Change-up points...?
Change-up points...?
Author
Discussion

pupp

Original Poster:

12,548 posts

288 months

Sunday 10th February 2002
quotequote all
Ok, for maximum progress, where in the range should I be changing up. Never seen a dyno print for a Chim so is max torque nice and early (like I think), therefore indicating short shifting, or is it worth hanging on to revs...?

Jason F

1,183 posts

300 months

Sunday 10th February 2002
quotequote all
I tend to change up at 5k when I am really giving it some stick, if only to save the engine a bit (ok, now and again I red-line it....)

manek

2,977 posts

300 months

Monday 11th February 2002
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Not much point in going beyond 5.5k -- that's the top of the power curve in the average to well-tuned car. Beyond that, you're only giving the water & oil pumps, alternator, dizzy, and other rotating bits a hard time...

jellison

12,803 posts

293 months

Tuesday 12th February 2002
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Yep 5.5 seems about right for fast progress (very fast)
but it is nice to take it to 6 just occasionally, this is on a 500, (the booke sez a 500's red line is 6k and a 400 or 450 is 6500 - but not tried one for a long while).
Jon

plotloss

67,280 posts

286 months

Tuesday 12th February 2002
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5200rpm is peak power in a 450, everything after that is just noise, wear and expense.

Matt.

trefor

14,685 posts

299 months

Tuesday 12th February 2002
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I usually change up once I've overtaken whoever is in the way - it doesn't take very long to pass most people

yum

529 posts

289 months

Tuesday 12th February 2002
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The scariest moment in my TVR has been this;

My wife driving
Me sitting in the passenger seat
Us overtaking a car on a short stretch of road
Accelerating hard
Car approaching fron the other direction
Wife hits the rev limiter in second
Car almost comes to a standstill


And the relevance?

The time to change up is before hitting the rev limiter....

R

manek

2,977 posts

300 months

Wednesday 13th February 2002
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Ouch!

That happened to me once. Just the once...

GreenV8S

30,922 posts

300 months

Wednesday 13th February 2002
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quote:

The scariest moment in my TVR ... The time to change up is before hitting the rev limiter....




How true! When I had my first TVR, an S2, it was some time before I found out it had a rev limiter. One day I was tanking round a sweeping corner on a dual carriageway at fair optimistic speeds in third with everything clenched hope I hadn't overcooked it, mid corner it dawned on my that I'd never revved it *this* hard before and shouldn't I at least glance at the tacho, but I didn't dare disturb anything. Anyway the car decided for me, as it hit the limiter the engine braking transformed a gentle four wheel drift into a massive oversteer and I was left fumbling for opposite lock while trying frantically to find a higher gear. Luckily I found the gear before it got too far out of shape, and as I put my foot down it straightened up without too much drama having used up both lanes and most of the hard shoulder.

I was extremely lucky because at the time I had nothing like the sort of car control skills necessary to catch it if it had broken away.

Cheers,
Peter Humphries (and a green V8S)

IPAddis

2,487 posts

300 months

Wednesday 13th February 2002
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On a similar subject, has anyone implemented the change up light on a Griff or Chim (the one at the bottom of the rev gauge)?

I know someone (?Peninsular) did a kit that you could wire in with the option of launch control (which presumably could be used as a primitive traction control).

Ian A.

>> Edited by IPAddis on Wednesday 13th February 14:06

jj_work

565 posts

286 months

Wednesday 13th February 2002
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I've read a variety of different claims about the limiter on 4L Chimps, ranging from 5850 through to 6500.

My limiter comes in at just over the 5800 rpm mark.

And that's where I change, on a private road of course..
jj

GreenV8S

30,922 posts

300 months

Wednesday 13th February 2002
quotequote all
quote:

I've read a variety of different claims about the limiter on 4L Chimps, ranging from 5850 through to 6500.

My limiter comes in at just over the 5800 rpm mark.

And that's where I change, on a private road of course..
jj



Two rev limiter settings I've some across that seem standard are 6k2 on pre-cat 4.0 V8 and 5k8 on a catted 4.0 V8. I know Mark Adams tends to set them up to about 6k5 - I feel that's worryingly close enough to the 'bang' point of an engine with a stock bottom end (somewhere around 6k7). I wouldn't be too surprised if the 500 cars had different limits though, knowing TVR.

One thing that's been said often but worth repeating - if you have a pre-serpentine front end you really *don't* want to take it past about 5k5 often or for long, as the wear on the dizzy drive increases exponentially with revs. Less of an issue with the later serpentine engines although there's little performance advantage past 5k (and none at all past 5k5).

Cheers,
Peter Humphries (and a green V8S)

hughjayteens

2,029 posts

284 months

Wednesday 13th February 2002
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Don't think I have had mine past 4.5k yet!!!

Roll on summer!

pupp

Original Poster:

12,548 posts

288 months

Wednesday 13th February 2002
quotequote all
Thanks for the comments...only asked as I have hit the limiter a couple of times (harsh innit...assume it completely cuts ignition?) but felt the motor was flat well before.

Steve _T

6,356 posts

288 months

Thursday 14th February 2002
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From the bible the rev limiter is not effective until ~6800rpm for the 5L. That said I try not to go over 5000 in my 5L, to be sympathetic to the engine and that gives more than enough pace for the public roads.

Cheers,

Steve

manek

2,977 posts

300 months

Thursday 14th February 2002
quotequote all
quote:

quote:

I've read a variety of different claims about the limiter on 4L Chimps, ranging from 5850 through to 6500.

My limiter comes in at just over the 5800 rpm mark.

And that's where I change, on a private road of course..
jj



Two rev limiter settings I've some across that seem standard are 6k2 on pre-cat 4.0 V8 and 5k8 on a catted 4.0 V8. I know Mark Adams tends to set them up to about 6k5 - I feel that's worryingly close enough to the 'bang' point of an engine with a stock bottom end (somewhere around 6k7). I wouldn't be too surprised if the 500 cars had different limits though, knowing TVR.

One thing that's been said often but worth repeating - if you have a pre-serpentine front end you really *don't* want to take it past about 5k5 often or for long, as the wear on the dizzy drive increases exponentially with revs. Less of an issue with the later serpentine engines although there's little performance advantage past 5k (and none at all past 5k5).

Cheers,
Peter Humphries (and a green V8S)




One thing about the way Mark Adams sets them up though is that it's a soft limit. My Chimaera 4 is set to 6.2k rpm and, on the one or two occasions when I've got there, it doesn't just die suddenly in the wy you describe, Peter, but it (er!) peters out, if you see what I mean.

That said, I agree -- no point with a River V8 in going past 5.5k.

Manek (and his green Chimaera 4)