Re: No rev counter
The problem is some engines will rev hard into their red sections, no rev limiters, a prime example being the old blobby shaped 1300 Astra D reg era I suppose. Old high mileage lease cars.
Rarely had rev counters, engine would rev like mad, coming off a bike, you think nothing of an engine revving.
Was around a year before I came across a rev counter on a 1300, and was amazed to find I was changing 1st to 2nd at 8000rpm, that is when the power dropped off.
1600 had a rev limiter
1300 red line was under 7000 cannot remember the value.
A few years later I owned a hatch with a 1600 pushrod lump in it, would safely rev to 7000rpm, red line was 6000 but the manufacturer stated bottom end safe in road tests (sportyish model maximum power was over 6000rpm) to around 7000, they were too stingy to produce different rev backgrounds.
A standard low tune 1600 valve bounced before 6000rpm red line, the sportier and tuned ones, well I knew someone with an 8000rpm lump, mine started to bounce a bit over 7000rpm.
So there I am driving around in a old car with silly rev limit and I have to drive a Sierra, 1600 Pinto. belonged to my then employers,
OK it was crap, but the red line was about 5,500 or so, but if no rev counter I would have taken it over 6000, just to get it moving.
By the way I have never rev damaged an engine, but I have killed a couple of poor gearboxes, usually due to crap change quality forcing wrong gears (Ford front drive ones were horrid). When 2 was to he back and left of 1 1st to 4th was common. Perhaps I was spoiled by my own cars having gear levers sticking out of the box itself rather than via cables.
So the first point is, if you do not have a rev counter make sure there is a rev limiter, you do not know what the driver has just come off from. If you have just come off a bike, you will thrash the car just to get slow acceleration, and when you are used to 8000 to 10000 power bands, well a high revving car engine sounds like it is just coming on song.
And another point, too little power, get plenty of power and the car will accelerate well enough without revving. Had 2.0 and over now for 20 years, can't see any reason to buy a tiny engine with the weight cars are today.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
