What is your average top end driving speed?

[phocus]

I feel my 75 2002 runs the best at about 55 or 60 mph. I need to be able to do 65 or 70, I have a 4 speed, weber carb, nothing special. What can I do?

[Madvibes]

i think on a 32/36, the second barrel opens up at around 70 or so (appx 4k rpm) and on the highway i find my sweet spot is around 80. i did 90 the other day but i don't dig highway rpm at over 5k

i typically cruise between 75-80ish

same setup. weber 32/36 4spd manual

[02fanatic]

My stock '76 with 32/26 Weber seems to run best at around 70-75. Much over that and the 3.90 rear feels like it's working too hard. Sweet spot is about 4k to 4.2k rpm. I drove it to 02-02-02 and in the mountains getting up to 80 -85 on a long downgrade was very uncomfortable, but no problem for the little guy!

As for a stock tii...the sweet spot is easily 10 mph higher! :-) A well tuned tii will cruise all day long at 75 to 85 as they were intended to do on the Autobahn!

John

[canadapierre]

10:1, 292, 5 speed, 3.64 open, pertronix, 32/36

I like cruising between 70 and 85.

70 is good for economy, just under the power band and 80 is just in the power band. 85 starts to get noisy exhaust wise. Even, predictable response and handling from the car between those speeds to either acceleration, braking or to steering around any bumps/idiots that get in he way.

[Guest Anonymous]

My timing must be off,,,,feels like something is holding me on 55 mph.?

[phocus]

OOPs, I forgot to log in,,,My timing must be off?,,, Maybe my carb needs tuning?

[robdelk]

Tii touring 3.45 and 4 speed runs nice at 160 kmh/100 mph

K 300 cam, head work , Alpina header 2.25 exhaust

Red baron ( she's down now ) clutch hydrolics and in Youngest daughter's care]365 w 4 speed On I 90 in SD 80 to 85 then it got real buzzy but she would pull 6300 what ever that is with 18/70/13's

Norris 300 cam,dual 40's and a JC Whitney header 2.25 exhaust

Green Club Racer (KIA) 2.2 litre motor 300 alpina cam serious head work alpina header 2.5 exhaust, Dual 40's 5 speed 3.64 she like around a 100 in 5th 195/50/15's.

Red Baron started to slow very slightly over time and then it got bad . Answer center muffler died and was cloging the system that is when it got the 2.25 exhaust with a thrush mini turbo. Ten years on that exhaust

The old potato in the pipe trick

serious restriction

or timingvac leak? ????

[dubois]

there is something really wrong with your car if it doesn't feel good at 70-75. Look into timing,electrical, compression, carb jetting, dragging calipers, smog plugged, exhaust blocked, etc, etc.

But to answer your secondary question (useless to your problem, anyway), mine feels good at 80mph with 4 spd, 3.64, but at a 100 it feels even better and wants more, but I am too chicken to comply.

[SteveH]

My car wakes up around 60-65 mph, becasue of the timing, low compression, and big carbs. Although, its at its best at an indicated 90 MPH (which is closer to 80-85 MPH and 5000 RPM). A bit too fast for cruising, but if I had the right roads, thats how I would run it.

3.90-4 speed

Does the car feel like its working too hard, or is it lacking the power to go faster?

[Guest Anonymous]

Feels like it is working to hard,,,like a need a 5th gear to shift to...

[dlhoovler]

I know my '02 (stock-engined early '71, single-barrel Solex, 3.64, 5-speed) always felt like there was a wall around an indicated 60-65, but that was really more a matter of perception. With newer cars, we're used to engines that cruise at 3,000 rpm or less (my wife's uncle drove us around Dallas once, and I noticed that 80 mph in his Expedition was about 2,500 rpm!). For that reason, an engine running at 3,500-4,000+ rpm can sound like it's working too hard.

It isn't.

From all I've heard, these engines were designed to run for long periods of time in the 4,000-5,000 rpm range (the bottom to middle of the power band), and if yours is reasonably healthy, you aren't hurting it to run it there. Once I push past my perceptual "wall," the car has a great cruising sweet spot at 4,000 rpm (77 mph in fourth). It's got reserve to accelerate at that rpm, and it's way more solid at that speed than our 25-years-younger Corolla. After a couple of minutes your ear gets used to the pitch.

Of course, I did convert to a 5-speed for a bit more relaxed cruising and to be able to talk to my wife on long-distance trips, but that actually puts my engine below its power band. I lose speed on hills sometimes, so I need to drop it back into fourth to get the power back. I can see why people do the 5-speed and a 3.90 rear at the same time (and why BMW did that on the 320i).

Try running your car at 4k rpm on the highway for 15-20 minutes and see if the problem is your car... or if you just have to change your perceptions.

-Dave

[SteveH]

Yeah, it only seems like the engine is going to blow. Its good to run it hard once in a while anyway, to clean the engine out. I think the fun part about freeway driving, is just getting a chance to run the car hard. It stops me from zoning out like I do all to often in other cars.

Next time it feels like it cant go faster, open up the throttle, and prepare for warp speed...

[Mike Self]

happy at about 3800 rpm, just over 70 mph. That isn't to say they're unhappy at higher speeds, just that rpm seems to be the alluded to "sweet spot" at least for my two. Both engines are stock and kinda tired, but running well.

cheers

mike