Hi, just bought a '99 A4 v6 2.8L, 5 speed manual. When i'm going ~70mph on the highway my rpm is 3500+, which seems pretty high considering that I drive 3.5-4 hours to school and usually do 80 on that highway.

Is this normal and not something I should worry about, or does that seem off? The car is old and up there in mileage, but it runs and sounds good as far as I've been able to tell.

Thanks!

 

I have an 1999 A4 Quattro 1.8T 5 speed. At 110km/h which is just shy 70mph I'm on 3000 rpm exact. I don't see what could be a problem as you have a manual gearbox and the gearing is fixed, only thing I can think of is if you do suspect it is high or higher than it was or should be, maybe look into crankshaft position sensor as it may be shot throwing the reading to the cluster.

 

I have a 99 A4 Quattro 1.8 turbo 5 speed auto trans with 140,000 miles on it and im about same as George there, around 3000 rpm @ 70mph. My 2001 A6 Quattro with 2.7 twin turbo with manual trans runs about 3000 rpms @ 75 mph but then again its a 6 speed and every gear past 4th seems to drop me about 500 rpms less so id think 3000 rpm @ 70 mph in a 5 speed should be about right.