How often do you redline it & a story of newfound joy

[blue2000s]

Maximum acceleration is dependent on torque at the wheels. It's a combination of engine torque and gear ratios. There is more torque at the wheels in first gear at redline than in second at any point. So max acceleration comes when you redline in first ( and every other gear for that matter). It's not the case with every car, but usually is with sports cars and absolutely is with the Boxster.

Let us know when you redline in 6th. It's over 170mph!

[landrovered]

Perhaps I should qualify my statement....in the 3.6 there seems to be no benefit percieved from redlining first or second. The long gears are where it is at.

[blue2000s]

Originally Posted by landrovered

Perhaps I should qualify my statement....in the 3.6 there seems to be no benefit percieved from redlining first or second. The long gears are where it is at.

Unless the 3.6 torque curve is less flat than the 3.2, which I doubt, you're still faster winding to redline. Whether you fell the need to do so is of course another matter.

[eightsandaces]

Originally Posted by landrovered

Perhaps I should qualify my statement....in the 3.6 there seems to be no benefit percieved from redlining first or second. The long gears are where it is at.

I have never driven a sports car where redlining first gear made sense. IMO, the Boxster third gear and fourth is where the power is killer approaching redline. I also think remaining in fourth on the highway is way fun, sucks more gas but the available passing power is again, killer.

[JoeFromPA]

I think 1st gear is worth at least a 6000rpm run (when is fuel cut on the 2.5 liter?)....maybe it's just me, and my huge-ass 265/35/18 wide pilot sports, but between the power output, the medium-ish gearing of the 5-speeds, and those tires....well, I definitely feel that first gear redline is not an OVER-RUN of power output.

Anyway, I don't like to redline in first unless I'm racing someone (which is extremely infrequent). I don't like the forces it puts on the juicy bits, and I don't like it's feel as much as I enjoy a good 2-4th gear redline run.

Good to hear others opinions. I come from driving a 2006 Civic SI, which I redlined at 8000 rpms everyday and have never been concerned about. Conversely, my 2008 Legacy GT is not a car that enjoys redlining.

I find the boxster to be not as encouraging of redline as the Civic SI, but also far smoother power delivery. Since the car has a long history of being tracked for many miles without any sort of rotating assembly failures, I assumed it was a great car to keep in the upper rpms (in terms of mechanical happiness).

I like being re-assured

Joe

P.s. First full tank of gas in the boxster, driven 70% highway with the top-down, lots of aggressive driving.....23 mpg. Sound about right? Also is 11 years old without a 60k mile service yet, which may help.

[Frodo]

I tend to agree with landrovered here. I don't know the science like some folks out there, but, to me, it seems like the Boxster has such a good torque curve that it feels totally unnecessary to wind out to redline in first.

As he said, when "in a hurry" I'll typically run up to 4500-5000 rpm in first, then shift. She just pulls so strong in second when I do that it just seems silly to delay that shift. I too save the redline (or near-redline) shifts for the middle to higher gears.

Like I said, I really don't know the science here...this is kind of a 'butt dyno' kind of thing for me.

[blue2000s]

Originally Posted by Frodo

I tend to agree with landrovered here. I don't know the science like some folks out there, but, to me, it seems like the Boxster has such a good torque curve that it feels totally unnecessary to wind out to redline in first.

As he said, when "in a hurry" I'll typically run up to 4500-5000 rpm in first, then shift. She just pulls so strong in second when I do that it just seems silly to delay that shift. I too save the redline (or near-redline) shifts for the middle to higher gears.

Like I said, I really don't know the science here...this is kind of a 'butt dyno' kind of thing for me.

Your butt dyno needs recalibration.

[Frodo]

Originally Posted by blue2000s

Your butt dyno needs recalibration.

Oh Great! What's THAT gonna cost me??

[blue2000s]

I put the gear ratios of the 986 6-speed together with the torque curve of the 3.6 non x-51 engine. Attached is the resulting torque vs road speed curve. You always have more torque in the lower gear at redline than the next gear up for any given road speed.

If the curves crossed each other, that would be the shift point you'd want to make. If they don't cross, as with the 3.6, redline is always going to be faster.

6th gear at a redline of 7200 RPM should be about 176mph.

[Mark_T]

Originally Posted by Frodo

Oh Great! What's THAT gonna cost me??

LMFAO!! Spoken like a true Porsche owner!


I try to never let my revs drop under 3000, selecting a gear that keeps the steady-speed revs in the 3000 to 3500 range. I ease it away in first, shifting around 4 or 5, and then wind it out through the rest of the gears. It is not uncommon to get a reminder from the rev limiter that maybe I should shift now.

I seem to average about 25 to 28 imp. mpg.