2000 Is Boring.

[LinuxFan]

I have read on these boards and on others as well, that to maintain engine longevity and conserve fuel, many drive there vehicles at a speed where their RPM does not go over or if ever, not much higher than 2000 RPM -- something I and maybe others, do not pay too much attention to after initial vehicle startup.

Well, I had to consciously think of it so I can try it.

I got on the freeway and ran my 1991 LS vehicle at 2000 RPM and noticed that it hardly goes over 60 miles per hour (MPH). Besides upsetting a few who share the freeway, it was a long and boring ride... quiet, but boring.

Am I missinformed? Are they for real? How about your LS, how fast does it go at 2000 RPM?

Typically, I am up near the 3000 RPM zone with cruise on at a speed somewhere between 70-78 MPH -- where the fun begins, unless I see something that resembles the "highway taxing authority".:chairshot:

;-)

thanks...

[silvermate]

you can drive your car the way you want to......don't let any of us deter that...... ;)

some members baby their car (me), for longevity of the engine, and better gas mileage. ( i mean my car has almost 150K on the engine, so i try to take care of her as best as i can)

by all means if you want to drive the car harder, go ahead, its not gonna hurt the car, our engines are pretty much bullet proof anyway..... as long as you keep up on the maintence and don't rag it out......you'll be just fine. :D

about the RPM, my car is steady around 2500 rpms at a highway speed of about 70-75 MPH.

obviously if you are getting up to speed or merging on the highway your RPMs will go over 2000. like you said if you don't go over 2k rpms, it will take a long time to get up to speed, and maybe *BLEEP* someone behing you off. :whistles:

[blake918]

2k rpms on my '95 will get me about 62mph. I follow the 2k rpm limit only in the city--on the highway I typically go 5-10 over the posted speed(Louisiana has really slow speed limits with too many cops...a 70 zone is a treat! lol). I do that strictly for fuel economy reasons.

[93LSOwner]

I usually drive under 2k rpms also, but if there are cars behind me I do go faster. Last time I had the car I believe [not sure] my car did 60-70mph with a little under 3k rpm. But we can't compare our cars with Blake's, since he has more HP with a lighter car. ;)

[mobilyte]

message deleted

[monarch]

I got on the freeway and ran my 1991 LS vehicle at 2000 RPM and noticed that it hardly goes over 60 miles per hour (MPH). Typically, I am up near the 3000 RPM zone with cruise on at a speed somewhere between 70-78 MPH

On my '91 LS400 with factory original wheels and tires, 70 MPH = 2400 RPM http://www.saber.net/~monarch/speedo.jpg

[1UZ-FE]

i also follow the 2k rule. i feel the 2k rule should only be applied in city driving. i dont follow the 2k rule to promote engine longevity as much as i do to conserve fuel. i usually follow the 2k rule most of the time but whenever i find a dumba$$ ricer or a 5.slow that needs to be tought a lesson, i rise to the occasion. the way i see it, the rule is only worth it in the city. driving above 2k on the highway is the way it is supposed to be. first of all, 60 mph is way too slow, especially for long trips. second of all, you will get just as good gas milage, if not better the faster you go (up to a certain point). i only speed up for people behind me if i'm on a 1 lane road.

just my 2¢

[LinuxFan]

I have to say, this is a very pleasant thread to read -- and very informative as well. It never dawned on me that there would be this much to learn about and information on the 2K RPM.

Thanks everyone.

To be fair, I have to say this was prompted by blake... I read in one of his posts where he never (r hardly evr) go over 2K RPM, and I was stunned. It all makes sense now -- he is not alone and there are definate reasons, including saving premium fuel, to do this.

cool:-D

[blake918]

there are definate reasons, including saving premium fuel, to do this.

cool:-D

BINGO!! lol It's all about saving the premium! ;) I'm sure it helps with the wear of the car, but I'm not all that concerned with that since the engine is bulletproof! Hell, the other day I had the car in 2nd doing 85-90. It was quite exhilerating!! B) I'm glad you tried the experiment! It took me about a week or so to get used to it, and now I don't even need to watch the tach. The real savior is the intelligence on our tranny's because it follows your habbits and shifts accordingly. Maybe your magic number is 2500rpms to give you a little more excitement?? I think Agent99 told me he doesn't rev any higher than 1700! I'm going to have to try that one day! After switching acceleration methods, my gas mileage went up 20% on a bad day! It's a win-win-win situation: better mpg, it goes easy on the car, and it keeps me out of trouble. Yeah...on the freeway, you're free to go however fast you want! lol I had my cruise set on 115 for a while one time, and I still got 22-23 mpg. Haha

Below you can see(I hope yall have Excel!) my fuel progess since I started driving my LS in March(I actually got it in Feb, but I had to wait for the insurance coverage and this and that, and then I filled up all of the spark plug holes with water while cleaning, so that was more down time also.): Average MPG since March: 21.6(highest: 28.4 and lowest: 16.4. The 16.4 was when I made like 10 0-60 runs--1uzfe said his beast wouldn't burn rubber, so I had to go out and see if I could get mine to. It did!!!!), miles travled :7,864, and total ammount I've spent on gas: $767.57(WOW-in just 5 months!). All stats as of 7/27/04.

Lexus_Fuel_Data.xls

[LinuxFan]

Thanks for a good reply dude... I was hoping you would not take offence to that last post -- you did not and that is just cool.

Gotta hand it to yah! You are full of information.

You must be psychic or something because that is exactly where my excitement begins, 2500 RPM and some. Not much higher than that as the coppers are always on I75 in MI it seems.

Anyway, thanks for the info -- really good stuff.

Now, about that 28MPG you claim, how you do that? I am averaging between 17-21 MPG between city and highway speed.

