Talk Morgan Forums Community Welcome Forum RPM

Steve,
I think it depends on which side of the cattle grid you are on - plenty open roads in New Forest, but the speed limit is 40mph - our 4 legged friends (food? ) can make a serious mess of a car and occupants. Twice in one day, while holidaying in the area I had to apply avoiding action due to cattle - mind the horns on a Highland might have looked good rather than a Morgan badge?
I tend to run through FoD at much less than speed limit - sheep mainly, but the odd boar may make an appearance...

Cheers,

He may need to change from 2nd to 3rd gear...

This, definitely. The Duratec is a lovely engine, it's not redlined until 7,000 rpm or so and like all 4-valve motors it prefers to rev.

Graham,

Like you I've had some close encounters with quite a range, we don't have boar up here, but in the past fortnight I've been close enough to a deer, a badger, a fox, many sheep, and several cyclists to temper any instinct for higher speeds on my usual routes. I definitely feel more aware in the Morgan than in any other vehicle I've owned and this is a good thing. Travelling at a leisurely speed in a beautiful, open topped iconic sports car on a Summers morning (or a crisp, sharp day in December) in the English countryside is a real treat.

I'm grateful to everyone for their comments and it's nice to find high levels of confidence in the Duratec engine, I will feel comfortable in using it more freely in the future when conditions allow.

Keith

I'm with Graham on this one.. 55mph on some of the roads around here would be positively suicidal. Its why we have a high death rate amongst young drivers in the Forest.

Over the years several animals, including wild boar have caused some damage to our tin tops and I dread to think what the Morgan would look like had we been in that.

I don't quite get this need for max revs, unless you are on a track. Mine is quite quick enough using the 'normal' rev range without getting up anywhere near the 7000 mark.

I quite agree, Steve, but to be fair the discussion was about 'the open road' rather than country lanes infested with suicidal livestock

And when mine gets up around 4k rpm and the VVT kicks in, the sound is really quite addictive!

I know the FoD reasonably well and find the propensity for and frequency of 'roadside tributes' rather telling.

A car impact with a tree will destroy a car and its occupants; the tree will hardy suffer any damage.

The 2.0 Duratec is a strong engine and will happily take maximum revs if needs be. Others have mentioned the engines sweet spot and not to labour the engine at low revs.
Ignore comments about the speed you drive. It's your car and you should drive as you feel fit...not everyone wants to hoon around. Whilst the Morgan is a sport car, it is very much in the sense of a '50s one and most modern cars and in particular, white vans will out handle a Morgan. Particularly on bumpy roads! On a smooth road or track they handle pretty well considering the ancient suspension and chassis....but of course there's more space and no wildlife etc to worry about!
Enjoy your car!!

Wise words Jay - they ring true for me.
Especially as I currently have an unmodified 'poverty model'.

In North Western US it is Deer, Elk and Coyote (about the size of a large German Shepard Dog) that cause problems. On Mountain Pass I hit a deer in the back legs. Deer are unpredictable, they will spook at the last minute. It did minor damage to My +8, but the poor deer, I don't think, lasted long with an injured leg.

But We are talking RPM. The common engine transplant for old 4/4's and +4's here, is the Honda S2000 engine. It has VVT that kicks in at about 6,000 RPM. The acceleration is awesome. The 2.0 ltr S2000 is capable of 240HP.

I like a powerful engine. Not that I travel over the speed limit. I don't. But when needing to pass a RV or 18 wheeler truck, I have the power to do so quickly. Now the +8+ (Corvette Powered +8) is overkill.

Button