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I'm a believer in: "The less your engine has to work the longer it will last."
I've got a 95 Park Ave with 130K (GM 3800 Series II, 205h.p.). This car red lines at 5200, is rated at 29 mpg highway, weighs 3600 lbs, but is only turning a leisurely 2000 RPM at 70 mph.
In contrast, my Plymouth Neon Sport Coupe (2.0 DOHC) is pulling 1500 additional revs at 70. The Neon is also a high mileage car. I believe the Buick mill will outlast the Mopar.
My rationale is based on the legendary high miles diesel engines are known for. Diesels are low rev at highway speeds and seem to last forever.
Antime you ask a smaller engine at higher rev to do the same 'it has consequences, But oftehn they can do fine if maintained and with modern developments of lbes and build.Often itsd a cost to mileage thing with mnay as to whcih is best.
Torque is actual "work", RPM is a component of power. Two engines with different RPM characteristics can exert the same amount of power depending on their torque capabilities. Just because an engine doesn't spin as fast as another engine does not mean it will last longer. There are NUMEROUS factors that contribute to the wear of an engine... most notably would be design and materials.
Diesel engine components undergo much more stress than those of a gasoline engine but they are designed to withstand that. Tight tolerances, lubricity from the fuel, purity of fuel, quality of the materials, etc. all contribute to longevity of diesels.
I used to think that too until I watched my Dads 81 Accord witha a 3 speed automatic with a non lock up converter rev thru its life screaming over 200k miles. nd a friends 97 Neon 3 speed automatic rack over 300k miles
Torque is actual "work", RPM is a component of power. Two engines with different RPM characteristics can exert the same amount of power depending on their torque capabilities. Just because an engine doesn't spin as fast as another engine does not mean it will last longer. There are NUMEROUS factors that contribute to the wear of an engine... most notably would be design and materials.
Diesel engine components undergo much more stress than those of a gasoline engine but they are designed to withstand that. Tight tolerances, lubricity from the fuel, purity of fuel, quality of the materials, etc. all contribute to longevity of diesels.
Thanks Lux Hauler. If what you say is true (and I agree design and materials give the edge) then the following might indicate the Buick has the edge:
I used to think that too until I watched my Dads 81 Accord witha a 3 speed automatic with a non lock up converter rev thru its life screaming over 200k miles. nd a friends 97 Neon 3 speed automatic rack over 300k miles
frankgn87, that's commendable on the Accord, apparently it was well taken care of. However, the Neon you mentioned is like comparing apples and oranges. In 95' the closest you could get to a genuine "ACR" racer was my Plymouth Neon Sport Coupe:
"The Sport Coupe, which appeared at the end of 1994, was a somewhat different animal. While keeping all of the standard Sport features, it added standard DOHC (which could be deleted for credit) and performance ratio gearing for manual transmission cars. It also featured the SDE (Sport) suspension, with stiffer struts (not quite the ACR competition-stiff units), front and rear swaybars, and the slightly quicker steering ratio found on the ACR." Neon FAQ: Models
The lower gearing and manual transmission has this sucker really revving at highway speeds. 2nd gear launches are a piece of cake. I'd have better mileage and longevity if I had the Neon you described, but I paid extra for that zip (16K in 1995 when most stripper Neons were 10K).
Location: We_tside PNW (Columbia Gorge) / CO / SA TX / Thailand
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Lux Hauler
Just because an engine doesn't spin as fast as another engine does not mean it will last longer. There are NUMEROUS factors that contribute to the wear of an engine... most notably would be design and materials.
The newer manufacturing processes with uniform tolerances and superb materials + great lubricity additives seems to be a major improvement for engine longevity.
I have a fleet of (fairly) HIGH revving VW diesels with 300,000 > 500,000 mile each. They LOVE to be run hard and get best economy at highest RPM (mainly becasue you are not 'shifting', you are just running FLAT out (and hot)... engines LIKE HOT for economy.
Quote:
Diesel engine components undergo much more stress than those of a gasoline engine but they are designed to withstand that. Tight tolerances, lubricity from the fuel, purity of fuel, quality of the materials, etc. all contribute to longevity of diesels.
Very true, diesel gives LUBRICATION for every firing of the cylinder, where gas engine burns the oil OFF the cylinder wall each time it fires.
That said... I think my LOW RPM 6cyl Cummins Diesel will be running long past the VW's. I have heard of 3 million miles+ BUT.... I had a Studebaker truck with a factory Detroit Diesel (4-53) that had 3 million miles on her, and still running strong http://www.city-data.com/forum/membe...ion-miles.html
Power equals torque multiplied by rpm with a couple of constants thrown in.
More specifically,
Horsepower = Torque (in lb-ft) x rpm x 2π / 33000
True... not sure what you are getting at but power is a function of torque, not the other way around. I guess a way to say it is that torque and RPM are ingredients of power. I think you already knew that though...
I was just pointing out that the relationship between Power, Torque and rpm is a simple one: Power = Torque x rpm x Constant. Double the torque and halve the rpm and the power remains the same.
It is not obvious that reducing rpm and increasing torque leads to less engine wear. Increasing torque leads to more transverse side pressure of the piston skirt on the cylinder wall on the power stroke, as well as more pressure on the connecting rod and crankshaft bearings. A lightly loaded but high-revving engine may result in less engine wear than a low-revving engine that is cranking out a lot of torque, which is the opposite of what the OP originally posted.
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