Manual Tranny Question

I got a 6 speed manual, sometimes from a dead stop I start in 2nd gear because 1st gear is so short, will this cause damage to my clutch or anything like that, or is it not a big deal?

 

The thing that wears out a clutch more than anything else is starting off from a dead stop. That requires the greatest amount of gas and the slowest release of the clutch pedal. That combination is what's most damaging to your clutch. Starting off in second gear means you have to compensate by giving the engine even more gas and letting your foot off the clutch even more slowly than you would when starting from first gear. This puts more stress on the clutch, consequently resulting in it wearing out faster than normal.

The lower gearing isn't there just to make you accelerate faster, it's also necessary in order to put less stress on your drive train when taking off.

Compensate for the lower than usual first gear by simply upshifting to second faster and earlier. It doesn't take long to get used to and helps save you money and time at the repair shop in the long run.

 

how bout going from 2nd to 4th gear? i sometimes skip over 3rd... my previous taco i started doing that cuz the clutch was starting to wear. i fugured the less i stepped on the clutch the better. now, its kinda just a habit.

 

I just use 1st to get her rolling, then shift to 2nd. gas mileage is a little better than if I try it from second as well.

 

I sometimes do the same thing. As long as you ensure that you're going fast enough as to not bog the engine, you're ok. Being in too high a gear though for your speed will overload the engine's valvetrain components, cause premature wear and could cause damage. Nice thing about rolling along is that you can quickly push the clutch in and correct it in case you mis-judge a shift point.

 

k, thanks for the info.