- 10,836
- Belgium
- bramturismo
I pretty much have to floor my 1.3 Corolla in order to not hold traffic up 
Driving cars at full throttle
- Thread starter oohhh yeah
- 109 comments
- 41,340 views
- 1,591
- Under the Hood
So true. Just the other day I was parking my car at my school (parking garage) only to have a security guy pull up telling me to slow down. I asked him if he saw me and he said "No but I heard you". I probably didn't go past 10mph the whole time. My Bird at 1500RPM is louder than my Corolla at 6000RPM.
Guess that's why ricers put a big 🤬 fart cannon on their car and think they're fast
- 7,703
- Indy
- xXKingJoshXx
Isn't that why you get loud exhausts, though? It's kinda like a supermodel complaining about people looking at her when she's wearing very tight clothes etc.
- 528
- oohhh8yeah
Yeah it wears it out faster, but just how much? How will the same car compare 5 years later if one was grandma driven and one was driven enthusiastically? 10 years? It seems like cars engines get weaker the older they get (makes sense). Any knowledgeable people can share experiences?
- 1,591
- Under the Hood
I don't get an exhaust to be 'loud', I get it to make power. The byproduct of a good flowing exhaust system is lots of noise.
Putting a loud muffler on a car with a poor flowing exhaust is like a fat chick wearing tight clothes...
- 27,213
- United Kingdom
It varies entirely depending on the car.
As a general rule, driving your car hard occasionally won't really make any difference even over several years, provided you're not a complete oaf red-lining it from cold and slamming through the gears with fists of ham.
Unless your car is used solely for fun and driven hard every time it goes out, then chances are the majority of driving - commuting etc - will be reasonably gentle on the car. Again, unless you're an oaf - plenty of people abuse their cars on their commute just by being an awful driver.
If your car is driven for fun all the time then chances are the extra wear will take a while to accumulate, anyway - nobody does 20k a year just going out for a morning blast each Saturday.
Likewise, engines getting weaker the older they get is completely variable. Some may be showing signs of wear by 50k miles (though it's rare with modern engines), while others might only start to feel tired hundreds of thousands of miles down the line.
- 23,972
- It/It
- GTP_TheCracker
I'm not entirely clear on what the definition of 'driving at full throttle' refers too. Does it mean accelerator pedal buried in the carpet? Or driving in the higher region of the rev range? - because they aren't really the same thing. I often have my foot flat to the floor in my car to get up the steep hill my house is on. But I don't drive around red lining it for the sake of it. Even if I have a spat of spirited driving, I'll probably go no where near the red line because peak torque feels lower down the rev range anyway. In any underpowered car you are more likely to need to push your engine harder, even in regular driving situations, then you are in something with an excess of power.
- 3,584
- Connecticut
- SPhilli
- SPhilli911
I go full throttle from time to time, because it sounds amazing in my car and the power and the going through the gears is a pretty good feeling. But I don't do it often because my car makes me nervous. That and it would be very easy for the police to spot me. :/
- 4,209
- Wasilla, AK
I beat the snot out of my car, probalby more than I should, and I consider frequent hard driving to be almost required if you want to call yourself a car enthusiast. I do, however, tend to level off at the limit, since I have quite some OCD about speeding. Probably a good thing, because I've heard police target young males in cruddy cars (they assume you drive dangerously), and actually pretty much anyone that has a cruddy car (they think you might not be insured).
- 6,092
- Phoenix, AZ
Showing restraint and good judgment aren't qualities of a car enthusiast? Not to mention preserving the mechanical integrity of your car so you can enjoy it longer...
- 27,213
- United Kingdom
Ah yes, W&N logic strikes again. Anyone who doesn't do or like exactly the same things he does isn't really a car enthusiast. Yawn.
In traffic, accelerating, I never go full throttle (red lining). My car red lines at 6800rpm. If I accelerate full throttle I always shift before 6000rpm. Actually with this new engine, I have never red lined it, so far.
Maximum torque is around 4500rpm. Because I like the feeling a torque, I don't need to go any further than 5000 - 5500rpm. AFAIK, 80% of the maximum torque is available in the lower rpm band.
Driving 'hard' has nothing to do with being a car enthusiast IMO.
Maximum torque is around 4500rpm. Because I like the feeling a torque, I don't need to go any further than 5000 - 5500rpm. AFAIK, 80% of the maximum torque is available in the lower rpm band.
I have to ask. Since when do you need to drive 'hard' frequently to be a car enthusiast?
Driving 'hard' has nothing to do with being a car enthusiast IMO.
- 34,949
- Indian Falls, NY
- slashfan7964
My van does have a tach either. I kind of want to install one though. I'm planning to drag race it this summer.
- 724
- TheBigMan045
- TheBigMan045
I usually give it one blat before I get home, (don't like being in traffic) but kinda pointless because 2nd gear 7,500 rpm its lose licence territory (done that once already), so to go to quiet country roads to give it a bit of a fang is my limit, but only to around 80%,
The redline is 8k BTW and despite the avatar it isn't a Honda
The redline is 8k BTW and despite the avatar it isn't a Honda
- 5,762
- USA
- TPC_Raccooon23
- CRaccoon23
I never drive my Legacy at full
throttle. I admit, it's sometimes tempting, but the amount of acceleration it has is pretty intimidating and prevents me from doing so.
throttle. I admit, it's sometimes tempting, but the amount of acceleration it has is pretty intimidating and prevents me from doing so.
- 4,543
- Bay Area, CA
- Zenith113
Somebody once said that if you truly love your car then you will drive it like you stole it every day.
Maybe if you truly love your car to be sitting in the garage...
Think about it. By driving gently you save gas. If you save gas, you save money. If you save money you can enter yourself into an autocross every couple months and have real fun with your car.
Maybe if you truly love your car to be sitting in the garage...
Think about it. By driving gently you save gas. If you save gas, you save money. If you save money you can enter yourself into an autocross every couple months and have real fun with your car.
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- 2,790
- Vancouver, BC
- liampage123
I have heard its good to go full throttle to "clear the cars throat" so to speak. To get rid of any unwanted build up in the engine, if I am wrong correct me.
- 1,591
- Under the Hood
Correct.
Obviously doing that multiple times a day will shorten your motor's lifespan, but that's why manufactures put in a rev limiter; to prevent 16 year old's from blowing the valves on their mom's civic.
- 422
- Eastern MA
- Odin_Wednesday
McLaren
Premium
- 45,500
- Texas
Sea foam will work just fine. The term in Harry's link is better suited for vehicles that are designed specifically to be ran at high RPMs (hence the name
), so that the car is still actually being used as intended. I think RX-7 rotary engines follow the same mindset of needing to be driven hard every so often, but @Keef may be able to confirm that.
- 7,313
- Land of the smelly onion
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