[Brock]

So I was in my 3 and decided to rev the engine while I was in park. To my surprise the tach jumped rather rapidly up into the red zone (not too much 6750) and I let off because that was obviously not a desired effect.

My question was:

I thought modern cars had ways of not allowing themselves to red line? (Since the manufacturer believes it's harmful). What gives? How far into the red zone can I go without worrying about engine damage?

Also should I avoid doing this in the future (is there some secret switch that'll tell mazda i voided my warranty by doing this like in some cars).

 

[tigermack]

I redline mine all the time.

 

[cali_axela]

The RPMs will jump much faster while revving without being in gear, because there's no load on the engine from the drivetrain. That's totally normal. The red line is there because that's the upper limit of how fast they want things to be spinning, so the rev limiter did its job and did not allow you to go PAST redline. Lots of people go to redline all the time (especially people who race their cars). The engine is designed to run safely up until redline.

You did not do any damage unless the engine was still cold (which is a really bad time to let an engine rev high or be put under heavy load). Either way though, it's never a smart thing to do while in park... what's the point? Unless you've got tons of mods and are trying to show off, there's absolutely no point... and even then, it's debatable.

 

[Brock]

so red zone does not equal red line?


red zone starts at 6500 on the car, and it allowed me up into 6750...

The engine was warmed up. What kind of damage could you cause with a cold engine though?

Sorry for all my questions [i.e. curiosity] here (i'm a complete car novice).