Whenever my car’s engine is cold, I used to think of revving the engine to warm it faster. Sometimes I would do it only to show off in front of my friends. But then people around me started to say I should not do that in the park. I wondered a bit and asked, why? Is it bad to rev the engine in park?
I guess you also love your car and are in confusion whether it is bad to rev your car in park. Like you, I also first searched online, and the answers started to confuse me. Some articles are saying it’s okay to rev in the park, while others say it is not.
Therefore, I turned to real drivers and tried to find the real answer. In the process, I found how revving can put your car at risk of getting damaged. Stay tuned with me till the end if you want to know everything about revving your car and keeping the engine safe.
Why do people rev their engines?
People rev their car’s engines to make them warm faster in cold weather. Some engines tend to die if idle for too long in the winter. In such cases, revving might be helpful to get the engine running.
However, most drivers today rev their engines only to show off their cars, especially teenage boys. There is not much benefit from revving your car, even in cold weather. Therefore unnecessarily revving an engine causes more harm than good.
Nonetheless, you will see racers revving their car’s engines before flying down the track. That is because it enables the engine torque to be instantly available for acceleration. But in general, it’s a horrible idea to rev your engine while in park.
Why is it bad to rev your engine in park?
Occasionally revving your engine can be helpful. But for that, you need to give your engine some time to get warm. Revving an engine in a cold state or the park is never a good idea as it can cause various damage to your vehicle.
Some of the reasons why it is bad to rev your engine in the park are:
1. Puts excess stress on the engine
When you are parking your vehicle with a manual transmission system, it disconnects the engine from the gear. If you try to rev in this condition, then the engine will have to work much harder to produce the speed you want.
It means that you’re putting excess stress on the engine and it is never good for the engine. It can cause serious damage to the engine, and you may even blow up the engine. Hence, you should rev your engine at the operating temperature after keeping the engine for a while, if necessary.
2. Causes transmission overheat
When you rev your engine to warm it up, the heat spreads in the various parts of the automatic gearbox, and the transmission oil can get excessively hot. In turn, the whole transmission system gets at risk of overheating.
An extremely hot transmission system can cause catastrophic damage to the parts. Your car’s dashboard even may notify you that the transmission is overheated, and you must stop doing what you are doing to cool it down.
3. Makes the valve float
When you take the engine to a high speed for revving your car, it can cause the valve to float. It means that the valve does not properly seat on the cam lobe or follow the closure system properly.
Is it bad for the engine? Yes, it is. Valve floats can cause engines to misfire and reduce the engine’s efficiency and overall performance. It does not always happen when you rev your engine, but most of the time, it does, especially if you rev your engine in park too frequently.
4. Wastes a lot of fuel
The more pressure you put into the engine for revving, the more fuel it will require to meet the demand. The car will require extra fuel for the increased combustion to keep the engine running.
Technically, it does not harm your car or the engine, but wasting is never a good idea, especially when the fuel price is going high. Unless you have a lot of money to waste, you should avoid revving your engine in park frequently.
5. Potentially damages the connecting rods
The connecting rods or con rods connect the piston to the crankshaft and transfer motion between these parts. These rods are crucial to generate power and keeping the engine running.
But continuously revving the engine will also put extreme pressure on the connecting rods to produce excess power, which potentially can damage the con rod. In turn, other parts connected to these rods also get exposed to the risk of damage.
6. Noise pollution
Lastly, you may like to hear those vroom vroom sounds coming out of the car while revving your engine, but it causes noise pollution. It directly doesn’t cost anything, but we always should be careful to not pollute the environment around us. Hence, try to avoid revving your engine in park.
Is it bad to rev your engine at idle?
Yes, it is a bad idea to rev your engine at idle. The engine is usually cool in idle, and if you try to rev it now, then it will have sudden high stress, which can damage the engine. It can lead to engine wear and tears and other additional damages.
Is it bad to rev a warm engine?
You can rev a warm engine from time to time if you want. It is not bad for the engine unless you do it frequently. Revving an engine when it is warm is always a safer option than doing it in park or idle.
Is it bad to rev your engine to 5000 rpm?
No, it is not bad to rev your engine to 5000 rpm only if the engine is warm enough to take the high pressure. It can harm your engine if you do it while the car is in idle. Other than that, revving the engine at high speed is completely fine.
However, you must remember that you should avoid doing this too frequently. Some people prefer to do it once a week, but I prefer once a month. That’s because I do not want to put my vehicle at risk of getting damaged.
When should you rev your engine?
You can rev your engine when it is slightly warm. Besides, newer engines often require you to rev.
However, people suggest revving the engine when it is cold, believing that it will help warm up the engine fast. But all it does is put extra pressure on the engine and the combustion system. This extra pressure causes overheating in the transmission system, but it is not healthy for the engine.
In short, although revving an engine is not a good idea, occasionally doing it should do no harm. But you need to ensure that the engine is warm and not idle or in the park.
FAQs:
.What gear should you rev in?
It’s best to rev an engine in neutral. It causes less wear and tear to the engine than it would do in park because now the transmission is not locked.
2. Is it good to rev your engine occasionally?
The occasional revving of the engine is considered a good habit as it might help the oil circulation be better and keep the engine running. However, do not make it a habit, as frequent revving is never a good idea.
3. What happens if I rev my car too much?
If you rev your car too much, it can seriously damage various parts of the vehicle, such as the engine, valve train, and transmission system. It happens due to the extra pressure and the heat created by the revving.
4. Does accelerating fast damage the engine?
Accelerating fast does not cause any major damage to the engine. But it puts extra pressure on the engine and the transmission, contributing to minor damage that you will only notice in the long term.