Re: High RPMs at highway speed?

["P-O Selander (EUS)" <EUSPOS@am1.ericsson.se>]

Well, with an auto tranny in 3rd or 4th and stable speed you should have a
"mechanical" lock-up and no slippage in the torque converter.

My daily driver is a 1989 100 with three speed tranny. At 80 mph, engine rpm
is just at about 3,800-3,900 rpm if tach is correct. Haven't tried top speed
in a looong time....

Talked to a guy with the 4-speed tranny in a 1990 100. Same thing there, his
engine rpm was also high. Seems like the fourth is not any taller with a
4-speed and I agree that this car should easily be able to handle a bit
taller final drive. But, as many has already indicated, the Audi I-5 is a
high revving engine.

However, I miss old Saab Turbos that have tons of low-end torque from just
around 1,800 rpm. If you get a chance, try a Saab 9000 Aero (or just a 9000
16 V turbo) and you can talk about another stealth car (with a large trunk).
Have not driven the 200 20V but I understand that it also has pretty good
low end grunt.
That said, with proper design, even a small engine can develop impressive
power (I consider torque more important than peak HP) at low rpm. Think the
1.8t is  good evidence for that. But, some engines just love to sing out
loud (Honda/Acura VTECs, Ferraris etc.

Just had to chip in my .02...

P-O Selander, Bellevue, WA (this week in Sunny(?) Florida, Bal Harbor)
89 100E
91 300ZXTT (where a taller 5th or maybe even a 6th would fit nicely)