at what RPM do you shift?

[teddyyyy]

finally I got my tachometer installed ----- so far the speedometer doesn't (or, barely) work , and I have kind of been shifting by "feeling". thanks to the powerful motor, it pretty much works great even if you shift to a higher gear and puts the motor at very low RPM.


my question is, what is the "officially recommended" RPM at which you shift up/down ?

with my previous modern stick shift car, I was told to keep the RPM between 2000--3000, and if it goes above, then shift up. but with my FE 360, it seems never able to reach 3000 (very loud already)

Thanks a lot

[eggman918]

In my truck with 4.10 gears and 31.5" tires the 390 seemed happiest between 1750 and 2600 but my truck was heavy @~7.800lbs and 4x4 so it pushed a lot of air,it would run well above that but I dont think it was happy above 3200 or so and above 3000 the "mileage" dropped quickly to yardage then footage
Now that I have the 4BT in it it lives between 1500 and 2300 and went from 10 mpg to 20 mpg been driving it for over 2 years now and still can't get the off my face.

[HIO Silver]

finally I got my tachometer installed ----- so far the speedometer doesn't (or, barely) work , and I have kind of been shifting by "feeling". thanks to the powerful motor, it pretty much works great even if you shift to a higher gear and puts the motor at very low RPM.

my question is, what is the "officially recommended" RPM at which you shift up/down ?

with my previous modern stick shift car, I was told to keep the RPM between 2000--3000, and if it goes above, then shift up. but with my FE 360, it seems never able to reach 3000 (very loud already)

Thanks a lot

I shift around 2,200 RPM on my stock '71 F250.

[tnlprt]

somewhere between 6800 and 7200 RPM

[BobbyFord]

somewhere between 6800 and 7200 RPM

[tnlprt]

I knew you would see the humor in that

It depends on if I am leading or following

[Camper Special]

I dont think any of the bumps ever came with a tach...? I have always shifted by sound or feel in any standard tranny.
my only car that did have a tach, I never looked at it.

[Madman]

It depends, if I am around someone in a Prius, I hold the gear longer just to annoy them!

[tqwrench]

Madman -- too funny. I have a couple of Olds Diesel equipped cars and just love to bury those Pius (Prius) drivers in COAL. Oddly enough, I spent 3 years looking for a nice 6.9L IDI F250 and kept striking out (so many ether babies out there). That's how I found my bump. A little window popped up in eBay while I was searching. Rest is history. Love my truck. Still would like an oil burner. One of these days...

As for the original poster's question, I learned how to drive stick on a '74 F350 390 dump truck, so I drive nearly everything stick shift that way until I get used to it. Generally speaking, you want to shift early enough for economy but late enough so you don't lug the engine. Lugging an engine is hell on main bearings, combustion pressures skyrocket. You're nearly always better letting it wind out (a little) rather than to lug the engine. Now that's relative with this engine, it was made for low-end oomph. My 69 F250 390 2V has a C6 automatic so, I can't give you a number, but it shifts up to 3rd pretty darn quickly. It also has a 3.73:1 ratio and the benefit of a torque converter.

[Nitekruizer]

When I had my T-85N in my truck, I used to shift at 2000-2200 rpm (according to my tach) when I was just out for a drive, cruisin' or when the box was empty. If I was carrying a load or having some "fun", I would run the rpms higher before shifting.

My truck has 3.54:1 gears.

The trans that's in my truck now has a 1:1 ratio in 3rd, just like the T-85N, and the OD ratios are similar, so I think my shiftpoints should still be about the same rpm as before.