As an Engineer I just can say THANK YOU for that good video about this topic! I saw a ton of videos about this topic (and rpm ranges in general) and most of them seem to consist of hear say and "what my old grandfather told me"-stuff. It highly depends on the car, usually diesel engines are more happy with low rpm than gasoline engines but lugging them all the time will give you higher blow by rates in general. Furthermore as you've noted, you don't save fuel just by driving in low rpms, you're saving fuel by driving in the rpm range where the engines has its top torque output. As an example you've got the 1.9 TDI (engine code 1Z) from VW. This turbo diesel engine has a max. torque of 202Nm at 1850rpm. Driving it below that makes only sense if you don't need power, if you're gliding the road. If you need power for e.g. an overtake then you want to be in the range of elasticity of the engine. It is the range between max torque and max power. In case of our example, it is between 1850rpm and 4000rpm (max power there), the redline is at ~4500rpm and the ECU drastically decreases the power at about 4250~4300rpm. I usually shift down to reach about 2200 to 2500rpm to start the rapid acceleration, it pulls good enough to shift to the next gear in the range of 3500rpm, which sends it back to about 2500rpm, and gives the opportunity for a second push. I rarely hit the redline, since the power rapidly goes down after 4100-ish rpm. Which isn't uncommon for older turbo diesel engines, since they protect themselves from excessive temperatures of the exhaust gases, which gets more dangerous if the rpms are higher due to the higher amount of gasses (mass there of). If you are a hyper miler or someone who really wants to know how to do it right in your car, get the torque diagrams. You can find them on the internet for the most cars and engines. Be sure to validate the revision (date of construction), version and engine code of the engine you have in use. Safe roads and all the best, Bruce
Thanks my friend, I really appreciate the kind words of support, I had no idea this video would be so popular especially as there are fewer drivers with a manual than ever, but it does seem that there are lots of drivers with bad habits out there. And let's face it we could all do with developing mechanical sympathy for our engine. I didn't explain a few points as well as I'd have liked in this video so I will revisit this topic in future to clarify those.
@@torquecars You're welcome :) Congratz for your video took up, it was a ton of work for sure :D Ha, yes, you couldn't stiff everything in one video, like a lecture at the University. Better split them up and give every video a critical of the topic. I'm looking forward to, until then, take care and safe roads!
I also have 1.9 tdi, love that engine. I didn't know about diagrams and max torque, but just from feeling I knew that a little bit below 2k is sweet spot for the engine. And then my father drivers 1.6 tdi on 1.2k rpm - it hurts me to watch that, to listen to those low frequency vibrations (btw, what is that low frequency sound when driving low rpm under load?). Told him many times that it's not good nor for the engine, nor for the mileage, but he just didn't listen to me. Nothing I can do about it.
Well my motorcycle 125cc 4 stroke has a bit more than 40K KM and now to do a full fuel tank I need to top up almost the full engine oil in like 3 times and that's the reason of being 95% or more always in high RPM but due to the lack of power it just needs full accelerator and full rpm all the time sadly ☹ The thing is it barely even smokes unless at like RPM cut just a very tiny bit, its like the damn oil is just evaporating from inside the engine FFS, also not a single drop of oil ever dropped either, the whole engine is all dry from the outside.
@@Athaion0 7K??? mine goes a lot to 115000 rpm LOL it's the rpm cut, it doesn't have a rpm gauge but it's around there... but like 9 - 10K is more constant.
It makes sense that you should never give full throttle at low revs. The cylinders will then become much too hot, which can cause the rings to crack, as Subaru also advises. Now that rarely happens in Europe, because the petrol is of much better quality, but if you live in the USA, be careful..
I wish all drivers applied that "I've paid for it so I'll use it" principle. BMW drivers pay for all their indicators but for some reason they insist on NOT using them.
I will never redline my SPI. The thing sounds like it’s ready to quit at 2,500-2,800 rpm. I’m good on taking that chance 😆maybe if I had the Zetec or Duratec
Yes, few engines suffer from doing low rpm for extended periods with little to no load on them, (with the exception of the badly designed oil pumps out there). Keeping low RPM and pressing hard on the throttle will add wear and tear, although the degree with which this happens will vary from engine to engine.
@@torquecars There are many vehicles that have worn out prematurely because they had extended idling which is why Police package vehicles frequently have upgrades designed for extended idling. Newer vehicles have variable displacement or even electrically operated oil pumps to negate the necessity of these special packages.
@@lassepeterson2740 depends on road, your gearing, and speed limits. Your clutch probably doesn’t like starting in 2nd all the time, but not a big deal. More wear when people rest their door on clutch
Lugging has ruined more engines than revving, rule of thumb, if you press down on the accelerator and your vehicle dose not accelerate easily then you need to down shift and if you are giving more gas to maintain your speed you need to down shift, it is just that simple. How ever revving your engine to high rpms with no load on it is not good for it either.
There's limits to it throttles are throttles not a switch there's controll to it if it's juddering and banging to much load for the rpm lift low rpm doesn't destroy engines neither does using revs it'd mostly just down to your load variable tbf most things just die from black death and lack of servicing never seen grannieing break anything even when it's come to giving a car it's first kicking after 90k miles 😂
@@tofuguru941 i think that full throttle up to redline going downhill is where there's no load, and very bad. Uphill there is engine load. Or when towing. But I'm not sure what the poster exactly meant.
@@tofuguru941your engine is meant to be loaded up. Maybe not 100% load at 1k rpm, but 90% of the time your engine is under load, so I'm going to assume they build it to be under load. But I'm not sure really. It could be the speed at which the rpms rise. Not enough time for the oil to make it to critical components.
Diesels in particular need to be driven like the police are chasing you..(DPF, EGR and rxhaust cleaning). My grandad told me Diesels are designed to work, not rest…Also they need a good run to build heat and regular services..to keep them fit..
Diesels are true tanks if serviced regualy, They are literally designed to haul heavy loads over long distances. Our nanny state should never had declared war on them.
My mother got so lazy at shifting. She would drive through town without down shifting, doing 35mph in 5th gear. She killed two or three cars like this. I finally told her to stop driving manuals, and buy automatics.
Automatics aren't necessarily the best answer. I drive an auto which is very reluctant to change down; if left to its own devices it would slog up hills all day at below 1000rpm, so I frequently find myself manually selecting a lower gear to ease the load on the engine.
@@saxon-mt5by as a co-driver on a garbage truck that's automatic,i agree. The automatic is perfect anywhere else for the type of vehicle it is, but hills are problematic as it struggles to select a proper gear.
@@Deceit-hx7ey Would lifting off or pressing down on the pedal for a moment make it downshift. Automatics are "dumb" computers that don't want to shift if you don't change the throttle input.
@@modarkthemauler there is actually a semi-mechanic mode on the truck that is engaged with a button on the wheel, there you can go higher or lower by 1 gear. So that kinda solves the hill and automatic issues lol.
It’s ok to use lower RPM when car is still cold because cold oil doesn’t flow as quickly, but after it warms up it’s completely fine to use the whole RPM range every once in a while
All modern oils these days flows immediately, we're talking seconds. It's not exactly going from molasses to water in viscosity change. Just look at the oil flowing from a new bottle very liquid. Also specifically made to flow just fine in sub zero temps hence the W-rating. So at -20°C I can see a slight need to not overdo it the first 5 minutes but the oil is indeed flowing or any engine would be toast at every cold start
@rosen9425 that is very true, But just because the oil is flowing it still doesn’t mean it is up to operating temperature. Which is why it is a good idea to take it easy for the first few minutes before driving the car aggressively.
@@FGNi-em9sb Engine oil doesn't have to be at operating temperature to lubricate, it does that all the time. The enemy of lubrication is old oil. The older the less lubrication properties are left. It's why have to change it. All engine oils in a normal cars are multigrade oils, designed to operate at various temperature intervals. There's a cold and hot viscosity rating meaning the oil properties change as the heat increases. Excessive heat does break down the oil so abnormal heat over 100°C or so is much worse than freezing temps until extremes of -40°C or so. A funny BMW note I read in a manual said something like this. Engine break in: keep the speed below 200 kmh the first 1500 km What is driving aggressively and why is that a parameter to take into account at all? Sounds like abnormal behavior subject to a mentality attitude correction more than babying the engine oil in a car 🤔
Most modern engines are alloy with steel stretch bolts clamping the head down. They don't reach full clamping force on the head gasket until full operating temperature is reached so it is good to avoid wide open throttle operation until warmed up to avoid head gasket failures.
Would it matter for cvt? Genuine question. My cvt likes to keep the rpms low when accelerating. It accelerates just fine just wondering if I need to start throttling more for more rpms or not.
I’ve been driving for 40 years and although I’m no engineer I have pretty much driven the way you describe in this video - ie I use light throttle at low revs and while I do drive for economy on average I do indeed approach the red line from time to time and on a twisty road I will usually hold onto a lower year which is also safer as it gives more control and better response. Cars that I have owned have consequently remained healthy into high mileage and tend to burn very little engine oil.
@@Xenon777_ I would say anything below 2K is low and even around 2K I would only gradually increase the throttle rather than stamp on it. For full throttle it’s best to be close to the mid-range torque. Obviously this varies from engine to engine - I have a 1.4 TSi which is a low pressure turbo.
My opinion is that a gasoline engine car can be used between 2000 and 4000rpm with no problem if one wants some torque. Over 4000rpm, one is either looking for power, or for engine problems. Below 2000, if you are not accelerating to reach your usual speed, you are decelerating to stop the car or looking for a car park place; anything other than this is lugging the engine, and looking for mechanical problems too. In a diesel engine, I would say the torque band is between 1000 and 2500rpm. Over 3000, you are looking for power (on an engine supposedly full of torque) or, once more, looking for technical problems
@@oscaraurelio8869 my personal non professional opinion on diesel engines as i have the most experience with diesel engines is Allways ride the torque curve My car peak torque is at around 2000rpm as most diesel engines I ride it at around 2500 since its a bmw and its really revs happy, if i need to drive at under 2000rpm that means im in too low of a gear While thats the case with my revs happy engine My ford focus is not really revs happy and its made for economy in mind i change at 2000rpm and ride it around 1800 fo 2200 depending on conditions
Oscar is right for the average engine. I've always found keeping a 4 or 6 cyl avg compression gasoline motor between 2000 and 4000rpm 90% of the time to equal long engine life and best fuel usage. I have always been able to shift from 5th to 4th or 3rd in time to achieve a pass, a climb or an engine braking as I live in the mountains with steep switches. My wife can't seem to get comfortable with a clutch so she has a 6 sp electric automatic...it responds very quickly to throttle input in a pass or climb... I do not ever sense lugging or knocking. I typically keep cars since 1990 to 200k or 250k, and sell them because I have just grown tired of them after 15 to 20 years...or the subcomponents start failing with age...wiring, electric windows, switches, trim, alternators, pumps, etc... Every redliner I know was always having motor work done on a regular basis over 0 to 100k miles...or replacing the motor or engine. They may not be related...as it may just be the enthusiast race fan personality that desires constant car attention. When I drove a BMW, there were lots of trim and body parts available in junkyards because the car had blown a motor in hard kid driving or dumping it into 2nd at high speeds.
It literally takes checking the instant fuel consumption to understand that lugging your engine actually uses more fuel than the correct rpm, especially going uphill.
@@nielsonderbeke8507 k9k (renault 1.5 dci) in my case. It's very obvious in hill climbs when I downshift, going from ~1500rpm to ~2300... goes from about 15-16l/100km to ~12-13. I guess it has to spray a lot more at those low rpms to keep pulling the weight up. In level driving it doesn't change much.
@@25myma but you say on hill climbs, which is like 2% of the time for the avrage person. What happens if u go on a straight road and go from 1500rpm to 2300 with a lower gear. Does your fuel consumption go down again?
@@25myma looool 15L/100km in the 1.5DCI ?? What the actual fuck are u talking about that can't be right, even if u keep driving at 3000rpm for 4 hours at 120kmh it would never get past 7L, ideally it would be between 5 and 5.5L for optimal driving, 15L is literal V8 territory lmao you are not getting that on a 1.5 DCI
@@lassepeterson2740 That was a strategy my dad used when low on fuel 😂. Still he managed to get to the gas station on an almost empty tank. And barely any money since he had to go for the paycheck in the city.
The best way to save money is to not buy new cars. Don't buy anything showy, because you're paying for the looks. In the UK driving a small diesel car is way more economical than public transport if you only have a few miles to go each day. I had a Vauxhall Corsa 1.3 diesel a while back, and normal driving never gave less than 50 mpg, so the 12 mile round trip was less than £2. And even now it would still be less than £3 per day.
