50 mph at 3100Rpm!

[mongolitinn]

Hey ! i got 1997 VW Jetta with vr6 2.8 12v Passat engine and 5spd manual and i've been wondering since i got it that my rpm is high

At 50 mph i'm doing 3100RPM! is it normal?
I've taken the car to top speed at 210 km/h i hit a limiter,

Why is my rpm so high when driving?
The car was original 2.0 manual

[HaydEn]

What's your tyre size?

[Peter Jones]

That might be normal depending on your tyre size and gearbox ratios.

Which gearbox does the car have fitted? There's a code on the underside of the box on the bell housing that will tell us which box it is.

We'll need to know tyre size too as HaydEn points out.

There's a list of likely gearbox types here.

VWVortex.com - 02a/O2A Gearing/Gear ratios, $Prices$, and other helpful hints

I suspect you've got a box with a low ratio 3.94 diff in it based on those numbers and assuming stock tyre sizes. Great for acceleration but high on RPM at freeway speeds.

[mongolitinn]

That might be normal depending on your tyre size and gearbox ratios.

Which gearbox does the car have fitted? There's a code on the underside of the box on the bell housing that will tell us which box it is.

We'll need to know tyre size too as HaydEn points out.

There's a list of likely gearbox types here.

VWVortex.com - 02a/O2A Gearing/Gear ratios, $Prices$, and other helpful hints

I suspect you've got a box with a low ratio 3.94 diff in it based on those numbers and assuming stock tyre sizes. Great for acceleration but high on RPM at freeway speeds.

will check out today If it helps i get 60 km/h in 1st 100 km/h in 2nd 160 km/h in 3rd And my cluster shows 140 mph and redline at 6100rpm but i easily go over that RPM maybe because stock 2.0 jetta Mk3 cluster?

And yeah my car will toast tires easly in 2nd gear when wet!

[HaydEn]

50 mph at 3100Rpm!

Yeah 2.0 cluster reads quite a bit off.

My 3.94 with 195/50/15 gets 50~ 1st 90~2nd and 130 in 3rd. Top speed is 185

[mongolitinn]

Yeah 2.0 cluster reads quite a bit off.

My 3.94 with 195/50/15 gets 50~ 1st 90~2nd and 130 in 3rd. Top speed is 185

my tire size is 195/55/15

[Peter Jones]

It sounds like your cluster could be off, possibly both in speed and RPM.

Here's a few different ratio sets that might be in your car. I've calculated the theoretical RPM in 5th gear to achieve 50mph based on your tyre size..

CNL====3.778=2.118=1.458=1.029=0.837=3.684==VR6 Passat? 2200 RPM @ 50 MPH

CCM====3.300=1.944=1.308=1.034=0.838=3.389==VR6 Passat, Jetta, Golf 2000 RPM @ 49 MPH

CHA====3.778=2.118=1.360=0.917=0.717=3.944==AAZ TD B4 Passat 2000 RPM @ 49 MPH

It would be a good idea to check your speed with a GPS, perhaps you've got a phone you could use with a suitable app.

Finding your exact gearbox code will tell us a lot too.

Coincidentally if your tacho still thinks you've got a 4 cylinder motor in there the RPM makes sense.

A 4 cylinder tacho is expecting 2 pulses per revolution while a 6 cylinder tacho is expecting 3 pulses per rpm. (Someone needs to confirm this is how MK3 clusters work, I'm theorising)

So if that's the case 3100 RPM equates to 6200 pulses per minute hitting the back of the 4 cylinder tach. A 6 cylinder tacho would see 6200 pulses per minute as 2066 RPM.

That lines up with you having a CCM gearbox as you can see above.

[mongolitinn]

Great thank you ! will find some APP that can check my speed

[mongolitinn]

Had my Speedo checked and it's 100% accurate but the RPM is not so i guess it's because i got 4cyl tacho with 6cyl engine

Btw my tire size in back is 185/65/15