brad

Hello All-

I recently traded in my 1997 A.4 2.8 Q for a 2002 A4 1.8 Q.

I love the new car. My old car had a 6 cylinder engine, but it was an
automatic. My "new" car has a 4 cylinder turbo, but it's a 5-speed.
Even though my new car is less powerful, it feels peppy to me and has
more than adequate power for me.

I don't customarily cruise long distances at 80 mph, but certainly do
go that fast, and sometimes slightly faster, for fairly long
stretches. Now, in my old car, I think the engine turned over
considerably slower at that speed. In this car, at 80 mph, the engine
is turning nearly 4,000 rpm. So, my question is, is it OK to cruise
at that engine speed? Will it hurt anything? Will my engine wear out
faster due to the increased rpm? Sounds awfully fast, but maybe I'm
just used to the 6 cylinder which cruised at a more relaxed engine
speed. I know the redline is like 6,500 rpm, so this should be OK,
but just wondering whether others have any insight?

Thanks for any comments. Love this car....

Pete

"brad" <bradnh@volcanomail.com> wrote in message
news:74d34be9.0311272135.793e921@posting.google.co m...
> Hello All-
> In this car, at 80 mph, the engine
> is turning nearly 4,000 rpm. So, my question is, is it OK to cruise
> at that engine speed?

That's perfectly fine. As you noticed, it is a rather high-revving engine -
that's where all the fun is. I'd just suggest using high quality synthetic
oil in it, to extend its life as well as the life of the turbo.

Cheers,

Pete

Hairy One Kenobi

"brad" <bradnh@volcanomail.com> wrote in message
news:74d34be9.0311272135.793e921@posting.google.co m...
> I recently traded in my 1997 A.4 2.8 Q for a 2002 A4 1.8 Q.
>
> I love the new car. My old car had a 6 cylinder engine, but it was an
> automatic. My "new" car has a 4 cylinder turbo, but it's a 5-speed.
> Even though my new car is less powerful, it feels peppy to me and has
> more than adequate power for me.
>
> I don't customarily cruise long distances at 80 mph, but certainly do
> go that fast, and sometimes slightly faster, for fairly long
> stretches. Now, in my old car, I think the engine turned over
> considerably slower at that speed. In this car, at 80 mph, the engine
> is turning nearly 4,000 rpm. So, my question is, is it OK to cruise
> at that engine speed? Will it hurt anything? Will my engine wear out
> faster due to the increased rpm? Sounds awfully fast, but maybe I'm
> just used to the 6 cylinder which cruised at a more relaxed engine
> speed. I know the redline is like 6,500 rpm, so this should be OK,
> but just wondering whether others have any insight?

No problem - you're only just getting on the torque curve at that point

If engines broke at 80mph+ cruise, then they'd be a lot of dead cars on
UK/French/Belgian/Dutch/German/Spanish motorways/autoroutes/freeways ;o)

--

Hairy One Kenobi

Disclaimer: the opinions expressed in this opinion do not necessarily
reflect the opinions of the highly-opinionated person expressing the opinion
in the first place. So there!

brad

Thank you all for your replies. I was pretty sure this was not an
issue but was just looking for positive reinforcement/reassurance,
which you have provided.

My old (97) A4 with the 6 cylinder was a lovely car, but the automatic
gave it a different personality than my "new" '02 A4 1.8 with the 5
speed. The older car was very quiet, smooth. This car is more fun to
drive. The turbo makes it fun too. Entirely different personality.
Not as quiet, maybe not quite as refined, but I'm enjoying it
immensely.

Thanks for your help.










"Hairy One Kenobi" <abuse@[127.0.0.1]> wrote in message news:<wZFxb.854$PR.5282@newsfep4-glfd.server.ntli.net>...
> "brad" <bradnh@volcanomail.com> wrote in message
> news:74d34be9.0311272135.793e921@posting.google.co m...
> > I recently traded in my 1997 A.4 2.8 Q for a 2002 A4 1.8 Q.
> >
> > I love the new car. My old car had a 6 cylinder engine, but it was an
> > automatic. My "new" car has a 4 cylinder turbo, but it's a 5-speed.
> > Even though my new car is less powerful, it feels peppy to me and has
> > more than adequate power for me.
> >
> > I don't customarily cruise long distances at 80 mph, but certainly do
> > go that fast, and sometimes slightly faster, for fairly long
> > stretches. Now, in my old car, I think the engine turned over
> > considerably slower at that speed. In this car, at 80 mph, the engine
> > is turning nearly 4,000 rpm. So, my question is, is it OK to cruise
> > at that engine speed? Will it hurt anything? Will my engine wear out
> > faster due to the increased rpm? Sounds awfully fast, but maybe I'm
> > just used to the 6 cylinder which cruised at a more relaxed engine
> > speed. I know the redline is like 6,500 rpm, so this should be OK,
> > but just wondering whether others have any insight?
>
> No problem - you're only just getting on the torque curve at that point
>
> If engines broke at 80mph+ cruise, then they'd be a lot of dead cars on
> UK/French/Belgian/Dutch/German/Spanish motorways/autoroutes/freeways ;o)