Manual Transmission Start in 2nd Gear
 

Can anyone give me a good reason not to start my 240D off in 2nd gear on level ground? It takes no more clutch slipping than say, a 1st gear start on a slight hill. That really short run in 1st is eliminated along with the possibility of getting run over from behind when you make the shift.

Opinions?

Well, in the end it's your clutch. Remember to think of 1st as a walking gear. My speedo doesn't register until 10mph, and by that time I'm in second gear and thinking about third.

Manual for my 409d explicity states to start in 2nd gear unless on a hill or other similar circumstance.

Seems like you would miss out on 1/3 of the fun of shifting.

I used to start my cars in second for the hell of it from time to time. It's great in low traction situations, but it does take some more clutch work. I've even started in third just to see if I could do it. And, I did... In Europe, its common for them to pull a hard first, then go right to third, though, some have their own opinions of this.

My opinion is that you're shifting out of first too early. Are you shifting by the dots on the speedometer? When you do, it sounds like the pistons are going to fly through the hood. But that's how to get the best performace from these things.

I've started mine in first, stay with second gear or higher starts. The stress isn't on the clutch but the driveline, its really rough on the u-joints and differential.

And push starting a diesel on ice won't work.

LOL - Good one! :D

I think that the biggest problem is that drivers around here aren't expecting a car to accelerate to 10-12 mph, stop accelerating for a second or so and then resume acceleration.

Even with a smooth 1 -> 2 shift, that brief pause puts the car behind you right on your bumper.

Starting in 2nd, you get a smooth acceleration and, with the off-idle torque of the engines you can practically let the clutch straight out, mash the throttle and go.

Most definitely a hardship; sacrifices must be made.

Hit the hazard light button before you shift. ;)

But seriously if the 2nd gear start works for you without too much clutch slip, then that's fine. I can't do that with Perfesser Leaky, but it's not running correctly right now anyway.

While I never really tried it in this car, it might actually work. This thing is geared differently than a 123 240D. First gear is really low, and it winds out pretty quickly. I believe the only hazard of a second gear start is that you will occasionally stall it (I did that once or twice even in first gear by letting the clutch up too quickly). When it stalls, the instinctive reaction is to reach up and turn the key. Of course, that won't work on this car, so you end up stalled for a bit longer than necessary.

FWIW, I used to have an International Scout. In that truck, first gear was a creeper, so it was normal to start out in second gear.

I always start in 1st from a dead stop.. 2nd bogs down too much from a dead stop. If I am rolling, even slightly I start in 2nd most of the time.

One has to read Randy's signature carefully to realize he's talking about a W115 240D. I kinda knew that but suspected similar gearing to a W123. Aparently that is not the case.

I would not be surprised if Nell has a 3.56:1 pumpkin back there.

Quote:

When it stalls, the instinctive reaction is to reach up and turn the key. Of course, that won't work on this car, so you end up stalled for a bit longer than necessary.

Yup. It happens exactly like that.


I'll crawl under Nell tonight and see if the ratio is stamped into her pumpkin and, next time I'm out at the parts car, I'll take a peek under there too. It will be interesting to see what, if any difference, there is in the final drive ratios.