Technical Twin Air tick over/idle engine rpm

[Luigi e Lanziano]

Hello everyone,
Firstly, apologies for stealing my little paso’ red buzz bomb’s name from all those on the forum who’ve called their cars Luigi. I just threw the name out to my wife and it stuck!
Luigi is a 500S Twin Air on an LJ63 plate and thus far, has only got 600 miles on the clock. What I’d like to try to establish is what tick over/idle rpm Luigi should be running at. Searches on the forum and in the owner’s manual have not helped and I’ve got no experience of the world of two cylinders and tubo-chargers. The indicator needle on the 500 rev counter is fairly broad and blunt, so it’s not really possible to be all that all that precise about this, but Luigi seems to tick over at about 1,000 rpm, albeit remarkably quietly. One wonders whether this has a knock on effect on economy. But the question is, is this about right?
I’d be very grateful if other twin air owners could advise where their tick over/idle sits so that I can compare and maybe adjust it? On tight residential street corners, with lots of parked cars on both sides of the road, I’m having to kick out the clutch as I can’t lose enough speed just on the brakes to safely make these turns in case there’s something coming the other way.
Any advice/observations/comments would be greatly appreciated. Many thanks.
Best regards,
L’anziano
(= the old man)

 

[bgunn]

Sounds a tad high, 700odd rpm rings a bell on mine, although putting the car in reverse will kick the idle up slightly..

Whereabouts are you, as I have MES and could check the car over if you're closeby.

 

[UFI]

Idle is about 800-850rpm I think. I don't think it's adjustable on a TA either, though any number of things can cause high idle. You don't have the A/C on do you?

 

[varesecrazy]

1000 rpm does seem high,
mines done 6K now - 6 months later..!!- so I've forgotten quite how it was in the 1st week,
charlie

 

[varesecrazy]

Idle is about 800-850rpm I think. I don't think it's adjustable on a TA either, though any number of things can cause high idle. You don't have the A/C on do you?

good point with the "loadings" of electrical items,

my idle speed actually seems to be lower recently ( not in it today - so can't quote figures..)

Charlie

 

[bgunn]

Idle is about 800-850rpm I think. I don't think it's adjustable on a TA either, though any number of things can cause high idle. You don't have the A/C on do you?

With A/C (climate) on mine it doesn't change, but you get a little 'bobble' in the idle speed as the compressor clutch is disengaged and the load of the compressor comes off. Certainly not upto 1000rpm though.

 

[UFI]

I don't think the OP's engine is really idling any higher than it should. It's those stupid fat needles on the instruments that point vaguely at the markings that are most likely to blame. I'm fairly certain mine idles at 850 (on the scanner), but I have too many cars to be 100% sure

 

[varesecrazy]

OK - Update,
mine idles @ 1250 rpm from cold,
then @850 when warm, sounds comfortable at that,

had been feeling a bit "laboured" recently, I'll have to compare RPM's at such points...,
Charlie

 

[The Twins]

Mine ticks over at about 800rpm but when I put the clutch in it raises to just under 1000rpm.

 

[DBunX]

Over the few days since this was posted I've noted that mine sits roughly at around 850. However this morning with no heaters or anything on, it was just over 500 until I next stopped and it was back to around 800-850 or so.

 

[Luigi e Lanziano]

Thanks for this great information, guys.

Looking a lot more closely at the rev counter, I think I overstated the engine speed slightly but it's still pretty close to 1000 rpm.

I take the point about the electrical load and yes, the figure above is reported with the day driving lights and H&V fan on. It's also recorded with ECO engaged (load on the power steering?) and A/C compressor engaged.

I think I'll let it go for now and see where I am with a few more hundred miles on the clock.

Many thanks to everyone responding to my posting.

This really is a great forum. Best wishes to all.

 

[44sunsets]

Mine appears to sit on around 850rpm after a 10-minute drive. Engine is still pretty new and hasn't been run in that much.

 

[cubic25]

Ours sits on around 1000RPM. I always thought it was high. I'll have to hook the scangauge up to it to get an exact reading.