Ford's Cruel Irony

3258 Views 31 Replies 18 Participants Last post by shoz123, Mar 7, 2008

speakerboy5

Discussion Starter · Mar 29, 2004

After carefully reading the owner's manual of my 1998 Taurus SE sedan with a Vulcan, I realized something that seems quite cruel on Ford's part. My engine is rated at 145 HP @ 5250 RPM (the redlkine is 5500 RPM.) However, when I floor it, the rev limiter kicks in at 5000 RPM, every time, whether it's full throttle from a stop light, or full throttle from 60 MPH.

I find it odd that Ford would advertise the engine as having 145 HP at a point in the rev band it can never hit.

Am I missing something here? Am I right, or is there something wrong with my car?

1 - 20 of 32 Posts

G

· #2 · Mar 29, 2004

My vulcan will go out past 5k. If I had to guess (not sure how accurate the tach is) but I'd say mine goes out to about 5300.

KevinMarble

· #3 · Mar 29, 2004

Open up your Intake & Exhaust flows, get a power chip of some variety, some Bosch Platinum Plus 4 plugs, a low temp t-stat... & IGNORE B.S. factory H.P. specs!
It ain't EVER gonna' be a neck snapper, so just have fun w/what ya' got. I do!

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qwertz9586

· #4 · Mar 30, 2004

Are you sure you're not confusing the shift point with the rev limiter? The rev limiter will make the revs "bounce" while shifting changes to another gear.

Postmortem

· #5 · Mar 30, 2004

yep, if you are trying to do it while in Park- there is rev limiter.

Last night I revved over 5000 rpm too.

Scatman

· #6 · Mar 30, 2004

Dido to what qwertz said, I have had my vulcan upto 6k+. I noticed the rev limiter bounces on mine about 5k-5.5k.

G

· #7 · Mar 30, 2004

awwww!!! NOT FAIR!!!

My SHO's rev limit (ATX) kicks in at 4000-4500.. just as the secondaries open up..

***Vvvrrrooooovoovovovovovoovovovov*****

I do use it to scare mustangs though.. hehe

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speakerboy5

Discussion Starter · #8 · Mar 30, 2004

My apologies. It is when the transmission shifts, not the rev limiter. But if the transmission shifts before peak HP, it's still some sort of cruel joke. I don't much care for making 145 HP in Park or Neutral.

As for modifications... I shouldn't have to do anything to get the full performance out of my car. Besides, the performance (in my opinion) is adequate, and typically suits my needs, and I get pretty decent gas mileage with just 145 HP. So I'm not complaining. It was just some information I came across and thought it was funny on Ford's part.

diesel600

· #9 · Mar 30, 2004

The transmission bases its shift points partly by your usual driving style. If you normally don't mash your accelerator, the car is going to shift at lower rpms. Try this: disconnect your battery for 15 mins or so to reset the computer. Then hook it back up and go for an agreesive drive, lots of wide open throttle. See if the shift points change at all. Also, if it is shifting too early your throttle position sensor could be out of spec.

3-fords1000

· #10 · Mar 30, 2004

Dura-Bling Power Baby!

My limiter is about 6k but the tach is so slow and sloppy it might be 7k. I hit it in 1st, 2nd and 3rd Sunday night and cars come up fast at 110.

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Xmann01

· #11 · Mar 31, 2004

Its not unusual for my gen 3 to shift at 5.5 - 6k on hard acceleration.

G

· #12 · Mar 31, 2004

My 97 will go to about 5500 before shifting at WOT, thanks to Alberto at American Motorsport. It downshifts with only a slight application of the throttle too.

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fojt19

· #13 · Apr 2, 2004

With my 02 Duratec iv seen it push to a little over 6500 RPMs, maybe even to 6600 RPMs.

mobiuslogic

· #14 · Apr 2, 2004

Ummm.....maybe my rev limiter is broken, but I KNOW I've had my up to 6200rpms before. Thankgod for the vulcan

I had it in 1 to see what it would do, and I just sort of started cruising from the light, and it stayed in 1 as I thought, and then I floored it. Big mistake. WHHHHOOOOOSSSSSHHHHH!!!!! I'm at 5500rpms, with no rev limiter, and still climbing. I held it at 6000 for a second, and jumped it up to 6200 and let go of the gas moments before I crapped my pants. And the only time I've hit the rev limiter is when I topped at 120mph at 4400rpms and then I got the "Vroom Vroom Vroom Vroom" thing and the lunging feeling.

-mobiuslogic

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ffvulcanpowah

· #15 · Apr 3, 2004

grrr for you Elliott with your freak of a car! Mine will hit 5999.999 rpms, and then proceed to bounce frantically off of the rev limiter. Help me alberto!! I just need a few more rpms! (i.e. a chip)

Mikeys_Taurus

· #16 · Apr 3, 2004

What's the point? Why do you want your car to rev that high? Higher reving doesn't mean more power, just more wear.

The initial poster does have a point though. I never really thought of that. I guess it's technically not false advertising. *shrugs*

ffvulcanpowah

· #17 · Apr 3, 2004

Originally posted by Mikeys_Taurus@Apr 3 2004, 11:09 AM
What's the point? Why do you want your car to rev that high? Higher reving doesn't mean more power, just more wear.

The initial poster does have a point though. I never really thought of that. I guess it's technically not false advertising. *shrugs*

its not that i just must have higher reving, i want the shift points to be higher. The stock shift points put the next gear in a terrible spot, and it really bogs down. Plus i want my rev limiter raised b/c sometimes my trans will try to shift at a higher point that my engine will rev to, resulting in bouncing off of the rev limiter, and seriously slowing me down.

Mikeys_Taurus

· #18 · Apr 3, 2004

Originally posted by Taurussetypes@Apr 3 2004, 03:10 PM
its not that i just must have higher reving, i want the shift points to be higher. The stock shift points put the next gear in a terrible spot, and it really bogs down.

Understood.

QUOTE

Plus i want my rev limiter raised b/c sometimes my trans will try to shift at a higher point that my engine will rev to, resulting in bouncing off of the rev limiter, and seriously slowing me down.[/b]

That's not possible. What's really happening is your transmission is slipping.

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mobiuslogic

· #19 · Apr 3, 2004

TaurusSEtypeS explained it a lot better on AIM.

When he revs it high and it shifts, it stays in neutral too long before upshifting. This makes the engine rev TOO high, and bouncing it off the limiter and the EEC cuts the fuel and hence he slows down. Where as if the shift happened quicker, it wouldn't get up to the rev limiter (or if the rev limiter was higher)

-mobiuslogic

Postmortem

· #20 · Apr 3, 2004

Originally posted by Taurussetypes+Apr 3 2004, 03:10 PM-->QUOTE (Taurussetypes @ Apr 3 2004, 03:10 PM)

<!--QuoteBegin-Mikeys_Taurus

Click to expand...

@Apr 3 2004, 11:09 AM
What's the point? Why do you want your car to rev that high? Higher reving doesn't mean more power, just more wear.

The initial poster does have a point though. I never really thought of that. I guess it's technically not false advertising. *shrugs*

Click to expand...

its not that i just must have higher reving, i want the shift points to be higher. The stock shift points put the next gear in a terrible spot, and it really bogs down. Plus i want my rev limiter raised b/c sometimes my trans will try to shift at a higher point that my engine will rev to, resulting in bouncing off of the rev limiter, and seriously slowing me down. [/b]

Don't you know that engine revs up and then transmission shifts up? I mean it doesn't shift up immediately after you press accel.

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