Obviously this is something to avoid in general, and for performance reasons. But how bad _is_ hitting the rev limiter (note, I'm not talking about misshifting and burying the tach, but rather neglecting to upshift in time). What kind of engine damage can be caused if you occasionally hit the rev limiter, or is this something to be avoided at all costs?

Thanks.

 

most engine's have the limiter set a little lower than the dangerous RPMs where valves float. you will wear out your motor faster if you bounce off the limiter all the rime, but i doubt that you'll cause any immediate damage
stan

 

the honda rev limiter cuts the fuel injectors, so any fuel remaining in hte cylinder will make a lean explosion - if you have a leakey injector...

any pros and cons of fuel cut VS spark cut types?

thanks,

t..

 

tink is right on, it pulls fuel and makes you detonate your engine components.
NOT RECCOMENDED unless you hate your internals. mis-shifting is another thing altogether. you can shoot the revs past the limiter if you are at the limit and miss into neutral meaning to hit the gear tree, I have done it... floated valves. you can also mis shift into another lower gear from the top of third into second by accident. I have done it, bent valves again. the main thing is in knowing where your motor is happy and not having to rev it all the way out. getting a chipped ECU with a higher limit like 9500 which you may never see is safer, then you can get an MSD coil with a spark limit you can set manually lower which is little or no risk to your engine. alot of guys do this, pulling spark is mechanically safer than pulling fuel
other than that, research what components you will need to rev happy and do so.
for instance: I have a friend with STOCK GSR valvetrain and Skunk retainers with stage 1 cams, mugen ECU, MSD (with limiter) and itr block. He drives it to 8750 all day and its a VERY happy motor 198/142 last time he checked.

rev happy have fun