R3 RPM question
 

Just a quick question. I just traded my 2009 AT Sport on a 2011 Manual R3. The R3 runs at about 3200 RPM in sixth gear as my automatic ran at around 2100 RPM in sixth at 65mph. Is this normal RPM???

normal

normal

Not trying to jack this thread but the forum will not let me make my own. I have noticed a dramatically enhanced throttle response from idle when cold. I am no fool I know all about cold rev limit blah blah.

specifically, when still warming up (limited to 6k) a throttle blip (1/4 throttle applied out of gear or with clutch depressed for approx 1/10 sec.) results in an instantaneous rpm jump to just over 3k from about 1.2k. Now when warm the same throttle application results in a rather slow rev increase as compared to before. (think old pickup truck behaviour vs. race car behaviour. anyone else experienced this? can anyone shed some light on why? I assume its because its running significantly richer when warming up. it sure would be nice to have that response all of the time.

BlackSunshine280, I have noticed something similar. Maybe it is just my imagination but the throttle response seems different based on how you are driving the car at the time. For me I notice a difference in how fast the rpm goes up with a blip of the throttle depending on if I just got done redlining or was driving very easy. I have been told it could be because of the electronic throttle but I forget the exact explanation.

My best guess would be that it has to do with the richness of the warm up cycle. The additional fuel means additional energy and hence more revs.

An alternative theory is an engine that is nice and hot, like after hard driving, is slightly expanded compared to a cold engine. This could cause increased friction between the rotor and housing, and in turn a loss of some of the energy. Theoretically, you could "test" this hypothesis by pre-mixing, but quantifying the difference (if there is one) would likely be prohibitively difficult.

These are just my own speculations based on no real training in the field, so take them with a grain of salt.



EDIT: As to no "de-rail" this thread - yes those RPMs are normal. R3's have different gearing in the rear, resulting in higher RPMs for a given speed compared to even a regular S2 RX8 with the 6 speed manual (let alone an automatic).

When the engine is cold the system is in open loop. It runs rich in open loop. Running rich will make it feel more peppy on the throttle because there is already more fuel there.