High RPMs?

[ericg]

Hi All,

I'm a brand new owner of a 71' and would love a little feedback on my first mechanical question: Does 3k RPMs seem high when I'm going 60mph? Do the 4 cylinder cars pretty much top out around 80mph? cause at 80 I'm at 4k RPM's and the engine does not sound like it wants to be pushed any further. Thanks for your help.

[narfire]

A month or so ago I drove to Vancouver (400ks one way) and the car was just fine at 3500-4500 rpm. Along a divided hwy I was 4500rpm in 5th for close to an hour...no issues.
Just keep an eye on the oil and rad level if you are a new owner.
Chris

[Tobi]

I think the main problem is that here in the US everybody is used to big V8 motors and speed limits.
The fun about the European cars is that they love to scream. Back in Germany I took any car on the Autobahn and pushed the pedal all the way down for an hour or two and never broke a motor while doing this. Here in the US (speed limits)
I put smaller diameter tires on it just so it can scream ones in a while, it needs it. 3500 to 5500 RPM is where it is happy.
You can cruse in a Spider but that is not what it's made for, not for me at least.

[ericg]

Whew! That's great news! Thank you both!

[vandor]

4000 is not considered high rpm

[Danno]

I'm pretty sure you are supposed to shift when the tach gets to the middle of the red. Otherwise, just cruise close to there. Least that's the funnest way to drive.

[maytag]

I'm pretty sure you are supposed to shift when the tach gets to the middle of the red. Otherwise, just cruise close to there. Least that's the funnest way to drive.

that's not the way I understood it:

[Danno]

LoL, I was thinking of you as I posted that!

[fiat218]

I'm pretty sure you are supposed to shift when the tach gets to the middle of the red. Otherwise, just cruise close to there. Least that's the funnest way to drive.

that's not the way I understood it:

Take some of your moldy cash And invest in a better camera

[fiat218]

My 79 can tach out at 7 thou, in 4th
If that a true reading

[maytag]

Take some of your moldy cash And invest in a better camera

I don't think you understood that that's a video... you have to click on it.

admittedly, it;s a bad video, too. It's a cel-phone, held in the same hand as the steering wheel, cuz I'm shifting with the other one.....

[fiat218]

Take some of your moldy cash And invest in a better camera

I don't think you understood that that's a video... you have to click on it.

admittedly, it;s a bad video, too. It's a cel-phone, held in the same hand as the steering wheel, cuz I'm shifting with the other one.....

get a new camera

[GeorgeT]

What I'd worry about is the lack of oil pressure.

[Fi8spider]

Oil pressure builds as the engine revs higher and the pump spins faster.
You have more chance of low oil pressure if the idle is set too low.

[azruss]

I'm not into pistol-whipping my motor by getting in the 7k range....i'm not that anxious to do a rebuild, and i would sweat bullets with that oil pressure gage. That can be remedied by cleaning out the little hole in the sending unit with a drill bit. This will at least get the gage to read closer to the actual pressure.
The early models are designed to be revvers. This means they have stiff valve springs to avoid valve float and the mid rpm (3000-4000) puts less stress on the bottom half of the motor. I had a friend who raced a SCCA spider. He took a 1600cc and stuck race cams on it and went racing without ever touching the bottom half of the motor. Went thru the entire season without an issue. My kids grew up driving my spider and i can guaranty they didnt flog the motor as bad as it did....for over 200k miles without touching the motor.