Revving the car to max revs/redline cleans the engine..is this true?

[Crackman 619]

Well the title says it all really..

Was just wondering if there is any truth in revving the car to max/redline helps clean the engine out.

If this is true then how often do any of you lot do it? Also whats better doing it with.a full tank of fuel or an empty tank?

Thoughts appreciated.

[Phil_P]

I believe what you are referring to is commonly known as "The Italian tune up". Google will give you plenty of opinion on the subject.

[Crackman 619]

Yea ive googled it and read about it on the various sites..looks like it does clean out the carbon.however, it doesnt answer my last question of whether to do it on an empty or full tank and how often?

[Phil_P]

I can't see it would make any difference how much fuel you have in the tank.

I generally drive my car very sedately, but there is one good hill on my regular commute, so I tend to give it some beans going up there each day just to get the temps up and burn off any crud that may otherwise build up. I guess if you drive more enthusiastically then this may not be so necessary and once per month should probably keep things in order (if you subscribe to this thinking). However, if you only potter around doing short journeys then I'm guessing a regular weekly blast would probably be beneficial.

[Crackman 619]

Thanks alot Phil..just a shame that when you look at the trip computrr on how many miles you have left it drops alot lol

[Phil_P]

Thanks alot Phil..


You're welcome - I'll be interested to hear others opinions too :)


just a shame that when you look at the trip computrr on how many miles you have left it drops alot lol

Hmm, having the real time consumption figures in front of me have turned me into a far more economical driver, but then so has seeing the price of a tank of fuel fast approaching £100!

[JimC64]

Hmmm, sumthin to think about I guess?
Having had company cars for over 16 years I used to really boot them all day long every day pretty much " Italian tune up" every day, wheras my workmates usually pottered around.....My car funnily enough always seemed to be faster and had less problems it seemed???
Anyhow, having my own car over the last 4-5 years things have been a little different.....I usually drive much more sensibly with fuel the price it is but pretty much have a blast quite often too just to keep my hand in and keep things fresh:approve:

on the Italian tune up scenario? A neighbour with a BMW 2.0d I think was revvving the *** of his today for around 10 mins whlst stationery, so I guess he subscribes to that theory too

[Quatrelle]

There's a long uphill drag from a slip road onto dual carriageway that I use fairly regularly, and I always rev it to 4,500 in the gears. Otherwise I rarely thrash it.

[Zeb]

Surely that will cause engine damage! I would never ever do that. I will only boot the car when I feel like it.

[Quatrelle]

Italian tune-up involves, theoretically, driving like the Italians, i.e. revving it out in every gear, not revving the nuts off it when stationary, which is a complete no-no, imo.

So, occasionally revving it out in every gear is no bad thing.

[Zeb]

Italian tune-up involves, theoretically, driving like the Italians, i.e. revving it out in every gear, not revving the nuts off it when stationary, which is a complete no-no, imo.

So, occasionally revving it out in every gear is no bad thing.

lol - This got me thinking, when someone posted "revving the S*** out of it when stationary!

I guess it will release all the soot, and the carbon out!

[Phil_P]

From first link on google:

http://www.google.co.uk/#hl=en&source=hp&q=italian+tune+up+diesel&aq=3&aqi=g4g-m3&aql=&oq=italian+tune&gs_rfai=&fp=af5f90aa3ce69c81



The Italian tune-up - at least in a diesel [although it applies to a gas car too - Ed] consists of taking a SOUND car out and maximally accelerating from stop or slow speed to some high speed OR driving at near full rpm with a heavy load (up long hill) for minutes at a time. The idea is to get maximal air and fuel flowing through the engine to develop near maximum heat. This will burn and eject residual carbon that has collected in the engine. Following such a regimen the idle is usually smoother and the amount of black smoke at full throttle should be reduced. This occasionally does not happen the 1st time and the idle might get rougher or a pronounced knock could occur. This is usually because some carbon has been "rearranged" but the prechamber environment isn't appropriate for smooth combustion. Further TREATMENT will clear this up as more carbon is burned up, but it is a little scary the 1st time it happens to YOU and your car!

A few full throttle accelerations a week will usually keep most CLEAN engines cleaned out pretty well. More prolonged "treatment" is usually required for a car that has had a LOT of city driving. Just a long highway trip (50+ miles) with several two-three minute full throttle periods (long 6-8% grades are GREAT) will clean out an awful lot of carbon and crud that's build up, but with a really "city bound car" it may may take more than just a few sessions to really get it all out. My weekly 250 mile trips from Pittsburgh to Washington DC and back over the last 7 years have given me a chance to really examine the "Italian tune-up" and the concept of "flailing the heck out of the MB diesel engine" or at least running it at near full throttle/top speed for a long period of time.

