Rev happy cars
Discussion
I took a friends Aston V8 vantage for a rip last week and the V8 LOVED to rev! Pity the auto gearchange felt like it was from the stone age.
Not that I am a fan in the slightest but the V8 Audi RS4 motor is a peach. 8000+rpm and it loved it. Felt as though it was just getting in its stride at the rev limiter too.
Not that I am a fan in the slightest but the V8 Audi RS4 motor is a peach. 8000+rpm and it loved it. Felt as though it was just getting in its stride at the rev limiter too.
Have to disagree on the mk1 MX5 1.8 - it's smooth and will comfortably go for the limiter, but it doesn't leap up there - certainly nowhere near as zesty as the full power 1.6.
K series and of course honda type Rs are good shouts. Was also pleasantly surprised by the 1.25 sigma engine in a mk4 fiesta, joyful little thing.
K series and of course honda type Rs are good shouts. Was also pleasantly surprised by the 1.25 sigma engine in a mk4 fiesta, joyful little thing.
The Alfa Twin Spark engine from the 156 had a fair old appetite for revs, you could quite easily clatter into the limiter (somewhere around 7250RPM) if you weren't paying attention, as even that still only felt like it was midway through the power band. Supposedly they would pull through to about 8000 if the limiter was mapped away, I didn't have the confidence to try it on a car that was already quite frangible though!
One which did surprise me was either of the 20-valve 5 cylinder petrols in the Volvo 850. Normally old Volvos are lugubrious at best when it comes to revs, and the 10-valve versions of these engines certainly continue that trend, but the multi-valvers really like to rev. In fact, the 2.0 version didn't so much like revs as demand them to go anywhere at a useful rate of acceleration. Doing so also gave you quite a nice exhaust note to distract from how gutless the car was!
One which did surprise me was either of the 20-valve 5 cylinder petrols in the Volvo 850. Normally old Volvos are lugubrious at best when it comes to revs, and the 10-valve versions of these engines certainly continue that trend, but the multi-valvers really like to rev. In fact, the 2.0 version didn't so much like revs as demand them to go anywhere at a useful rate of acceleration. Doing so also gave you quite a nice exhaust note to distract from how gutless the car was!
I have an RX8 as a daily driver so it feels really odd now driving anything else, takes a while to readjust, especially pulling away.
Something I've noticed having an obd2 reader showing true rpm in a few cars is how optimistic the rev counters on most cars are, they all seem to over read quite a bit.
Another thing is cars that have the engine cut at say 6500rpm yet the dial goes all the way up to 8k or more, what exactly is the point?
Imo it's a bit sad especially if there isn't any hotter versions of the car that rev higher, it's like all the cars that struggle to break a ton yet have 140mph on the speedo.
Something I've noticed having an obd2 reader showing true rpm in a few cars is how optimistic the rev counters on most cars are, they all seem to over read quite a bit.
Another thing is cars that have the engine cut at say 6500rpm yet the dial goes all the way up to 8k or more, what exactly is the point?
Imo it's a bit sad especially if there isn't any hotter versions of the car that rev higher, it's like all the cars that struggle to break a ton yet have 140mph on the speedo.
My wife's old 1.25 Zetec fiesta used to love buzzing about like a little silver fly. My Lexus IS200 2.0 6 pot was always happier over 4.5k and surprisingly for a diesel my Accord Type S 2.2 180 idtec doesn't mind raving. My wife's 2.0 MX5 Nc is happy at both ends of the Rev range, up high when I'm behind the wheel and really drivable low down when she's pottering around town.
My old S2 106 Rallye, it was as flat as owt until 4500rpm and topped out around 7200rpm. Being a little 8v though, it didn't come on cam until late. The comparable 106 GTi had a broader spread of power and felt less dramatic. I used to relish keeping the power flowin the Rallye, you really had to be on the 'box. It felt like it would have revved further too, I know a few modified Rallyes had the limiter ceiling removed.
luckystrike said:
Have to disagree on the mk1 MX5 1.8 - it's smooth and will comfortably go for the limiter, but it doesn't leap up there - certainly nowhere near as zesty as the full power 1.6.
K series and of course honda type Rs are good shouts. Was also pleasantly surprised by the 1.25 sigma engine in a mk4 fiesta, joyful little thing.
I agree about the MX5, it's pretty flat below 5k RPM.K series and of course honda type Rs are good shouts. Was also pleasantly surprised by the 1.25 sigma engine in a mk4 fiesta, joyful little thing.
1.7 Puma was a revvy little thing, with nice short ratios.
ST170 as mentioned above came alive at around 5k RPM, but I believe red line in 2nd was touching 70 MPH. Gearbox really ruined that car.
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