80 in third!!!!! holy crap... i dont even like to do that in 4th gear!!!! normally my shift points are at
1st gear shift at 12mph
2nd gear shift at 28 mph
3rd gear shift at 43 mph
4th gear shift at 60mph
give or take a 2mph on each
if im runnin that low of rpm is that bad for the motor... is it better then revin it up alot? and if i keep shifting at lower rpms will it increase the life of the motor or decrease?

 

No, running at low RPM is not bad for the motor at all. I'm just telling you how high you CAN run it. Unless you modify the computer, it has a rev limiter anyway, you can't run it past redline. I have yet to hit the limiter, I think it's set around 5400 or so. Common sense says to rev it that high only when you need to - the capability IS there when you need it.

If you are pulling a trailer and short shift it at those speeds you indicate, I can totally understand why you think a 4.2 can't tow worth a crap. You need to learn how to make a manual transmission work FOR you, not against you. If you have 3.55 gears and stock tires, if you want MAXIMUM acceleration (i.e. FLOORED) shift to 2nd at 30, 3rd at 50-55, and 4th at 80. Those shift points will be right around the same RPM's where an automatic will shift for itself if you floor it.

However, if your engine has a ton of miles on it and it's never been treated this way, there is an element of risk involved due to engine wear patterns. I bought mine with 55k on it, and have no idea how the original owner treated it. I do not rev that high on a daily basis, but I do when I NEED the acceleration. So far, no problems, I have 94k on it now and it burns a quart of oil about every 7k.

 

ok thanks. but i said those shift points for a normal shift... i have a heavy foot... and when i do floor it which is quite a bit but not alot if you know what i mean... and i shift at exactly what you just said...
when i floor it i shift at
1st shift (into 2nd)at 15mph
2nd shift (into 3rd) at 32mph
3rd shift (into 4th) at 54mph
4th shift (into 5th) at 73mph
and thats when i am racing somebody...
and i do know how to make a manual work for me (as you say) dad had a 7.3L powerstroke about 2 years ago... it had a 6 speed manual... i pulled alot of stuff with it... and trust me i know how to make a manual work the way it should... u prly dnt think so becasue i am just kid... but i have done ALOT of pulling even though i am young... any weight from 1000 lb trailer to 23,000lb camper. and have always had a manual... so anyway... im in school so i better get goin... l8tr

 

1st to 20
2nd to 58
3rd to 88

Thats race mode

 

And that's why you will get stomped in any race you get into. You can NOT treat a gas engine like a diesel, they make power totally differently.

When you have been driving a manual for over 40 years and grow up a bit, you just might understand what I'm talking about.

04, I think you are shifting out of 1st a bit early - and pushing 2nd and 3rd a bit too far (unless you have 3.08's or some heavy mods).

 

A tuner, 200 more rpms, CAI, headers, e-fans, 3.55's, and some exhaust mods, nothing major. Hopefully I'll get my windstar intake on to give it a little more hi end power. this exhaust that went on put all this low end back in and my 3rd gear run is suffering big time.


Now that I think of it 1st is around 30. I haven't really driven my truck to hard from first lately. usually wait till I get in second.

 

30 sounds a lot more like what it should be. That's around 5000 to 5200 in 1st with 3.55's and stock tires.

 

I treat mine like that too... I never get it going beyond 1,800 rpms... I think it will make the truck last longer... maybe.

Not too sure on the carbon buildup... but whatever.

Like I said, I think the hardest I drove it was 2,300 rpms... but that was like 8 months ago... Most of the time, it's around the 1,800 rpm range. I tend to keep it even lower when towing trailers...

I also like driving around in 5th doing 25 mph at like 800 rpms up hills...

 

That's all fine - but the discussion has now turned to racing, which I doubt you will ever do with your truck. Towing trailers at low RPM's is also fine, but I also know you don't have unreasonable expectations.

 

I love doin that. Especially with straight duals... almost sounds like I have a j-brake once I go down the other side.

 

That doesn't make any sense. If anything your truck should go quiet, not get louder. your truck is going from straining to get up a hit in 5th to not doing anything at all, but coasting. It would make your so called jake brake noise if you were going down a hill in 2nd or first.


Anything under 30 with 3.55 gears and in 5th the truck is struggling to move when the gas is applied. 30 on a flat surface is the lowest I can go without the truck vibrating to hell.

 

I can get mine down to between 20 and 25 without vibes in 5th.

 

ok??? but what is the point of this??? there isnt one... one question y wuld u want to lug the motor so much all the time ManualF150??? that cant be good for it... i wouldent think anyway. no offense glc but u are making me look dumb here... u dnt think i no the gas engine makes its power totally diffrent? im sure u do think i need to grow up a bit... but dnt give me a hard time cause im young... i no for a fact that u no more about gas then i do and im not douting that... but i do no that im not dumb when it comes to the diffrence between a gas and a diesel... and please dnt tell me to grow up... im 17years old... have a A- average in school... and im polite... but maybe u dnt think so... i dont know... i dont care really... just plz dnt tell me to grow up any more... i might be a kid... but i am moer mature then most my age.

 

4.2L is right. he acts a HELL lot more mature than Stompthechevy, if everyone remembers him...

 

thank you bro!