Thanks for the video. I am a retired motor tech. I know you say not to criticise you but after a lifetime of using the terminology of the higher the numerical number of the gear directly equates to the higher the ratio. But you say lower gear which as I said after a lifetime grates on my sensibilities. I was taught to drive ( especially on the open roads ) to keep the revs between 2 - 4 K rpm. Over 4K and you start to increase engine wear. If you are travelling around town at 30 it is better to be in 3rd gear rather than 4th for the same reasons you gave of less strain on pistons and crankshaft. Strangely fuel economy is better as well. Keep posting.
This is a bit outdated, though. Just a detail, some cars have gear selection suggestions. If you are not or barely under load, the gear selection suggestion, suggests rpm around 1200. Also, most modern (normal day to day use) engines have almost maximum torque above 1500 rpm to 4000 rpm. So it will almost never be necessary to exceed 2500 rpm unless you tow something heavy.
@@peterjohnson9438 194,000 miles, no carbon issues and isn't burning any oil so far. I take my guidance from the Advanced School Of Motoring. My 02 sensors and catalyst are also original and pass annual emission testing easily.
Have run a 1990s Ford for over 300k miles, nearly all of the time changed gear between 2000-2200 RPM. Engine still sounds sweet, 5k oil changes have helped
A redline each day, keeps the mechanic away. If you own an older diesel with injection pump and EGR valve, you will know driving at low rpm will ruin it.
This can be considered ancient knowledge. We all knew this concept in the 60s. Lugging an engine under load was never a good idea. Find the midrange for your engine. Ignore the tach, go by feel
Yup. In a lot of cars you can feel where the engine is comfortable. The engineers have optimized the engines dampened resonant frequency to transmit the fewest vibrations right around the point where the engine is at its most efficient. Although a lot of higher end cars have so much cabin vibration damping and/or drive by wire systems that hide the engines vibrations from the driver.
i burned out a poorly constructed Mitsubishi manual transmission with low RPM driving .does not slap enough grease around and burned the bearings out, so now i keep the sucker always above 3000 RPMs. I was stunned when the tranny shop just said "known issue with the tranny"
I’ve been red lining my Ford fusion every day for 304,000 miles and counting. My engine seems to really like it honestly. As long as you change your oil and coolant on time I think it’s actually good for the engine
I have Audi a3 2lt tdi it has suggested gear. I always ignore as I think it labours the engine. It’s supposed to be fuel efficient but I ignore and still get 60mpg.
Yeah, that kind of thing is to help the fleet average mpg for the gov't regulations. They don't care if it wears out your car faster. All the better, actually!
@@davidellis8141 Those suggestions always make me laugh, ain’t no way I’m going to labour the engine just for economy. My diesel often tells me to change from third to fifth, to which I generally laugh out loud.
I've been saying this for years and no one listens, despite me being a qualified and very experienced automotive engineer, who's had to fix the problems caused by this. Actually with some cars, driving at these low RPMs might not be the most economical for mpg either.
Excellent. I've 300,000 km Passat. Guilty as charged. Low revs for economy. Cost me a flywheel last year, and Diesel Particulate Filter this year. A truck driver warned me about that faint vibration you get when you accelerate at low revs. He said that's when the damage is being done.
The situation with DPF equipped diesels is unique. I have a 2017 Mitsubishi Triton automatic with just short of 125,000 km on the clock. When I retired and moved to a rural area it was easy to drive for fuel economy. I was doing just that, avoid the freeway and cruise the scenic backroads at 80 to 90 kph, however DPF faults began to occur and having them rectified / reset and oil changes [high crankcase level] cost much, much more than any incremental fuel saving. I changed to regular freeway use at 100 /110 kph and the issue appears to have been resolved. I never "lug" an engine, that is Barbaric.
@@gregorymalchuk272 [A] And ruin the engine [B} Pretty hard to lug an engine with an auto. [C] Diesels over fuel at high loads and low RPM, fuel only is regulated, there is no throttle body = effectively a rich mixture and more soot.
2:53 minor correction. Too high of a gear makes it more difficult for the engine to move the vehicle. I bike a lot and if I don’t shift down a couple gears on steep inclines I have more trouble gaining speed on a bike. A lower gear reduces the stress since the engine (or your legs when you’re riding a bike) can operate at a higher speed and more effectively move the vehicle without added stress.
Many modern cars encourage this sort of behaviour. Auto's change up too early to keep the engine at low RPM, and many manual cars with gear change indicators often make you change up too early. Like many eco features they seem to prioritise a few MPG over engine longevity.
I drive a Volvo with a 1.6 diesel that my dad drove like this all the time before me. The car ran like absolute garbage when I got it, but after a year of hitting 3k rpm on pretty much every single drive, it's running better than ever.
@@ryans413 technically the easier gear for pulling away/slow speeds is "lower" if you're considering gear ratio, conversely, the harder gear for faster roads is "higher".
Powerband recommendation is based on full throttle loads. Just drive your vehicle with light throttle loads. This wont overfuel your cylinders and on modern diesel engines you wont overfuel because the computer wont let it ,it will only give just the right amount of fuel
forgot to mention that 1. Hot blow by gasses push out the oil between the piston rings and burn off oil , especially oil scraping ring that wil clog up. 2. oil needs to seal off the pistonrings. At low rpm oil is not able to maintain this seal. Mind that at tdc and bdc piston speed =0, at low rpm time enough to lose fluid pressure. In addition we use low piston rings tension and low viscosity oil like 5w30 C2 or 0w20. These oils can easily push out between surfaces (also bearings) 3 oil needs to clean the engine and at low rpm there is less flow through the engine and piston rings can not be cleaned by the oil. 4 higher service intervals makes it harder for the oil to do it's job. A extra oil change at 1/2 the interval cost less than a complete engine overhaul. Speeding up piston speed (higher rpm) will prevent problems.
Yes but higher engine speed automatically means more friction and wear bc more force means more friction (also true with lugging) so where is the balance between fast enough so the engine can function properly and slow enough that you aren’t constantly revving it out and causing extra wear
@@whatsomeonesaidwastaken9216 he means between 2000-3000 rpm, which is the sweet spot most engines are designed to work on. Lugging is done below 2000.
When the needle is nearer to E than my pay is to my account I go back to the "short shifting" that I watched endurance touring cars drivers use to delay a pit stop..... but when I leave then petrol station on pay day suddenly I'm Colin McCray
There is nothing wrong with running low rpm at highway speeds so long as you're on flat terrain. When accelerating or highway driving in hill country, it's a terrible idea.
Been lugging the same VW TDI for 18 years with no engine issues. Although that's what old diesels were made for. Quickly noticed the VNT turbo didn't like that driving style. It would quickly start dropping into limp mode above 3,000 revs. Because the turbo vanes get stuck. So it gets the occasional blast above 4k to help clear them out.
Expert here. There's a saying. The sweet spot. That is the rpm range every motor has where it runs the best. The lowest rpm in that range is used in cruising, maintaining a constant speed. The highest rpm in that range is for extreme acceleration, also know as redline. That should only be done after engine has reached normal operating temperature. Ideally you never exceed that redline rpm, no matter what Scotty says! Most cars run very well at 2200 rpms. Find out what your lowest rpm is for cruising, then never run your engine lower than that. If you really want to know how hard to push on your gas pedal, put a hard boiled egg under your gas foot. If you crack your egg, you are now pushing down too hard!
My car turns at 1500rpm at 60mph in 8th gear on highway driving. With the ZF8HP it can shift in non-sequential manner. I once saw my transmission shift from 8th to 2nd to take evasive action while on the road.
Oh, to think we grew up with Mk1 Escorts with horrible fixed choke carbs. That taught you everything. Modern fuel injection and engine management cover up too many of our sins. Strangely it turned out the rules for maximum fuel efficiency turned out to be the same rules for maximum power. The rule is to "follow the engine" - no point throwing fuel at the engine if it can't burn it. It needed air flow. Buuuuut - if you are doing it to save fuel, that is darned tiring on your ankle. So the next best thing was stick it in cruise control and juggle the setting around the mpg display. But yes, change the oil, change the air filter, and never never push a cold engine! . . .
This is the explanation I've been waiting for for years - many thanks! The bicycle comparison really makes it clear and the other explanations hit home. My cars are both automatics. I don't understand why people want electronics to control everything in the car but not the most basic thing - gear changing! Modern cars can change gears faster and smoother than most drivers!
An engine is most efficient when it is at its maximum torque. We used to have these ''infomercials'' here in the Netherlands, promoting ''the new driving'', where you are told to shift between 2000-2500rpm... I always said; Yeah, maybe in a diesel, but not in a gasoline car...
Modern automatic transmissions are also programmed to keep the engine rpm below 1500. I drive my car with the transmission in sport mode maybe 80% of the time. Keeps the rpms in a good window
Why anybody would be surprised by that concept is baffling to me, it's been a thing forever with cars owned by older folks who puttered back n forth and the engine getting carbon build up on everything. The easiest way to clean a engine up like that is install a water injection system or put it on high idle and start spraying water in the carb or throttle body but gradual is better because you can dislodge a large chunk and crack a piston. When I was at the vocational college for automotives a guy had a 69 mach 1 with a 351 Cleveland that had been chugged around for years and the owner gave it a hot supper all the way to the school which was 2 hours non stop through middle of no where and in the shop it started banging, the teacher thought someone had dropped a bolt down the carb but no one had, it was carbon chunks breaking free, he misted water down the carb and it got worse before it got better and black water was just puffing out the tailpipes but eventually it quieted down and ran fine, It was clanging and banging pretty good during the process, even then I thought it was a risky move he could have easily cracked a piston. Excessive short trips raise hell with engines too, if they rarely get up to operating temp they build up a lot of carbon deposits and sludge and moisture in the engine, gotta get them things hot... People think I'll run a cold thermostat for more power but same deal engines need to reach a certain temp to operate properly.
Also a good reason not to go WOT at low rpms is the damage it causes to the gearbox, the small teeth that actually engage the gear and hold all the force slowly wear out. For example on diesels if you want to accelerate in 5th or 6th gear going below 2k rpm, it will sooner rather than later cause damage, because the engine has the torque and strength, but the gearing is way off to smoothly pull away, also at low speeds the transmission oil won't efficiently get to the 5th or 6th gears, this is a big issue with VW T4, T5 and even T6 transmissions, and also some 5 speed toyotas, usually Rav4. Great video, even though I feel like I know these things, it's always nice to learn more from knowledgable people!
I've bought and sold a few cars in the last couple of years, and I 100% agree, I bought a 1 owner Daewoo Lanos on 44K miles, that belonged to an older gentleman who I think must have driven it very gently, as the crank case pressure was ridiculous and the performance was down, a bit of enthusiastic driving later and it sorted itself out though. I also bought a Vauxhall Tigra on 53K miles, that had been owned by an older lady who never went over 20 in it, I put it in for the MOT and all three emissions readings were in the red and it was burning oil, same again, drove it at about 4000RPM for well over half an hour, it had stopped burning oil and the emissions were in the green, I think the piston rings must have gotten stuck with carbon and the extra heat and pressure from a good thrash manage to loosen them. I will never let a car sit below 1750RPM now because the damage it does outweighs the convenience of not having to change gears constantly, and before someone mentions gearbox and clutch wear, proper driving has a negligible effect on either of these
My Grandad bought a brand new Suzuki Alto in 2004. In 2012 when he died it had only done 8000 miles, just from heading into town once per week to collect his pension and go shopping. The engine was in a terrible state, wouldn't run smoothly and reluctant to rev. A good motorway run and italian tune up improved it a lot.
Known as the Italian Tune-up. Own a C6 Corvette and all this transmission does is shift, pretty much always 1500-2000 RPM. It does get excellent fuel economy and main reason I bought it. Trust me I do open-up this engine.
Low RPMs are horrible for the clutch and flywheel. There’s a reason you see so many diesels with clutch replacements at less than 200k miles and so many reports of DMF failure shortly after remaps, especially in cases of people remapping for economy. I knew a guy who killed a clutch in 3 years by trying to save fuel, despite all the warnings he had. It also punishes the crank shaft and connecting rods. But people are so desperate to save a few pennies or get a dopamine buzz from seeing an outrageously high fuel economy reading.
There is no wear to Clutch except when you are using it. Clutch wears when taking off and on shifts. More wear when upshifting on hills. Unless the clutch is slipping it doesn't matter what the rpm are when disengaged.
Wow. There is so much emphasis on mileage, but nobody tells us what making that a priority does to your engine. You have just changed my driving style. Thank you!
Same goes for very light oils, and many other things done to modern cars. The thinking is like having a "qualifying" engine for a race, that is meant to be really fast for one lap or pass, and blow up. It doesn't benefit the consumer or the environment or anything else to require that myopic approach.
The newer Audi A-4 turbo engines require a very special motor oil to prevent lo-rpm pre-ignition. The oil that can leak by the rings during lugging can cause this and the special oil has an additive to "help" prevent blowing a piston. The plus for these engines is the dual injectors-- cylinder and port which help to keep the intake port clean.
I bought a Chrysler town and country. The former owner drove on econ mode. The engine was running horrible. But after engine flush and patrol cleaner an 6000 km high RPM driving it runs perfectly again. So you are so right!
