I didn't really kill mine with RPM....didn't need to. I tried shifting it at 8500 and it wasn't any quicker than 8000 RPM shifts. The norm for me was shift about 7900 and trap 8000. This is not big RPM for a 1410 bobweight short block. It's not even big RPM for a short deck big block. They can and will live a nice life with the right short block under them.