I referred to a "SOUND" car. To me that means a car that NO serious mechanical problems. The chain stretch should be below 5 degrees or so, the valves should be properly adjusted, the air and fuel filters should be verifiably clean, and there should be clean and it would probably be best if the injection pump timing is known to be pretty close to correct (within a couple of degrees). The cars/engines I presently own, have THRIVED on this regimen. Idle smooths out, smoking diminishes, and fuel and oil consumption goes down. I can't promise that on an engine that's worn out, but nobody else can either ;-)

[Crackman 619]

Yeq thats the first link i read too..

If you google driving to redline you get forums such as bmw and honda onew sayin how the redline it all the time..well the honda forumers do it for the vtech kick dunnk if they fo it to clean the engine.

On me way back from work i thought id try this italian tune up method and thought id open me windows to hear the rumbling v8 err i mean 4 pot lol ... Noticed that ehen i got to 4000 revs the car made such a loud whistle compared to normal. Also i think 3rd gear is the best gear for sucking you back in your seat.

[ToMBoY_C]

I make sure I get to 4.5k every so often, it's more to clean my DPF though! Need maximum heat to burn the rubbish stuck inside the engine :)

[brightside]

check out TDICLUB (http://forums.tdiclub.com/forumdisplay.php?f=43) :)

[vwcabriolet1971]

If you have a diesel and are taking it in for MOT , it helps to pass the emission test if you drive for about 5 miles, after warming up, in 3rd ( town) or 4th gear ( motorway) at about 3,000 revs to blow the crud out of the exhaust system. The car should then pass emission test as a "fast pass" with just one application of the test cycle . Otherwise car could be subject to up to 9 cycles from semi-cold up to 3,000 revs before exhaust crud is cleared sufficient to pass test. Also I'm sure a few spirited runs will exercise the turbo wastegate mechanism and variable vanes to help prevent seizures.
Done in sensible way , "Italian tune ups" do help (IMOHO) clean the engine and exhaust. Probably more benefit to "short trip" vehicles.

[Crackman 619]

Soo is it best to do it in 2nd or 3rd gear? If you max rev in 3rd im sure you will end up doing 60mph dont think PC Plod would be too happy lol

And reason i asked about if you should do it with a full or empty tank was because if your tank is empty and you drive high revving would it not drag the sludge in the fuel tank compared to a full tank?

[phil miller]

reving a car out in gear is not a bad thing as long as its at normal temp (not stone cold) how many diesel's have you followed and they go to over take something and fill the road with black smoke.......... mine doesnt do that, why? because from time to time i kick the **** out of it in 3rd, clears it out, im not saying drive it like you stole it every day but once in awhile wont do any harm IMHO

[JimC64]

reving a car out in gear is not a bad thing as long as its at normal temp (not stone cold) how many diesel's have you followed and they go to over take something and fill the road with black smoke.......... mine doesnt do that, why? because from time to time i kick the **** out of it in 3rd, clears it out, im not saying drive it like you stole it every day but once in awhile wont do any harm IMHO

+1 on that Phil, as I've stated before....I've been driving diesels like that for 20 years more or less and had very very few problems.:beerchug:

[Crackman 619]

May i ask what speed you got to in 3rd gear when drivin to max revs?

[phil miller]

May i ask what speed you got to in 3rd gear when drivin to max revs?

I said kick the **** out of it in 3rd, but yes when I max out in 3rd it's about 75ish

[fat controller]

I tend to drive quite sedately (another one that appreciates the cost of a tankful of diesel!), however occasionally I will 'sink the boot' to give the engine a bit of exercise.

[Teflon]

I had an Audi V6 TDI from new, auto gearbox and drove it pretty sensibly all its life. It was pretty impossible to thrash it anyway, because the multitronic box would just slide up to a higher ratio, even in manual mode.

Before 60k miles I had a turbo gummed up with carbon, causing limp mode syndrome and needing a few hours on the bench to sort it.

The Passat now gets an occasional blast with the DSG gearbox in sport mode, just to be on the safe side. There's no point just reving it at a standstill - there isn't enough engine load to exercise the VNT mechanism. I've no idea if this will be a benefit but it can't do any harm.

