560 SL - First Gear Start
 

Is there a modification to make the transmission automatically start in first gear other than to manually move the shifter to first? If there is such a kit, what are the pros and cons of this modification?

Just floor it! That will put it in 1st gear. Other than that why would you want to start in 1st? 2nd works just fine for normal driving.

There is a rapid way to start in 1st: From a stop, bring the shift lever all the way down and push to the right to snap into"B" position. Now hit the gas, when your head bounces back from the headrest, snap the lever to the left and it goes into 2nd. From there, immediately bring it to "D",where it will shift to 3rd, then 4th. Not as tramatic on the tranny as flooring the pedal after start, which goes 2, to 1, 2, 3, 4. Anyway, the rabbit starts are fun once in a while, but probably harsh on the transmission over time?

This has come up quite often. Yes, you can buy or build a simple electronic circuit to have the transmission start in 1st. Do a seach on first gear start or bergwerks.

Bergwerks unfortunately closed their doors a long time ago. There is a company in the U.K. that sells them now though.

http://www.fgsswitch.com/