engine in top form.

I usually shift around 4-4.5K under normal conditions. If the wife is in the car I keep the RPMs as close to 3K as possible to keep the noise down. ;-)

GBG

WOW, a tough crowd! Getting trounced by your fellow Porsche posters is a lousy way to start the day. I appreciate the few (Woodster, Moogle, Pierre, Greyghost) who didn't go for the jugular like some of the rest of you guys. Saying that I shouild go buy a Lexus or Acura, and that I "obviously don't know how to drive"-- even if true-- seemes a bit harsh, no?

In my defense, I use the car as a daily driver and drive mostly on the narrow, windy roads in my town, and rarely get on the highway, so I don't have that much opportunity to open her up. Having said all of the above, you guys, of course, are dead right. I need to live a little and start drving the car as it was intended to be driven. Thanks for the honest input-- even if the presntation was a bit rough at times. I do appreciate the advice, and will try to be faithful to it.

GBG

JPschnitzer

They are right, these girls like to be roughed up a bit. They aren't designed to be pampered.

Fred R. C4S

GBG,

Don't let them get you down. Running around town continuously at 4000 rpm is just plain stupid. It only wears out the rings and liners faster and uses more gas. In my in town daily driving, I'm usually shifting at 3500 to 4000 rpm. Why would i need to shift at the redline in first if I'm doing to have to stop at the next stop light in 20 seconds? If I were to compile a histogram of engine speeds, I probably am cruising in the city at 2700 rpm. Heck the car develops max torque from about 2500 or 2700 rpm! This style of driving is far from lugging the engine. Now put me on the track, and I'm from 3500 to redline at WOT most of the time. Different environments call for different driving styles.

Cheers,

jessejames

Another crack at the "Magic Tippy Tronic". He said he shifts early not that he pushes butttons early.

johnyg

These cars are made to be driven. Nothing wrong with pampering something but this car is a different animal above 3k rpm. It is quite a thrill ride and no you are not hurting it. Enjoy!

JP Schnitzer

And if you really want to understand what our cars are capable of, and how they were intended to be driven, see if you can get your hands on an old video called "faszination" in which a pro driver laps the Nurburgring in a Ruf Turbo....Makes you realize how wimpy we all are when it comes to driving these cars! fact of the matter is, that even a driver who thinks he pushes the car, usually is only scratching the surface.

GBG

Thanks Fred for the supportive post. I agree completely about cruising around town, with stop lights, stop signs, pedestrian crossings, little kids, dogs, etc. all over the place, what's the point of reving much above 3000? I guess I'm just a conservative guy.

But this thread has convinced me to move my typical shift up to about 3500-- not a problem for me at all. And more than anything else, this post has persuaded me to get the car out on the highway much much more and live in the 4000-5000 range, with an occasional red-line. That will be fun. Thanks again. GBG

Dock

"Them" happen to be the minority. Out of all the posts here, I only see two people who say they continuously keep their rpm at or above 4000.

As for their technique of keeping the rpm's above 4000, I see no problem with it at all. I personally don't give a hoot about how much gas I burn...maybe they don't either. And concerning the wear on the engine, how much reduction is there in engine life (or "parts" life for that matter) between driving around a 4000 rpm and driving around at 2700 rpm?

RLandis

Don't make fun of the guy....he's asking advice!!!!

JS

GBG, I gave you good advice, try following it and you will learn alot about your car.

BobbyC

GBG...you mentioned that you seldom get a chance to get on the highway to open up. May I suggest a "drive"?

Find some nice twisty country roads in your neck of the woods (think Taconic, Saw Mill, etc)...go out early on a Sunday morning like around sunrise (no traffic and hopefully uniforms with radars are not yet out)..and let her rip! And stay away from the major highways like I-95...they're no fun! Enjoy...

GBG

Thanks everyone for all of the good advice-- my apologies if I came off a bit thin-skinned and oversensitive in my initial reply. I'm actually an insensitive pig-- just ask my wife.

GBG