Hey guys, I'm going AutoXing tomorrow at Warminster, PA in the Philladelphia SCCA event. I've been taking photos for them for awhlie and now I'm actually racing. Its a long course and they say top speed could be like 45-55mph in a part or two.

Now if I leave my car in ONE the whole time, like 60seconds of racing, could that damage the motor or anything if its revving up so high? If I'm up and down with the RPMs and then constant. What if I bounce it off the rev limiter acouple times and overrev? Could this really damage and hurt my car? Should I just leave it in TWO so I have a 2nd gear and no worries? I figured I'd do ONE so its not constantly changing from first to second on me.

It's a '98 Camaro Z28, 49K miles, A4, 2.73 gears with a DMH cutout and lid. Nothing fancy. Any advice or suggestions would be helpful.... (cept the jokes where F-body's aren't suppose to turn well) HAHA. Im doing it for fun.

 

you don't want to over Rev these engines your almost gauranted a bent pushrod. I would say to leave it in either 2 or 3 not one. I think leaving it in 1st your just asking for a problem.

 

Just leave it in second ... even autocrossing you'll run out of gear in first.

 

I auto cross mine but its a stick.. turns great! its all in the tires..

 

As long as you don't hit 55, you can leave it in 1st. That's when you'll hit your rev limiter with 2.73's. If you leave it in 2nd, it'll bog down in the turns. And if you leave it in 3rd, it'll search for the right gear everytime you cross the shiftpoint thresholds.

 

Your not gonna bend a pushrod bouncing off the limiter....LS1's bend them when they downshift too low in an M6 car and mechanically force the engine too high too fast. But your gonna need to do some 1 and 2 shifting in the turns and straights. My biggest concern would be the fluid in the rear overheating, listen for any popping sounds coming from the back.

 

over reving an LS1 is the main cause for bent push rods so yes hitting your rev limiter your gonna bend a push rod. I know I hang around about fifteen of them and do all the work on their cars and it has happend many times with my autox buddies.

 

Over reving WILL bend a rod, but that what the rev limiter does, cuts fuel and keeps it from over revving, so no, your wrong. Hitting the limiter itself is not what bends the rod. When was the last time you saw a bent PR in an A4 car witht a stock limiter? probably never. Its common in M6 cars when they go for 4th and hit 2nd, then the motor is mechanically forced to rev higher than it should, the rev limiter WILL NOT stop that.

Stock PR will rev pretty high and be ok though. I know some of the fastest bolt on cars here in Houston, that still use stockers, and they rev 6,500 on a regular basis. But I wouldnt recommend it, aftermarket is cheap enough.

You should change your fluid to Royal Purple or something just as good, and get a cover that will help dissapate the heat as well as strengthen the rear.

I dont care how many LS1's you think you know, doesnt mean you know the facts, and just becasue you can drop in a PR or bolt up some headers doesnt make you a mechanic.

 

You can't leave it in second if it's like my 2000 Formy. My car when put in second takes off in second and stays there. I'd try leaving it in first if that doesn't work then you'll have to shift back and forth.

 

Your lucky i didn't take pictures of my bent to hell pushrods on my stock A4, yes they will bend from multiple redline shifts so your the one thats wrong. Do some research this is a very common issue and not only on M6's.

 

Take it easy buddy. Before you start running your mouth I am a mechanic. Have been since I was 18. Spent 5 years at a chevy dealership before joining the army and now I work on the side at a performance shop when the army allows me time to do it. And I myself have an A4 that has had bent push rods from redlining it. So next time take a breath do some research and then comment.