I have three Nissan Sentras with a CVT. Here in the suburbs of Dallas, Texas, I do a lot of driving at 40-50 mph (65 to 80 kph) at about 1,200 to 1,600 rpm’s. I accelerate slowly and I’ve never had an engine problem.
40 years ago or so, Saab gave instructions on the use of their engines and stated that the engines were happiest at about 2500rpm. This is quite a good yardstick for most petrol engines and, if like me, you are a retired petrolhead, my Alfa and Subaru engines have felt to be free running at between 2000 and 2500 rpm. Below 2000 you can feel that the engines are not as happy. I have just bought my first turbo engine and it feels as if it is moving freely and smoothly at slightly lower rpm, maybe 1800 but no when pulling uphill..However, I am no expert on turbos.
The Fiesta 1.2 Zetec I have will start to feel vibration if I mash it below 1500, so I'm lighter on the accelerator until 2000. I'm usually puttering around town at barely above idle, as it doesn't take much accelerator use but open it up when I get into the 60s and rarely make really short trips. But as a rule of thumb if the right pedal is down then the revs should not be, and if the right pedal is not down, then the revs may as well be in terms of fuel efficiency and because it's no longer lugging.
This is something that drives me nuts when it comes to transmission shift logic, including DCTs. I don't want to be in top gear at 40 mph. If I need to do an evasive (acceleration or cornering), nothing good is going to happen. I usually select my own gears. I'd prefer a manual but for the fact that they are slower than a good DCT and no longer have the edge on fuel economy. Plus, on the rare occasion I feel lazy, I can go full auto.
800+ miles a week highway miles & stop and go traffic On my '64 CUDA with a cop car 318/5.2 engine 4 speed stick shift 273 gears on the rear end 1100 rpm at 55mph I drove that engine for 12 years All over southern CA fixing copiers printers and fax machines I used synthetic oil and changed it every 10k miles and the oil filter every 5k miles 🤷♂️
I agree with your end conclusion, but it's factually incorrect that gasoline engines are *less* efficient at low rpm driving. Higher rpms will come at the cost of fuel efficiency. The only thing that can happen to cause a higher fuel usage has to do with knock. Low rpms come with the increased risk of knock, which can destroy your engine. To avoid this, some ECUs inject more fuel with the purpose of dropping the temperature in the cilinder, especially the head. This sounds counter intuitive, but a liquid evaporating will take away heat from its surroundings. So excess fuel (that cannot be burned because of lack of oxygen) evaporating in the cilinder will actually cool down the cilinder to avoid knock from happening. Engineering Explained has some videos on this topic 😊
@timobreitscheidt9382 absolutely! But it adds considerable complexity to the engine: separate injectors, separate water tank, water lines, etc. Fuel is already there, so that's what's they're using.
I noticed this on my motorcycle (Suzuki Vstrom 650) . I was doing as the manual suggested & rode at around 10 mph per gear aka at 60 mph (100 kph) just hitting 6th gear. My computer said I was getting around 48 mpg. The sweet spot in the torque curve was another 1k rpm though. Staying in 5th gear at 60 mph put me right at my 5200 rpm sweet spot. I did not reset the trip meter with about 6k miles on it. This started to raise my mpg & throttle response noticeably. After a week or two of daily riding raised my mpg to about 52. That means nearly 8% better mileage, another full gear above my usual commute speed with more responsive & smoother higher speed acceleration. The wind speed became my cap in 6th gear around 75 mph before the efficiency started to drop off again.
@@Athaion0 I think I had the R18 in my Integra. Bulletproof and loved to rev, yeah for sure. I miss that car. My K24 isn't as rev-happy but it will go up there on demand no problem!
The bicycle comparison is spot on. If your engine were a living/feeling organism, it would be feeling the same strain as you do on a bicycle. Find the “sweet spot” by selecting the appropriate gear and your legs (pistons) can pump those pedals (crank shaft) all day long. Unfortunately here in North America, the manual transmission is rare and people that know how to use them is even more rare. So automatic transmissions disconnect most people from “connecting” with their car. Don’t even get me started on CVTs! I have actually met people that couldn’t tell me what kind of drivetrain is on their cars (men and women alike)! IMO everyone should at least learn how to drive a manual, teaching us to listen more closely to the beautiful music (at least the ICE) makes.
Can we say that the correct gear would mean the RPM where engine have peak torque/ performance. Meaning that's where the engine is comfortable the most?
That's a difficult thing to do legally with a supercharged V8, unless you are on a race track. My Jag sits around 1000 to 1500 rpm unless I am accelerating hard or doing motorway speeds. I do like to let it rip though.
@@ericrawson2909 people say this peak torque all the time but most of the time the public road conditions don't let you use the load, so are you going to sit at 4500 rpms and light throttle drinking more fuel just to be ready for the occasional pounce around a slower car or steep hill? The most efficient conversion of fuel to power is usually around 2500 rpm at 80% load, but if you're not using the load, lower the rpm further for more efficiency. The logic to the peak torque is well the engine is making the most force from the fuel, forgetting that the fuel per stroke is not constant even with the pedal to the floor, but rises slightly with increased rpm. This is why I don't bother with enormous engines but get one that is more appropriately sized for public road use, rather than one that starts to get into the bottom of the power band at 120 mph, and is drinking away fuel just to be fun for the 1% of the driving time that the road is clear, and the rest of the time it's in great grandma mode.
We bought a nice Mk7 Fiesta from a lady who was stopping driving. When we got it the engine had a slightly strange sound on startup which I ignored, but about a year after we had the car the piston slap sound became much more noticeable especially in the cold weather - I am convinced lugging caused this. Engines that have been ragged tend to be much nicer sounding...
That's a great way to reduce the life of the engine. You're gonna wear out the piston rings and get some massive blowby. I hope this is satire or so help this poor diesel
Excellent video. My father who comes from a line of auto mechanics and truck drivers taught me that and I become bother myself. Many people don't understand the dangers of that. Just lazy to shift , distracted with something else while they t Stop on the throttle or thinking about fuel savings while costly repairs are knocking at your door! You've gotta feel with the engine and it's load, help it out a little!
You should start this video by stating that most of what you are talking about here applies more to small cc turbo charged engines. For example NA 4.0 V8 won't really care about it but a 1.6 or 2.0 turbo charged petrol engine will be affected by this, especially LSPI at low revs and high throttle. Also diesels generally don't give much of a dam about this either.
@@foxy126pl6plenty of diesel like older land cruiser have peak torque at only 1200 rpm. It's because diesels don't rely on spark, they combust at max compression it's less an issue as no timing.
Putting the same load on your engine and drivetrain at twice the rpm results in 1/4 the wear and tear per revolution. Since it's at twice the rpm, the net result is 1/2 the wear and tear over time.
Tip. Go down hill in same gear as you would use if going up the same hill. But, but, but, instead of pressing the brake to slow the car. change down a gear or 2. What does this do? A it stops fuel being burnt. B, it increases engine revelutions and turns the engine into a compressor. C is saves brake and tyre wear. D it is good for the environment. E it gives you greater control of your car. I once came down a hill on a motorway doing 80 KmPH or 50 mph in 3rd gear. i overtook 2 other drivers braking hard. I was in full control of my car. The other driver beside me had a look of fear on his face.
Depends on the engine. A two stroke engine hates coasting, because with no oil squirters you run the engine with no oil. Diesles don't typically have a butterfly valve so no compression braking, and some cars have an exhaust brake, and most semi truck motors have a jake brake. Your advise is fantastic for someone with a petrol engine car, but pretty redundant for other engines.
Before engaging engine braking take a quick glance at rear view mirror and make sure vehicle behind u is not following too closely. Engine braking does not turn on the brake lights.
When I went to the Philippines to get my fiance, I was struck by the odd behavior I saw the cab drivers exhibiting. They never revved up their engines over MAYBE 1200 rpm,and were in a huge hurry to get up to 4th gear. This while never going more than maybe 35 mph. If there wasn't such a language barrier, I would have loved to ask why they did this, but instead I focused on my fiance, and absorbing my surroundings.
One thing is ECO on lower RPMs, one thing is full gas on low RPM (2nd gear does not count) and going uphill on low RPM 😢 rip engine edit: what most peeps dunno tho is the fact that the most fuel savings come when you hit the max-torque-range and sustain at that. Obviously the lowest spectrum of that BUT every engine has it set a little bit different SO this is the no.1 reason when to go to the "brake" or DYNO
If you just grabbed any normal car and operated it's engine at the rpm which has peak torque, you'd be running the engine too high rpm for the load, decreasing fuel economy and increasing fuel usage. Only on really underpowered cars like kei cars could this make some sense. Driving at 30 kmph while the engine is at 2000 rpm is not fuel efficent, 1000-1500 is more efficent under low power demands because you aren't wasting extra fuel on friction, even though you are running the engine at a lower thermal efficency. Once you're at highway speeds though, you will need the extra power, and moving at a higher speed is a positive for fuel economy, until the thermal efficency peaks or drops off, and the friction of the engine rpm and air resistance starts to negatively effect fuel economy. With a perfect transmission, you will get better fuel economy at lower speeds than higher speeds simply because of air resitance, friction and thermal efficency occuring at different engine loads, rpm and manifold preassure. But no, we have inperfect transmissions, driveshafts, bearings and engines. So, we get especially bad efficency at lower speeds because both wasted engergy braking and accelerating quickly, and engines being at too high rpm for the speed you are going. It's why often times an automatic transmission can get better fuel economy than a manual transmission, because it's always upshifting when it can and wants to to get the desired fuel economy or power. Someone driving a manual might maintain 2500 rpm through a roundabout, because who's going to upshift twice while navigating intersections while observing the road for hazards while steering, indicating, multitasking etc.
Thanks for the clear explanations. I notice that when i drive my Mazda 3 2008 harder it runs smoother at idle too. Italian tune ups are the way to go. You can also have fun without breaking the speed limit. I pay for the best fuel and the best oil & despite the engine having high mileage their is never any smoke.
_" I notice that when i drive my Mazda 3 2008 harder it runs smoother at idle too. Italian tune ups are the way to go...."_ 100% confirmation bias, guaranteed...
The Chrysler 345, 392 and Hellcat engines have an internal camshaft. Only the bearings of this camshaft have an oil feed, the rest of the camshaft is splash oiled from the oil the crankshaft throws up. Under 1,500RPM the oil splash is insufficient and will lead to premature wear of the camshaft. So yes, many engines suffer from too little oiling at low RPM.
Rule of thumb, Idle to 2,000RPM is for driving. Idle to the rev limiter is for accelerating, engine braking and high speed. You won't bend it If you don't send it Send it! Unless you drive a 1.3L Yaris, then you need to change up gear 50RPM before over rev cut, because pathetic torque to weight ratio.
@@MrWilliam.Stewart own one. It does need some acceleration to get going. Sometimes still feel like a learner. Short clutch pedal travel and touchy gas, it's a nice car but requires some attention.
Torque to weight ratio has no engineering meaning. Only power to weight ratio appears in the physics for acceleration. P=Fv, F=ma therefore P=(ma)v and thus *acceleration = Power / (mass x velocity)* ... torque does *NOT* appear. Torque is mainly just a function of the capacity and geometry of the engine (undersquare or oversquare, 2-valve or 4-5-valve airflow characteristics). Good torque at low rpm, really just means good power at low rpm. Power is the fundamental rate the engine can convert chemical energy to kinetic energy. Torque is just an intermediate crankshaft twisting force due to the geometry of an internal combustion engine. A rocket or jet engine can create power directly from thrust without using torque.
I give my vehicle's an *Italian tuneup* (a redline highway pull or 3) every day. Always change oil on time and have had several V6's well over 300,000km
The problem also arises with electronics and turbos and such, old engines were not accelerating well until optimal revs, so it naturally forced the driver to use the correct revs.
When I first purchased a direct-inject small-displacement turbo manual, I "hyper mile-ed" by driving as much as I could keeping the engine off-boost. Lugging wasn't part of it - it was about finding the best combination of gear to throttle position that would not drive the turbo to produce significant boost. Here's the problem - it wasn't the engine that was the problem; it was the clutch. Being a performance car, the engineers expected a certain amount of "spirited driving". Without it, the clutch material "polished" to the point it started slipping. That was the end of my experiment - I replaced it with a 5 puck racing clutch and drove it like I stole it until I eventually sold it.
Boost is what gives you good thermal efficiency. You should use all the boost that is available and keep the RPM low by changing up as early as you can with the engine able to pull smoothly in the next gear.
