Im sure the rest of you 6mt owners are also tired of the difficult/inconsistent 1-2 shift. Now i kno a lot of shifting has to do with driver technique, but from what i've read, im not the only one having diffculty smoothing out this shift. So, i was wondering if any of you took off in second gear? I've heard of other cars being able to do it due to their gear ratios, but i haven't been able to find out whether or not the crossfire can do the same without damage to the clutch/transmission. any info?

 

I do it sometimes....It usually helps if its a rolling start.

 

I do the same... if I'm moving at all (heavy traffic stops, red lights turning green, etc.) I keep it in second. First is strictly for dead stops.

 

You can start in any gear you want to start in. I've started my car in third gear from a dead stop. You just have to feather the clutch more.

It makes the take off far smoother because the gear ratio is lower.

I believe that there is a TSB out about the 1st to 2nd gear shifting deal, though. Might want to ask your dealership

 

all true but remember, all that "feathering" is wearing the clutch out faster.

dan

 

I think the owner's manual specifically states not to start in 3rd gear.

 

yea, the farther you go up in the gears, depending on how much of that clutch you're willing to invest, you can put a whole bunch of torque on the drive-train and really, really bad things can happen. second can be ok, especially in slick conditions.

dan

 

Hope so... since that's what setting the W/S switch on the auto into the W position does.

 

I was one of the posters about the notchy 1-2 shift. 1500 miles later, I rarely even think about it. You have to train yourself not to get carried away by the awesome sound of high RPMs in 1st, keep 1st Real Short. It becomes unconscious like anything else. To the extent it doesn't -- well, higher driver involvement is one of the reasons you get a manual, ain't it?

I don't know if any stats are kept but I feel that altho it takes more coordination, a manual is safer because you are always conscious of momentum, the weight of your machine, the engine and road speed, and you have to anticipate conditions ahead more in order to avoid burning fuel and brakes like crazy.

I probably start from 2nd about half the time, with absolutely no problem, but you have to respect the greater torque on the engine, not push it.

 

ditto when manually shifting the auto...

 

[quote="David Burns"]quote]

I'm on board too. I use first like a granny gear on a U Haul

 

AHHH! Heresy! First is where all the fun starts!

 

90% of the time I start out in second. Unless I'm going uphill. I only use 1st with traction control off when making u-turns

 

yep...try that on a front-wheel drive vehicle. or one with low torque.

i haven't tried it yet but i assume the emergency brake only grabs the front wheels which means that. with a little practice, it should do a 1-lane 180. anybody play with that one yet???


dan

 

E-brake only holds rear wheels on any vehicle. On a FWD car, pulling the e-brake and popping the clutch will only cause the front to spin. I did this to heat up tires on my old eclipse at the strip.

To do a nice 180, get the car up to about 20mph plus and with a combo turn / e brake, the car will spin around. Even more fun in the rain, empty parking lots, and no cars.

RWD, just turn and give it some gas. I dont' do this often as the crossfire rear tires are $$$$.

 

I've been doing to thinking about whether to skip 2nd gear or 3rd gear on [fast acceleration] the way up to 40 mph.

My last car had only five gears so I didn't mind moving up all the gears but three changes to get to 40 is a lot.

The consensus here seems to be to skip 1st gear. But from a complete stop (stoplight, for instance)?

 

I personally don't like the way the car launches in 2nd. But then, my previous Wrangler was pretty low-geared in first, too, so I'm used to shifting out of it quick.

I really don't have a problem doing it the "normal" way.

 

What about going from 1st, to 2nd, to 4th, to 6th. Is there any danger in skipping over the gears like this? This is how I usually drive it since you can get such high RPMs.

My last auto (the one I traded in for the Crossfire) was a Jeep Wrangler, and because it had to work for its power, I always went through all of the 5 gears.

To keep to the thread, I only use first for dead stops, second for rolling stops, 3rd to go around corners.

Thanks for any info! :wink: