Rev in Red zone
 

Hi guys ! ( I am Hungarian so please forgive me my poor English)

So, accidentally a shifted back to 3 rd when I was running too fast and for a second - or maybe less - the rev went to the red zone. Is that dangerous if it stays at 8 000 rpm for second or a half ?
(Of course it a 370 Z..)

I can't imagine that a second or two in the 7500-9000 RPM range would permanently cause any harm. However, I'm not a mechanic, so my opinion is just that.

Is our engine an interference motor?

Thank you for answering.

What is interference motor ? It is 370Z AT7.

Thanks Matt.

This is what I hope... I like too much her and I was blaming myself to be stupid and accidentally shift back...

8000 is fine, in fact many have advanced their normal red-line to 8000 rpm. Even 9000 for a few seconds without any load isn't likely to any harm.

Don't beat yourself up. Trust me, a lot of drivers out there are treating their Z a lot less cautious than you are. Sounds like she's in good hands.

Thanks ChrisSlicks and Matt !

Yes, I keep an eye on her but telling you the truth sometimes I cannot resist to play with her at higher revs - but not 8 000 or similar... :)

So, It was very good to hear that I did not make a harmful action on her.. :)

I have a quite a bit of fun, and I'm still "scared" to go over 5k rpm. Once I hit a few hundred miles, I'll let loose a little more.

So, you are even more careful than me ! I cannot resist unfortunately... BUt the 7500 rpm for me an important barrier not to be over, however I guessed that even 8000 is not harmful as Chris stated...

Understood, yours is so new !!! Now it is obvious why you are careful...

As far as I know, the 7AT won't downshift to a gear that would put the engine above the redline - more than likely your RPM gauge needs adjustment or something.

Hm.. Interesting... It seems for me now as I try to remember that the car adjusted itself indeed as suddenly the power dropped but I remember well that I have seen the pointer in red zone...

...however the interval I have seen it there was very short. Maybe half a second or less.

500rpms over the redline probably won't cause any issues.
I don't know how the 370z motor is, but if it went past 8k you could bend a valve, bend a rod or a number of other issues.

If it was under load you could definitely bend something, but if you're downshifting then it shouldn't be under much load.

Not that you have to break it in properly, but the owner's manual says to not go above 4k RPM until you hit 1200 miles.

Exactly my point. I've drifted into the low 4k's, but nothing higher than 4.5k RPM. From what I've been told, as long as you're not "dogging" the car, drive it like you would normally as soon as you get it. After 500 miles or so, I'll start easing her into the 5's and 6's every now and then, but I don't plan on treating the car bad before or after 1200 miles.

Don't want to turn this into another "to break-in or not break-in" thread. :)

I was once at the drag strip with my old supercharged 350Z and accidentally misshifted and went to 2nd while at redline in 3rd, instead of 4th. The tach went to the 6 oclock position on the gauge for a split second before I got the clutch in. Fortunately, no damage, so the original poster should be fine.

set your shift light to 7k just to be safe :)

Everyone misshifted at some point. I myself misshifted few weeks back revving the engine to 7500+ RPM. As long as you quickly fix the mistake (i.e. shift to higher gear or neutral) you should be fine.

An interference motor is when the pistons can hit the valves. Either from a broken timing belt/chain or if the motor is spun too fast and the valve springs cannot pull the valves back fast enough.

Some motors have either reliefs cut into the pistons or the combustion chamber is large enough to allow for clearance. It has nothing to do with tranny or options, but rather engine design.

If we have an interference motor and you spun it too fast, you can get minor valve/piston damage. But it sounds like you are going to be fine.

of course thats bad. thats what i did to my type R and ended up ruining my syncros which causes grinding in 3rd. i had to replace the rings which the body shop did a crappy job of when they had to open up my transmission and it was never the same since.... so be careful ^_^

The redline is there for a reason. Does the computer record this, if so could the dealer use it to void your warrantly? additionally isn't there a rev limiter on this car?

first time hearing a car owner is afraid of reving....why buy this car then..

Reving =/= Red-lining :shakes head:

EDIT:

I took my Z out tonight for a little drive to push it past 5k RPM for the first time ever. I almost hit 6k RPM in 3rd gear before shifting to 4th, and it definitely didn't feel smooth RPM'ing that high. Obviously the cars I've driven before weren't sports cars, but the difference between RPM'ing at 3k and 5k in my Scion tC was the sound...the car didn't feel any different. My 6k RPM felt "abrasive" on the throttle and didn't sound as pretty as 4k does. Is that normal? Very noob question, I know...first time I've ever gone over 5k RPM in ANY car.

http://www.the370z.com/engine-drivet...high-revs.html

If anyone is interested, I found the answer to my own question in that thread.

Is something that we have to live with or does it get better with a few thousand miles on the engine? I'm not sure I'll ever get into the 6k range again to avoid this harshness, unless it's absolutely normal and harmless.

High rpm harshness
 

I have around 8,500miles on mine. I drive mostly on the backroads and frequently accelerate hard. The harshness everyone is talking about is still there, but is much less than it was @ break-in (2,000 miles). Use a quality synthetic and have fun with the car. These VQ's age well (take a while to really break-in).

An interference engine is one in which if the timing belt breaks, and the valves come fully down, they don't come down far enough to make contact with the piston, thus saving your engine. Typically, an interference engine results in lower compression so its not likely that the Z has it. Again its designed for when the belt / chain breaks not so much for when the valves completely float due to overreving, so it may only be of minimal help in that case. But, if you haven't noticed any rough idle by now you should probably be fine.

I come from a Toyota Celica GT-S (2000) before the Z and many people used to misshift that car all the time due to the tight gearbox and ended up blowing their engines. It got so bad, Toyota actually replaced most of the engines under warranty. Some people were out of luck if they went to a tough dealership to get it fixed.

No noises? no misses? no problemos? Don't worry 'bout it!!

I've engaged the saviour, err, rev limiter a couple of times under load and the engine was not harmed.