When do you shift your EA82 5 Speed?

[MR_Loyale]

Redline is what, 7500?

[LPGsuperchargedBrumby]

Redline is what, 7500?

 

lol what redline?....its in a brumby/brat with no tacho.....i have a 12000 rpm VDO rev counter for testing but its not fitted for everyday driving

[Subaru_dude]

My EA71 (now hydro EA81) '84 DL would SCREAM. That engine was MADE for driving like a madman. A friend of mine was behind me on his motorcycle and I dropped it from 5th doing about 50 to 3rd and PUNCHED it... when we got to his house he said "Good lord man, that thing was SCREAMING! Better be careful, I blew a Honda up driving like that..." I drove it like that EVERY single day.

 

I don't have a tach though, I'd love to know what RPMs I was running going that fast. I'd say I run about 3000 in 5th at 60, so 3rd at 50-60mph... 6 grand?? Anyway, I love driving these older roos like that. EA82, EA81, EA71, any EA really loves to be wound out. My EJ22 Outback wasn't nearly as fun to wind out. Just didn't sound anywhere near as good and that rev limiter really sucks. Guess they're not designed to do that like the older ones.

[jj421]

It's been a while since I tapped into this thread, but since then, I've learned a few things. First, and foremost, full throttle feels amazing!

 

I've noticed with full throttle, under 4000 RPM, I can feel the torque pulling me along. Over 4000 RPM, it's more the horsepower pulling me along, but with such few horsepower, it's not as powerful than I would like. I feel more of a pull at lower RPM, which I like better.

 

To comment on the above post, I love the sound at high RPMs. At idle, my car sounds like a Prius: very quiet. At 5000 RPM, it sounds more mean than our Mustang.

 

I'm still disappointed though, because at full throttle, I'm not accelerating any faster than the traffic. I guess other people seem to have a lead foot. :-p

[LPGsuperchargedBrumby]

I'm still disappointed though, because at full throttle, I'm not accelerating any faster than the traffic.

 

 

thats cos its a 30 year old design that is a 2 valve 1800....lol lower your expectations a little and you won't be so disappointed:-p

[jj421]

Well, no, I'm disappointed because it feels really fast in my car, since I'm used to the slow, grandma acceleration I've been dealing with the past 7 months. It feels like I'm driving a Ferrari or something, but in reality, I'm not going any faster than anyone else. :-p

[92_rugby_subie]

It's been a while since I tapped into this thread, but since then, I've learned a few things. First, and foremost, full throttle feels amazing!

 

I've noticed with full throttle, under 4000 RPM, I can feel the torque pulling me along. Over 4000 RPM, it's more the horsepower pulling me along, but with such few horsepower, it's not as powerful than I would like. I feel more of a pull at lower RPM, which I like better.

 

To comment on the above post, I love the sound at high RPMs. At idle, my car sounds like a Prius: very quiet. At 5000 RPM, it sounds more mean than our Mustang.

 

I'm still disappointed though, because at full throttle, I'm not accelerating any faster than the traffic. I guess other people seem to have a lead foot. :-p

 

At idle Ned can compete with a WRX. At full RPMs hes a lot louder than most of the WRXs I see.

 

I swear my car is special as its the fastest EA82 Ive every driven, and Ive driven 10+

[Idasho]

Did you just use "fastest" and "EA82" in the same sentence??

 

I'm still disappointed though, because at full throttle, I'm not accelerating any faster than the traffic. I guess other people seem to have a lead foot. :-p

 

I jump back and forth from driving my GL to my SHO Taurus.

 

Talk about a difference full throttle in my high-compression EA81 GL = less than 1/4 pedal in the SHO.

 

Rainy day last week with the snow tires on the SHO. I was wearing my nearly worn out (no tread) boots. The clutch pedal has been missing the rubber cover for 5+ years now.

 

My foot slipped off the clutch during a casual shift..... damn near burned the studs out of the front tires

[92_rugby_subie]

Did you just use "fastest" and "EA82" in the same sentence??

