I don't know how much of it is psychological, but honestly, everything seems to feel a lot better once the car has warmed and you can run past 4k without worry. Shifting seems smoother than when you short shift below 3k, and overall the car just seems to drive better when you're routinely above 3k. I started out driving very easily and at low rpms, but very shortly after getting the car I read up on the issues on here and started driving it a-la the '3k and above' rulebook. It doesn't compute in the brain, especially when you're more used to putting around at the lowest gear and RPM possible in a Corolla that's always trying to be fuel efficient like I am. And passengers will always question it because it doesn't work in their brain either...and in some cases it's not really worth the trouble explaining the whole IMS thing, lol. But like I said, to me things just seem to work better at higher RPMs. Maybe that' why 4k is right at the top of the tach.
