Running old car at higher rpm

[M1Accord]

I just got my 92 Corolla fixed for A/C and rear suspension and they car runs great now. Having good rear suspension keeps the car planted on the road better and better traction equates to more power moving the car forward. It is like having a new car without the new look or monthly payment.

Since most of my trips are highway and the Corolla has some miles on it, it does need to run at over 2.5k and close to 3k rpm to get to the desired 60-65 mph. Is this bad for my car to run at such high rpm all the time. I often ease it off to let the engine speed winds down to 1.5k rpm for a few seconds resume back to 2.5k+ rpm. With my much new Accord, I only need to run it at 2k rpm to achieve the same speed.

I use good oil such as M1, Valvoline, and other premium full synthetics in 5W20 and 5W30. I am thinking about trying 5W40 when it gets past 150k miles, possible when 200k miles is within reach, and definitely keep it engine speed under 2.5k unless merging in highway.

Also, is it good running rpm up to 5k rpm when merging or passing. The reason I ask is the my buddy just blew the engine on his BMW when he downshifted from 5th to 3rd and the engine red-lined and blew up. The car was running perfectly before that.

 

[NHGUY]

5K is near redline isnt it? Dont expect any engine to last when pushed like that.My 3spd K car pushes 2800 rpm at 65mph.When passing smoothly it does not downshift,the 2.2's torque carries high gear thru the pass very respectibly.It has no overdrive.Basically higher rpms will help reduce gas mileage and increase engine wear.Thus why now they are adding more gears all the time to lower top speed rpm while giving flexibility in the (multiple) lower gears.Chrysler is up to 8 and 9 speed automatics now.

 

[gathermewool]

I remember changing my mind entirely after swapping the struts out on the old Legacy I bought with 165k miles. It went from being a hoopty to being fun to drive, just like that!

Since when is 3k RPM high??? I was also apprehensive about revving the Legacy, for fear that something would break. After only a few thousand miles I got over that. I never revved to redline, but 3.5-4.5k RPM happened often, higher if necessary to get up to speed. Unless you've got some mechanical issue, there's no reason not to rev the engine. That's not to say you should be the heck out of it, but revving high than normal every so often will have no deleterious effect.

 

[chainblu]

Yeah, I'd guess the Toyota doesn't have OD, but the Accord does. It's not a problem running 2500 RPM. In the 60's and 70's most cars didn't have OD and running down the road turning 2500-3000+ RPM was common, even for V8s.

 

[ABerns]

You are fine at that RPM (3k cruising). Toyota knew the speeds its car would be operated at.

As far as the 5k - is that the redline? I don't think I'd push redline all the time, but I know lots of people that do and have never had issues. Would likely be OK. Is it a manual or an auto?

Also, not sure there's a need for the 5w40. Things seem to be working well with the 5w30/5w20 so far?

 

[ARCOgraphite]

University studies using isotope doped rings show minimal increase in wear atany reasonable steady-state RPM. Its accelerating (1/2-full) throttle and any rpm, which gas loads the rings, that causes the most engine wear.

 

[jorton]

How does the engine sound @ idle? Listen to it from outsise of the car(don't need to open hood).

 

[IndyIan]

My car runs the same rpms all the time too, and I give it a run up to 5000+ rpm once a day from my favorite stop light. Just keep some half decent oil in there, change the timing belt when you should and don't worry about it.
Your buddy just got unlucky with his motor and probably the toyota motor is so understressed, you could leave a brick on the pedal and have it bounce off the rev limiter for 20 minutes...

 

[SLCraig]

There is no problem to hit redline in your car if it's been taken care of.
I used to hit fuel cutoff in my Saturn DOHC with bad timing chain guides and I never had any issues (oil kept up)

The car still runs good to this day (not in my hands)

 

[Vikas]

Downshifting from 5th to 3rd could cause the engine to over rev and that could blow up the engine. Most cars would have trouble over revving during the acceleration. For example, if you are in the third gear and floor it, by the time it reaches to the redline, it would be already struggling. This is certainly true for run of the mill grocery getters and your Corolla is no exception. There are few sports cars/sedans which will cross the redline easily but almost all of them will have an electronic cut-off.

