It seems people aren't afraid to thrash their cars...

[XRGhia]

When coming through a roundabout, I'll more than happily stay in 2nd from 35-40 to the limit (around 70km/h...)

[tankclare]

All cars need a good flogging every now and then for it to run decent.

A pet hate of mine is watching people baby around new cars and wonder why they are gutless later on down the line. Its like when running in a freshly built motor. You are meant to use the full rev range and put load on the motor to help break it in properly otherwise your rings will not seal properly etc.

I agree you must not thrash your car everywhere but every now and then don't be afraid to use your rev range and open the engine up a bit.

Another big pet hate of mine is seeing cars that have been babied all there life sold off and then the new owner flogs the crap out of it and things start to break. You have to slowly get them use to revs again.

Moral of the story. Get out there and drive the car like its mean to be driven. Give it a squirt and enjoy it. If it wasnt meant to rev then the factory would of put a 2500rpm limiter in it.

[pottery beige]

Originally Posted by xrghiawagon

When coming through a roundabout, I'll more than happily stay in 2nd from 35-40 to the limit (around 70km/h...)

ease up there tiger......

[|Nate]

I generally run the EB through to 3500RPM just driving to work and such but once a week I flick it over to 98 and let the engine slurp that precious fuel all through the rev range. Especially love doing it when between big buildings and hearing the echo

Refer to my avatar for the result when planting the loud pedal.

[pottery beige]

use to carry few spare pushrods in the glovebox just in case the poor old thing span up and spat a few out....

[Dave R]

I treat her mean to keep her keen. And with the turbo it doesn't mean red lining it etc, just means sitting in that nice fat torque curve.

[Scaffy]

I like cruising down the freeway at 100 in 3rd. It makes it a lot easier to overtake, cos then I don't have to change gears. In 5th it drones a bit, so that's an added bonus, not having to listen to that. I'm quite paranoid about cobwebs.

[mik]

i used to drivem pretty hard all the time in my younger days, now i`m an old fart and pensionering :( , the aim is to make the limo last, tyres ,suspension ,brakes , driveline, lasts longer if driven smoothly(and uses less fuel), but i do blow the cobwebs out now and again.

[Road Games]

Originally Posted by pottery beige

use to carry few spare pushrods in the glovebox just in case the poor old thing span up and spat a few out....

Most hydraulic cams that ya rev to 7000+ tend to bend pushrods and push out the odd lifter or three ...

A Magnet comes in handy to retrieve the suckers as does a hammer and a straight section of concrete to belt the pushrods straight for the trip home....

[Psi-Pop]

I like the flames that exit when I hit limiter.

Ill thrash mine but its always warmed up and cooled down. Ill also spend hours each week fiddling and maintaining so when i do thrash it nothing breaks. Well, okay, I half killed my c4.

[FPVGT500]

Cars that are nannied around produce less power on the dyno ive seen time to time, dont thrash your car 24/7 but when the opportunity comes open it up its fine......

[drew`SEVNT5]

My old car saw limiter at least twice every day it was driven


My new car is no different.

[Bushbasher]

For those not sure about how to break in and look after your engine READ THIS.

As for putting around like a granny, it'll eventually create a ridge around the top of the bore, usually carbon but can also be bore wear if it goes on long enough. Then when someone finally gives it a boot ful it suddenly breaks a ring or very shortly starts to lose compression as at high revs everything stretches microscopically and the rings start banging into the ridge that's been created at the top of the bore from slow running. How many times have you seen little Johnny inherit grandads old school, mint pride and joy which he immediately goes out and sticks the biggest wheels he can afford on it, extractors and the obligatory loud exhaust then start cruising around . Then low and behold, within a couple of months, and sometimes sooner, he's blown the diff and/or gearbox and the engine is stuffed cos little Johnny took it out and gave it a flogging after grandad babied it all it's life.

You have to give them heaps occasionally to keep them running sweet. The trick, I've found, is finding that fine line between giving it heaps and thrashing it and NEVER crossing it.

Cheers
Bushbasher

[irish2]

Am not afraid of the odd thrashing, and have never had anything let go. Old TM magna saw 340,000k's before being traded for a 1.5 litre proton which now has 316,000k's, and my 47 year old mustang hits 90km/h in first gear.

[big_landau]

new cars with dohc really need to rev'd to be in a sweet rpm zone,2-3,000 rpm in a dohc engine would be nearly labouring the motor which can be just as bad as taking it beyond the redline.
as long as the motor is at a normal temp taking it to near the redline every now and then can actually be good for the motor,motors that have been babied during the run in period usually end up being dud motors.having said that its good to load the motor up during the run in period but to thrash it is a totally different thing.
same thing goes for everday driving,to give your car a work out every now and then is a good thing but to thrash it well thats going to cause greif.

