Driving is much more than pressing the accelerator or the brake, reducing or increasing gears and having good reflexes that measure our ability on the road. We say this due to several other factors that we have to look for, and among them is our way of driving and how we allow the engine to work. In this case, we are talking about doing it at low revs and how this can harm the engine.
Low RPMs are not for everyone
They have repeated it to us on many occasions, but now it makes all the sense in the world: you have to get used to efficient driving to save fuel. Brake gradually, avoid sudden acceleration, have adequate tire pressure, drive at no more than 110 km/h and, as one of the key rules, drive in good gear .
This means that always driving with high gears and not letting the engine rev up can cause breakdowns in the mechanics of our car. The car will tend to drown and may suffer damage to the cylinder head gasket, the EGR valve, the cylinders, the turbo…
Yes, we know; each engine is world , but each driver and each stage too. For this reason, the recommendations to make the engine work at the minimum possible revolutions must be applied not only knowing our engine very well, but knowing the terrain on which we circulate. Using the highest possible gear is only recommended for moments of very low engine load, flattening or taking advantage of a favorable slope. In any case, this can also cause the mechanics to suffer more than necessary…
The mechanics of your car will suffer more than necessary
Therefore, and as something more than well recommended by the experts, to maintain the good health of the car and an adjusted fuel consumption, it is necessary to circulate around 1,500 revolutions , never below, in gasoline engines and between 1,300 in diesel engines. These figures should be the ones we use as a guide during everyday driving.
Thus, forcing an engine to work at very low revs has as its main problem the generation of internal forces and vibrations that sooner or later turn into failures. Stress situations for the engine also tend to show clear evidence such as very pronounced vibrations.
But also lack of power or excessive smoke, as the engine is trying to face an effort in its worst work area. Also, and as something of its own, it is that in the most modern diesel cars the appearance of breakdowns in the anti-pollution systems will be common.
Take advantage of some situations to rev the engine
It is then that, as we said, it is not convenient to drive with the engine at low revs on a regular basis, especially in diesel engines, which are more likely to generate more dirt in the combustion. For this reason, we must take advantage of some circumstances to revolutionize the car in a timely manner, which will also help us to eliminate excess carbon:
- On highway or highway . If we usually drive around the city, it is convenient from time to time to take a 15 or 20 minute drive with the car revved up on the highway . It is not necessary to burn a tire or race, but it is necessary to demand a little more from the engine so that the dirt does not kill it.
- overtaking _ By lowering a gear and raising the rev counter, we will overtake faster (and more safely) and, incidentally, we will clean the engine.
- Going up or down a steep slope . If on a slope the car is unable to maintain speed no matter how much we keep the pedal on the ground, there is no choice but to reduce and rev it up. We will avoid drowning the engine and it will serve to regenerate the anti-particle filter.