 

YUPP I love my little EA82. Needs a new motor, but Ive taken on some pretty rough drives and hard shifts for the last 20K on a bad HG and the motor still is hanging on... having weber carb issues at the moment though...

[l75eya]

Yeah, I'd usually religiously shift at 3k driving around town, sometimes lower when turning on to a block or something, and there's so many speed-bumps and such all around my town, it's just easier

but;

 

After reading through here, I've been trying out 3.5 to 4k shifts and wow. It's kinda like I'm driving a normal car in terms of acceleration now.

 

I'm noticing a hit in my gas mileage though so I don't think I'll start driving it that way all time.

 

I also found out I can hit 35 mph in 1st gear at about 7,300 rpm.

The engine really does start to gasp for air above 6200 rpms.

[jj421]

After reading through here, I've been trying out 3.5 to 4k shifts and wow. It's kinda like I'm driving a normal car in terms of acceleration now.

 

I'm noticing a hit in my gas mileage though so I don't think I'll start driving it that way all time.

 

I've been starting to shift upwards of 4000k now too, and yes, it is like a normal car. It doesn't seem like my gas mileage has changed though. I don't notice the gauge going down any more than it has before. But I guess I'll have to wait and see over the next week. Full throttle every other day probably doesn't help the MPGs much. :-p

[RXJ]

120 miles tonight driving her hard....never paid much attention before but this thread got me looking at the rpms....guess i've always been a high rpm shifter.

 

my question is...after you guys have worked your car hard and have to stop, say like in a traffic jam as happened tonight...what's your resting/idle rpm like at that moment?.... with mine it appears that she down to 1500 to 1200 rpms....is this normal?

 

i may have I missed this info in the thread..sorry if so

[jj421]

Hmm, that's a good point. I've noticed after driving hard with high RPMs, mine idles at about 1100 or so. Normally it'd idle at about 800.

 

Also, to touch back on the point about gas mileage. I believe I'm getting better gas mileage now that I'm revving it higher. Drove to and from Lynnwood today and it didn't seem like I used as much gas as normal. Oh well. Driving faster get you better gas mileage? I don't have a problem with that.

[88wacaroo]

I've been starting to shift upwards of 4000k now too, and yes, it is like a normal car. It doesn't seem like my gas mileage has changed though. I don't notice the gauge going down any more than it has before. But I guess I'll have to wait and see over the next week. Full throttle every other day probably doesn't help the MPGs much. :-p

Whats this crap accelerating like a normal car...I"m offended!!! My 81 ea81 377k w/weber 2-1/2 exh. with foot in IT 35-5500 tells people to move out the way!!! With the noise the weber makes everyone is looking around for the ricer to see what it is!! They don"t look at the lifted mud covered old subie thats smokin their arse!!! Downtown is beautiful w/all the buildings [sounds great!!]

[jj421]

Whats this crap accelerating like a normal car...I"m offended!!! My 81 ea81 377k w/weber 2-1/2 exh. with foot in IT 35-5500 tells people to move out the way!!! With the noise the weber makes everyone is looking around for the ricer to see what it is!! They don"t look at the lifted mud covered old subie thats smokin their arse!!! Downtown is beautiful w/all the buildings [sounds great!!]

 

Hahahaha

 

I would want to make my exhaust louder, so that way I can hear the best coming out. But I just need to kick the RPMs up. Tonight I was driving on the road and decided to do a "drive-by" next to a bus stop with people waiting. Driving along at 2000 RPM, nobody looked. Revved it up to 4500 RPM, and it turned some heads. It sounds more mean at 5000 RPM than our Mustang.

[zukiru]

yes. a redline a day....

 

at least 3 for me.

 

the valves float somewhere over 7 grand on the 88 XT-GL

and I run rallyX in first gear. all the way up to 5 and 6 Gs with no loss of traction in dirt/grass!

 

MPFI is fun.

