&#x27;Ragging&#x27; a car

Indeed, most petrol cars give peak performance at about 5,500rpm. Except honda VTEC engines...thats more like 9000 rpm car engine, 14,000rpm bike engine, insane!

Don't red line your car all the time, you cause damage basically to everything.

Graham

Reply 5

OP

I don't. I change up at around 5500rpm, I don't actually go to the limiter often, but I'd still class it as ragging it to an inch of it's life :wink:

My mate on the other hand says it's fine to rag it aslong as it's warmed up? I'm confused, any input appreciated

Reply 6

gbduo

He is right that you should not rev an engine to the red line when it is cold (the oil and parts are still cold so is not offering full lubrication, metals still cold and can crack etc, although less of a problem on new cars). It is better to rag your car when it is hot, but tbh although i am going to sound very hypocritical here, its really not the best thing to do...trust me it leads to accidents!

Graham

Reply 7

Jonathan

12

The main reason for not redlining a cold engine (stick to <3500rpm!) is that the fuel does not properly vapourise in a cold engine, so a mist of liquid petrol enters the cylinder and can wash the oil from the cylinder walls, causing vastly increased piston and bore wear.

Reply 8

simeon

13

Ryan

I don't. I change up at around 5500rpm, I don't actually go to the limiter often, but I'd still class it as ragging it to an inch of it's life

That's not excessive at all really.

It's true about cold engines though.

Reply 9

Né Stig

Some engines such as the VTEC are made to be ragged, as are others :biggrin:

Doing it to a 1.2l SXi will kill the bloody thing. I bought one new of the court a while back, and they stressed not to rag it until x amount of miles. Out the show room I go and floor the accelerator. 2 years later, my suspension, crankshaft, gearbox and brakes had fallen to bits (literally). I sold the damn thing which I'm sure the parts were hanging on for dear life or the remaining glue. :smile:

Reply 10

OP

walshie

Some engines such as the VTEC are made to be ragged, as are others :biggrin:

Doing it to a 1.2l SXi will kill the bloody thing. I bought one new of the court a while back, and they stressed not to rag it until x amount of miles. Out the show room I go and floor the accelerator. 2 years later, my suspension, crankshaft, gearbox and brakes had fallen to bits (literally). I sold the damn thing which I'm sure the parts were hanging on for dear life or the remaining glue. :smile:

Lol, well it's a 1.2 8 valve Corsa as it happens, and has been redlined (or near enough) constantly from cold for nearly a year now with no problems, my mate just said I should let it warm up first.

Surely the redline is there to protect it from causing any damage? :confused:

Reply 11

Né Stig

Red line is there so that you don't hit it!
I'm sure with the Corsa, you can redline it by a fraction and it will still produce power (max power being at red line), but this really shouldn't be done on cars that aren't built for speed.

Your mate doesn't obviously know what he's talking about. Of course, it is helpful to warm it up so that you don't cause further untold damage, but even if its warm, you're still abusing the little baby engine :smile:

Trust me - continue to red line your Corsa and face the consequences. Just make sure you sell it when you start noticing problems. I sold my 11k car for 4.5k 2 years later as a result.

Reply 12

Rock 'n' Roll

What is 'VTEC' and also what is 'redline'?

Reply 13

Né Stig

Variable Valve Timing and Lift Electronic Control (VTEC). It comes in Honda engines, producing a slightly different power format than other engines. The main reason for its praise is because it can red line without too many problems. It likes to be ragged to produce better performance.

Red line = max power. (Not theoretically, but generally). HIt the red line and your car wil be revving going nowhere faster, without the change of gear.

Reply 14

Lecter

12

Hahaha i just love chav lingo....when i passed my test i tried to "rag" my car but ended up kangerooing it or stalling it :rolleyes:

Reply 15

OP

walshie

Variable Valve Timing and Lift Electronic Control (VTEC). It comes in Honda engines, producing a slightly different power format than other engines. The main reason for its praise is because it can red line without too many problems. It likes to be ragged to produce better performance.
.

Yeh, best of everything. Performance, reliability and economy if you keep it out of Vtec :smile:

Reply 16

OP