Driving 4000 rpms for extended periods of time
10-17-2005
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Driving 4000 rpms for extended periods of time
Just purchased a used '04 EX Coupe. I have a fairly lengthy commute to work of about 30 miles, mostly on an interstate. My question is, is it OK to drive for about 30 minutes at a time going close to 4000 rpms, which in my car is about 80-82 mph in 5th gear. It seems very smooth and OK at that speed, I just need to know if that is good for the long-term health and durability of the engine. In 1st or 2nd gear, if you hit 4000 rpm it feels like you are really testing the engine.
I drive on I-95 on the Florida coast, and people drive very fast. If you go 70 it feels like people are blowing your doors off.
The other question is, should 4000 rpm = 82 mph on a stock 127 hp EX Coupe? Or is something wrong. I don't remember having to rev my CRX that high to drive on the highway, I remember going 85 or 90 in that car frequently with no problems. I had installed some engine mods though, and the car was getting around 125 or 130 hp and it was a much lighter car than an '04 coupe.
I drive on I-95 on the Florida coast, and people drive very fast. If you go 70 it feels like people are blowing your doors off.
The other question is, should 4000 rpm = 82 mph on a stock 127 hp EX Coupe? Or is something wrong. I don't remember having to rev my CRX that high to drive on the highway, I remember going 85 or 90 in that car frequently with no problems. I had installed some engine mods though, and the car was getting around 125 or 130 hp and it was a much lighter car than an '04 coupe.
10-17-2005
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Its normal. Don't worry about. When you're driving around 5.5k-6k+ constantly, well, you're probably asking for trouble at those speeds.
10-17-2005
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Rep Power: 0 It's fine, especially since it is getting good cooling going at those speeds.
On a side note, I want to commute at 80mph instead of 50max sometimes and the other times traffic!
On a side note, I want to commute at 80mph instead of 50max sometimes and the other times traffic!
10-17-2005
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Rep Power: 241 i ran about 90+ this spring for about 200 miles, got best gas mileage since i bought the car, around 35mpg. i usually get around 30mpg
4000 for me is around 85
4000 for me is around 85
10-18-2005
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Rep Power: 306 you should be fine. i drive the **** outta my car everyday, i have 44k miles on it, and it hasn't given me any trouble.
10-18-2005
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Originally Posted by CivicsRdBest
Its normal. Don't worry about. When you're driving around 5.5k-6k+ constantly, well, you're probably asking for trouble at those speeds.
This was a LX auto sedan with only a SRI on a nice cool sunny day.
Car gets synthetic oil + Redline Water Wetter coolant additive which may have saved my engine?
10-18-2005
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Rep Power: 0 dunno what happend to you man, i drive at least 80mph on my 115 mile commute every day. my car has 115,000 on it and it never skips a beat. Hondas are built for the rpm. in 5th the loswer rpms you run well lower than 4500-5500 you lose gas mileage, it gets great mileage at 90 
10-18-2005
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Rep Power: 294 RPM's are a horrible measurement, here is why:
RPM's don't mean a dam thing when it comes to wear and tear, it's actually piston velocity you need to look at. Piston velocity is what causes things to break, like the rod in your Eclipse. For instance, do you think the pistons in my GSR, which has a piston stroke of 3.189," compared to my truck that has a stroke of 4.16" are going faster at 3000 RPM's? Obivously the truck with longer stroke is going to have a much higher piston velocity than the GS-R, hence the GS-R will have have less wear at 3000 RPMS than the truck.
Honda was orginally a motorcycle company, motorcycles have EXTREMELY high RPMS because of a tiny stroke. When Honda started making cars, they applied the same theory to their car engines, of course more torque is needed, so a longer stroke than a motorcycle engine is needed (longer stroke gives you more torque while larger bores generally give more Horse power, GENERALLY). But Honda engines have always had very small strokes compares to most, specially domestic cars, hence the reason Honda's are known for not having much torque.
So getting back to the ware issue; since the piston velocity is slowwer at the same RPM's, Honda can generally take a higher RPMS than most cars, without having a problem. Going 4-5k is like going 3.5 to 4 in most American cars, you won't hurt it those ranges. Hitting the redline daily still is not a good idea though.
That being said, there is another VERY important issue to wear and tear, you engine oil. If you have recently changed the oil, you will cause less wear than if you are at the end of the oils useful life. I can make some reccomendations as to what you should and should not do, and the best oils to use, but that's a different post But just remember that your engine is better proteced after an oil change rather than after say 7,500 miles.
RPM's don't mean a dam thing when it comes to wear and tear, it's actually piston velocity you need to look at. Piston velocity is what causes things to break, like the rod in your Eclipse. For instance, do you think the pistons in my GSR, which has a piston stroke of 3.189," compared to my truck that has a stroke of 4.16" are going faster at 3000 RPM's? Obivously the truck with longer stroke is going to have a much higher piston velocity than the GS-R, hence the GS-R will have have less wear at 3000 RPMS than the truck.
