Hey guys,

Just wanted to double check my understanding of the car. My 2015 RCF frequently shakes violently in first gear when I'm near/on the redline. My guess is the fuel cut off is being activated but the jerking motion is pretty violent and nothing like what I'm used to for the rev-limiter kicking in.

This only happens in Sports+ mode; happens in both manual and automatic transmission mode (sometimes the first gear gets stuck in automatic mode) but is definitely more prevalent in manual mode when I hang in first gear.

And by violent, I mean near whiplash mode.

Thanks.

 

Is the car cold by any chance? Rev limiter is only at 5000 rpm when the car is first started up and then gradually moves up to 7300 rpm as oil gets to optimal operational temperature.

 

Nope. The temperature's mid-way when it occurs. I don't throttle too hard when it's cold.

 

Have you gone a bit past 7300 rpm (~ 7450 rpm or so)? Then it is the fuel cut-off and yes, it is pretty violent as in the car will stutter quite hard. It is normal. Toyota/Lexus rev limiters kick in pretty hard compared to the "soft" limiter I felt while driving the E90 M3 where it simply gradually cuts engine power smoothly.

 

Okay, great. Yes, I'm used to the E92 M3 cut-off being a descending power cut so I was surprised by the drastic jerking motion. Just wanted to make sure my tranny or torque converters weren't dysfunctional.

But the jerks, my god. Feels like half the teeth on the first gear went missing.

 

Hahah...coincidence I used an example of what you can directly relate to.

I was also surprised when I test drove the E90 M3 sedan as to how it was gradually cutting power smoothly. It was actually my car of choice (2013 E90 M3 sedan) until I drove the RCF and chose to go with the RCF. My 2ZZ-GE car also hits the rev limiter hard at 8350 rpm just like my RCF does so I was used to it.

 

Haha, exactly what I was thinking. Had the privilege of driving it for 4 years; eventually traded it in for the RCF because I didn't want to deal with the imminent transmission problems that lied ahead.

Might have to test drive some dealer RCFs to confirm the rev-limiter jerking is as harsh as the one I'm experiencing.

 

M4 was never on my shopping list because I wanted an N/A high revving V8. In the end, I chose the RCF because it of the exterior/interior/modern technology and the cockpit like feel. Engine wise, RCF V8 feels more "lively" in the midrange and more powerful at high rpm compared to the S65 V8, which did not really come alive till 6000 rpm. Both engines felt very free-revving and with almost no internal intertia. Engine noise/induction intensity and throttle response were about the same. While the induction in RCF is very loud, RCF exhaust is quieter than the stock M3 exhaust, but aftermarket exhaust can resolve this.

Handling wise, I felt the RCF with TVD in 'track' mode was more tail happy than the E90 M3 and wanted to kick the tail out coming out of a corner in 1st or 2nd gear. At high speed, the TVD made it rotate more aggressively.

Ultimately, I was very happy that RCF had bullet proof reliability and quality, but does not give up on driving excitement compared to the M. That made it worth spending $15,000 more compared to a low mileage 2013 E90 M3 sedan I was looking at.

 

My car has hit the rev limitter on many occassions and I have not felt any violent shaking. I'm not so sure that's normal.

 

It only happens transitioning from first to second gear. I've hit close to 9k on second gear and the power cut-off is gradual like my old M3.

 

Yes, almost always, when mine hits the limiter, it's from 1st to 2nd. I'll try it today and see if it happens with mine.

 

In one of the vids I saw online, they were talking how the RCF had some kind of unique rev limiter feature, that not to many cars have. He was hitting it really hard too and enjoying it. Is that sputter what you are referring too?

 

If it's violent, then possibly . Would you please find my that video? Thanks!

 

So, I tried this yesterday and kept it in the limiter for longer than before, I can definitely feel the obvious instantaneous power loss but no violent shaking.