How often do you WOT?

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I remember reading in Car&Driver a while back. It doesn't make a **** of a lot of difference if you accelerate gently or wot up to cruising speed. what's important is your actual cruising speed and how astutely you maintain it(hello cruise control)
of course, in a congested city driving environment, it's probably best to just accelerate gently and coast at 25mph since your'e just going to be stopping again in 10 seconds anyways.
 
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wouldn't it be a good idea to WOT as much as possible? WIth an automatic, WOT would result in high rpms/redline shifting.

buster, after WOT comes FT!
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WOT is like throttle more than 60-70% open? That ain't nuthin' yet! I redline my engine every day, and not just once. I have never suffered any consequences of shifting (in second gear and up -- only second on US roads!) at the red line. Driving full throttle is not fuel-efficient at all, though.

Also, keep in mind that WOT and FT are not necessarily connected to high RPM or high speed! You can take off FT in 3rd gear and lug the crap out of your engine. Really good for the rod bearings!
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with all due respect, turbo cars with K-jet and duel or triple enrichment schemes use a LOT of fuel at or close to WOT. Power efficient (HP and Torque/cc) but not fuel efficient.

Hehe... I remember my fuel consumption jump to 60l/100km (3.9 mpg) at WOT, and that's with a 1.8 liter engine.
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I used to do it quite often in the States because it was just fun, but less fun in Poland, where gas was/is $5 per gallon.
 
Rarely ever in the V6 automatic.

I do, however have to hit 4-4500 RPM's climbing I-70 in Colorado's high country, but I work up to hit, I don't just gun it. It goes to the mountains 2-3 times a month, and never sees above 3k rpm's here in town.

But I do run bigger then stock tires on this vehicle, and if I recall this 3.2L Isuzu engine actually is meant to rev. When I 1st bought it, it was very easy to hit 4k rpm's in city driving - just the way it's geared with the auto.

In the 5-speed Toyota p-up 22RE 4-cylinder, there's no other option, I will get ran over if I don't beat it in the butt. Even stock with no accessories, that's a heavy truck for a 4-cylinder.
 
In my LS1 about every time it's driven somewhere. In my 2.5L Jeep, well I have to stay WOT on the freeway to keep 65-70 in 5th gear.
 
when i had an LS1 car, and an LT4 car, WOT all the time! i miss it so much!

Now i have a golf TDI... WOT a lot, to keep the engine un-sooty, free up the turbo VGT vanes, keep the intake clean
 
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Also, keep in mind that WOT and FT are not necessarily connected to high RPM or high speed! You can take off FT in 3rd gear and lug the crap out of your engine. Really good for the rod bearings!

Twenty or more years ago a Car and Driver columnist ( I believe it was Patrick Bedard), wrote that an engine reaches it's peak efficiency when operated at maximum throttle. He further stated (I'm paraphrasing by memory), that because the throttle is generally operated at close to wide open, in lugging situations, lugging does not negatively impact an engine and actually improves combustion efficiency... It just feels bad.
 
whenever i pass i'm at WOT.

especially in the winter when everyone forgets how to drive and goes 20 under the limit.
 
My Prellude gets WOT at least once very couple weeks. Leaves a nice big cloud of black smoke everytime I hit 5k rpm at WOT. Not sure if it just knocking the soot out of the cylinders/exhaust or if it is really that rich, but I only get the smoke the first time I hit 5k. If I let the car slow down and try the WOT to redline again, I usually don't get smoke a 2nd time.

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lugging does not negatively impact an engine...

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Better ask the rod bearings if they agree with that assessment!

Interesting. This may only be one person's anecdotal evidence, but my dad had a 1979 Saab 900, bought new, and lugged up the hills near our house every day in top gear while the valvetrain clattered like someone was hammering on the head, downshifting only when the car felt like it was going to stall out.

We put over 300k miles on that car before rust took it out of service, and the engine still ran great when we pulled it out for storage. Still have that engine sitting in the garage.
 
I hardly ever WOT even though I have two "performance" vehicles. I don't know why, I just don't do it.

High dollar gas is the main reason.
 
In the summer with the Cutlass I went WOT several times a day, just cause I couldn't hold myself back. WOT from a stop would produce a nice smokey burnout everytime cause of the 3.73 gears. The Caprice isn't fast enough especially with my 235/75r15 winter tires, so I don't really bother with WOT. Trying to safe gas, and it doesn't really ever need WOT.
 
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