This may seem like a stupid question to a lot of you, but it's always blows my mind why people say shit like "well can your car rev to 8,500 rpm and not hit redline?..I don't think so!" (see escort thread a few down)

my question is, why the fuck do you want to rev the shit out of your engine in order to get anywhere?..classic example is the Honda S2000...good car, no torque, and you have to rev it to 8,000 rpm to even get any power out of it. My trans-am cruises at 90mph around 2,500 rpm, and does 30 mph without even touching the gas....I know there's differences in gearing, horsepower, transmisisons, etc etc etc. but why is it such a cool thing to have to rev the shit out of your engine to get any power?

 

Because, when you drive a car, you can either:

A: Hardly press the gas, let the torque pull you around, and cruise around town.

B: Take the engine up into the higher RPM, run through the gears, be in the best possible gear at the right time for best acceleration, and have a fully involved driving experience.

Some people would rather the former, some rather the latter.

You like drag racing, I like autocross. Which one do you think I would prefer?

 

And it makes the fart cans just SCREAM!

 

autocross needs torque. you hvae to get out of the corners somehow.

horsepower is a function of torque. i want torque at high rpm

 

I just like the sound of the motor bouncing off the rev limiter at 9500 rpms

 

Oh, definately. There have been many, many times when I wish I had more low end torque to help me scoot out of corners faster.

What I meant by my drag racing v autocross comparison is that to me, autocross is a more "involved" form of driving. It involves chassis, suspension, brakes, engine. All must be balanced to succeed at autocross. Including the driver, as well. Likewise, an engine that must be kept in the upper RPM to obtain power is much more involved than a nice torquey V8.

I want to say right now, don't turn this thread into drag racing vs. whatever. Everyone likes what they like, has their own preferences and oppinions.

 

My car only revs to 9,500 but my bike hits 13,500rpms and i love to hear them scream.

 

Not really my thing (revving super high), BUT, IMO, RPM's are the "replacement for displacement" (IF there is such a thing, i think it's the closest we have). I formed this opinion a couple years ago.

 

Why cant you do both?

I have TQ down low, but the motor screams in the upper RPMs where it likes to breath.