[Parkway]

So not only is it fun but it's also beneficial? This is Christmas in itself.....

[Ford_The_Win]

How come nobody has brought up the wear & tear on the differential and trans? Sure there is nothing wrong with cleaning out the cobwebs to prolong the life of your engine but what about the rest of the powertrain? If you have a weak trans or an old, unserviced diff, surely that won't do them any good. And given that transmissions usually cost more to repair than it does to replace an engine, wouldn't that be more important?

[big_landau]

auto trans will usually go first in a ford,especially in the later ones,the diffs are pretty good and the least of your concern.

[xisled]

When I was an apprentice back in 2002, one of my first lessons when a car came in running a bit rough, was while out on a test drive, give it some. The car would sometimes come back running better. Working at dealership, heaps of cars that came in running rough had been babied and just need the thrash to get everything going again. Some of these cars we used to get in never seen 3000 revs.

[|Nate]

This reminds me of dad's old VH SS 4sp M, never saw anywhere close to 3k rpm and putted to work everyday. It ran like absolute crap, idled badly and was usually running rich.
Well the last day he had it, before selling it, mum got to have a drive of it. She gave it the biggest lead footed drive it's ever had and when we got back home I had never seen it run smoother or perform better

[BA-XT]

Great thread!

Coming from an old diesel background I know they need to be worked otherwise you'll glaze up the bores.

I take my BA down the freeway 3 times a week. I don't push it past 2,500rpm. I opened it up a couple of times and ended up with 3 error codes and in limP mode!

I thought a good drive would be enough to Losen out the cobwebs. Twice a week it only goes down to the station.

So should I open it up a bit? Maybe up to 4,000-5,000rmp a few times a week? Or is simply driving in rhe freeway and I to work enough (usually 50km of freeway work 3 times a week).

I don't think it's ever been driven hard in it's life. Currently has 99,000km on it.

[MITCHAY]

Open mine up all the time, might as well drive a Camry if I didn't.

[xisled]

I think my BA GT would die if I didnt drive it hard. It loves it.

[BAGT514]

Bouncing off the rev limiter (for those cars with) or revving until you get valve float is certainly detrimental to any engine but a bit of full throttle from time to time doesn't hurt a properly maintained and warmed up motor. Your motor shouldn't blow up just because you rev it higher than 4000... Putting crap oil in it or not changing the filters will be far more detrimental to them.

[Falcman0o7]

From what ive seen and heard and done myself you just gotta give em a thrashing from time to time! dont keep em to tight! cos when you do cain it the rings will bust on the carbon build up in the cylinder
lol! seems true though? I've had many Xflows that i cained and they never missed a beat yet the old bloke next door bent pushrods driving like well....an old man!

[SKYeXile]

While im no proper hoon, i give my car heaps, its a VE SV6(dont be hating) on 70,000k'ms, dispite a multitude of 4000rpm launches and flat out flawing it rather often, lights, overtaking, coming out of corner...etc... its still in good working order, only done the major services and scheduled repairs.

I have no doubt the transmission may go early...not my problem by then though...

[Ben73]

My car see's 3500rpm daily. And see's the redline at least once a week.

I used to be afraid to thrash my cars. But with a rumbling V8 it seams right to do it.

[XRDeeze]

I guess hitting 7000rpm is a bad thing then....?

[drew`SEVNT5]

Originally Posted by Ford_XR603

I guess hitting 7000rpm is a bad thing then....?

I'd say you aren't trying hard enough!

[lotus]

This reminds me of when I was a young apprentice in the early 70's at one of the Ford dealerships in Brisbane. We used to have an eldrely gent come in and complain that his XY GT was always running rough. When asked how he drives it he said "always obey the speed limit and never drive over 35MPH, mabye 60 on the highway".
Used to wait 30 mins after he left, go and flog the hell out of it, bring it back and it would idle so smooth. He always was very happy when he returned and it was purring like a kitten. Used to see him bring it back every so often "to get it running right"

Another time I was working in the Pre-Delivery Section and used to have some "fun" with the new cars(twin cam Escorts,V6 Capris,GT & HO's,Police "Q" cars). There was a Lime Green V6 capri that just did not sell for a while, so we disconnected the speedo cable and used for a pick up vehicle and drove like it was stolen. About 6 months later was working in the workshop and this capri came in for a service. After the service took it for it for a test run and this would have to be the quickest V6 I'd ever driven and I put it down to how it was "run in"when new.