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Since my 2ltr 4 is 23 years old, i'm a bit hesitant about revving it hard. i try to keep it to hwy speeds when gear changing. 100km is about 3,000 rpm, so i change at 3000 for each gear.

Is the alfa romeo engine designed for high revs and how high do you rev yours?

A stock alfetta 2.0 litre will rev to 6000 to 6500 without too much drama. It will produce peak power at about 5800 (or thereabouts) so there is not much point going past that (except for the 1st to 2nd gap, that REQUIRES more revs to allow for the gearing diff and slow change to protect the synchros ). But realy 3000 is the point at which you'd want to change DOWN to a lower gear, not up to a HIGHER gear

The 4 cyl doesn't really have any major faults when it comes to revs as far as I know, but can get some nasty harmonics/vibration that tends to hurt alternators and exhaust mounts - but that is for race engines that bang away at 8000 regularly. They are designed to be driven enthusiasticlly - are sports cars after all, italian at that!

For an older engine, you woould want to be careful about having adequate oil pressure at higher rpm, as well as ensuring that valve clearances (shims) are OK. Also, there is the old mechanics tale about ring failure on engines that go from being 'babyied' to being 'thrashed'. Giving it good oil and regular changes is the best insurance you can get against that I suppose.

If you have a 23 year motor that has been gear changed at 3000 rpm for the duration, the best way to make it last the next 23 years is to drive it the same way. The reason is that carbon deposits have built up at the top of the cylinder liner over time. When you do high revs, the rings will be carried by the pistons to a slighly higher position than before owing to "stretch" and strike this band of carbon. The end result is usually a much increased oil burn and fume or outright breakages of rings.

On the other hand, it may be 23 years old but has been always driven by using the full rev range of the engine in which case you should do the same as there will be no consequence unless you over rev it. Bear in mind though,with progressive wear,you will reduce the eventuall life of the engine faster but you need to ask yourself the question, why do you own an Alfa if it's not to drive it like you stole it?

7K rpm

7000 with the occasional run to 8000+
on a stock 2L and on my modified 2.5 V6

It's an Alfa, it's MEANT to be driven hard.

If it's cold I never let it over 3k, once it's nice and warm and if there's a moment that allows it, I'll wind it out to redline. Still going strong.

ROCK ON
R~R

i like to bounce off the limiter when i shift!

I use the force.
I listen to my midi-chlorians they tell when to change.

Haa haa

I listen to my midi-chlorians they tell when to change

..they invented the Big Bang Theory didn't they ?

Cool, an Alfa driving Jedi.

anything between 6 to 7000rpms on my 2 litres mate.NEVER rev it when cold but like the guys have told you,once it properly warmed up drive it like you stole it.Driving any Alfa slowely all the time leads to them throwing serious hissy fits in due time,they are Italian and hate slow driving.

I changed the oil on mine every 5000kms though using Shell Helix 20W50 and it was my daily driver covering 8000kms a month at times.Trust me not one day went by when that engine wasn't being hammered and zero problems.

Just check your prop rubbers and engine mounts to play it safe though.

i have no idea how the previous drivers used the car.... i guess i have a bit of mechanical sympathy due to driving australian built cars (ie don't rev them hard without expecting to break them).

thats good to hear that some of you get high revs. it sounds better the higher it goes.

Ever hear of an Italian tune up - the whole idea is to blow out the cobwebs (carbon and other crap).
I used the theory of don't let them form in the first place - Italian tune up every drive .
Good quality oil regularly does help - I used to do a 5000 km oil and filter change.
The old 2L was move from its rusty '78 fetta home at 360,000 km to a mates less rusty '82 fetta and kept on going - even with the kind of revs I was talking about.

.. until the prop-shaft coupling breaks!

Is that what you call a fried donut?