Should I be concerned?

[Dakota]

Not sure if this is the right area for this , but I will ask it anyways . My car has the 2.0L and the 4speed auto trans . I have had my Bug for about 4 days now , and its been great around town . But when I went on the highway last night , I found that when I got the car up to about 100Kph (about 60 miles per hour) , the engine is revving up around 3.5-4K . I didn't even try to hit the limit of 110!Is this normal? I know this is comparing apples and oranges , but my V8 truck is only revving at about 1.8-2.2K at 110. It just seems a little high to me .

[Mr Maynard]

Originally Posted by Dakota

Not sure if this is the right area for this , but I will ask it anyways . My car has the 2.0L and the 4speed auto trans . I have had my Bug for about 4 days now , and its been great around town . But when I went on the highway last night , I found that when I got the car up to about 100Kph (about 60 miles per hour) , the engine is revving up around 3.5-4K . I didn't even try to hit the limit of 110!Is this normal? I know this is comparing apples and oranges , but my V8 truck is only revving at about 1.8-2.2K at 110. It just seems a little high to me .

yes its quite normal.

My 5 speed does 3.5K at 65mph in 5th. Its kinda nice to not downshift when you need to pass.

[mloeks76]

That is about where mine is when i am 65 to 75 miles per hour. i am a new beetle owner and was wondering about it too, but I've been told its normal.

[digitalputty]

I go 80 miles per hour for about 1.5 hours a day. I have the 1.8L Turbo and a manual 5-speed. At 80mph I am around 3,750 rpm. Makes me feel weird too but, there is power there when I need it.

[simonsi]

Originally Posted by Dakota

...but my V8 truck is only revving at about 1.8-2.2K at 110. It just seems a little high to me .

Your V8 truck has an engine that is 2-3 times as big, the smaller engines need to turn faster to generate the same power for highway cruise (or any driving situation) than big american engines, its the nature of the beast.

[Dakota]

Originally Posted by simonsi

Your V8 truck has an engine that is 2-3 times as big, the smaller engines need to turn faster to generate the same power for highway cruise (or any driving situation) than big american engines, its the nature of the beast.

I did say I was comparing apples and oranges! I was just concerned because I am used to the truck , and wasn't sure about the revs of the Bug!

[noR]

Yep, normal and WELL within it's means.

Your V8 would probably die if you tried to hold 5K for any serious length of time. But my I4 has no problem maintaining 5K for the full duration of a gas tank. Yay cross-country trips.

[simonsi]

Originally Posted by Dakota

I did say I was comparing apples and oranges! I was just concerned because I am used to the truck , and wasn't sure about the revs of the Bug!

Well I was just explaining why the difference, sorry if you knew that already but if you did then you knew the answer to your own question...

[70autostick]

Originally Posted by noR

Yep, normal and WELL within it's means.

Your V8 would probably die if you tried to hold 5K for any serious length of time. But my I4 has no problem maintaining 5K for the full duration of a gas tank. Yay cross-country trips.

5k sounds scary when your a "stop & go" kinda guy like myself(except on the weekends ),these suckers get LOUD!Even the stock exhaust gets a little nasty up there,...

+1 @ cross-country trips.

[Dakota]

5K does sound like a little excessive , but if this is normal , then who am I to argue .

[simonsi]

I think the gearing is designed for twisty euro roads, even the 2.0 could quite happily pull highway speeds at 3500rpm...

[yellow99]

Hate to disagree with everyone, but I have a 2.0L automatic and when I go 100km/h I'm right around 3000 and at 120km/h I'm about 3500, so it does seem a little high to me.

My car has an intake and exhaust tho, so that could be why.

[D2Beetle]

I guess it is time I went for a cruise with my Laptop plugged in running VCDS and get some "actual" numbers.

[simonsi]

Originally Posted by yellow99

Hate to disagree with everyone, but I have a 2.0L automatic and when I go 100km/h I'm right around 3000 and at 120km/h I'm about 3500, so it does seem a little high to me.

My car has an intake and exhaust tho, so that could be why.

All petrol models are geared approx 20mph per 1000rpm. engine tuning makes ZERO difference....

[yellow99]

ok I was just out on my way home from work, I tried to see what I was running speed wise when I got up to 4000, I was over 140km/h, I agree with (sorry didn't read who posted after me) above, about 20km/hr every 500rpm I think that's what you said, lol. That's what it is for me anyways 100km/h 3000rpm, 120km/h at 3500rpm, and 140ish at 4000rpm. hope this helps!

[Canadianbugin]

That rpm is typical for the O2J transmission..(5 speed manual) .....oh wait you have an O2M(automatic)....hmmmm lets see here....Actually by the bible (Bentley) the ratios on the final drive are fairly close..O2J is 4.235 and the O2M is slightly lower at 3.875 so really his car should rev lower...???? It's kind of missleading in the Bentley as it says in a note at the bottom of this table that the ratio listed in the table is only the final ratio for 1st though 4th(3.875) and 5th and 6th are 3.100....Soooooo in not... so short the OP's car should rev quite a bit lower....????? Before anyone comment's...No offence to the bible....or disrepect meant or implied....

[Dakota]

I figured out today that my speedometer is not reading correctly . According to my speedo , I was heading down the #2 highway doing 85KPH , but still passing vehicles . The limit on this road is 110 . Also , when I engaged my cruise , the speed fluctuated . I am suspecting something like a transmission speed sensor (I am thinking in North American terms - I have to look up in my manual what the Bug actually uses)