Drivin' too fast

[Z3harpmom]

I occasionally (2-3 times a week (at least) enjoy red-lining my Z3 in 1st and 2nd gear. My husband and son tell me this is not good for my car. I think the car is made to drive , and not like a minivan. Any technical advice? Can this hurt my car?

 

[epj3]

BMW's were made to be driven. My car has 171,000 miles on it, and has been redlined so much in it's life that you think it wouldnt run -- but it STILL happily revs to the limiter. Wait till your son gets to drive your car... he'll do more than red line it!

 

[jrt67ss350]

I agree with Eric. My '87 has 260,000 miles on it, and I redline it every day. The car is made to be driven - it's a sports car! Have fun with it! That's the whole point!

 

[wileycoyote]

I also concur, engines are happy at high RPM. Better to spin it up to redline than to bog it down in 5 th gear like so many people do.

 

[Z3harpmom]

Thanks for your input......I'll keep on redlining!!!!

 

[Z3harpmom]

OH....that's what I'm afraid of!!!!

 

[Dinan55]

Redlining is good for the soul.

 

[Dinan55]

Oh and one more thing, try to avoid redlining in 1st, 1st gear is very fragile and should be used ONLY when the car is at a complete stop. If the car is moving even the least bit, shit straight into second.

 

[Bear6360]

shit straight into second.

Hahaha!!!!

I keep high RPM's because I have the 1.9. I have no choice.
If you want good mileage, keep the RPM's down. If you want to go fast, keep them up.

What size is your engine?

 

[Sturmgreif]

I redline mine all the time, you just have to love the way these cars sound, even stock. My only complaint is more related to road speed than engine speed: anything over 125 or so with the top down, and it comes up partway! Solved that with a tonneau cover...good excuse to buy somethine else for my car, hehe.

Sturm

 

[epj3]

I redline mine all the time, you just have to love the way these cars sound, even stock. My only complaint is more related to road speed than engine speed: anything over 125 or so with the top down, and it comes up partway! Solved that with a tonneau cover...good excuse to buy somethine else for my car, hehe.

Sturm

Oh man, 125 with the top down, BLISS!!!!!!! [driving2]

 

[Bmw 325i 7803]

I enjoy taking my 2.5i engine to 6400rpm it's a real thrill, and isn't harmful so long as the engines warmed up....

 

[mjbst111]

Oh and one more thing, try to avoid redlining in 1st, 1st gear is very fragile and should be used ONLY when the car is at a complete stop. If the car is moving even the least bit, shit straight into second.

BS..... Rip tire like mad in 1st, redline it like its your job, double clutch and shift right down to it if you don't come to a complete stop. Its not fragile its just like any other gear.

in red... bad... anywhere else... good... otherwise the red line would be further down....

 

[epj3]

I dont double clutch because my synchromesh works....

 

[mjbst111]

so do mine, it makes your syncros last longer. And matches revs for a smoother shift.

If you do the work for your synchos, they won't wear out.

 

[epj3]

so do mine, it makes your syncros last longer. And matches revs for a smoother shift.

If you do the work for your synchos, they won't wear out.

They wear out, I'll just buy a new car. 171k miles and they are still working

 

[e30fr3@k]

They wear out, I'll just buy a new car. 171k miles and they are still working

agreed and disagreed...double clutch, for god sake. much quicker shifting for those corners. how are you supposed to drift if you synchros are still doing the job you should have been doing in the first place. however, at the same time, mine's at 206k and synchros are perfect. especially first! double clutch the f**ker.

 

[epj3]

agreed and disagreed...double clutch, for god sake. much quicker shifting for those corners. how are you supposed to drift if you synchros are still doing the job you should have been doing in the first place. however, at the same time, mine's at 206k and synchros are perfect. especially first! double clutch the f**ker.

Why? i dont want to drift. I have pretty new 80,000 mile cooper tires with a 640 tread wear rating... its not drifting, for me it's sliding without grip.

About the corners, heel-toeing will save you more time than double clutching (and doing both, well you never see race car drivers do it.)

 

[Kirby]

About the corners, heel-toeing will save you more time than double clutching (and doing both, well you never see race car drivers do it.)

Double clutching means no power to the wheels for twice as much time. No power=go slower.

 

[e30fr3@k]

Double clutching means no power to the wheels for twice as much time. No power=go slower.

not at all. first off, i'm going to knit-pick and note that "twice as much time" is completely inaccurate and would vary depending upon multiple factors. secondly, i know this isn't the aim of driving quickly, but double-clutching saves your synchros, where as jamming it into gear...well it does just the opposite. granted, yes, that is what the synchros are there for, but trust me, when you get to 200+ thousand miles, you'll be glad yours still work properly. thirdly, after you double clutch, (which takes no time at all) you're immediately at a higher RPM, rather than just waiting for your engine to rev itself gradually. perhaps it's an older car thing, but if i'm going 35 and want second gear, if i were to just put it into second and expect my car to do the work, it would take forever to get up to the proper engine speed. so at least for my car, i say quite the opposite-double clutching takes significantly less time to bring up the RPM. i'd say that between saving your synchros and the immediate jump into higher engine speeds, double clutching is entirely worthwhile.