So in a modern car, only a bad downshift can cause the engine to over rev and blow up

 

[Volvohead]

Lugging an engine is far more detrimental than approaching redline. The quality of the RPMs mean as much as how many.

In the old days, a good sustained rev of an engine was known as the "Italian tune-up".

To the OP - have fun with your car. If the engine is still in good shape, it will work within its design. This isn't a big fat 455 pushing flat tappets and pushrods. Some engines are at their best when taken up the tach.

 

[Quattro Pete]

Originally Posted By: M1Accord
Since most of my trips are highway and the Corolla has some miles on it, it does need to run at over 2.5k and close to 3k rpm to get to the desired 60-65 mph. Is this bad for my car to run at such high rpm all the time.

Are you serious? Is that like half way to redline? That is not considered high by any means. These engines were designed to run at such rpms just about forever.

If it was bad, your owners manual would tell you not to do it.

Quote:
I often ease it off to let the engine speed winds down to 1.5k rpm for a few seconds resume back to 2.5k+ rpm.

Completely unnecessary, IMO.

Quote:

Also, is it good running rpm up to 5k rpm when merging or passing.

I see no problem with it just as long as 5k is below redline.

Quote:

The reason I ask is the my buddy just blew the engine on his BMW when he downshifted from 5th to 3rd and the engine red-lined and blew up. The car was running perfectly before that.

Did his BMW have a manual trans? Does your Corolla have an auto trans? If so, your trans will not allow you to downshift if it would result in redlining, so you have nothing to worry about. And sad to say, but your buddy does not know how to drive.

 

[TFB1]

Originally Posted By: M1Accord

Also, is it good running rpm up to 5k rpm when merging or passing. The reason I ask is the my buddy just blew the engine on his BMW when he downshifted from 5th to 3rd and the engine red-lined and blew up. The car was running perfectly before that.


If it was at 3.5K in 5th, the engine no doubt zinged past 6500 when he shoved it back in 3rd...

Originally Posted By: Quattro Pete
And sad to say, but your buddy does not know how to drive.

Agreed...

 

[The_Jeff]

The old rule used to be you could run until the end of time at 80% load and 80% of redline. Think of airplane and marine engines that are run full bore most of the time.

Those corollas came with low geared 3 speed automatics, a lot of them, and they buzzed for years and millions of miles. IDK if you have a 5 speed but it will buzz less.

My mazda 323 had the same engineers, was about 4k rpm at highway cruise.

My experiments in finding the mythical "pumping losses" by putting an improper transmission in a 4 cyl saturn (getting my highway RPMS to 2900 instead of 2300) returned 42 MPG, an unblown engine, and an annoying exhaust noise.

 

[exranger06]

A big +1 to what Quattro Pete and TFB1 said.

 

[yonyon]

Extended highway runs at 3k RPM won't hurt anything. Stable speeds and temperatures are healthy.

Pushing it 500 to 1k past red line while cold like I have to do with one of my cars to get out of the neighborhood in the morning... that could be unhealthy in a Corolla. Don't do that if you can avoid it.

 

[DNVDMAX]

No problem I do 3800-4100 rpm sustained for 500+ mile trips on a monthly basis in a 92 Toyata Paseo. Just watch oil consumption through PCV circuit.

 

[Rand]

Originally Posted By: ARCOgraphite
University studies using isotope doped rings show minimal increase in wear atany reasonable steady-state RPM. Its accelerating (1/2-full) throttle and any rpm, which gas loads the rings, that causes the most engine wear.


you have a link to that somewhere?

 

[Artem]

You're babying that car too much.

Give it as much gas as you need to get up to speed while merging onto the highway.

If you has cruise control, I'd click that sucker on and sit back and relax. I've had cars that rev at 3,500 - 4,000rpm for hours on end. Engines ran without a peep for years.

The engine was designed to easily handle those revs.

 

[hypervish]

I used to have an 92' Corolla, and an 91' Corolla a long time ago, both of which i'd drive to Michigan numerous times at 75-80 mph, no issues at all. Just keep an eye on the oil level.

My RX runs at 3k rpm, at 70mph, and I'm usually running 80mph at greater rpm. No issues here, absolutely no oil consumption. Runs as smooth as day 1.