Providing the engine is thoroughly warm you won't do any damage, it will bounce off the rev limiter anyway and the only way to (briefly) over-rev it is to down change a manual gearbox at high speed like some sort of idiot.

I daren't adopt the same apporach with the GTI, for fear I'll end up in a pine box.

[Crackman 619]

I daren't adopt the same apporach with the GTI, for fear I'll end up in a pine box.

Wonder how many times you drive the GTI you have to resist the urge hmmm ;)

[g-black]

After reading this I found out something interesting. My old 2.0 140tdi with the PD engine would happily rev right up when stationary. But my new 2.0 110tdi with the CR engine, only let's me rev to 2500rpm when the car is stationary.

I found out that both my folks cars do the same, R320 cdi and G500 Mercedes. I always figured it was because they are both automatic?!

I don't seem to have any problem with cleaning out the engine in the new car. The DPF does it's job very well. So much so that I average 48-55 mpg daily, and the fumes are that clean that I keep the I side of the exhaust tip polished!

[johnloaderuk]

After reading this I found out something interesting. My old 2.0 140tdi with the PD engine would happily rev right up when stationary. But my new 2.0 110tdi with the CR engine, only let's me rev to 2500rpm when the car is stationary

Turn the ESP off, should then rev to the max when stationary.

[patomlin76]

Is this also true for petrol engines or not? I drive fairly conservatively, rarely popping over 3,000rpm (low for petrol)... Am I risking caking up parts of the engine by not wellying it sometimes, on slip roads for instance?

If not, I'll continue driving in my economy mode ;)

[phil miller]

petrol engines dont suffer in the same way as diesels, but most cars have egr valves which can coke up so giving a petrol engine abit of stick from time to time wont do any harm at all

[DSGboy]

I really can't comment on whether flooring the accelerator on a regular basis is good for the car, but, my word, it's good for the soul~!

[Crackman 619]

I really can't comment on whether flooring the accelerator on a regular basis is good for the car, but, my word, it's good for the soul~!

Hehe yes it is makes you feel all giddy but I just love the feel of when when you get pulled back into your seat...after a few drives like that it becomes addictive loll

[DSG4ME]

Never do this on a cold engine or one that is approaching service time, infact I would only do it straight after an oil change and at optimum engine temperature myself.

[Crackman 619]

Never do this on a cold engine or one that is approaching service time, infact I would only do it straight after an oil change and at optimum engine temperature myself.


I second that

[Quatrelle]

I never take mine over 3k until the engine is at correct operating temperature.

[johnloaderuk]

I never take mine over 3k until the engine is at correct operating temperature.

Quite agree. What did surprise me was that despite the water temp showing 90 degrees within 5 to 10 minutes of driving the oil doesn't reach normal temperature until about 20 minutes plus of driving this time of year, and I'd rather go by the oil temp than the water temp as a true indication of 'normal' operating temperature. I wonder how long it will take in the winter to get the oil up to temp. My oil runs between 95 to 105 degrees usually, depending on the type of driving at any given time.

[Quatrelle]

Quite agree. What did surprise me was that despite the water temp showing 90 degrees within 5 to 10 minutes of driving the oil doesn't reach normal temperature until about 20 minutes plus of driving this time of year, and I'd rather go by the oil temp than the water temp as a true indication of 'normal' operating temperature. I wonder how long it will take in the winter to get the oil up to temp. My oil runs between 95 to 105 degrees usually, depending on the type of driving at any given time.
Which probably explains why our old Laguna uses so little oil - with an oil capacity of 6.5 litres it probably never gets the oil hot enough to make it thin.:( I do know it takes ages to really get going. An oil temp gauge - there's a useful tool. I used to have one on an MG, be good to have one on the Passat.

[johnloaderuk]

be good to have one on the Passat.

For some reason VW have fitted new Passats (and other VW models perhaps) with an oil temp gauge, so I now know exactly what temperature it's running at, how long it takes to get hot etc. I can't make my mind up if it's useful or just something else to worry about.

[phil miller]

For some reason VW have fitted new Passats (and other VW models perhaps) with an oil temp gauge, so I now know exactly what temperature it's running at, how long it takes to get hot etc. I can't make my mind up if it's useful or just something else to worry about.

id say something else to worry about :D

[Quatrelle]

So would I.

In fact, with the computer controlling everything, you wonder why they bother with anything other than the speedo, and perhaps the rev. counter. Maybe an ammeter, oil pressure gauge, vacuum gauge - they'd all be just as meaningless.