Struggling a bit with 1st gear shift from stop - is it me or the car?

[thstone]

Using higher RPM's is a band-aid and not addressing the root cause.

The most likely problem is that you are generally letting the cluch out in one continuous movement and trying to make ammends using the throttle. This is not the best technique for a smooth start although it will work.

The key to a smooth start is to let the clutch out until the clutch starts to engage, then hold the clutch for just the slightest moment at this point, and then continue letting it out - all while feeding in some throttle.

Holding the clutch for a bit at the point of engagement makes all of the difference and most drivers do this naturally without even thinking or noticing that they do it.

Here is an easy way to learn to learn to do this;

Find a quiet, flat street. With the engine idling, let out the clutch and get the car moving SMOOTHLY without using any throttle. That's it. Do this sucessfully about 10 times and you'll be 10x smoother when using the throttle.

This technique will force you to learn where the clutch engagement point is and how to hold it there in order to get the car moving smoothly. If you move the clutch in one continuous movement, you won't pause at the clutch engagement point and you'll have a jerky start or kill the engine.

Once you have the feel of this technique with no throttle, its a snap to use it with the throttle and you'll be banging off smooth starts without worry.