crb@houxb.UUCP (C.BOURQUIN) (03/31/84)
I recently bought a 1984 Toyota Tercel and everything seems to be fine,
however, we got the dealer to install an "aftermarket" (read store-bought?)
tachometer as it was neither standard equip or an option for our
particular model.
The tach shows the car to idle at about 500 RPM (fast idle at (900-1000).
However, the tach rarely reaches 2000 RPM during normal driving!
This seems low.
Does this car really operate at <2000 RPM, or is the tach defective,
or, was it installed incorrectly??
Thanks in advance
houxb!crbdave@infopro.UUCP (David Fiedler) (04/01/84)
In the kind of 4-to-6 cylinder engines that come in most
small foreign cars, 2000 is about the lowest engine speed
possible to use without lugging the engine. In other words,
if this is an automatic, the tach is likely wrong. If this
is a stick, either you are shifting incorrectly or the tach
is wrong.
"That's the biz, sweetheart..."
Dave Fiedler
{harpo,astrovax,philabs}!infopro!daveseifert@ihuxl.UUCP (D.A. Seifert) (04/03/84)
Well, my friend's "Dodge" Colt does the same thing, with a
factory tach. Which explains why it doesn't have any power.
The silly automatic is determined to not let the engine run
any faster than necessary. Helps gas mileage somewhat, but
doesn't do much for safety. By the time you convince the
trans you really need some power (either by flooring the gas
pedal for 5-10 secs or by manually downshifting) you can be in
REAL trouble. Definately the worst automatic I've ever seen.
food for flames: "REAL engines won't even *run* at 500 rpm" :-)
--
_____
/_____\ From the official doghouse of the '84 Olympics,
/_______\ Snoopy
|___|
____|___|_____ ihnp4!ihuxl!seifertstekas@hou2g.UUCP (J.STEKAS) (04/03/84)
Yes, you have to set up your after market tach for 4,6 or 8 cylinders. But what does one do for a 5-cylinder?
trb@masscomp.UUCP (Andy Tannenbaum) (04/03/84)
Wow, Au, my GTI would pull from 1500 even in top gear if I was crass enough to burden it that way, but at least let the good folks understand the GTI's idea of top gear: it spins 3K rpm at 55 mph in 5th, not exactly my idea of economy gearing. (Actually, that's just an extrapolation, as I don't spend any time at 55 ;-) With such low, tightly spaced gears, it isn't so surprising that it can pull in 5th at low revs. Andy Tannenbaum Masscomp Inc Westford MA (617) 692-6200 x274
hansen@utah-cs.UUCP (Chuck Hansen) (04/04/84)
An 'after-market' tach for a 5-cylinder? come-on! If you can afford
a M-Benz, just buy a Ferrari, Mazeratti or some other such 'production'
tach!
Chuck Hansen {...harpo!utah-cs!hansen}pigrp@ihuxq.UUCP (Peter Fales) (04/04/84)
What's the big deal about deciding whether or not to believe the tach. Any garage or halfway serious auto hobbyist has a tachometer for doing tune-ups - just get someone to hook it up and compare readings. -- Peter Fales (Please reply to the address below - my machine gets mail but not news) UUCP: ...ihnp4!iwlc7!psfales Work: Bell Labs IW-1Z243 W: (312) 979-7784 H: (312) 355-4254
jimd@hp-pcd.UUCP (04/13/84)
Sounds like your tach may be set for a 6 or 8 cylinder engine, instead of for a 4 cylinder engine. Some aftermarket tachs have a switch on the back or inside the housing that may be set to correspond to the number of cylinders in the engine. Perhaps you should look for such a switch on your unit. hplabs!hp-pcd!jimd Jim Donnelly Hewlett-Packard