My 3.2 has plenty of grunt down as low as 1500 rpm, that's why I thought it would be kick to see how a well tuned 3.2 should be shifted according to the factory.

Joe

...only when she puts on the leather.;)

seriously though, why lug one of these around and baby the engine? Only reason I can see is if it is old and tired and on it's last leg.

gotta rev it up to at least 6K. mine see's over that on a regular basis.

Well, I don't think you should do that, but I don't think you should beat the crap out of it constantly either. It's just basic that the harder and more ruthlessly you use something, the quicker it gets used up and breaks. Some people seem to think that Porsche engines have received a divine dispensation that allows them to avoid that basic rule, but I wouldn't count on it myself... ;)

ianc

Joe, the shift light is not actually a factor recommendation. It's more about making the US happy for fuel economy to avoid the gas guzzler tax or something. The owners manual in my '88 had MINIMUM shift points. Every gear was a little different, but it was something like this

out of 1st 2600
out of 2nd 2500
out of 3rd 2500
out of 4th 2650

The CASIS lite can come on really, REALLY low. I think you can get it to come on below 1500. If you want to pay attention to the CASIS light then only do so at full throttle. Then it comes on at redline.

Assuming you have the 3.2L brain and wiring, it should be possible, but I think you'll need the tach out of a 3.2L car since the light is built into the tach. I'm not certain, but I don't believe the wire for the CASIS is something that turns a bulb on and off in the regular sense. I suppose it may work on an LED but again, I'm not sure.

carbs, cams and portwork on my engine so it revs up very fast. The 3.2 motronic motors feel kind of lazy to me so maybe lugging them makes more sense.

flame away.

No, I think you're right to a certain extent. Just depends on what you consider lugging,

ianc

I shift at a higher rpm than the 'idiot' shift light indicates - it seems to encourage more economy than performance. To me, driving at 45 in fifth gear feels like lugging the engine.

That's what I'm talking about...I don't abuse my engine, but if I'm at 45-50 mph, then I'm going to be in 3rd at approx 4K rpms...imo, that's not abusing anything or causing any unnecessary wear and tear....

A good way to find out where the power is in the rev range is to have the car dynoed. After I rebuilt my motor, I had the car dynoed becuase I timed the cams differently than they had been prior to the rebuild. The dyno sheet will tell you when the motor is making power and when it isn't. This of course is best for the track. As far as street driving, I rev it to 6k whenever the situation presents itself and is safe.:)

Perhaps this is overstating the obvious but the irritating little light isn't a "shift light" that comes on to tell you that a shift is necessary. Rather, when it comes on, it is saying that at your present speed and load, you will get better fuel economy if you shift to the next higher gear. You'll notice it comes on earlier at lighter throttle positions. If you have your foot buried pretty deep, you may shift before it comes on. It's only telling you what should be obvious anyway, once you get used to the car.

JR

For all you luggers you'd better keep an eye on a lot of nuts and bolts. I think rear engine cars have a tendency to vibrate loose at low rpms. Probably akin to more oil leaks also.

Eric

between 7k and 7.5k. ;)

And probably the root of the chain tensioner problem... ; )

QUOTE:
"For all you luggers you'd better keep an eye on a lot of nuts and bolts. I think rear engine cars have a tendency to vibrate loose at low rpms. Probably akin to more oil leaks also."


Grady? JW, Tyson, anyone else--- what's the details on this if true? thanks

Sigh... simply not true. 911 engines are pretty well balanceed to begin with and vibrations increase in amplitude with speed. Not the other way around.

For those of you with a 3.2 or a 3.6 that like to bounce it off the rev limiter every shift, I have two words for you:

Rod bolts....

JR

Yeah, but if you are going to do something like that then pick something that's a common failure point...

head bolts....

I have three letters for you ARP.:D

3 pages of posts and apparently I'm the only owner that shifts when the passenger screams louder than the engine...

Yeah I got to agree with you I shift at higher revs when the wife is in the car. For some reason she won't get in it any more but I find that relaxing. My car has 964 cams and better valve springs. I like to run it up above 5 grand when its warm. I cann't see why to bother owning one of these cars if your not driving it that way. Makes me smile everytime I get in it!