Sayjack Posted May 16, 2005 Share Posted May 16, 2005 Forgive me if this question seems stupid, but what is the normal RPM for these engines at highway speed? I have a 3.5 litre engine with a 5-speed manual tranny in my 2002 pathy. At 100 km/h (60 mph), the tach reads 2500 RPM. This just seems high compared to my old 4.3 litre chevy. I took the Pathy on her Maiden voyage to Edmonton, Alberta, cruise set around 115-120 km/h, the tach was hovering around 3 grand. A friend of mine has a 2001 Mazda Tribute with a 3.5 litre engine, He says that his tach reads 2100 RPM at 110 km/h. Is it just that these machines are geared more for low end torque? I did notice that she pulls up the hills beautifully. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pezzy Posted May 16, 2005 Share Posted May 16, 2005 I'm not sure of the exact RPM, but I like to keep mine under 3000rrpm to save gas - which is about 100-110km/h - on my 3.3 auto, anything more is closing in on 3000rpm.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RowOSU Posted May 16, 2005 Share Posted May 16, 2005 My 3.3 5 speed hovers around 3K on the highway... I was noticing that too, they do rev slightly higher on the highway (maybe thats why my city and hw gas mileage is the same! ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
big_johnson Posted May 17, 2005 Share Posted May 17, 2005 Yea, pathys tend to carry higher RPM's than other auto's, due in part to the gearing. Especially manual trannys though. If you have a stick, and your friend has an auto, that would explain a bit of the difference. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tmorgan4 Posted May 17, 2005 Share Posted May 17, 2005 I noticed this too a few days ago while cruisig on the highway in my 3.3L 5-speed. Crusing about about 80 my RPM's were in the 4000+ range, which probably isn't great on the engine but I only get on the interstate for a few miles to get where I'm going. This brings up another question I was wondering about.....I too like to save gas when I'm cruising around town, and usually keep it in 5th when doing anything higher than 40mph. The RPM's hover around 2k.....is this too low? I know if the RPM's aren't high enough it wont burn hot enough and can blow out your spark plugs, right? Whats the lowest RPM you can cruise at while playing it safe? Thanks! Tyler Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RowOSU Posted May 17, 2005 Share Posted May 17, 2005 I usually cruise around in 5th if I am going more than 40.. you should be fine I would think, the motor still warms up it seems. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SC88Pathy Posted May 17, 2005 Share Posted May 17, 2005 I don't want to bother converting to KM/H but I usually cruise at 70-75 MPH in my 88 V6 auto on the highway (if traffic allows of course). 75 is usually at 2900-2800RPM, 70 MPH is closer to 2500 RPM and 60-65 is usually close to 2000 RPM. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duffman Posted May 17, 2005 Share Posted May 17, 2005 My VG30 runs @ 2,500 going around 65-70 My dads Toyota Highlander V6 does around 2,200 @ 65-70 My moms Highlander 4 banger does 2,100 or less. Just giving you more cars to base it off. 65 is a good speed to go in mine, anything faster just eats gas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
94extreme Posted May 17, 2005 Share Posted May 17, 2005 (edited) on my 5 speed stick... at 60mph it's around 2500 but at 70-75 it's 3500 and eats gas like crazy.. most efficient around 50-60 sometimes in the 40s.. depends... if you start bogging down then you're in too high of a gear... 2000rpm is just fine but if you need to gitty up then it won't go and you'll waste a bunch of gas.. down shift time.. i think that the higher rpms are fine with these engines.. redline is at 6k.. most american cars have lower redlines... Edited May 17, 2005 by mzxtreme Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slick Posted May 17, 2005 Share Posted May 17, 2005 I shift at 3200rpm. Cruise on the freeway at 65-70mph @ 3000-3200rpm. I have a 3.0 v-6 5 speed manual..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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