Eric Lund writes:
>First, I have been told that the life of an engine at redline under load
>(i.e. on the road and not on a test stand) is measured in minutes, say
>18-20 minutes at most.
Wooooow - hold on a minutes !!!! - I can guarantee you that this is definately
NOT true (at least not for a stock engine)
CASE 1:
I have been running a VW GTI for 2 full seaons in the SCCA Pro-rally series. The
engine and gearbox both have 164K miles and except for normal maintenance, (oil,
plugs, cam belt), I have never had a problem with this engine. It does not burn
any oil, still feels very strong and does not show any signs of being worn out.
I estimate that in the 15+ pro-rallies that I have completed in the car, I have
run approx 1500 miles AT THE REDLINE. During the special stages I only change
gear
when I hit the rev limiter (~6500 rpm) and some of the stages are over 40
minutes
long.
I do however change the gearbox/engine oil after every rally and only use
synthetics.
CASE 2:
MG Midget 1500 with 11:1 CR, fast street cam, weber, tuned exhaust.
I used to use this car for hill-climbs, and open track days at Pocono/Lime Rock.
I estimate that I have run approx 1200 miles at and above the redline and the
engine is still in pretty good shape. I does use about a quart of oil every 1500
miles - but I have never had a British car which did NOT use oil !!
CASE 3 :
Subaru 4WD GL:
My first pro-rally car and probably had approx 2000 miles of special stage miles
at and well over the redline - never burnt oil and never had a problem.
gerry
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