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2.5l Torque Curve?

4K views 8 replies 5 participants last post by  Looby 
#1 ·
Hi Everyone!

Is there a place where I can see the torque curve for a 2013 fourbanger in stock configuration? I bring this up because having a CVT means that we can accelerate while keeping our engines at peak toque the entire time. And I want to take advantage of that. Here's why:

When i leave my neighborhood every day, I turn onto a 4-lane road where the speed limit is 55mph. I usually run the engine to about 4000-5000 RPM and keep it there till I get up to about 60 mph (flow of traffic).

This weekend, I was traveling with the family. We were pulling out of a rest area that had a rather short merge area and lots of semis coming up in my left mirror. So I mashed the skinny pedal to squeeze all the oomph out of the engine. What i got was lots of sound and fury with acceration that felt slower than my usual morning 0-60 runs. (and let me just say, that our engines with the CVT sound really tortured when we run them at full speed. A downshift would be merciful. Wow...).

Anyway, that brings me to the torque numbers: If i need to get the family up to speed as fast as I can, what's the best constant engine RPM to do it?
 
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#3 ·
Your car felt enemic pulling out of the rest stop because you had a couple or three more passengers than you do during your commute..

The CVT accelerates the fastest that it is going to with your foot flat on the floor. If you don't do that often (I know I don't....) It will take a bit longer for the ECU to allow full windup. Unless you hold it in a "Gear", it will not wind beyond the power peak. Torque peak is somewhat lower, and is where the engine is most efficient, but it is not where you will find maximum acceleration.
 
#4 ·
Hans the newer 2.5s have a fairly flat curve. I recal they start to hit peak torque around 3200rpm and it drops off around 4800rpm. Getting up to speed fast is both torque and rpms which case you just hold the go pedal down till it gets the job done. Even loaded and towing our trailer with the 2.5 in CA were slow lane peeps are doing 75mph I rarely run it beyond 4000rpm. My old 2001 2.5 was very different its peak torque was 5300ish which case I was more likely to run it into the 5000 rpm range in the same places our new OB I rarely hit much more than 4300.
 
#8 ·
...because having a CVT means that we can accelerate while
keeping our engines at peak toque the entire time.
Max acceleration requires maximum power, NOT maximum torque.
With your 2013 2.5i, that means wide open throttle at 5600 RPM.

No wurries, Mother Soobie's engineers grok Newtonian physics, so
they programmed the CVT to wind-up to 5600 -- and stay there --
when you stomp the loud pedal to the floor. You can minimize lag
by stomping it as rapidly as possible.

If you could manage to hold it at 4100 RPM (i.e., peak torque)
with wide open throttle, you'd be throwing away over 20% of
your acceleration potential. (174 lb-ft @ 4100 RPM = 136 hp)

...that's why Soobie engineers didn't program it that way,

Looby
 
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