Generally speaking you are correct. I lug my 7.0 L V8 all the time. But every engine has its own “lug” range which is throttle and gear dependent. This car idles in High gear at 45 to 50 miles an hour and will cruise at 80 miles an hour under 2000 RPMs which works fine on the highway. All that said I agree with about 99% of what’s been said. Even though this motor produce well over 300 ftlbs of torque at 2000 rpm (wheel TQ - tuned on chassis Dyno) you still don’t want to go WOT in high gear at that low RPM. You can feel/hear the engine complaining through its labored acceleration. Jeremy Clarkson demonstrated this in his one gear pull to something like 175 mph and you can clearly see the engine isn’t happy and you understand exactly what being discussed. Vintage top gear around 2007 or 2008. Here video of me lugging my car now: 2007 Z06 LS7 - Well Mannered Until Not... TSP Stage 3 LS7S czcams.com/video/7SKkCBZvNfs/video.html
IT all makes sense, one more factor to add, if you drive low RPM, and use your car for short distances most of the time. This is a killer. Engine never gets through that heating cycle, and over the time, TAR and Carbon starts to build in it. I have seen that with a BMW of my friend, who drove the car for grocery shopping only, i.e. short distances, he was low RPM fan. His car had engine issue so unique, BMW took his car for case study, they interviewed him on his driving habits, and fixed the engine for free. It is an extreme case, but certainly gives the idea, that Manufacturer design the cars and engine by keeping normal driving habits in their calculations, that engine shall go through all kind of RPM scenarios. if you are not driving "normally" be ready for surprises !
I drive at extreme low RPM with my CVT, around town in 25 MPH limit I speed up at 1,250 RPM. Around 40 MPH limits I speed up around 1,500 to 1,600 RPM. And on the 50-60 MPH roads with stop lights I speed up around 2,000 RPM. Merging onto the freeway I go around 2,500 RPM. The CVT should prevent lugging, but carbon build up is possible.
Sounds like a special case. CVT vary the rpm seamlessly so you technically should be at the right rpm all the time 🤔 Carbon buildup is engine design, direct injection and EGR which is overall 👎
@@extralock1045 Always throws me off when I get a loaner hybrid or something. It's a different driving style for sure. And my fuel economy absolutely suck because I'm driving it like I drive mine. Doesn't work 😄
Your cvt is doing technically ideal thing peoples brain just cant comperhend that. And with carbon... If you just do 2miles trips reving wont help, if you drive on open road and highway sometimes it will reach operating temps for dpf for example anyways soo..
@@Boz1211111 I regularly drive on the highway for 100, or 200 miles, sometimes 300 miles. I usually stay at 55 MPH. Only go over when going down a 6% grade. Cruising at 55 MPH I'm at about 1,900 RPM. Going up a 6% grade, I'm at 2,300 RPM with the AC off, 2,700 with the AC on. I regularly go up mountains too. I have a house on an 8,500 foot tall mountain. So I regularly go up to work on it, or drive up for fun. I tend to hold the car at 1,900 or 2,000 RPM goin gup the 40 mile long hill. That gets be between 30, and 35 MPH. I just take all the turn outs to let everyone by. But with 78 horse power, it does quite well!
Having just built my engine for my Chevrolet Suburban I would have loved to see this video. I planned my build with the understanding that at about 3500 rpm the vehicle would be doing about 55-60 miles per hour which is pretty much the normal range of speed in the areas that I drive. I also pull trailers or am driving off road where the lower speed of the vehicle is more common. That puts my engine with the cam and internals that I put in it were planned for the 1500 to 5000 rpm range of the cam. There are so many things that you mention that most people do not even consider them. This was a great video.
@@awebuser5914 The reason I figure it is that high is because that is where the old engine ran for this speed. The new engine is designed for toeing and going off road which will also require low speed from the transfer case and higher speed on the engine.
My 1.4 Diesel can go up a pretty steep hill in 5th gear at 2000 RPM with 50% throttle going around 50 - 55 mph. It doesn't have any more power available though, even with my foot to the floor it wouldn't go much faster. 4th gear would probably be the better gear (RPM would be around 2500 rpm) but it gets up in 5th fine without labouring. It only has about 68bhp.
My wife bought a manual Aygo last year. It doesn't have a rev gauge but it has a shift indicator. The problem is, that thing flashes to change gears under 2k rpm even at 3rd gear while uphill, which is crazy. I told my wife not to even glance at it.
yes since it's the drivers responsibility to be at the correct rpm range for every given situation. high gear, relative slow speed, foot to the floor is the incorrect way of driving. Cars have gears for this reason, to have variation control increasing the efficiency as much as possible
I've heard this is actually becoming more common in many Harley Davidson motorcycles. The average owner is constantly lugging the engine. The clutches and even the gears in the transmission, are failing. This is a perfect example of why riding the right machine for the application, is of the utmost importance. Putting around on a high compression V twin of over 1000cc's, as a daily ride. Isn't the best option for most people. What many don't realize, is that an engine operates at maximum efficiency at WOT. Anything less than that, comprises many of the flow characteristics that allow the engine to burn the fuel completely. More or less wasted energy. You'll get fewer miles per gallon, all other things being equal. I say run them hard, or don't run them at all.
Do you mean the pushrod Harley engines or the DOHC Harley engines? The latter ("evolution") engines have peak torque higher than the peak power of the old-style Harley engines, which must be foreign to Harley enthusiasts who make the switch from pushrod Harleys to DOHC Harleys.
The real problem is nowadays the manufacturers program the automatic transmission to operate at the lowest RPM as a matter of course. The reason is they want to advertise great gas mileage because they achieve that when doing EPA testing. I am witness to this in my Audi S3. While my other cars are manuals, the S3 (like, unfortunately, most cars now available) doesn’t offer one, so I am stuck with it. I can’t begin to tell you how annoying it is when I look at the speedo and I am going 40 mph and the transmission is in sixth gear. If I mash the pedal it downshifts three or four gears before I have passing power. Ridiculous . One live the manual (please).
Another thing to consider is oil films are more protective at higher surface speeds to some degree. That's why you see more cylinder wear at the top and bottom of the piston stroke. Think of your parts like water skiing.... the faster your going the further out of the water your going to be.
I used to cover nearly 100,000 miles a year in a previous job and found that keeping the revs low at all times was NOT best for fuel economy. Giving it some (sensible) beans to get up to speed and then rolling off always worked best for me. It also gave the engine some "exercise" across the rev range. All of the engines I treated this was lasted at least 250,000 miles before any major work was needed. As you so rightly point out, constantly nannying an engine is potentially VERY unhealthy for it.
We had a old Italian site superintendent who always had a cigar in his mouth, was almost always inappropriately on a tractor (I nicknamed him Ferruccio, he chuckled), and spoke very little intelligible English. Every time he saw a crew in their truck at idle, he'd walk up and start yelling about it, but all we could understand was, "Da carbon! Da carbon!" It was always funny. But yeah, if you are hypermiling, your primary responsibility is to drive properly for the conditions. Don't put yourself in a dangerous situation because you only want to drive slowly. (Your car, like mine, is probably already slow.)
Being a former Honda motorcycle mechanic I've seen some serious engine damage done because of customers who would short shift their transmissions and constantly ride their motorcycles in way too high of a gear .
I own a 99 Mustang a 2001 V10 Ford and a 2006 Explorer V6 all use the same oil filters and all have 2 valves none of them have any issues because they had fuel injection before the massive emissions crunch and they leak nothing and drive perfectly. The key difference to modern vehicles is they came with high flow oil pumps and low power to motor size making them simply never working hard. Modern motors have dual stage or electronic oil pumps to get better gas mileage at low speeds and auto stop start at lights making them prime to collecting all kinds gunk from rapid cooling and heating cycles it's all part of a bigger issue in the overall design.
![5 Things That Kill Turbo Engines ⚠️ [WARNING]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/YeG5-oWehcY/mqdefault.jpg)
As an Engineer I just can say THANK YOU for that good video about this topic!
I saw a ton of videos about this topic (and rpm ranges in general) and most of them seem to consist of hear say and "what my old grandfather told me"-stuff.
It highly depends on the car, usually diesel engines are more happy with low rpm than gasoline engines but lugging them all the time will give you higher blow by rates in general.
Furthermore as you've noted, you don't save fuel just by driving in low rpms, you're saving fuel by driving in the rpm range where the engines has its top torque output.
As an example you've got the 1.9 TDI (engine code 1Z) from VW. This turbo diesel engine has a max. torque of 202Nm at 1850rpm. Driving it below that makes only sense if you don't need power, if you're gliding the road. If you need power for e.g. an overtake then you want to be in the range of elasticity of the engine. It is the range between max torque and max power. In case of our example, it is between 1850rpm and 4000rpm (max power there), the redline is at ~4500rpm and the ECU drastically decreases the power at about 4250~4300rpm. I usually shift down to reach about 2200 to 2500rpm to start the rapid acceleration, it pulls good enough to shift to the next gear in the range of 3500rpm, which sends it back to about 2500rpm, and gives the opportunity for a second push. I rarely hit the redline, since the power rapidly goes down after 4100-ish rpm. Which isn't uncommon for older turbo diesel engines, since they protect themselves from excessive temperatures of the exhaust gases, which gets more dangerous if the rpms are higher due to the higher amount of gasses (mass there of).
If you are a hyper miler or someone who really wants to know how to do it right in your car, get the torque diagrams. You can find them on the internet for the most cars and engines. Be sure to validate the revision (date of construction), version and engine code of the engine you have in use.
Safe roads and all the best,
Bruce
Thanks my friend, I really appreciate the kind words of support, I had no idea this video would be so popular especially as there are fewer drivers with a manual than ever, but it does seem that there are lots of drivers with bad habits out there.
And let's face it we could all do with developing mechanical sympathy for our engine.
I didn't explain a few points as well as I'd have liked in this video so I will revisit this topic in future to clarify those.
@@torquecars You're welcome :)
Congratz for your video took up, it was a ton of work for sure :D
Ha, yes, you couldn't stiff everything in one video, like a lecture at the University. Better split them up and give every video a critical of the topic.
I'm looking forward to, until then, take care and safe roads!
I also have 1.9 tdi, love that engine. I didn't know about diagrams and max torque, but just from feeling I knew that a little bit below 2k is sweet spot for the engine.
And then my father drivers 1.6 tdi on 1.2k rpm - it hurts me to watch that, to listen to those low frequency vibrations (btw, what is that low frequency sound when driving low rpm under load?). Told him many times that it's not good nor for the engine, nor for the mileage, but he just didn't listen to me. Nothing I can do about it.
Dudes in 100k mile civics living at a constant 10k rpm and only going 25mph, it all makes sense now.
Well my motorcycle 125cc 4 stroke has a bit more than 40K KM and now to do a full fuel tank I need to top up almost the full engine oil in like 3 times and that's the reason of being 95% or more always in high RPM but due to the lack of power it just needs full accelerator and full rpm all the time sadly ☹
The thing is it barely even smokes unless at like RPM cut just a very tiny bit, its like the damn oil is just evaporating from inside the engine FFS, also not a single drop of oil ever dropped either, the whole engine is all dry from the outside.
@@guily6669mine had the same issue, tho it just happened at 250k kms. It was stuck oil rings.
180k miles on mine and 7k rpm is my daily 😂
@@Athaion0 7K??? mine goes a lot to 115000 rpm LOL it's the rpm cut, it doesn't have a rpm gauge but it's around there... but like 9 - 10K is more constant.
@@jojomarujo8704 wow that thing lasted quite long, it isn't a 125cc with a crap single piston??
A Porsche engineer once told me: "If you love your pistons, never accelerate at low revs.'"
The Porsche salesman told me the opposite.
@@VictorMaxol Salesman wants to sell a new car.
@@mirasetrin3273 that was the joke 😅
It makes sense that you should never give full throttle at low revs. The cylinders will then become much too hot, which can cause the rings to crack, as Subaru also advises. Now that rarely happens in Europe, because the petrol is of much better quality, but if you live in the USA, be careful..
My foot told me the opposite😂
I pay for my whole dang tachometer, so i'm gonna use all the numbers in it.
@@sixthguardian6914 **proceeds to push the engine until all lamps light up**
I wish all drivers applied that "I've paid for it so I'll use it" principle. BMW drivers pay for all their indicators but for some reason they insist on NOT using them.
@@ianclose123 I'm not in favor of using the entire range of the oil pressure or water temperature gauges
@@snowcrest7863 my car has no meters for these, only has fine and too much... I've used used both haha
🎯🔥💥
Low rpm is not a problem IF you don't require power and torque from the engine.
Very true
Exactly this. When up to speed and in the right gear, very little torque is required.
@@johntheodosiou7248 what a genius. I realize I don't need to start my car if I am not moving
Then you are not lugging..
@@johntheodosiou7248 uou have an emergency and need aceleratr to avoid an accident, you will lose time to drop a gear
The TLDR: don’t lug your engine, redline it once a day, don’t excessively idle, MAINTAIN YOUR VEHICLE!!
Never in my life have I redline an engine. Usually I change gears at around 3000 RPM. If I need more, at most, I will change at 5000 RPM.
