Jump to content

Recommended Posts

Guys, need your opinion. I usually drive my spark 1.2lt at 50m/h(80km/h)5th gear at a distance between 50-100km driving which is somewhat im happy coz the engine does'nt sound stressed (its about 2,100-2,200rpm accdg to the stock tachometer) but i do want to give the pedal to 60m/h(100km/h) but im worrying if the engine can't take that 3,000rpm for a long 2-3hrs steady. I need ypur opinion.. Thanks!

Link to post
Share on other sites

Member Retired old gear head has ran his Spark 50 miles at 112 mph . I drive mine everyday the approx distance you drive at around 65-70 mph . These are solid engines that drive like any car .

I agree that the engines are much more solid than I initially thought. With the VVT, high rpms, 2 cams and 16 valves, that's alot of motion. Only reason I was able to get to 112mph is because my mechanic adjusted the limiter to cut off at the red line. I actually did several high speed runs over various distances on the Everglades flat and straight rd...usually no traffic and un-monitored area. Even with the A/C on full blast at the end of the run..smooth idle and car now has over 70Kmi and still runs great with no oil burning and great gas mileage. Very tight and responsive 4sp Auto tranny that really takes a beating with the constant downshifts. At 70Kmi, my mechanic checked the Spark's compression and it is pretty well even at 148-150psi across the 4 cyl. The plugs were replaced although they were very clean..but had suffered some minor heat damage due to this kind of driving.

I wouldn't recommend this kind of high speed driving on public rd's for obvious reasons and any Spark with the CVT tranny might run into heat issues since the CVT tranny runs much hotter. There is risk of a blown head gasket with high speed (100mph+) driving and this applies to any 4cyl, so I am somewhat surprised that the head gasket held up.

I have used the same road for high speed tests on our R.Rover Sport..but with the 540hp v8 - 8sp auto tranny, I never got to top speed of 160mph (limited) due to safety reasons since the 275/45R21 tires don't have a lot of traction beyond 140mph and the car is too costly to risk. I still find the Spark more fun to drive and much more nimble in traffic than the Rover that is virtually silent at any speed and a bit tricky to move thru traffic. ...OK...'Nuff said.

Link to post
Share on other sites
  • 5 months later...

Our 2013 Spark with the 4speed auto tranny runs 2,700rpm at 60mph, 3,200rpm at 70mph and 4,000rpm at 80mph. I have driven the 120mi trip both ways from Miami to Naples on the Everglades #41 cruising at 80mph with the A/C on with not bad fuel consumption and no issues at a constant 4Krpm with enough power to easily boot it to downshift to 3rd (5-6Krpm) from time to time to pass at around 90mph. This engine runs fine all day long at high rpms. The 2016 with the CVT runs much lower rpms at the same speed as the 4speed auto tranny only found on the 2013 units.

Link to post
Share on other sites
  • 4 weeks later...

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...