i saw this on the 318ti yahoo mailing list awhile ago and this is the perfect opportunity to share it:
When we picked up one of our cars at the factory on European delivery,
I asked the guy who was explaining the car to us those same questions.
Me: So how fast should I drive this new car on the autobahn?
Him: How fast do you want to go?
Me: Well, what would top speed be on this new car? I don't want to over rev it.
Him: Over rev it? Before this car left the factory building, it was revved up to the red line on a dyno to make sure it's a good engine. (At the factory tour later, I saw that, he was right.)
Me: Well, so how fast can I go?
Him: Well, it is very important for a BMW not to be passed by a Mercedes or an Audi. So gauge yourself to that. Should that mean 180 or even 200 kilometers per hour - so be it, or as fast as it will go.
Me: Shouldn't that car be broken in?
Him: For all practical purposes - it already is.
Me: OK, so what is the shift point?
Him: If you mean when you should shift gears when accelerating to get on to the autobahn, then the car will tell you. It is equipped with a rev limiter.
Me: Won't that abuse the engine?
Him: If we thought that would abuse the engine, we would have put the rev limiter at a lower rpm.
Me: So in essence there is nothing wrong with hitting the rev limiter every now and then. That will not damage the engine or wear it out prematurely?
Him: You would be doing more damage to the engine if you let it lug at lower rpms all the time, or if you shifted gears at anything lower than 5000 rpm. After all this is a BMW not some other make.
Enough said.
Leif |