I will never redline my SPI. The thing sounds like it’s ready to quit at 2,500-2,800 rpm. I’m good on taking that chance 😆maybe if I had the Zetec or Duratec
@@CasualGaming76 i have a duratec, we had to change the cam bc it overheated on me and i would bever redline that shit ever in my life
Welp time to redline the R18 Civic
Redline a day? Redline every shift! put that clutch to use! :D
So this is more a case of bad driving habits than actual low rpm driving.
So true
Yes, few engines suffer from doing low rpm for extended periods with little to no load on them, (with the exception of the badly designed oil pumps out there). Keeping low RPM and pressing hard on the throttle will add wear and tear, although the degree with which this happens will vary from engine to engine.
@@torquecars There are many vehicles that have worn out prematurely because they had extended idling which is why Police package vehicles frequently have upgrades designed for extended idling. Newer vehicles have variable displacement or even electrically operated oil pumps to negate the necessity of these special packages.
I only use 2nd and 4th gear in VW Golf . I rarely ever use 1 3 5 6 Is that considered a bad habit ?
@@lassepeterson2740 depends on road, your gearing, and speed limits. Your clutch probably doesn’t like starting in 2nd all the time, but not a big deal. More wear when people rest their door on clutch
Lugging has ruined more engines than revving, rule of thumb, if you press down on the accelerator and your vehicle dose not accelerate easily then you need to down shift and if you are giving more gas to maintain your speed you need to down shift, it is just that simple. How ever revving your engine to high rpms with no load on it is not good for it either.
There's limits to it throttles are throttles not a switch there's controll to it if it's juddering and banging to much load for the rpm lift low rpm doesn't destroy engines neither does using revs it'd mostly just down to your load variable tbf most things just die from black death and lack of servicing never seen grannieing break anything even when it's come to giving a car it's first kicking after 90k miles 😂
Why is revving your engine to high rpms with no load on it no good? There's no load.
Just get an automatic. Problem solved.
@@tofuguru941 i think that full throttle up to redline going downhill is where there's no load, and very bad. Uphill there is engine load. Or when towing. But I'm not sure what the poster exactly meant.
@@tofuguru941your engine is meant to be loaded up. Maybe not 100% load at 1k rpm, but 90% of the time your engine is under load, so I'm going to assume they build it to be under load. But I'm not sure really. It could be the speed at which the rpms rise. Not enough time for the oil to make it to critical components.
Diesels in particular need to be driven like the police are chasing you..(DPF, EGR and rxhaust cleaning). My grandad told me Diesels are designed to work, not rest…Also they need a good run to build heat and regular services..to keep them fit..
Just like the human body !
Diesels are true tanks if serviced regualy, They are literally designed to haul heavy loads over long distances. Our nanny state should never had declared war on them.
same with 2 strokes engines
@@Xxfootball70xX less moving parts
Not if you delete all that baloney
My mother got so lazy at shifting. She would drive through town without down shifting, doing 35mph in 5th gear. She killed two or three cars like this. I finally told her to stop driving manuals, and buy automatics.
Automatics aren't necessarily the best answer. I drive an auto which is very reluctant to change down; if left to its own devices it would slog up hills all day at below 1000rpm, so I frequently find myself manually selecting a lower gear to ease the load on the engine.
@@saxon-mt5by as a co-driver on a garbage truck that's automatic,i agree.
The automatic is perfect anywhere else for the type of vehicle it is, but hills are problematic as it struggles to select a proper gear.
@@Deceit-hx7ey Would lifting off or pressing down on the pedal for a moment make it downshift. Automatics are "dumb" computers that don't want to shift if you don't change the throttle input.
@@modarkthemauler there is actually a semi-mechanic mode on the truck that is engaged with a button on the wheel, there you can go higher or lower by 1 gear.
So that kinda solves the hill and automatic issues lol.
@@Deceit-hx7ey Hooning my flappy paddle garbage truck!
It’s ok to use lower RPM when car is still cold because cold oil doesn’t flow as quickly, but after it warms up it’s completely fine to use the whole RPM range every once in a while
All modern oils these days flows immediately, we're talking seconds. It's not exactly going from molasses to water in viscosity change. Just look at the oil flowing from a new bottle very liquid. Also specifically made to flow just fine in sub zero temps hence the W-rating. So at -20°C I can see a slight need to not overdo it the first 5 minutes but the oil is indeed flowing or any engine would be toast at every cold start
@rosen9425 that is very true, But just because the oil is flowing it still doesn’t mean it is up to operating temperature. Which is why it is a good idea to take it easy for the first few minutes before driving the car aggressively.
@@FGNi-em9sb
Engine oil doesn't have to be at operating temperature to lubricate, it does that all the time. The enemy of lubrication is old oil. The older the less lubrication properties are left. It's why have to change it.
All engine oils in a normal cars are multigrade oils, designed to operate at various temperature intervals. There's a cold and hot viscosity rating meaning the oil properties change as the heat increases. Excessive heat does break down the oil so abnormal heat over 100°C or so is much worse than freezing temps until extremes of -40°C or so.
A funny BMW note I read in a manual said something like this.
Engine break in: keep the speed below 200 kmh the first 1500 km
What is driving aggressively and why is that a parameter to take into account at all?
Sounds like abnormal behavior subject to a mentality attitude correction more than babying the engine oil in a car 🤔
Most modern engines are alloy with steel stretch bolts clamping the head down. They don't reach full clamping force on the head gasket until full operating temperature is reached so it is good to avoid wide open throttle operation until warmed up to avoid head gasket failures.
@@rosen9425 mentality attitude correction? Lol ok Dr. 🤣
This video can be shortened by saying. Keep your engine in the torque range of your paticular engine and your engine will be happy
Would it matter for cvt? Genuine question. My cvt likes to keep the rpms low when accelerating. It accelerates just fine just wondering if I need to start throttling more for more rpms or not.
@@needtau4138 not really, it’s an automatic you can’t control it you can only control the throttle that way
Without saying how you find out about the design philosophy and the specs of the phase space of engine wear, fuel economy, RPM and power output.
No, that would be way too unclear.
@@letsgo2510 That would mean taking his word with no explanation and no variables entered into the single statement.
I’ve been driving for 40 years and although I’m no engineer I have pretty much driven the way you describe in this video - ie I use light throttle at low revs and while I do drive for economy on average I do indeed approach the red line from time to time and on a twisty road I will usually hold onto a lower year which is also safer as it gives more control and better response. Cars that I have owned have consequently remained healthy into high mileage and tend to burn very little engine oil.
How many RPMs are we talking when you say low revs?
@@Xenon777_ I would say anything below 2K is low and even around 2K I would only gradually increase the throttle rather than stamp on it. For full throttle it’s best to be close to the mid-range torque. Obviously this varies from engine to engine - I have a 1.4 TSi which is a low pressure turbo.
My opinion is that a gasoline engine car can be used between 2000 and 4000rpm with no problem if one wants some torque. Over 4000rpm, one is either looking for power, or for engine problems. Below 2000, if you are not accelerating to reach your usual speed, you are decelerating to stop the car or looking for a car park place; anything other than this is lugging the engine, and looking for mechanical problems too.
In a diesel engine, I would say the torque band is between 1000 and 2500rpm. Over 3000, you are looking for power (on an engine supposedly full of torque) or, once more, looking for technical problems
@@oscaraurelio8869 my personal non professional opinion on diesel engines as i have the most experience with diesel engines is
Allways ride the torque curve
My car peak torque is at around 2000rpm as most diesel engines
I ride it at around 2500 since its a bmw and its really revs happy, if i need to drive at under 2000rpm that means im in too low of a gear
While thats the case with my revs happy engine
My ford focus is not really revs happy and its made for economy in mind i change at 2000rpm and ride it around 1800 fo 2200 depending on conditions
Oscar is right for the average engine.
I've always found keeping a 4 or 6 cyl avg compression gasoline motor between 2000 and 4000rpm 90% of the time to equal long engine life and best fuel usage. I have always been able to shift from 5th to 4th or 3rd in time to achieve a pass, a climb or an engine braking as I live in the mountains with steep switches.
My wife can't seem to get comfortable with a clutch so she has a 6 sp electric automatic...it responds very quickly to throttle input in a pass or climb... I do not ever sense lugging or knocking.
I typically keep cars since 1990 to 200k or 250k, and sell them because I have just grown tired of them after 15 to 20 years...or the subcomponents start failing with age...wiring, electric windows, switches, trim, alternators, pumps, etc...
Every redliner I know was always having motor work done on a regular basis over 0 to 100k miles...or replacing the motor or engine. They may not be related...as it may just be the enthusiast race fan personality that desires constant car attention. When I drove a BMW, there were lots of trim and body parts available in junkyards because the car had blown a motor in hard kid driving or dumping it into 2nd at high speeds.
It literally takes checking the instant fuel consumption to understand that lugging your engine actually uses more fuel than the correct rpm, especially going uphill.
@@25myma luckily, I drive an auto that knows better than me about when to shift lmao
Not the case in my car actually. (1.2 TSI)
What engine do you drive?
@@nielsonderbeke8507 k9k (renault 1.5 dci) in my case. It's very obvious in hill climbs when I downshift, going from ~1500rpm to ~2300... goes from about 15-16l/100km to ~12-13.
I guess it has to spray a lot more at those low rpms to keep pulling the weight up. In level driving it doesn't change much.
@@25myma but you say on hill climbs, which is like 2% of the time for the avrage person. What happens if u go on a straight road and go from 1500rpm to 2300 with a lower gear. Does your fuel consumption go down again?
@@25myma looool 15L/100km in the 1.5DCI ?? What the actual fuck are u talking about that can't be right, even if u keep driving at 3000rpm for 4 hours at 120kmh it would never get past 7L, ideally it would be between 5 and 5.5L for optimal driving, 15L is literal V8 territory lmao you are not getting that on a 1.5 DCI
Low revs are not an issue, it's labouring the engine that jerks the transmission. If you want to save fuel accelerate briskly and then coast.
@@bikeman123 Its counterintuitive but the math support this statement. Accelerate and then coast to next stop saves fuel.
It is possible to accelerate gently without lugging the engine, though. Just use the proper gear.
Accelerate , then turn the engine off until you need power again .
Best comment
@@lassepeterson2740 That was a strategy my dad used when low on fuel 😂. Still he managed to get to the gas station on an almost empty tank. And barely any money since he had to go for the paycheck in the city.
The best way to save money is to not buy new cars. Don't buy anything showy, because you're paying for the looks. In the UK driving a small diesel car is way more economical than public transport if you only have a few miles to go each day. I had a Vauxhall Corsa 1.3 diesel a while back, and normal driving never gave less than 50 mpg, so the 12 mile round trip was less than £2. And even now it would still be less than £3 per day.
@@wordreet what's the highest you got? Imm guessing you are from the UK
@@wordreet does that include insurance, road tax and servicing?
I have seat leon 2.0 tdi and get 60mpg some times more if I'm really trying. This is a 13 mile trip and cost me about £1.40 Diesels are great
Are you including any potential parking fees into that?
short trips in a diesel? yikes
Thanks for the video. I am a retired motor tech. I know you say not to criticise you but after a lifetime of using the terminology of the higher the numerical number of the gear directly equates to the higher the ratio. But you say lower gear which as I said after a lifetime grates on my sensibilities. I was taught to drive ( especially on the open roads ) to keep the revs between 2 - 4 K rpm. Over 4K and you start to increase engine wear. If you are travelling around town at 30 it is better to be in 3rd gear rather than 4th for the same reasons you gave of less strain on pistons and crankshaft. Strangely fuel economy is better as well. Keep posting.
My car uses less fuel in 4th at 30
@@user-sf7kl9uh7k same
This is a bit outdated, though. Just a detail, some cars have gear selection suggestions. If you are not or barely under load, the gear selection suggestion, suggests rpm around 1200. Also, most modern (normal day to day use) engines have almost maximum torque above 1500 rpm to 4000 rpm. So it will almost never be necessary to exceed 2500 rpm unless you tow something heavy.
You will carbon up your engine if you drive by those gear suggestions. You might save fuel, at the cost of the engine.
@@peterjohnson9438 194,000 miles, no carbon issues and isn't burning any oil so far. I take my guidance from the Advanced School Of Motoring. My 02 sensors and catalyst are also original and pass annual emission testing easily.
Have run a 1990s Ford for over 300k miles, nearly all of the time changed gear between 2000-2200 RPM. Engine still sounds sweet, 5k oil changes have helped
My oils nice and clear Ford been driving it about like this. 2.3L Ranger
@@CarlSmith-bs4qx still running the old Ford pushrod engines. If you maintain them properly you won't need to buy another one.
Not an issue as its an older somewhat low rpm engine, and they peak on torque way down in the basement by like 2500 or even earlier.
@@MrTheHillfolk they are also very simple to repair if ever needed. As long as you don't let it overheat it will keep running.
I've had 3 Hondas (Civic, Integra, Accord Coupe) manuals, and I changed gears at around 3K RPM all the time, and NEVER had any engine issues either...
A redline each day, keeps the mechanic away.
