Tonight i was coming home from the gas station and there is a moderately steep hill to get up to my neighborhood. usually i try to stay in second and above 2500 when i start hitting the incline and dont boost it that much or 1- 3 psi then shift into third at almost the top of the hill, well tonight i did the same thing but shifted into third a bit earlier than i usually do and ended up gettin on the gas more than i wanted to or usually do at that rpm range, i was a bit under 3k, probably 2600 to 2800 and was boosting at bit around 3-4 psi. at this point the motor sounded like it was being lugged and its worrying me because i am trying to keep this motor in good shape for a long time and just got a new tune and it put down really good numbers. do you think i damaged my bottom end/bearings at all from having this happen for a few seconds till i got into the 3k range and above? or am i just being really paranoid and a small lugging like that to these motors not going to hurt it much? it seems to be running perfectely fine still but i havent done a pull to see for sure.

 

Any advice/input/expeirence on this would be greatly appreciated, especially from people who live in hilly/mountainous areas like myself. Thank you

 

you're fine!!!

 

I'm sure it's fine... Now if you were throwing a **** load of boost/load at it at low RPM, that's when you need to worry.

 

Thanks guys for your responses. Your input reassures me and makes me feel at ease. I wasnt looking at my boost guage the whole time but i always make a habit with my right foot to not boost past 5-7 psi going up that hill so i hope my motor is alright. it drove fine the rest of the drive to my house so im hoping its okay and im just being **** about it.

 

Your Evo is fine.

 

no you didn't damage anything that's just the motor bogging down a bit. You gotta try a lot harder than that do damage the motor, it's not that sensitive.

 

You almost worry as much as my mother

 

Like others said, the odds of you damaging something are very slim. It's just that there's no need to drive like that. It's counterproductive. Rev higher. The car is a slug below 3K, no real torque, and climbing up a hill at low revs is simply bad automotive judgement. Good luck.

 

Heh, you sound like I did with my boosted RX-8... always worrying that the motor was going to pop. The fact is, the Evo motor is built like a f'ing tank. Unless you are tuned on the razors edge, have a critical failure to a supporting part etc the motor will handle a LOT of abuse. The only thing I try to avoid doing is low rpm high boost/high load situations in 5th gear. That is the most strain on the motor and to be avoided as best you can.

I have a stock block with cams and a larger stock frame turbo. I have run the absolute hell out of the car on track with back to back sessions for 2 days of non-stop WOT with multiple drivers and the motor is still pulling strong. Going over a hill on the street isn't going to blow up your motor.

 

lol this is so ironic because.....thats why i worry so much and where i got it from

Thank you everyone for your responses and easing my mind. I feel alot better

from this point on im just going to make sure i keep better speed going up it

 

Speed wasn't the issue, use a lower gear. Just because you're running in low RPM's doesn't always mean you're saving the most gas. Think about load, Try and keep your car around 3k rpms when climbing the hill and it'll be fine.

 

Your in good shape you have to understand our cars have small motors we make great numbers because of the turbo. when we are not in full boost especially in any boost uphill is a challenge i was in the mountains after a day of of playing around with the car. I ended up in Oakhurst and had to go up a very steep entry to a restaurant and i was in first. I had pedal down saying okay gonna have to burn clutch a little.

 

If you feel like your car is bogging under load ( driving up hill), you need to use a lower gear. These cars are not mustangs, you need to use those RPMs. Driving these cars at a low RPM in a high gear, is worse than low gear with high RPMs.

N