[blake918]

Thanks for a good reply dude... I was hoping you would not take offence to that last post -- you did not and that is just cool.

Gotta hand it to yah! You are full of information.

You must be psychic or something because that is exactly where my excitement begins, 2500 RPM and some. Not much higher than that as the coppers are always on I75 in MI it seems.

Anyway, thanks for the info -- really good stuff.

Now, about that 28MPG you claim, how you do that? I am averaging between 17-21 MPG between city and highway speed.

Thank you, thank you! :D My ears are burning! What would I be offended by?? <_< ...you say what a good thread it's turning out to be, thank everyone for the info thus far, and say that you understand why I made the origional thread about the 2k rule. Maybe it went right over my head, but I still don't see it! How'd I do it(28 mpg)? It was all highway with maybe 2 miles of stop-and-go city type stuff with clear, very calm weather conditions. I regularly get 21-22 in the city, so 28 on strictly the highway is not to far out of the question. On my drive to work, I have auto pilot set in 59-69mph (for 55 and 65 speed postings), so at 59 mph, I'm hardly turning any rpms. Some days, I go faster purely out of bordem or if I over sleep! lol I got 26mpg 2 weeks ago, and that was with some city driving mixed in. I'll have to make note of things the next time I go 98% hwy. ;)

I maintain my car very well which could contribute to my good fuel econ. I have Mobile1 synthetic 5w30, Toyota oil filter, tranny drains with every oil change--refill with Toyota T-IV, a regularly cleaned Toyota paper air filter, Michelins(MXV4 plus) aired up to 44psi, and Shell or Chevron premium gasoline. Also, I've got a completely new ignition: ND iridium plugs with OEM wires, caps, and rotors. I've got to schedule an appointment for a new fuel filter to see what that'll do since I think mine is the origional! You get 17-21 mixed highway...not too bad! You might want to check the air filter, look into a fuel injector service(about $100 at Toyota), maybe it's time for a new ignition(?), and check your tire pressure. I ride on 44psi...always, but I've tried them at 32psi(or whatever it is that the glove box tells you), and I find the ride just as cushy riding on 44psi. With 32, I found the tires looked flat, and the car seemed to wander a little on the highway. Fixing the tire pressure cured those problems, and my cars still rides silky smooth even over big bumps(it doesn't jar you like you'd think) despite the tire pressure.

Gotta hand it to yah! You are full of information.

That's not the only thing people have told me I'm full of!! ;)

[LinuxFan]

Good stuff! All very good stuff!

I am taking notes. I will start doing that tranny drain from now on. I just started putting Mobil 1 in and it seems things are getting better already.

I will do the tranny tonight -- or I will try to.

I imagine I might need new plugs and wires, so I will add that to the to-do list as well. Maybe I will get close to that 27 MPG mark.:-)

Oh well. Thanks... it has all been worth it.

On that offended piece -- never mind. I am just being careful. You just never know now-a-days what will offend. So I generally tread lightly, almost to the point of being paranoid, until I get to know the limitations.

So we are good... it was just me trying to be careful.

Again -- thanks.;-)

[1UZ-FE]

Michelins(MXV4 plus) aired up to 44psi,...

......and check your tire pressure. I ride on 44psi...always, but I've tried them at 32psi(or whatever it is that the glove box tells you), and I find the ride just as cushy riding on 44psi. With 32, I found the tires looked flat, and the car seemed to wander a little on the highway. Fixing the tire pressure cured those problems, and my cars still rides silky smooth even over big bumps(it doesn't jar you like you'd think) despite the tire pressure.

i sure hope u dont mean 44psi cold pressure!! :o if you read the sidewall of your tire, it says to NEVER exceed 44psi. they dont recommend 32psi for comfort, they recommend it for safety! you run the risk of a blowout, especially on the highway. if the tires are at 44psi cold, then u get on the highway and run at high speeds, the tires heat up and the pressure rises to ~50 psi and then BAM!!! that would not be very fun. not to mention with high psi, the tire will bow out in the middle of the tread and wear excessively in the middle. have a look at your tread and make sure it not almost bald in the middle!

The 16.4 was when I made like 10 0-60 runs--1uzfe said his beast wouldn't burn rubber, so I had to go out and see if I could get mine to. It did!!!!)

btw blake - about 3 weeks ago i had a 6 inch threaded bolt go through my left rear tire sideways. since the bolt did not drive past the tread and into the tire, there was nothing to be patched (it still holds air). i do not want to drive on that tire b/c the tread is compromised and may fly apart at high speeds. my car HAD 4 nearly new bridgestone turanza LS-Ts and the spare was a michelin.....something or other. i decided to leave the "spare" (michelin) on the left rear as a permanent and put the damaged turanza in the trunk as a spare. the reasoning behind that is: if i get another flat, i can drive around on the damaged turanza around the city, i just dont want to risk highway driving. all 3 turanzas and the 1 michelin are all inflated to the same psi (32). Anyway, the reason i brought this up is: i figured out why u can burn rubber and i can't. since the michelin is on the rear of the car, it must handle acceleration forces. whenever i floor the car now, no matter what the conditions (wet/dry, AC on/AC off), the michelin ALWAYS breaks traction. i can't always do a burnout, but it WILL break loose for atleast a second. the T rated turanzas must be a softer and grippier compound than the V rated michelins. so i have solved my mystery of whether or not my car is lacking HP!!! the answer is NO. i just had ridiculously grippy tires.

[jzz30]

WOT every morning on the onramp in 2nd in my SC limit is 50 but go 80 theres nothing better than hearing a quad cam v8 screaming at 6500 or so rpms in the morning :D ...unless you have a 1j or 2j turbo but im working on that ;)