If you own an older diesel with injection pump and EGR valve, you will know driving at low rpm will ruin it.
This can be considered ancient knowledge. We all knew this concept in the 60s. Lugging an engine under load was never a good idea. Find the midrange for your engine. Ignore the tach, go by feel
Yup. In a lot of cars you can feel where the engine is comfortable. The engineers have optimized the engines dampened resonant frequency to transmit the fewest vibrations right around the point where the engine is at its most efficient.
Although a lot of higher end cars have so much cabin vibration damping and/or drive by wire systems that hide the engines vibrations from the driver.
Yeah it also helps if you can actually hear the exhaust note to tell when to shift rather than looking at the rpm gauge.
Yes by the feel. Find the rpm with the minimal to no cabin vibration. That's the rpm is the sweet spot
i burned out a poorly constructed Mitsubishi manual transmission with low RPM driving .does not slap enough grease around and burned the bearings out, so now i keep the sucker always above 3000 RPMs. I was stunned when the tranny shop just said "known issue with the tranny"
What year and model? Have a 09 Lancer GTS with a 5 speed on its second transmission, and really want it to be its last
I’ve been red lining my Ford fusion every day for 304,000 miles and counting. My engine seems to really like it honestly. As long as you change your oil and coolant on time I think it’s actually good for the engine
I have Audi a3 2lt tdi it has suggested gear. I always ignore as I think it labours the engine. It’s supposed to be fuel efficient but I ignore and still get 60mpg.
Thing is they suggest changing up gear going up hills 🤷
Yeah, that kind of thing is to help the fleet average mpg for the gov't regulations. They don't care if it wears out your car faster. All the better, actually!
@@davidellis8141 Those suggestions always make me laugh, ain’t no way I’m going to labour the engine just for economy. My diesel often tells me to change from third to fifth, to which I generally laugh out loud.
@@danmaycock9238 Had a Fiat Punto that sometimes suggested going up a gear while I was in sixth ... :)
@@Paul58069 To perform a magic trick then?
In the old days cars hated low RPM acceleration. Try full throttle on a Ford Cortina at 1500 RPM and the whole car would vibrate.
I've been saying this for years and no one listens, despite me being a qualified and very experienced automotive engineer, who's had to fix the problems caused by this.
Actually with some cars, driving at these low RPMs might not be the most economical for mpg either.
Excellent. I've 300,000 km Passat. Guilty as charged. Low revs for economy. Cost me a flywheel last year, and Diesel Particulate Filter this year. A truck driver warned me about that faint vibration you get when you accelerate at low revs. He said that's when the damage is being done.
The situation with DPF equipped diesels is unique. I have a 2017 Mitsubishi Triton automatic with just short of 125,000 km on the clock. When I retired and moved to a rural area it was easy to drive for fuel economy. I was doing just that, avoid the freeway and cruise the scenic backroads at 80 to 90 kph, however DPF faults began to occur and having them rectified / reset and oil changes [high crankcase level] cost much, much more than any incremental fuel saving. I changed to regular freeway use at 100 /110 kph and the issue appears to have been resolved. I never "lug" an engine, that is Barbaric.
Lugging would increase your EGTs and help burn the soot out of the DPF.
@@gregorymalchuk272 [A] And ruin the engine [B} Pretty hard to lug an engine with an auto. [C] Diesels over fuel at high loads and low RPM, fuel only is regulated, there is no throttle body = effectively a rich mixture and more soot.
2:53 minor correction. Too high of a gear makes it more difficult for the engine to move the vehicle. I bike a lot and if I don’t shift down a couple gears on steep inclines I have more trouble gaining speed on a bike. A lower gear reduces the stress since the engine (or your legs when you’re riding a bike) can operate at a higher speed and more effectively move the vehicle without added stress.
Yeah he conflated the two at the start when talking about hyper milers too
@@thingyee1118 Lol, did you just conflate the word conflate?
Many modern cars encourage this sort of behaviour. Auto's change up too early to keep the engine at low RPM, and many manual cars with gear change indicators often make you change up too early. Like many eco features they seem to prioritise a few MPG over engine longevity.
Yup espescially annoying in vans. To overtake or go up a hill with load you have to rev up the engine and it keeps flashing "shift!"
I drive a Volvo with a 1.6 diesel that my dad drove like this all the time before me. The car ran like absolute garbage when I got it, but after a year of hitting 3k rpm on pretty much every single drive, it's running better than ever.
He uses the term "low gear" when I'm sure everyone else would say "high gear ". Pretty confusing in a video majoring on rev range and gears.
Well technically the highest gear is the low gear because it’s not doing much gearing but I understand where people could be confused
@@ryans413 technically the easier gear for pulling away/slow speeds is "lower" if you're considering gear ratio, conversely, the harder gear for faster roads is "higher".
Yep he is confusing all drivers. Road signs and driving test low gear is gears 1,2,3 etc and high being 456
@@ryans413 you are confused
Powerband recommendation is based on full throttle loads. Just drive your vehicle with light throttle loads. This wont overfuel your cylinders and on modern diesel engines you wont overfuel because the computer wont let it ,it will only give just the right amount of fuel
forgot to mention that
1. Hot blow by gasses push out the oil between the piston rings and burn off oil , especially oil scraping ring that wil clog up.
2. oil needs to seal off the pistonrings. At low rpm oil is not able to maintain this seal. Mind that at tdc and bdc piston speed =0, at low rpm time enough to lose fluid pressure. In addition we use low piston rings tension and low viscosity oil like 5w30 C2 or 0w20. These oils can easily push out between surfaces (also bearings)
3 oil needs to clean the engine and at low rpm there is less flow through the engine and piston rings can not be cleaned by the oil.
4 higher service intervals makes it harder for the oil to do it's job. A extra oil change at 1/2 the interval cost less than a complete engine overhaul.
Speeding up piston speed (higher rpm) will prevent problems.
Yes but higher engine speed automatically means more friction and wear bc more force means more friction (also true with lugging) so where is the balance between fast enough so the engine can function properly and slow enough that you aren’t constantly revving it out and causing extra wear
@@whatsomeonesaidwastaken9216 he means between 2000-3000 rpm, which is the sweet spot most engines are designed to work on. Lugging is done below 2000.
Thanks, from now on I'm not going to idle at red lights, will keep pedal to the metal
@@01lexe correct. I change oil at 3000 miles. And use only conventional oil.
This is why I always buy highway driven engines, they are at their peak power and efficiency always!
When the needle is nearer to E than my pay is to my account I go back to the "short shifting" that I watched endurance touring cars drivers use to delay a pit stop..... but when I leave then petrol station on pay day suddenly I'm Colin McCray
Lol
@@Athaion0yup. If the light is red i go passed 4000 quite rarely
There is nothing wrong with running low rpm at highway speeds so long as you're on flat terrain. When accelerating or highway driving in hill country, it's a terrible idea.
Been lugging the same VW TDI for 18 years with no engine issues. Although that's what old diesels were made for. Quickly noticed the VNT turbo didn't like that driving style. It would quickly start dropping into limp mode above 3,000 revs. Because the turbo vanes get stuck. So it gets the occasional blast above 4k to help clear them out.
Yes. Video is misleading. Engine is fine. Its only accesories that might benefit from higher rpm
Expert here. There's a saying. The sweet spot. That is the rpm range every motor has where it runs the best. The lowest rpm in that range is used in cruising, maintaining a constant speed. The highest rpm in that range is for extreme acceleration, also know as redline. That should only be done after engine has reached normal operating temperature. Ideally you never exceed that redline rpm, no matter what Scotty says! Most cars run very well at 2200 rpms. Find out what your lowest rpm is for cruising, then never run your engine lower than that. If you really want to know how hard to push on your gas pedal, put a hard boiled egg under your gas foot. If you crack your egg, you are now pushing down too hard!
Lol funny tip at the end, a shame that someone might do this and get into a bad situation from the egg liquids.
@@-aid4084 He did Say use a HARD Boiled egg, Not a raw or soft boiled egg. Then there is no egg liquids.
@@TapeManIT yeah my brain somehow missed that completely.
@@TapeManIT exactly. People will still not read it and use raw egg.
My car turns at 1500rpm at 60mph in 8th gear on highway driving. With the ZF8HP it can shift in non-sequential manner. I once saw my transmission shift from 8th to 2nd to take evasive action while on the road.
Oh, to think we grew up with Mk1 Escorts with horrible fixed choke carbs. That taught you everything. Modern fuel injection and engine management cover up too many of our sins. Strangely it turned out the rules for maximum fuel efficiency turned out to be the same rules for maximum power. The rule is to "follow the engine" - no point throwing fuel at the engine if it can't burn it. It needed air flow. Buuuuut - if you are doing it to save fuel, that is darned tiring on your ankle. So the next best thing was stick it in cruise control and juggle the setting around the mpg display. But yes, change the oil, change the air filter, and never never push a cold engine! . . .
Indeed motorcaft carb's
This is the explanation I've been waiting for for years - many thanks! The bicycle comparison really makes it clear and the other explanations hit home. My cars are both automatics. I don't understand why people want electronics to control everything in the car but not the most basic thing - gear changing! Modern cars can change gears faster and smoother than most drivers!
An engine is most efficient when it is at its maximum torque.
We used to have these ''infomercials'' here in the Netherlands, promoting ''the new driving'', where you are told to shift between 2000-2500rpm...
I always said; Yeah, maybe in a diesel, but not in a gasoline car...
Modern automatic transmissions are also programmed to keep the engine rpm below 1500. I drive my car with the transmission in sport mode maybe 80% of the time. Keeps the rpms in a good window
Why anybody would be surprised by that concept is baffling to me, it's been a thing forever with cars owned by older folks who puttered back n forth and the engine getting carbon build up on everything. The easiest way to clean a engine up like that is install a water injection system or put it on high idle and start spraying water in the carb or throttle body but gradual is better because you can dislodge a large chunk and crack a piston. When I was at the vocational college for automotives a guy had a 69 mach 1 with a 351 Cleveland that had been chugged around for years and the owner gave it a hot supper all the way to the school which was 2 hours non stop through middle of no where and in the shop it started banging, the teacher thought someone had dropped a bolt down the carb but no one had, it was carbon chunks breaking free, he misted water down the carb and it got worse before it got better and black water was just puffing out the tailpipes but eventually it quieted down and ran fine, It was clanging and banging pretty good during the process, even then I thought it was a risky move he could have easily cracked a piston. Excessive short trips raise hell with engines too, if they rarely get up to operating temp they build up a lot of carbon deposits and sludge and moisture in the engine, gotta get them things hot... People think I'll run a cold thermostat for more power but same deal engines need to reach a certain temp to operate properly.
Also a good reason not to go WOT at low rpms is the damage it causes to the gearbox, the small teeth that actually engage the gear and hold all the force slowly wear out. For example on diesels if you want to accelerate in 5th or 6th gear going below 2k rpm, it will sooner rather than later cause damage, because the engine has the torque and strength, but the gearing is way off to smoothly pull away, also at low speeds the transmission oil won't efficiently get to the 5th or 6th gears, this is a big issue with VW T4, T5 and even T6 transmissions, and also some 5 speed toyotas, usually Rav4. Great video, even though I feel like I know these things, it's always nice to learn more from knowledgable people!
My 15 Golf TDI is diesel. The power band is much lower RPM. I don't lug it ever but it RPM at 60 mph on the highway is about 1500-1600.
I've bought and sold a few cars in the last couple of years, and I 100% agree, I bought a 1 owner Daewoo Lanos on 44K miles, that belonged to an older gentleman who I think must have driven it very gently, as the crank case pressure was ridiculous and the performance was down, a bit of enthusiastic driving later and it sorted itself out though. I also bought a Vauxhall Tigra on 53K miles, that had been owned by an older lady who never went over 20 in it, I put it in for the MOT and all three emissions readings were in the red and it was burning oil, same again, drove it at about 4000RPM for well over half an hour, it had stopped burning oil and the emissions were in the green, I think the piston rings must have gotten stuck with carbon and the extra heat and pressure from a good thrash manage to loosen them. I will never let a car sit below 1750RPM now because the damage it does outweighs the convenience of not having to change gears constantly, and before someone mentions gearbox and clutch wear, proper driving has a negligible effect on either of these
A clutch job is generally under 1000€. A new engine is at least 10 times that.
This is why I always buy highway driven engines, they are at their peak power and efficiency always!
My Grandad bought a brand new Suzuki Alto in 2004. In 2012 when he died it had only done 8000 miles, just from heading into town once per week to collect his pension and go shopping. The engine was in a terrible state, wouldn't run smoothly and reluctant to rev. A good motorway run and italian tune up improved it a lot.
Key note everyone! *use your gearbox*
Known as the Italian Tune-up. Own a C6 Corvette and all this transmission does is shift, pretty much always 1500-2000 RPM. It does get excellent fuel economy and main reason I bought it. Trust me I do open-up this engine.