Honda was orginally a motorcycle company, motorcycles have EXTREMELY high RPMS because of a tiny stroke. When Honda started making cars, they applied the same theory to their car engines, of course more torque is needed, so a longer stroke than a motorcycle engine is needed (longer stroke gives you more torque while larger bores generally give more Horse power, GENERALLY). But Honda engines have always had very small strokes compares to most, specially domestic cars, hence the reason Honda's are known for not having much torque.
So getting back to the ware issue; since the piston velocity is slowwer at the same RPM's, Honda can generally take a higher RPMS than most cars, without having a problem. Going 4-5k is like going 3.5 to 4 in most American cars, you won't hurt it those ranges. Hitting the redline daily still is not a good idea though.
That being said, there is another VERY important issue to wear and tear, you engine oil. If you have recently changed the oil, you will cause less wear than if you are at the end of the oils useful life. I can make some reccomendations as to what you should and should not do, and the best oils to use, but that's a different post But just remember that your engine is better proteced after an oil change rather than after say 7,500 miles.
Last edited by Jrfish007; 10-18-2005 at 12:07 PM.
10-18-2005
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Originally Posted by Jrfish007
RPM's are a horrible measurement, here is why:
RPM's don't mean a dam thing when it comes to wear and tear, it's actually piston velocity you need to look at. Piston velocity is what causes things to break, like the rod in your Eclipse. For instance, do you think the pistons in my GSR, which has a piston stroke of 3.189," compared to my truck that has a stroke of 4.16" are going faster at 3000 RPM's? Obivously the truck with longer stroke is going to have a much higher piston velocity than the GS-R, hence the GS-R will have have less wear at 3000 RPMS than the truck.
Honda was orginally a motorcycle company, motorcycles have EXTREMELY high RPMS because of a tiny stroke. When Honda started making cars, they applied the same theory to their car engines, of course more torque is needed, so a longer stroke than a motorcycle engine is needed (longer stroke gives you more torque while larger bores generally give more Horse power, GENERALLY). But Honda engines have always had very small strokes compares to most, specially domestic cars, hence the reason Honda's are known for not having much torque.
So getting back to the ware issue; since the piston velocity is slowwer at the same RPM's, Honda can generally take a higher RPMS than most cars, without having a problem. Going 4-5k is like going 3.5 to 4 in most American cars, you won't hurt it those ranges. Hitting the redline daily still is not a good idea though.
That being said, there is another VERY important issue to wear and tear, you engine oil. If you have recently changed the oil, you will cause less wear than if you are at the end of the oils useful life. I can make some reccomendations as to what you should and should not do, and the best oils to use, but that's a different post But just remember that your engine is better proteced after an oil change rather than after say 7,500 miles.
RPM's don't mean a dam thing when it comes to wear and tear, it's actually piston velocity you need to look at. Piston velocity is what causes things to break, like the rod in your Eclipse. For instance, do you think the pistons in my GSR, which has a piston stroke of 3.189," compared to my truck that has a stroke of 4.16" are going faster at 3000 RPM's? Obivously the truck with longer stroke is going to have a much higher piston velocity than the GS-R, hence the GS-R will have have less wear at 3000 RPMS than the truck.
Honda was orginally a motorcycle company, motorcycles have EXTREMELY high RPMS because of a tiny stroke. When Honda started making cars, they applied the same theory to their car engines, of course more torque is needed, so a longer stroke than a motorcycle engine is needed (longer stroke gives you more torque while larger bores generally give more Horse power, GENERALLY). But Honda engines have always had very small strokes compares to most, specially domestic cars, hence the reason Honda's are known for not having much torque.
So getting back to the ware issue; since the piston velocity is slowwer at the same RPM's, Honda can generally take a higher RPMS than most cars, without having a problem. Going 4-5k is like going 3.5 to 4 in most American cars, you won't hurt it those ranges. Hitting the redline daily still is not a good idea though.
That being said, there is another VERY important issue to wear and tear, you engine oil. If you have recently changed the oil, you will cause less wear than if you are at the end of the oils useful life. I can make some reccomendations as to what you should and should not do, and the best oils to use, but that's a different post But just remember that your engine is better proteced after an oil change rather than after say 7,500 miles.
10-18-2005
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Originally Posted by mandangalo
what could some ill effects of redlining every day be? just wanted to know.
same as any other car. Hitting your redline everyday will shorten the life of your engine. By how much is hard to say, for instance if you change the oil properly, use good oil and do all the other proper maintance, you may not kill you engine all that much. But the frictional ware increases with speed, infact I think it's squared... Anyway, hitting the redline daily is not good for the life of the engine. The bigger issue is that your tranny will probably fail way before your engine though.
10-18-2005
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Originally Posted by Jrfish007
same as any other car. Hitting your redline everyday will shorten the life of your engine. By how much is hard to say, for instance if you change the oil properly, use good oil and do all the other proper maintance, you may not kill you engine all that much. But the frictional ware increases with speed, infact I think it's squared... Anyway, hitting the redline daily is not good for the life of the engine. The bigger issue is that your tranny will probably fail way before your engine though.