[88wacaroo]

yes. a redline a day....

 

at least 3 for me.

 

the valves float somewhere over 7 grand on the 88 XT-GL

and I run rallyX in first gear. all the way up to 5 and 6 Gs with no loss of traction in dirt/grass!

 

MPFI is fun.

 

Hey I have to drive like I"m at the dragstrip to get that holeshot....Watch the side lights and go on green!! Can"t tell you how many people I"ve smoked like that:headbang: Stoplite to Stoplite downtown I sucker punch people all the time-they stare at the car I stare at the light- Suckers But have to watch out 4 wrx people.....Some do watch-Hey it"s a Subie too- I know they wonder-Does he have a turbo? Or STI run gear Hmmm.

[Ofeargall]

I've been following this thread since starting it and just haven't had time to report back in. It's a bit of a Russian novel. If you have time, read on...

 

Like many others, I too was religious about shifting at 3000 RPM. Not sure why really. I guess it just 'sounded' right. Maybe it's because that's the cruising revs on the highway so I assumed that was the shift point.

 

Since starting this thread I've taken a vacation over to Bend, Oregon. The trip over to Bend from my place crosses a mountain pass. Our family of 4 with our dog and the regular vacation supplies (food, clothes, guitar, full tank of gas) tipped the scales at 3600 pounds.

 

I weighed the car last night on my way home from work and it came in at 2780 pounds.

 

If I had stuck to my 3000 RPM shifting regime I likely would have blown my vacation just getting there and back!

 

My son drove on the way over. His instructions were to shift at 3600RPM and to keep it at or slightly above 4000 RPM on the hills.

 

That seemed to be the magic spot for us. Anything over 4400 RPM and the car didn't seem to produce that much more pulling power.

 

While on the trip I took my son and my friend's daughter out for some bad weather driving lessons. We did hard braking, slides and hill starts in the snow before trying some mild drifting on the dirt roads at lower elevations. The goal was to help the kids feel when the car was about to 'break loose' and how to get it back into control without panicking.They did GREAT!

 

What I noticed during the driving lessons was that the low end torque was great for the snowy hill starts. I intentionally kept the car in 2WD to make it more challenging. When starting on the hill in the snow, the torque was ample enough to hold the car on the hill at an idle while slipping the clutch allowing an easy transition off the brake pedal to the accelerator pedal.

 

On the gravel we kept it in 3rd around 4000 RPM giving the driver a great amount of control during a slide to feather the pedal and 'give it the beans' or to back off and gain enough traction to keep things in control again.

 

So, long story short... I'm shifting at 3500-3700 regularly with occasional shifts at 4200-4300 (to avoid logging trucks, etc...) and the car seems to operate much better! The only thing I've noticed is my oil leak is a little worse at the higher revs and I can hear a rumble that I'm not sure if it's coming from the tranny or a hub I need to replace. But that's an issue for another thread.

 

Thanks to everyone for all the great input.

 

PS, I'm still looking for a safari basket if anyone has one for sale...

[88wacaroo]

I've been following this thread since starting it and just haven't had time to report back in. It's a bit of a Russian novel. If you have time, read on...

 

Like many others, I too was religious about shifting at 3000 RPM. Not sure why really. I guess it just 'sounded' right. Maybe it's because that's the cruising revs on the highway so I assumed that was the shift point.

 

Since starting this thread I've taken a vacation over to Bend, Oregon. The trip over to Bend from my place crosses a mountain pass. Our family of 4 with our dog and the regular vacation supplies (food, clothes, guitar, full tank of gas) tipped the scales at 3600 pounds.

 

I weighed the car last night on my way home from work and it came in at 2780 pounds.

 

If I had stuck to my 3000 RPM shifting regime I likely would have blown my vacation just getting there and back!

 

My son drove on the way over. His instructions were to shift at 3600RPM and to keep it at or slightly above 4000 RPM on the hills.