I would add: not to blindly follow the "best gear" indicator on the dashboard.
In my 6700lb supercrew F150 I never have to go past 2k rpm to accelerate under any condition. Love that torque.
Low RPMs are horrible for the clutch and flywheel. There’s a reason you see so many diesels with clutch replacements at less than 200k miles and so many reports of DMF failure shortly after remaps, especially in cases of people remapping for economy. I knew a guy who killed a clutch in 3 years by trying to save fuel, despite all the warnings he had. It also punishes the crank shaft and connecting rods. But people are so desperate to save a few pennies or get a dopamine buzz from seeing an outrageously high fuel economy reading.
@@vxvii9069 why is it bad for the clutch and flywheel? Could you explain?
@@addi.1813 pretty sure not revving switching gears but preventing stall outs by riding the clutch accompanied by that low-rpm "rattle"
@@addi.1813because labouring the engine jerks the transmission
There is no wear to Clutch except when you are using it. Clutch wears when taking off and on shifts. More wear when upshifting on hills. Unless the clutch is slipping it doesn't matter what the rpm are when disengaged.
@@cruiser6260 But the Pressure plate is taking the beating at low rpm that's part of the clutch.
Wow. There is so much emphasis on mileage, but nobody tells us what making that a priority does to your engine. You have just changed my driving style. Thank you!
Same goes for very light oils, and many other things done to modern cars. The thinking is like having a "qualifying" engine for a race, that is meant to be really fast for one lap or pass, and blow up. It doesn't benefit the consumer or the environment or anything else to require that myopic approach.
Jeremy Clarkson demonstrated the old Corvette Z06 can get from zero to 150 in one gear.
That engine has a ton of power so you're rarely gonna need to rev it that much in regular driving.
The newer Audi A-4 turbo engines require a very special motor oil to prevent lo-rpm pre-ignition. The oil that can leak by the rings during lugging can cause this and the special oil has an additive to "help" prevent blowing a piston. The plus for these engines is the dual injectors-- cylinder and port which help to keep the intake port clean.
I have a 2016 rs3. Im so mad that it doesn't have the dual and just direct injection. Im at 80k miles and i havent looked under the manifold yet 😬
I bought a Chrysler town and country. The former owner drove on econ mode. The engine was running horrible. But after engine flush and patrol cleaner an 6000 km high RPM driving it runs perfectly again. So you are so right!
I have three Nissan Sentras with a CVT. Here in the suburbs of Dallas, Texas, I do a lot of driving at 40-50 mph (65 to 80 kph) at about 1,200 to 1,600 rpm’s. I accelerate slowly and I’ve never had an engine problem.
if you ever rode a bike in high gear u notice how much more strain it puts on your legs, it's the same with an engine I'm pretty sure
@@alf3071 yes. How hard you push the pedals is your throttle input.
40 years ago or so, Saab gave instructions on the use of their engines and stated that the engines were happiest at about 2500rpm. This is quite a good yardstick for most petrol engines and, if like me, you are a retired petrolhead, my Alfa and Subaru engines have felt to be free running at between 2000 and 2500 rpm. Below 2000 you can feel that the engines are not as happy. I have just bought my first turbo engine and it feels as if it is moving freely and smoothly at slightly lower rpm, maybe 1800 but no when pulling uphill..However, I am no expert on turbos.
The Fiesta 1.2 Zetec I have will start to feel vibration if I mash it below 1500, so I'm lighter on the accelerator until 2000. I'm usually puttering around town at barely above idle, as it doesn't take much accelerator use but open it up when I get into the 60s and rarely make really short trips. But as a rule of thumb if the right pedal is down then the revs should not be, and if the right pedal is not down, then the revs may as well be in terms of fuel efficiency and because it's no longer lugging.
This is something that drives me nuts when it comes to transmission shift logic, including DCTs. I don't want to be in top gear at 40 mph. If I need to do an evasive (acceleration or cornering), nothing good is going to happen. I usually select my own gears. I'd prefer a manual but for the fact that they are slower than a good DCT and no longer have the edge on fuel economy. Plus, on the rare occasion I feel lazy, I can go full auto.
A dct will shift from highest gear to one with most power available before you can blink, there’s no point in being in a lower gear.
800+ miles a week highway miles & stop and go traffic
On my '64 CUDA with a cop car 318/5.2 engine 4 speed stick shift
273 gears on the rear end
1100 rpm at 55mph
I drove that engine for 12 years
All over southern CA fixing copiers printers and fax machines
I used synthetic oil and changed it every 10k miles and the oil filter every 5k miles
🤷♂️
I agree with your end conclusion, but it's factually incorrect that gasoline engines are *less* efficient at low rpm driving. Higher rpms will come at the cost of fuel efficiency.
The only thing that can happen to cause a higher fuel usage has to do with knock. Low rpms come with the increased risk of knock, which can destroy your engine. To avoid this, some ECUs inject more fuel with the purpose of dropping the temperature in the cilinder, especially the head. This sounds counter intuitive, but a liquid evaporating will take away heat from its surroundings. So excess fuel (that cannot be burned because of lack of oxygen) evaporating in the cilinder will actually cool down the cilinder to avoid knock from happening.
Engineering Explained has some videos on this topic 😊
Wouldn't it be cheaper to inject water instead of more fuel to prevent knock? Unburned fuel isn't good from what I know.
@timobreitscheidt9382 absolutely! But it adds considerable complexity to the engine: separate injectors, separate water tank, water lines, etc. Fuel is already there, so that's what's they're using.
I noticed this on my motorcycle (Suzuki Vstrom 650) . I was doing as the manual suggested & rode at around 10 mph per gear aka at 60 mph (100 kph) just hitting 6th gear. My computer said I was getting around 48 mpg. The sweet spot in the torque curve was another 1k rpm though. Staying in 5th gear at 60 mph put me right at my 5200 rpm sweet spot. I did not reset the trip meter with about 6k miles on it. This started to raise my mpg & throttle response noticeably. After a week or two of daily riding raised my mpg to about 52. That means nearly 8% better mileage, another full gear above my usual commute speed with more responsive & smoother higher speed acceleration. The wind speed became my cap in 6th gear around 75 mph before the efficiency started to drop off again.
High rpm is a engine killer, low rpm is a clutch and dm flywheel killer
Unless it's a honda K20
@@Bumblebeetle-di7sf Or Honda K24
@@rebeltvr6046my r18 loves 7k rpm
@@Athaion0 I think I had the R18 in my Integra. Bulletproof and loved to rev, yeah for sure. I miss that car. My K24 isn't as rev-happy but it will go up there on demand no problem!
tell that to highway driven vehicles!!! Nonsense
The bicycle comparison is spot on. If your engine were a living/feeling organism, it would be feeling the same strain as you do on a bicycle. Find the “sweet spot” by selecting the appropriate gear and your legs (pistons) can pump those pedals (crank shaft) all day long. Unfortunately here in North America, the manual transmission is rare and people that know how to use them is even more rare. So automatic transmissions disconnect most people from “connecting” with their car. Don’t even get me started on CVTs! I have actually met people that couldn’t tell me what kind of drivetrain is on their cars (men and women alike)! IMO everyone should at least learn how to drive a manual, teaching us to listen more closely to the beautiful music (at least the ICE) makes.
Can we say that the correct gear would mean the RPM where engine have peak torque/ performance. Meaning that's where the engine is comfortable the most?
That's a difficult thing to do legally with a supercharged V8, unless you are on a race track. My Jag sits around 1000 to 1500 rpm unless I am accelerating hard or doing motorway speeds. I do like to let it rip though.
I think it's correct yep :)
@@ericrawson2909 You can always be on a gear that you V8 ( even supercharged ) is the most confortable on. Just need tohave a very light foot.
@@ericrawson2909 people say this peak torque all the time but most of the time the public road conditions don't let you use the load, so are you going to sit at 4500 rpms and light throttle drinking more fuel just to be ready for the occasional pounce around a slower car or steep hill?
The most efficient conversion of fuel to power is usually around 2500 rpm at 80% load, but if you're not using the load, lower the rpm further for more efficiency. The logic to the peak torque is well the engine is making the most force from the fuel, forgetting that the fuel per stroke is not constant even with the pedal to the floor, but rises slightly with increased rpm.
This is why I don't bother with enormous engines but get one that is more appropriately sized for public road use, rather than one that starts to get into the bottom of the power band at 120 mph, and is drinking away fuel just to be fun for the 1% of the driving time that the road is clear, and the rest of the time it's in great grandma mode.
We bought a nice Mk7 Fiesta from a lady who was stopping driving. When we got it the engine had a slightly strange sound on startup which I ignored, but about a year after we had the car the piston slap sound became much more noticeable especially in the cold weather - I am convinced lugging caused this. Engines that have been ragged tend to be much nicer sounding...
Every morning when I start my diesel car, I go straight up to 6,000 revolutions per minute. It is especially good for the engine in freezing weather.
😂
@@venelinkeremedchiev9643 i hope you are joking... thats a crime for diesel engines
Yeah its 100% a joke. I know a friend that always starts driving a second after he start thr engine and doesent even let the engine oil up@@vexx5955
That's a great way to reduce the life of the engine. You're gonna wear out the piston rings and get some massive blowby. I hope this is satire or so help this poor diesel
Same, I go to 8,000 RPMs even though my redline is 3500
Excellent video. My father who comes from a line of auto mechanics and truck drivers taught me that and I become bother myself. Many people don't understand the dangers of that. Just lazy to shift , distracted with something else while they t
Stop on the throttle or thinking about fuel savings while costly repairs are knocking at your door! You've gotta feel with the engine and it's load, help it out a little!
You should start this video by stating that most of what you are talking about here applies more to small cc turbo charged engines. For example NA 4.0 V8 won't really care about it but a 1.6 or 2.0 turbo charged petrol engine will be affected by this, especially LSPI at low revs and high throttle. Also diesels generally don't give much of a dam about this either.
Yeah, diesels are made for low rpm driving, they will be happy with anything above 1500rpm
@@foxy126pl6plenty of diesel like older land cruiser have peak torque at only 1200 rpm. It's because diesels don't rely on spark, they combust at max compression it's less an issue as no timing.
@@cruiser6260 - Along with that Diesels have no butterfly throttle valve.
You increase the fuel in order to increase the engine's rpm
Putting the same load on your engine and drivetrain at twice the rpm results in 1/4 the wear and tear per revolution. Since it's at twice the rpm, the net result is 1/2 the wear and tear over time.
Tip.
Go down hill in same gear as you would use if going up the same hill.
But, but, but, instead of pressing the brake to slow the car. change down a gear or 2.
What does this do?
A
it stops fuel being burnt.
B, it increases engine revelutions and turns the engine into a compressor.
C is saves brake and tyre wear.
D it is good for the environment.
E it gives you greater control of your car.
I once came down a hill on a motorway doing 80 KmPH or 50 mph in 3rd gear.
i overtook 2 other drivers braking hard.
I was in full control of my car. The other driver beside me had a look of fear on his face.
Depends on the engine. A two stroke engine hates coasting, because with no oil squirters you run the engine with no oil. Diesles don't typically have a butterfly valve so no compression braking, and some cars have an exhaust brake, and most semi truck motors have a jake brake.
Your advise is fantastic for someone with a petrol engine car, but pretty redundant for other engines.
Before engaging engine braking take a quick glance at rear view mirror and make sure vehicle behind u is not following too closely. Engine braking does not turn on the brake lights.
@@arrow2042
Good point.
When I went to the Philippines to get my fiance, I was struck by the odd behavior I saw the cab drivers exhibiting. They never revved up their engines over MAYBE 1200 rpm,and were in a huge hurry to get up to 4th gear. This while never going more than maybe 35 mph. If there wasn't such a language barrier, I would have loved to ask why they did this, but instead I focused on my fiance, and absorbing my surroundings.
One thing is ECO on lower RPMs, one thing is full gas on low RPM (2nd gear does not count) and going uphill on low RPM 😢 rip engine edit: what most peeps dunno tho is the fact that the most fuel savings come when you hit the max-torque-range and sustain at that. Obviously the lowest spectrum of that BUT every engine has it set a little bit different SO this is the no.1 reason when to go to the "brake" or DYNO
If you just grabbed any normal car and operated it's engine at the rpm which has peak torque, you'd be running the engine too high rpm for the load, decreasing fuel economy and increasing fuel usage.
Only on really underpowered cars like kei cars could this make some sense. Driving at 30 kmph while the engine is at 2000 rpm is not fuel efficent, 1000-1500 is more efficent under low power demands because you aren't wasting extra fuel on friction, even though you are running the engine at a lower thermal efficency. Once you're at highway speeds though, you will need the extra power, and moving at a higher speed is a positive for fuel economy, until the thermal efficency peaks or drops off, and the friction of the engine rpm and air resistance starts to negatively effect fuel economy.
With a perfect transmission, you will get better fuel economy at lower speeds than higher speeds simply because of air resitance, friction and thermal efficency occuring at different engine loads, rpm and manifold preassure.
