Giong into 5th and 6th gear. 2000 360 6spd.

This is not a knock but, you should not be going fast enough to shift into 5th or 6th on a cold start. This is not good. You need to drive until the oil temp gauge begins to move at least. I believe your car is trying to tell you something. If you're in 5th or 6th I hope you're going at least 80mph or better.

 

I can't imaging lugging the engine on a 360 at say 3-4000 RPMs in 5th gear. Isn't that better than doing that speed at 6000 RPMs on a cold car? Or does one not drive on a highway for 15 minutes in a 360??

Even my little cheese box can cruise just fine in top gear at 3000 RPMs with 1/4th the horsepower of a 360, which is what I do when it's cold. If I need to speed up I'll drop down a gear.

I'm of the opinion the biggest danger to a cold car is overrun. That's where things break. Half the red line speed should be fine for a cold car in any gear as long as you're not trying to speed up fast.

Ken

 

360s don't like to be lugged anytime. Highway around here means going 70mph or better or you get runover. No matter which of my cars I am driving, I like to get them (and all their components) up to operating temperature before fast acceleration or running at sustained highway speeds. Tolerances are meant to be met at optemp. I believe that. If I am wrong, I am absolutely willing to listen. Very best.

 

Well my opinion varies on this somewhat. 3K is not lugging in 5th or 6th.

In my stick 360 (old) and my F1 CS (current), I happilly use 5th gear whilst warming up from about 2K rpm (about 40mph in 5th). In the stick it should slot 5th pretty much no problem even when stone cold. All the gears like to be treated gently from cold. There has been talk about 2nd being obstructive when cold and the old "miss it out till warm". Having had a 308 where you really couldn't use 2nd until it was warm, I'd personally say that the 360 does not exhibit this behaviour.

It is a very mechanical feeling gearbox, and if you've ever learned about double declutching and rev synchronization, then you can feel what's going on in it very nicely. IMO its all about shifting and matching revs (both going up and down gears).

FWIW, one thing you need to experience is the shift from 5th to 6th at 8500 rpm - this occurs somewhere right around 155-160 mph.

 

Some people think we are still stuck in an era where we are still dealing with poorly adjusted carburettors and need to keep the RPM above 5,000 to prevent spark plug fouling.

They have not heard of the modern engine management system.

 

Indeed!!!

 

I have a 2000 360 6 speed with 18k on it and my car has no problems with 5th or 6th gear at any temperature. It is notchy going into second until it is warmed up but no other gear problems. I make a point of not revving above 4k until the oil is up to temperature.