what does it mean to "drive your car hard"?

[Black88GTA]

Originally posted by: bondboy
I try to stay at or under 3000 rpm on local, but the the freeways, I usually do 80 mph... or over 80 which revs at around 3500 rpm. Is that considered driving your car hard??

Btw, I own a 96 civic. So is that too hard for a car that old?

That's not "old." My own car has been on the road for 18 years, and I wouldn't even consider that to be all that old either.

I drive mine "hard," IMO - I heat up the brakes to the point I can smell them at least 2x a week, my front tires have much more wear than the rears due to hard cornering, I'm generally hovering between 90-100 MPH every time I hit the expressway (and conditions allow it, of course) - with occasional bursts of ludicrous speed , I accelerate fast enough from stoplights that I usually get way ahead of everyone else...etc. I've driven it this way ever since I got it 6 years ago - and my car is twice as old as yours, and has 141k miles on it.

Despite all of that, it runs like it's brand new. Of course, I would guess that I'm better than many at keeping my car maintained, checking / changing fluids, and recognizing warning signs of things that need attention before they become big problems....things that many people ignore, and then wonder why their engine seized.

 

[RMSistight]

Originally posted by: SampSon
Pedal to the floor, shift at redline, scream woo woo a lot.

The whitsles go WOOOOOOO....WOOO WOOOOOO!!!

 

[Tsunami982]

yeah you are definitely not driving it hard. 3000-3500 rpm is nice and low for a civic (if you were driving a truck, 3500rpm would be driving it hard). as long as you arent braking hard or taking hard turns your civic should last until the end of time... or until you crash it.