Mister Willie

I just wondered,

I have a 90 4runner with a 3.0 and a 5spd manual 4wd. I usually try not to push the RPM's past 3000 to 3500. The engine has 189.9k miles so I don't want to push it too hard.
What do you guys do? higher Rpms? less? same? just curious how far you guys push your vehicles

itsmeagain5789

i got a 95 runner automatic, and i get it up to about 3200 rpm at 75 mph. I really try not to get it over 4500 rpm, thats incase of an emergency. it has 157000miles on it. runs like new.

Bumpin' Yota

hahahahaha! LOL I ran the dog snot out of my 3vze for the past 8 years and 215,000 miles...redlined it on 95% of my takeoffs. At 275,000 miles I blew the HG, bottem end still looks GREAT!

And at 3000rpm you are just begining to get into the power band...from 2800-4200rpm is the power band for this engine.

Incidentally im doing a full top end rebuild, larger valves, cams, pnp, etc....just got to clean off the block of the old HG....which is proving MUCH harder than I thought.

drguitarum2005

under normal accelerating conditions, i shift around 2100 rpms. when im in 5th and on the highway, i try to keep it between 2500 and 3000 rpms, sometimes going past that. this of course changes when i downshift to pass or im accelerating quickly. i havent redlined it however. i have the 3.4 v6 by the way

rezrunner92

I have to say that in 4 low I too drive the dog snot out of it. I don't redline and haven't but I run it pretty hard.

On the road I don't think I have never ever had it over 3500 RPMs.

kpaxfaq

I redline my 95' 3.0 all the time and routinely drive 150 mile trips on the highway at around 85 or 90 the whole way (i like to speed) which puts the rpm's at 4000+ for over 2 hours, 160,000 miles no problems

Bumpin' Yota

eeeh i would avoid those speeds for prolonged periods....a tire blow out can prove fatal for you and your truck. Take a minute and imagine what it would be like in real life...the front end suddenly dips down and to the right hard as the right front lets go. Almost immediately the whole front end is pulled to the right hard, which is excasserbated by the wind speed, once you are perpindicular going sideways you start flipping and flipping and flipping. Your truck catching air on most of the flips...but its not over. You are still spinning to the right, so those flips go from a window shade effect to an end over end effect.... Now imagine for a minute what that would look and feel like from the drivers seat...until the truck landed like a pancake on the roof. Your truck has been completely destroyed and you are dead. Your parents are left to go on...

Its the "what if game" you have to play....its horridly sobering and sometimes downright scary...

Now yes I've hit my speed limiter on my yota 105mph, and spent a lot of time at 80mph, but I try to limit my time above 90 to as little as possible.

rezrunner92

Uhhhhh, yeah what he said.

You need to spend some time in the junkyard pulling parts off of cars that still have blood, brains etc. in them. I can't tell you how many times I have found bloody shoes under the seat or in the floorboard of a wreck.

This vehicle is definitely NOT designed for that type of driving. I have seen one 4Runner that flipped exactly as described above and a man went through the sun roof. His wife swore he had his seat belt on, (she was driving). I saw this on 60 min or 20/20. They lost a tire on the interstate just as described.

^VooDoo^

Drive the snot out of it, I even pushing 5k in 3rd really common, 3500 and 80mph is common but I try to limit 75 for ecconomy.
Bumpin. is right about the tires, Mine are chewed up a bit from the rocky trails and I do imagine one of them shredding and making a mess out of a fender even if it didnt roll, I Did drive faster with street tires.

Redline is the time when it is possible that some weak part might give, Not that it will and Im sure its where the MFG thought the safest when in actuality 7-8+ is the real redline.
Ive found if an engine is running right then dont treat it like a baby or it will spoil on you when you need it most.

" Run the crap out of it on the highway where you can get it fixed and ease it through the trails where you dont want to be stranded " is my motto.