But no, we have inperfect transmissions, driveshafts, bearings and engines. So, we get especially bad efficency at lower speeds because both wasted engergy braking and accelerating quickly, and engines being at too high rpm for the speed you are going.
It's why often times an automatic transmission can get better fuel economy than a manual transmission, because it's always upshifting when it can and wants to to get the desired fuel economy or power. Someone driving a manual might maintain 2500 rpm through a roundabout, because who's going to upshift twice while navigating intersections while observing the road for hazards while steering, indicating, multitasking etc.
Thanks for the clear explanations. I notice that when i drive my Mazda 3 2008 harder it runs smoother at idle too. Italian tune ups are the way to go. You can also have fun without breaking the speed limit. I pay for the best fuel and the best oil & despite the engine having high mileage their is never any smoke.
_" I notice that when i drive my Mazda 3 2008 harder it runs smoother at idle too. Italian tune ups are the way to go...."_ 100% confirmation bias, guaranteed...
Drive it like you just stole it, is my motto...
The Chrysler 345, 392 and Hellcat engines have an internal camshaft. Only the bearings of this camshaft have an oil feed, the rest of the camshaft is splash oiled from the oil the crankshaft throws up. Under 1,500RPM the oil splash is insufficient and will lead to premature wear of the camshaft. So yes, many engines suffer from too little oiling at low RPM.
Rule of thumb,
Idle to 2,000RPM is for driving.
Idle to the rev limiter is for accelerating, engine braking and high speed.
You won't bend it
If you don't send it
Send it!
Unless you drive a 1.3L Yaris, then you need to change up gear 50RPM before over rev cut, because pathetic torque to weight ratio.
@@MrWilliam.Stewart own one. It does need some acceleration to get going. Sometimes still feel like a learner. Short clutch pedal travel and touchy gas, it's a nice car but requires some attention.
lmao, it doesnt work. My 1.0L engine bogs down under 3000 rpm's
Torque to weight ratio has no engineering meaning. Only power to weight ratio appears in the physics for acceleration. P=Fv, F=ma therefore P=(ma)v and thus *acceleration = Power / (mass x velocity)* ... torque does *NOT* appear. Torque is mainly just a function of the capacity and geometry of the engine (undersquare or oversquare, 2-valve or 4-5-valve airflow characteristics).
Good torque at low rpm, really just means good power at low rpm. Power is the fundamental rate the engine can convert chemical energy to kinetic energy. Torque is just an intermediate crankshaft twisting force due to the geometry of an internal combustion engine. A rocket or jet engine can create power directly from thrust without using torque.
I give my vehicle's an *Italian tuneup* (a redline highway pull or 3) every day.
Always change oil on time and have had several V6's well over 300,000km
😂😂😂😂
What’s bad:
Hi revving cold start.
Constant low rpm stress.
Constant hi rpm stress.
Old oil lack of lubrication stress.
Air pockets in coolant stress.
The problem also arises with electronics and turbos and such, old engines were not accelerating well until optimal revs, so it naturally forced the driver to use the correct revs.
When I first purchased a direct-inject small-displacement turbo manual, I "hyper mile-ed" by driving as much as I could keeping the engine off-boost. Lugging wasn't part of it - it was about finding the best combination of gear to throttle position that would not drive the turbo to produce significant boost.
Here's the problem - it wasn't the engine that was the problem; it was the clutch. Being a performance car, the engineers expected a certain amount of "spirited driving". Without it, the clutch material "polished" to the point it started slipping. That was the end of my experiment - I replaced it with a 5 puck racing clutch and drove it like I stole it until I eventually sold it.
@@steve_put_this_here clutches don’t polish over
Boost is what gives you good thermal efficiency. You should use all the boost that is available and keep the RPM low by changing up as early as you can with the engine able to pull smoothly in the next gear.
BTW, you're supposed to take your foot off the clutch pedal. If you don't get 200,000km from a clutch, you're doing it wrong.
@@jonathanrabbittthat's incorrect. (Second part) Build quality and the type of driving you do effects clutch life way more than distance.
Generally speaking you are correct.
I lug my 7.0 L V8 all the time. But every engine has its own “lug” range which is throttle and gear dependent. This car idles in High gear at 45 to 50 miles an hour and will cruise at 80 miles an hour under 2000 RPMs which works fine on the highway.
All that said I agree with about 99% of what’s been said. Even though this motor produce well over 300 ftlbs of torque at 2000 rpm (wheel TQ - tuned on chassis Dyno) you still don’t want to go WOT in high gear at that low RPM. You can feel/hear the engine complaining through its labored acceleration.
Jeremy Clarkson demonstrated this in his one gear pull to something like 175 mph and you can clearly see the engine isn’t happy and you understand exactly what being discussed. Vintage top gear around 2007 or 2008.
Here video of me lugging my car now:
2007 Z06 LS7 - Well Mannered Until Not... TSP Stage 3 LS7S
czcams.com/video/7SKkCBZvNfs/video.html
11:44 ... & dissappear
IT all makes sense, one more factor to add, if you drive low RPM, and use your car for short distances most of the time. This is a killer. Engine never gets through that heating cycle, and over the time, TAR and Carbon starts to build in it.
I have seen that with a BMW of my friend, who drove the car for grocery shopping only, i.e. short distances, he was low RPM fan. His car had engine issue so unique, BMW took his car for case study, they interviewed him on his driving habits, and fixed the engine for free. It is an extreme case, but certainly gives the idea, that Manufacturer design the cars and engine by keeping normal driving habits in their calculations, that engine shall go through all kind of RPM scenarios. if you are not driving "normally" be ready for surprises !
Short distances were the issue, not the rpm driving.
@@imzjustplayinaye.
I drive at extreme low RPM with my CVT, around town in 25 MPH limit I speed up at 1,250 RPM. Around 40 MPH limits I speed up around 1,500 to 1,600 RPM. And on the 50-60 MPH roads with stop lights I speed up around 2,000 RPM. Merging onto the freeway I go around 2,500 RPM.
The CVT should prevent lugging, but carbon build up is possible.
Sounds like a special case. CVT vary the rpm seamlessly so you technically should be at the right rpm all the time 🤔
Carbon buildup is engine design, direct injection and EGR which is overall 👎
@@rosen9425 Yup! Always the right RPM. I just use very little throttle.
@@extralock1045
Always throws me off when I get a loaner hybrid or something. It's a different driving style for sure. And my fuel economy absolutely suck because I'm driving it like I drive mine. Doesn't work 😄
Your cvt is doing technically ideal thing peoples brain just cant comperhend that.
And with carbon...
If you just do 2miles trips reving wont help, if you drive on open road and highway sometimes it will reach operating temps for dpf for example anyways soo..
@@Boz1211111 I regularly drive on the highway for 100, or 200 miles, sometimes 300 miles. I usually stay at 55 MPH. Only go over when going down a 6% grade.
Cruising at 55 MPH I'm at about 1,900 RPM. Going up a 6% grade, I'm at 2,300 RPM with the AC off, 2,700 with the AC on.
I regularly go up mountains too. I have a house on an 8,500 foot tall mountain. So I regularly go up to work on it, or drive up for fun. I tend to hold the car at 1,900 or 2,000 RPM goin gup the 40 mile long hill.
That gets be between 30, and 35 MPH. I just take all the turn outs to let everyone by.
But with 78 horse power, it does quite well!
Having just built my engine for my Chevrolet Suburban I would have loved to see this video. I planned my build with the understanding that at about 3500 rpm the vehicle would be doing about 55-60 miles per hour which is pretty much the normal range of speed in the areas that I drive. I also pull trailers or am driving off road where the lower speed of the vehicle is more common. That puts my engine with the cam and internals that I put in it were planned for the 1500 to 5000 rpm range of the cam. There are so many things that you mention that most people do not even consider them. This was a great video.
3,500 RPM would be insanely high for a Suburban (V8?) at 55-60 MPH.
@@awebuser5914 The reason I figure it is that high is because that is where the old engine ran for this speed. The new engine is designed for toeing and going off road which will also require low speed from the transfer case and higher speed on the engine.
5:45 you're right cause whenever i go uphill with 2000 on the revmeter and i add gas, it starts "choking" or twitching
@@paveljelinek772 with 2000rpm on uphill( slight uphill like most you can see on roads) the engine should not be choking. Your car lacks the power.
@@fer1306 my car has 102hp and it doesent choke at ~2200rpm going uphill in 4th so yeah
My 1.4 Diesel can go up a pretty steep hill in 5th gear at 2000 RPM with 50% throttle going around 50 - 55 mph. It doesn't have any more power available though, even with my foot to the floor it wouldn't go much faster. 4th gear would probably be the better gear (RPM would be around 2500 rpm) but it gets up in 5th fine without labouring. It only has about 68bhp.
@@Xenon777_ This basically means you choke it and SHOULD go 4th gear
I've done 5,500 up a hill quite regularly. Never overheats either.
My wife bought a manual Aygo last year. It doesn't have a rev gauge but it has a shift indicator. The problem is, that thing flashes to change gears under 2k rpm even at 3rd gear while uphill, which is crazy. I told my wife not to even glance at it.
So the problem will happen more likely with the manual transmission?
yes since it's the drivers responsibility to be at the correct rpm range for every given situation. high gear, relative slow speed, foot to the floor is the incorrect way of driving. Cars have gears for this reason, to have variation control increasing the efficiency as much as possible
Automatic gearbox will downshift by itself when driving uphill usually
I've heard this is actually becoming more common in many Harley Davidson motorcycles. The average owner is constantly lugging the engine. The clutches and even the gears in the transmission, are failing.
This is a perfect example of why riding the right machine for the application, is of the utmost importance. Putting around on a high compression V twin of over 1000cc's, as a daily ride. Isn't the best option for most people. What many don't realize, is that an engine operates at maximum efficiency at WOT. Anything less than that, comprises many of the flow characteristics that allow the engine to burn the fuel completely. More or less wasted energy. You'll get fewer miles per gallon, all other things being equal. I say run them hard, or don't run them at all.
Do you mean the pushrod Harley engines or the DOHC Harley engines? The latter ("evolution") engines have peak torque higher than the peak power of the old-style Harley engines, which must be foreign to Harley enthusiasts who make the switch from pushrod Harleys to DOHC Harleys.
0:24 Downtown Vancouver BC,Canada
The real problem is nowadays the manufacturers program the automatic transmission to operate at the lowest RPM as a matter of course. The reason is they want to advertise great gas mileage because they achieve that when doing EPA testing. I am witness to this in my Audi S3. While my other cars are manuals, the S3 (like, unfortunately, most cars now available) doesn’t offer one, so I am stuck with it. I can’t begin to tell you how annoying it is when I look at the speedo and I am going 40 mph and the transmission is in sixth gear. If I mash the pedal it downshifts three or four gears before I have passing power. Ridiculous .
One live the manual (please).
Mea while toyota hybrids runing at 5000 rpm and being very fuel efficient... 😂😂😂
Another thing to consider is oil films are more protective at higher surface speeds to some degree. That's why you see more cylinder wear at the top and bottom of the piston stroke. Think of your parts like water skiing.... the faster your going the further out of the water your going to be.
3:20 nonsense
@@jima7925 Or you misunderstood.
I used to cover nearly 100,000 miles a year in a previous job and found that keeping the revs low at all times was NOT best for fuel economy. Giving it some (sensible) beans to get up to speed and then rolling off always worked best for me. It also gave the engine some "exercise" across the rev range. All of the engines I treated this was lasted at least 250,000 miles before any major work was needed.
As you so rightly point out, constantly nannying an engine is potentially VERY unhealthy for it.
We had a old Italian site superintendent who always had a cigar in his mouth, was almost always inappropriately on a tractor (I nicknamed him Ferruccio, he chuckled), and spoke very little intelligible English. Every time he saw a crew in their truck at idle, he'd walk up and start yelling about it, but all we could understand was, "Da carbon! Da carbon!" It was always funny.
But yeah, if you are hypermiling, your primary responsibility is to drive properly for the conditions. Don't put yourself in a dangerous situation because you only want to drive slowly. (Your car, like mine, is probably already slow.)
I learned I got better gas mileage shifting/down shifting to mid range rpms instead of low
Being a former Honda motorcycle mechanic I've seen some serious engine damage done because of customers who would short shift their transmissions and constantly ride their motorcycles in way too high of a gear .
I own a 99 Mustang a 2001 V10 Ford and a 2006 Explorer V6 all use the same oil filters and all have 2 valves none of them have any issues because they had fuel injection before the massive emissions crunch and they leak nothing and drive perfectly. The key difference to modern vehicles is they came with high flow oil pumps and low power to motor size making them simply never working hard. Modern motors have dual stage or electronic oil pumps to get better gas mileage at low speeds and auto stop start at lights making them prime to collecting all kinds gunk from rapid cooling and heating cycles it's all part of a bigger issue in the overall design.