10-18-2005
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Rep Power: 278 oh yeah 87 crx with on new motor 134k all by me and 01 civic 65k both run great to this day, i sold the crx to a friend and he ended up delivering pizza's with it. he still has it and it still runs strong. as long as you rgularly chnge the fluids and stay on top of maintainance they will take quite a bit of abuse.
10-18-2005
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Rep Power: 311 i do it all the time also. 5th gear, 80 mph at 3800 rpms. not 4k. but it is close. you should have no probs as long as the motor is not cold right off the bat. and i still get 40 mpg so its not that big of a deal. once you hit 4.5 k and around that area in any gear, it sucks gas like crazy. but 20mpg is still ok lol. i still laugh at SUVS
10-19-2005
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Rep Power: 278 i actually took a trip to vegas its a bout a 4hr drive from where i live and i made it there in 3.5hrs averaging about 90 the whole way and got 42mpg. it usually take sabout 4 hrs + to get there but traffic was clear so i was on it!
10-19-2005
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Originally Posted by familycar
i actually took a trip to vegas its a bout a 4hr drive from where i live and i made it there in 3.5hrs averaging about 90 the whole way and got 42mpg. it usually take sabout 4 hrs + to get there but traffic was clear so i was on it!
i love driving. i wonder if i could make it to disney from atlanta on one tank of gas. ill tell ya how it goes
10-20-2005
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Originally Posted by Jrfish007
RPM's are a horrible measurement, here is why:
RPM's don't mean a dam thing when it comes to wear and tear, it's actually piston velocity you need to look at. Piston velocity is what causes things to break, like the rod in your Eclipse. For instance, do you think the pistons in my GSR, which has a piston stroke of 3.189," compared to my truck that has a stroke of 4.16" are going faster at 3000 RPM's? Obivously the truck with longer stroke is going to have a much higher piston velocity than the GS-R, hence the GS-R will have have less wear at 3000 RPMS than the truck.
Honda was orginally a motorcycle company, motorcycles have EXTREMELY high RPMS because of a tiny stroke. When Honda started making cars, they applied the same theory to their car engines, of course more torque is needed, so a longer stroke than a motorcycle engine is needed (longer stroke gives you more torque while larger bores generally give more Horse power, GENERALLY). But Honda engines have always had very small strokes compares to most, specially domestic cars, hence the reason Honda's are known for not having much torque.
So getting back to the ware issue; since the piston velocity is slowwer at the same RPM's, Honda can generally take a higher RPMS than most cars, without having a problem. Going 4-5k is like going 3.5 to 4 in most American cars, you won't hurt it those ranges. Hitting the redline daily still is not a good idea though.
That being said, there is another VERY important issue to wear and tear, you engine oil. If you have recently changed the oil, you will cause less wear than if you are at the end of the oils useful life. I can make some reccomendations as to what you should and should not do, and the best oils to use, but that's a different post But just remember that your engine is better proteced after an oil change rather than after say 7,500 miles.
RPM's don't mean a dam thing when it comes to wear and tear, it's actually piston velocity you need to look at. Piston velocity is what causes things to break, like the rod in your Eclipse. For instance, do you think the pistons in my GSR, which has a piston stroke of 3.189," compared to my truck that has a stroke of 4.16" are going faster at 3000 RPM's? Obivously the truck with longer stroke is going to have a much higher piston velocity than the GS-R, hence the GS-R will have have less wear at 3000 RPMS than the truck.
Honda was orginally a motorcycle company, motorcycles have EXTREMELY high RPMS because of a tiny stroke. When Honda started making cars, they applied the same theory to their car engines, of course more torque is needed, so a longer stroke than a motorcycle engine is needed (longer stroke gives you more torque while larger bores generally give more Horse power, GENERALLY). But Honda engines have always had very small strokes compares to most, specially domestic cars, hence the reason Honda's are known for not having much torque.
So getting back to the ware issue; since the piston velocity is slowwer at the same RPM's, Honda can generally take a higher RPMS than most cars, without having a problem. Going 4-5k is like going 3.5 to 4 in most American cars, you won't hurt it those ranges. Hitting the redline daily still is not a good idea though.
That being said, there is another VERY important issue to wear and tear, you engine oil. If you have recently changed the oil, you will cause less wear than if you are at the end of the oils useful life. I can make some reccomendations as to what you should and should not do, and the best oils to use, but that's a different post But just remember that your engine is better proteced after an oil change rather than after say 7,500 miles.
Its not hitting redline that is bad it is bouncing off the rev limiter that is bad. do a search and youll find a whole lot of posts on this subject. Granted it is harder on your engine, it isnt enough to cause damage. Bouuncing off the rev limiter will though.
10-20-2005
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Originally Posted by spudracer326
Its not hitting redline that is bad it is bouncing off the rev limiter that is bad. do a search and youll find a whole lot of posts on this subject. Granted it is harder on your engine, it isnt enough to cause damage. Bouuncing off the rev limiter will though.
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