348: What's the proper RPM's level to shift gears?

6800

 

When driving around town I shift around 3500-4000 rpm. The 348 seems to like that. I keep it below 3000 when cold.

 

Once the car is warm, I usually shift somewhere around 4500 when I'm just driving normally. If I'm trying to have some fun, I'll shift above 6K.

All the fun (and noise) is up above 5500, IMHO.

-Daniel
90 348ts, test pipes/Ansa, K&N.

 

At anything under 75% of full power, it really doesn't matter what RPM you shift at in terms of gearbox stress and strain. Of greater import is that you shift slowly and deliberately until the box is fully warmed up (about 20 miles).

 

I shift between 3500 and 4000 most of the time just feels right.

 

G Reed tells me to run my 308 up higher. So I have been enjoying running up to 6,500. The car pulls much better up in that hp range and sounds great. the 308 redline is about 7,800 so I still have lots of room to go.

So run her a bit higher from time to time. Let those poneys run free.

 

the redlinde is at 7800 on the 348...when i'm driving normally I change near 4000-4500 otherwise ...7500

 

For spirited driving, I wring the neck out of every gear... Sometimes I get lazy when entering a highway and go straight from third to fifth.
There's plenty of torque so you really don't have to change gears that often even when driving in town.

// Peter

 

When driving casually around, just enjoying the fact that you're driving the finest machine on the road, I usually shift my '94 Spider around 4000. Also, I tend to target 4000-4500 for my throttle blips on downshifting or heel-toeing it.

When attacking the road, redline's the limit. My 348 will take whatever I can throw at it and laugh.

D.

 

Somewhere between BWAAAAAAA and BANG

 

First thing -- the gearbox doesn't care so long as you don't grind gears.

2nd thing - if you want fuel economy, why drive something so beautiful as a 348?

I recently refired my love of real cars with a 348. It had been dormant since I last raced a Ralt RT-5 and Citation Zink Z-16 nearly 25 years ago. But I think the 348 is akin to the race cars of my younger years - it sure felt that way to me, anyway. So here's what I'd do....

To drive on streets... I'd run the engine up to nearly the torque peak, which is around 5k on a 348 (experts can tell me I'm wrong if needed). Then I'd shift. For performance, run it to near the redline for max HP then shift and hope the next level is about the sweet spot on the torque curve. (In racing, you spend a lot of time matching gear ratios to engine curves for each track to get that right, sweet spot).

My original point was the that the gearbox doesn't care. I've had a lot of Hewland boxes, and they seem to say -- just don't miss shift or grind gears. The engine is the thing you're most affecting with **** points. Don't lug it with under rev's and don't torture it with over rev's.

My feel for a 348 (after a few hours of driving one -- simple, I admit) is that they want to be between 3500 and 6500 for simple street driving when they're warm. I'd do that.. in my years of racing, I never blew a gearbox, but have blown 5 engines. So listen to what the engine wants to do, and keep it happy above all else.

 

First thing -- the gearbox doesn't care so long as you don't grind gears.

2nd thing - if you want fuel economy, why drive something so beautiful as a 348?

I recently refired my love of real cars with a 348. It had been dormant since I last raced a Ralt RT-5 and Citation Zink Z-16 nearly 25 years ago. But I think the 348 is akin to the race cars of my younger years - it sure felt that way to me, anyway. So here's what I'd do....

To drive on streets... I'd run the engine up to nearly the torque peak, which is around 5k on a 348 (experts can tell me I'm wrong if needed). Then I'd shift. For performance, run it to near the redline for max HP then shift and hope the next level is about the sweet spot on the torque curve. (In racing, you spend a lot of time matching gear ratios to engine curves for each track to get that right, sweet spot).

My original point was the that the gearbox doesn't care. I've had a lot of Hewland boxes, and they seem to say -- just don't miss shift or grind gears. The engine is the thing you're most affecting with **** points. Don't lug it with under rev's and don't torture it with over rev's.

My feel for a 348 (after a few hours of driving one -- simple, I admit) is that they want to be between 3500 and 6500 for simple street driving when they're warm. I'd do that.. in my years of racing, I never blew a gearbox, but have blown 5 engines. So listen to what the engine wants to do, and keep it happy above all else.