Just drove from Carlsbad, CA to Phoenix and back for just under 800 miles in my new to me 2006 Scion xB with now 135K miles. For a large part of the trip out in the desert, the speeds were between 70 and 80 mph and that meant up to 4K rpm for a driving time of just over 12 hours round trip.
I'm still getting used to spinning that 1.5L engine that fast but evidently it's doing okay connected to a 5-speed manual transmission. I'm using Red Line 0w-30 engine oil and Red Line MT-90 in the transmission. The oil level was checked several times and the level dropped less than the width of the Full line on the dipstick, maybe 1/32".
The previous owner has service records for 3K OCI's with Castrol GTX conventional 5w-30.
I hope this xB will last as long as my 84 Honda wagon. I'm thinking of putting a piece of tape over the tach lol.
1NZ-FE engine spinning away on a long trip
- Thread starter OneEyeJack
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Don't worry about it - small engines rev hard, they're designed to do it 
In development, engines are run at full load and max rpm for hundreds of hours continuously.
Your trip was nothing but gentle exercise and your engine hardly broke sweat.
Right, everything sounds fine in your description however, the tranny in these cars are limited but, 4K RPM is nothing! If Toyota used a 6 spd manual, you may have been downshifting more often just to make any power in these little engines...anyway!
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There’s one way to reduce the RPM and that is to slow down, 
NO NO NO NO NO and NO!
You got it all wrong.
You now have an engine that just "open herself" (is XBOX/BOX masculine or feminine?)
Enjoy a more responsive hamster wheelie.
My Yaris, open pretty good after going up and down the Smokies last fall.
And the tach problem it's easy: just look at the road ? :-P (Pictures or it didn't happen)
I use my ECHO for commuting to work and back, and for a large portion of the trip I'm traveling at the speeds you mention or more. My 1NZ-FE hasn't died yet so I doubt yours will either any time soon.
You have a tachometer? Nice, my ECHO does not (but I do also have the 5-speed).
I'd proactively replace the engine--you can never be too careful with these sorts of things. I mean, that's a lot of rpm. Ships cross the Atlantic all the time with a max rpm of what, 100rpm? You've overstressed that engine, and I doubt it'll make it down the block now.
I used to run my 1.05 liter Vauxhall up and down UK main roads back in the 1970's. This might mean a steady 70mph for several hours, which was around 5000 rpm.I used 20w50 of whatever brand was on sale for 3k oci's. It ran up around 1o0k miles without complaint or developing and appetite for oil, and carried on for a few more years more gentle use when I gave it to my sister. Terminal rust ended its life at about 12 years old, not a bad lifespan for a British car built in 1963.
Claud.
The math says 3100 RPM at 60, 3617 @ 70 MPH, 3875 @ 75 MPH, and 4133 @ 80 MPH. Engine torque peak is 101 ft/lbs at 4200. HP is 103 at 6000. Seems about right for the vehicle and typical driver who doesn't like to downshift when they really should.
Originally Posted By: Claud
I used to run my 1.05 liter Vauxhall up and down UK main roads back in the 1970's. ...
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The Yaris 5spd is supposed to lower the rpms a bit. You could also go to a taller tire for a 3-4-5% difference, the only real issue is how tall 1st is. My winter tire set results in 4.5% taller gearing vs my summer tires, and 1st in the Focus is fairly tall to begin with so it results in a bit more clutch slip starting on hills for sure.
Originally Posted By: CR94
Originally Posted By: Claud
I used to run my 1.05 liter Vauxhall up and down UK main roads back in the 1970's. ...
No need to worry about high RPM by itself, however proper oil level is more critical.
Originally Posted By: supton
I'd proactively replace the engine--you can never be too careful with these sorts of things. I mean, that's a lot of rpm. Ships cross the Atlantic all the time with a max rpm of what, 100rpm? You've overstressed that engine, and I doubt it'll make it down the block now.
Thanks for the responses. It's just taking some time to get used to the new self-propelled shipping crate. My 03 4Runner runs somewhere between 1.7 and 2.0K at those same speeds and is very relaxed.
The 1NZ-FE is pretty rev happy(and crude sounding), not to same degree as Honda's D/B-series engines but it's a typical undersquare Japanese engine biased towards the top-end. I think the Echo/Scion/Yaris version of these get worked more than the 1st-2nd gen Prius and Prius C versions.
The Prius version(1NZ-FXE) doesn't really see redline, but this weekend I gave mine a good uphill romp going 75ish and I saw the engine spinning at 4100-4500RPM.
I'd check for oil consumption since the owner did use conventional oil and Toyota's 4-cylinders of that era have been experiencing stuck/coked rings or burning more oil as they get older due to low-tension rings. Red Line is a POE-based oil and esters are better solvents than PAO(M1) or Group III oils(PP, VSP, etc).
Your engine is spinning pretty high as compared to mine but I guess that is to overcome the Xb having the aerodynamics of a toaster. Conversely, the Prius has good aerodynamics but lower horsepower so they too need higher gear ratios.
With an axel and top gear ratio of 3.72 and 0.82 respectively, my Yaris spins at ~3200 rpm @ 120 kph (75 mph). This represents ~250 rpm for each 10 kph change in speed. I can go as low as 75 kph in top gear (constant speed on level ground) while maintaining my lower threshold of ~2000 rpm for this engine.
From what I've read the 1nz-fe is a pretty robust engine. Not so sure you need top quality synthetic oil but at those engine speeds and the cost benefit compared to here, why not.
xB is geared crazy; I'm guessing but my echo ran about 400RPM/10MPH so about < 3K @ 70MPH
and yes, i sit in the driver's seat doing nonsense like what is mentioned above.
Liked it enough to buy another 1nz-fe
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