 

That seemed to be the magic spot for us. Anything over 4400 RPM and the car didn't seem to produce that much more pulling power.

 

While on the trip I took my son and my friend's daughter out for some bad weather driving lessons. We did hard braking, slides and hill starts in the snow before trying some mild drifting on the dirt roads at lower elevations. The goal was to help the kids feel when the car was about to 'break loose' and how to get it back into control without panicking.They did GREAT!

 

What I noticed during the driving lessons was that the low end torque was great for the snowy hill starts. I intentionally kept the car in 2WD to make it more challenging. When starting on the hill in the snow, the torque was ample enough to hold the car on the hill at an idle while slipping the clutch allowing an easy transition off the brake pedal to the accelerator pedal.

 

On the gravel we kept it in 3rd around 4000 RPM giving the driver a great amount of control during a slide to feather the pedal and 'give it the beans' or to back off and gain enough traction to keep things in control again.

 

So, long story short... I'm shifting at 3500-3700 regularly with occasional shifts at 4200-4300 (to avoid logging trucks, etc...) and the car seems to operate much better! The only thing I've noticed is my oil leak is a little worse at the higher revs and I can hear a rumble that I'm not sure if it's coming from the tranny or a hub I need to replace. But that's an issue for another thread.

 

Thanks to everyone for all the great input.

 

PS, I'm still looking for a safari basket if anyone has one for sale...

Thats cool your teaching the youngbloods how to drive-The parents don"t take time to do that anymore:confused: So now the kids just run amuck its:eek:

[l75eya]

Please make sure they teach their girlfriends to drive as well.

[88wacaroo]

Please make sure they teach their girlfriends to drive as well.

I SECOND THAT MOTION:banana:

[Ofeargall]

Well, actually....

 

 

This is not my son's girlfriend though. She's my niece. We took this atop a ridge while traveling some powerline roads. I'm not sure if everyone here has these kind of roads. They're the roads that follow under the main power easements through the wilderness. Some can be treacherous, others quite enjoyable. I'm sure it won't be long before homeland security shuts down access to these roads/trails.

[88wacaroo]

Well, actually....

 

 

This is not my son's girlfriend though. She's my niece. We took this atop a ridge while traveling some powerline roads. I'm not sure if everyone here has these kind of roads. They're the roads that follow under the main power easements through the wilderness. Some can be treacherous, others quite enjoyable. I'm sure it won't be long before homeland security shuts down access to these roads/trails.

I don"t dig that-HLS-Great...My Electric\Gas Bill gonna go up again:banghead: I can hear the excuse"s already:dead: We need to secure the power lines so to pay for this we need a rate increase:confused:

[mstr_pete]

I'm bumping this in appreciation for the chuckles and good advice here. I was wondering, being a Sube noob, whether 3000-plus rpm at 65 mph was normal or not. Turns out I've been underplaying things

[jono]

consider it bumped ....no one has mentioned what I found - non turbo EA82s have a 5500 redline start on their tacho, turbos have 6500.

 

My combo is EA82 carb block, mpfi heads and intake sniffing LPG through IMPCO 125 mixer. Timing was about 16 deg BTDC an is now set at 22.

 

Just getting used to the 22 setting and words below apply to 16. With 22 it is a bit peppier down low and not as willing or need to rev high as before.

Before, the max for 2nd gear of EA82 5 speed 4WD DR box was 80kph, prefers a shift into third at 60 !

 

also found that due to used belts in place on my construction found things really got underway just above 4000rpm, then when installed new timing belts etc (tensioners,idler) that zip came about 500 rpm earlier.

 

Prior to belt renewal I did some testing with an EA82 tacho bare, stuck to my Brumby steering column, power by cig lighter socket/plug and hoked to the coil. Uphills with 300kg of trailer 100kph, third gear , 5000rpm held the hills.

 

Moral seems to be things can depend on your tuen, timing belt slack, fuel, altitude  (600m) etc

Edited June 15, 2014 by jono