360 driving and shifting questions

1. For around town I've found that the sweet spot for shifting is around 4K rpm

2.Prevailing wisdom seems to be do not let the car sit and warm up. Drive gently until the oil has warmed up, then all bets off.

3. The car downshifts automatically all the time. You can let it do it's thing, or you could manually downshift. Some folks shift to neutral as they approach a traffic light, others leave it in gear. One thing though, at a stop light maintain pressure on the brake pedal or the car will beep and pop into neutral, a safety feature.

4. Personally I leave the car in gear with foot on the brake.

Harm? Do your best to not drive in reverse up a hill. That will increase clutch wear.

Of utmost importance: as a new owner, you must post pics. Congrats!

 

I agree with Bob. I will add that the engine has an 8700 rpm redline, so even shifting at 5k or 6k is not stressing it. You should warm it up by driving gently at first. There is a LOT of oil to get warm, so be patient and watch your gauges. I have a stick, so always go to neutral. I’ll defer to the F1 people about how best to treat that transmission, but you definitely want to minimize using reverse. On an F1, the clutch never fully engages in reverse, so it’s a lot of wear, especially if backing uphill. Congrats!


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Something I forgot to add. You can use the paddle shifters or leave the car in automatic. I'd guess most folks on here use the paddles. I've found automatic mode to be ridiculous. That mode shifts into 6th gear at 30 mph, im probably stretching things a bit but you get the idea.
You'll see little up arrows on the gear display, they are the recommended shift points for that particular gear. They stay for a while and then disappear. Ignore them.
The car starts off in auto mode. You can either push the auto button to start using the paddles. Or the first time you pull a paddle the car will automatically stop auto mode.

 

Best advice is to just drive her like a three pedal with one pedal missing and do whatever you do with three pedals. Mine never downshifts automatically because I either put her in neutral or downshift using the paddles. If coasting in neutral and traffic starts moving, hitting either the upshift or downshift paddle will get her into a gear. That gear will usually be too high for comfortable acceleration so I use the downshift paddle to get a gear so I can make a near immediate downshift to get a usable gear. I coast to a stop in neutral, just like I do with 3 pedals and leave it there until the light changes. Taking your foot off the brake pedal while stopped means she will not go back into gear until the brake pedal is depressed. Most drivers learn that the hard way.

Note that in neutral with F1 the clutch is always open, even when stopped, so you are not saving the T/O bearing like in a 3 pedal. The bearing is a constant contact one, at any rate, even with the clutch closed.

As you can see, techniques vary. The clutch will lock up in reverse, just like in any other gear, but reverse is so high we rarely ever see it while parking or getting out of the garage.

 

Remember these cars are basically race bred engines in a road going version car. They are robust and the electronics protect you (usually) from any seriously bad mistakes you may make while shifting or driving. But with that said, these cars are very powerful and can get away from you if you are not totally in tune and comfortable with being in the driver's seat. I have driven my 911s on the track but still did not "floor" the accelerator in my 360 for over a month until I got to the level of understanding the handling and nuances of the car.
These cars are meant to be driven. I will from time to time on a drive find a "safe" place to run up to the red line before shifting into the next gear. Perfectly fine ONCE the engine oil reaches about 150 degrees (as described in the owners manual). When I return to my garage I always lift the rear engine deck lid to relieve the heat build up. I have to believe it helps to extend the life of the rubber and other heat sensitive components.

Probably the most important thing you can do is read the owner's manual (before you take possession of the car). I believe you can access it online. I've read mine more than once. Very important to understand this car, how to drive it, what's OK, and what not to do. Proper procedures for shutting the car off as well as how to drive it are all in the manual.

While some here say they downshift into first gear on a roll or higher RPMs I don't see the need for it and I believe 1st gear is way to low a gear to do that with--- the engine has plenty of low end torque in second to handle most slow roll situations. Downshifting into 1st on a roll and more has to stress the sycros and other components IMO.

I always had stick shift cars. After a while you will find the sweet spots to taking off cold, hot, and the down shift points and you will be as comfortable as you were with the stick cars. Just understand that the transmission in the F1 is exactly the same one in a stick car. There is no Torque Converter so it will behave differently than any other automatic transmission you may have had in the past.

I never have used the auto button. I have never seen the purpose of it. As a paddle shift, how much more simpler could it be.

You are going to love your car. They are spectacular street cars. Get to know it well and you will be duly impressed. Congrats bro!

 

My previous 360 6-speed was gently driven until warmed-up. Once warm, I would tend to shift between 4-5K. On track, I wouldn't shift until >8K. Enjoyed that car for 13 years and 15K miles (it had 34K on the ODO when I sold it). Never had any clutch issues. These cars are meant to be driven. Just be sure and stay current on maintenance.

 

Use care when accelerating hard.... even though it has traction control..... I'm still able to get very sideways under certain circumstances..... (loose road mat'l, moisture, etc...)...... it might be time for new tires.

Enjoy in good health!