[Shotimes] Rod Bearing Change @190K miles

[Jim & Debbie Leyden]

I think part of the problem here is the lack of a good definition of
"lugging".  When I was in the military and going through Machinery
Technician Class A school they defined lugging as a condition where
application of more throttle will not increase engine speed.
There seems to be some confusion about the SHO motor as to what a safe RPM
is to run at on the lower end of the scale.  Some people are claiming that
running the motor at less that 2000 RPM is lugging it.  I dispute that
premise based on the factory owners manual and the fact that when the car
was built the national speed limit was 55 MPH.  In a SHO MTX 55 MPH in 5th
gear is less than 2000 RPM.  This tells me that it is perfectly acceptable
to run a SHO motor at less than 2000 RPM.  I believe that the ATX cars will
run as low as 1500 RPM before forcing a downshift under light throttle
conditions.
The problem as I see it is when a driver applies excessive throttle to bring
the RPM up from 1500 RPM to whatever speed they are looking for.  I think
that is what is being called lugging and in truth has nothing to do with
lugging at all.

Jim




-----Original Message-----
From: shotimes-admin@autox.team.net [mailto:shotimes-admin@autox.team.net]
On Behalf Of Donald Mallinson
Sent: Wednesday, February 01, 2006 9:07 AM
To: bjshov8
Cc: shotimes@autox.team.net
Subject: Re: [Shotimes] Rod Bearing Change @190K miles

At least that guy was making about 300lb ft of torque at 1500 rpm!

I sold a generation 1 Mazda RX7 to the secretary in my insurance agents 
office.  When she took it for a test drive, she handled the clutch OK, 
but shifted to high gear at about 25 mph and in a rotary that is 
horrible!  I cautioned her that this engine needs rpm, and never to 
drive around below 1500-2000 rpm.  That is pretty safe with most engines.

Understand that the definition of lugging is about FIVE HUNDRED rpm!

Well, I kept seeing her drive around town with the thing popping and 
banging at 25 mph in high gear, again about 500 or so rpm at big 
throttle openings.  I called her a couple times warning her that rotary 
experts say she is going to ruin the engine, and sure enough within 2 
months she calls asking me to help her get a new engine.  I did better.  
I found an enthusiast to buy the car and he put in a used engine.  This 
was about 15 years ago and he is still racing that car!

Don Mallinson

bjshov8 wrote:

>OK, I've got a story about "lugging" engines.
>When I was working at my dad's shop back in the early 70's, we had a friend
>who was a plumber, and had a 1968 Chevy pickup.  He special ordered a 1966
>Impala SS for his wife, with 425hp 427 and 4-speed.  His wife didn't like
>driving it so my dad's shop swapped the engines between his pickup and
>Impala.  The Impala ended up with a 283 and Powerglide, the pickup ended up
>with the 427 and 3-speed trans.  I don't know what happened to the 4-speed.
>But back to the subject- this guy would drive that pickup around town,
never
>getting above 1500 rpm.  In 1st or 2nd gear, he would get to maybe 1500
rpm,
>then he would drop into the next gear and chug along.  I always thought
what
>a waste.
>
>
>  
>
>>It is NOT impossible to lug an ATX, and (unfortunately) I have talked to,
>>and ridden with, SHO owners who do just that.
>>    
>>
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