As I've mentioned elsewhere, I learned how to drive a stick on my way back from getting my 1995 NSX last week. I'm doing all right from 2nd on up but I still feel like I totally suck starting up in 1st gear. I've stopped stalling the darn thing and can do the parking-brake-on-a-hill trick, but I'm not happy with the actual transition to moving from stopped.
I can get off to a start in one of two ways, neither seeming appropriate. Both assume I have some revs (like 1500-2000, I think) when I reach the friction point and then add more on when I move toward full engagement.
1) Let the clutch engage fairly quickly, slowed only enough to avoid a total lurch. This does, however, still make the tires go "erk" and doesn't seem like a great idea for tire life. I could also spit small rocks out at the car behind me, which wouldn't be nice. It also reportedly stresses my passenger.
2) Let the clutch engage much more slowly (feather it, I think you call it) over maybe half of a second to a full second to gently get the car rolling, while I'm gently adding revs. This doesn't seem like a good idea for clutch life, but if I do this any faster I get a sort of double-shudder (accompanied by a couple of blinks of the TCS light) before I get smoother movement.
I guess the question is: Am I still doing something wrong, or is this really what I'm limited to? Seems like any attempt to optimize either method results in more shuddering and/or lurching. I'd twiddled with the amount of gas I'm giving at the friction point, how much gas I add as I hit the point and move past it, how fast I move from friction to full engagement, etc.
Any ideas?
PS: I must admit, aside from the above, manual shifting can be a lot of fun.
I can get off to a start in one of two ways, neither seeming appropriate. Both assume I have some revs (like 1500-2000, I think) when I reach the friction point and then add more on when I move toward full engagement.
1) Let the clutch engage fairly quickly, slowed only enough to avoid a total lurch. This does, however, still make the tires go "erk" and doesn't seem like a great idea for tire life. I could also spit small rocks out at the car behind me, which wouldn't be nice. It also reportedly stresses my passenger.
2) Let the clutch engage much more slowly (feather it, I think you call it) over maybe half of a second to a full second to gently get the car rolling, while I'm gently adding revs. This doesn't seem like a good idea for clutch life, but if I do this any faster I get a sort of double-shudder (accompanied by a couple of blinks of the TCS light) before I get smoother movement.
I guess the question is: Am I still doing something wrong, or is this really what I'm limited to? Seems like any attempt to optimize either method results in more shuddering and/or lurching. I'd twiddled with the amount of gas I'm giving at the friction point, how much gas I add as I hit the point and move past it, how fast I move from friction to full engagement, etc.
Any ideas?
PS: I must admit, aside from the above, manual shifting can be a lot of fun.