Revolutions Per Minute
I want to be positive. Seriously. I really do. I have to admit, though, that I will [ocassionally] use this blog as a venue for my ranting. I do not want to start off that way, but there is something I have to set straight right now.
The acronym 'RPM' means 'Revolutions Per Minute'. Take a minute to notice that the plural is already built into that first word there. Take two minutes if you like. This is NOT up for debate.
I have seen many so-called 'enthusiasts' spout about this and that, and talk about their running at X 1000 RPMs. If you are tracking along so far, you would assume that this means 'Revolutions Per Minutes'. Good grief Charlie Brown. I pity the fool who has to do that calculation. How many revolutions and how many minutes are we dealing with? I personally like to cruise at about 6,000 RPMs in my car. Sound high, you say? Not at all. That is only 3,000 revolutions every two minutes. If you have crazy math skills (as opposed to nun-chuck skills or computer hacking skills) you will see that there are too many variables.
The saddest part of all of this is that I see "professional" writers make this mistake. We are not talking about Better Homes & Gardens either. The chief editor over at Sports Car International, Gustafson if I remember correctly, has put this down in print himelf. How embarassing for him.
To recap, there is only one way to discuss engine speed - and that is by RPM.
