94 Ford Probe GT Question on Shifting

Hi, I just recieved my probe as a Christmas/Early Birthday present and I'm just curious of when I need to usually shift (manaual of course ^_^). I'm asking this because my dad told me to shift usually between 2k-3k and I let my friend the other day drive it (he knows more about cars than me) and he shifted out of first around 4k-5k. When's the most apporiate time to shift??? Also, when I'm warming up my car, it won't actually put out heat till it gets to a certain RPM...is there something wrong with the heater or what not? Thanks ^_^

Just shift when you feel the car is ready for it. If you shift between 2-3k, the car will feel pretty slow, but you should get pretty good gas milage. If you want to be really sporty, shift at your friend's 4-5k recommendation, but you will tend to waste gas. If you want something in between then 3-4k. I shift between 3-4k in normal driving. It keeps the car peppy and keeps the engine above 2k on the next shift. Anything below 2k on this engine and the engine will lug somewhat.

The 2.5L V6 engine is more of a high revving engine than a V8 which you would shift at ~2-2.5k. The V6 comes alive around 4500 rpm on our tach.

The engine takes a while to heat up (not as long as my old Honda Civic tho'). If you notice that the heater is cold at idle but warms up as the rpm's go up, you should check on your coolant level. It's probably low (look at the other thread in the forum titled "Heat gets cold, Temp guage high & erratic reving ")

If it's not that, then consider a faulty thermostat. If you change that and it's still problematic, think about the water pump.