If the rev limiter is working properly the engine just goes flat at the prescribed rpm..won't rev any more..you get used to it and shift just before the limiter cuts in..

Sam

 

Most rev limiters will start to drop cylinders at the set limit to keep the motor from over revving. The faster your motor revs it may go slightly over the set limit.

As mentioned you will get used to it and shift before that point. They are nice to have for drive line failures.

 

I have a MSD rev limiter, Came with a 300 rpm chip. Put that in started it up, reved it up, its like a bad converter, no miss, no stutter, just won go any faster!! no worries, good protection, and adjustable.

 

After over-revving my engine the odd time, I am thinking about adding a rev limiter. What should I expect when it cuts in? Will the engine sinmply not go any faster, or will it shake the car, sound like it wants to blow up due to massive misfires, backfire out the exhaust, etc.?

The reason I ask is I have had engine damage in a 2-stroke due to intermittent firing because of an ignition problem.

For my Ford 428, I was thinking of installing one of these:

http://www.pertronix.com/prod/ig/drl/default.aspx

Good idea especially with a stick gear box where missed shifts can and do happen. The engine just stops gaining any more revs when it hits the limiter. No misfires, no backfires it just won't go any higher till you back off the throttle and start again back to that point.

Bogie

 

Thank-you everyone for your responses. I did do a little more research and find that for the more modern rev limiters, they can either drop spark randomly, or in a sequential pattern. Apparently, there isn't much difference in the end result.

I'll probably buy the Pertronix unit and maybe set it around 3000 rpm to try it out.

 

Good idea especially with a stick gear box where missed shifts can and do happen.
Bogie

Unfortunately, a Rev limiter won't protect you against a missed downshift. For example, if you're going down the road and you intend to downshift from 5th to 4th, but hit 2nd instead, the gearing in the rear end and transmission is going to force your engine to move at a certain RPM. It has no choice not to, even if spark and fuel are cut.

Guys with interference engines call this money shifting, because when it happens, you usually have just cost yourself quite a bit of money . Fortunately, money-shifting can be avoided with the proper shifting style:

http://www.shortshifter.com/techniques2.htm

Though we don't generally run interference engines in old rods, it's still good to avoid over-revving the engine mechanically through a bad downshift.

 

I run a MSD 6 BTM on my blown street/strip SBC Model A. When drag racing, I set the rev limiter a few hundred rpms below valve float. When the engine reaches the limiter rpm, the engine sutters, which is fine with me because it is doing its' job. But it definitely stutters, because I hear, and feel it, inside the car as it happens. I consequently am interested in hearing the experience of otherw who describe a cap on rpms, but with no sutter. Perhaps theirs is a newer product, since my MSD BTM has been in use since 2004.

 

After over-revving my engine the odd time, I am thinking about adding a rev limiter. What should I expect when it cuts in? Will the engine sinmply not go any faster, or will it shake the car, sound like it wants to blow up due to massive misfires, backfire out the exhaust, etc.?

The reason I ask is I have had engine damage in a 2-stroke due to intermittent firing because of an ignition problem.

For my Ford 428, I was thinking of installing one of these:

http://www.pertronix.com/prod/ig/drl/default.aspx

Buy a MSD softtouch revlimiter they work great!

 

I have a MSD rev limiter, Came with a 300 rpm chip. Put that in started it up, reved it up, its like a bad converter, no miss, no stutter, just won go any faster!! no worries, good protection, and adjustable.

Sorry, that should read 3000 rpm, guess you figured that out by now!!

 

why add a rev limit????? i run a 454bbc that pushes a manual valve body powerglide. i can hear/feel when shes askin for another gear. and i push it between 3k and 35k rpm......