Shift at 3k

[nicksimc]

I drive a 1982 1.7l 4ks 4-cyl no-turbo, no quattro, and I normally shift 
around 3k , though it goes a bit higher when  I'm out of the city and off the 
freeway...  
75mph at 3.5k up a hill in fourth gear is usual on I-5. (30 mpg)

I have driven my boss'  car, which is a 1997 A4 1.8l quattro non-turbo and 
shifted it around 4k (because it felt right) on I-5.  I took it up to 75 (for 
a little bit, 
boss' car and all) and I think it was about 4k. (20mpg)  The A4 is obviously a 
much heavier car due to the quattro...

A co-worker who has also driven the A4 has confirmed this performance, and 
said it was probably geared that way so that you could punch it without 
putting 
too much stress on the AWD ...  Any opinions on this explanation?

Part of the reason I shift low is because the 4ks is extremely noisy.  By 
contrast, the A4 seemed to be about as noisy at 3k as my car is at idle.  The 
sound 
dampening was impressive, but caught me by surprise (I couldn't tell if the 
engine was running _at all_ at stoplights)  It appeared that a bunch of us 
that shift 
under 3k are driving 4000s.  Those who generally shift higher are driving 
later cars it seems...  Just a thought.

M Nicksic

82 4ks (15 years olderand 10 mpg more efficient than an A4q?