I'd like to understand/learn a bit about the practise of second gear starts on th track - isn't this murder on even uprated clutches?

Diesel's have a really short 1st gear - the 1-2 shift comes way too soon tbh...

Enlighten me please...

Cheers

Bas (in abu Dhabi for a short break....)

The idea is that because 1st is so short, starting in 2nd is quicker because, despite the lag in 2nd it's still quicker as you save a gear change and there's more traction. It will bugger up most clutches though!

Chris

It will bugger up most clutches though!

Certainly did with my "uprated" clutch. Hoping with the new one, I will still be able to do 2nd gear launches, although might try and start in 1st, and quick shift into 2nd early a bit.

When I tried 2nd gear launches, it was simply a case of revving to about 3500rpm, and just letting rip - a steady lift of the clutch - not just a quick release as that would just stall it. I've consistently had 0.5 second quicker 0-60s starting in 2nd, just due to needing one gearchange, not two.

Can't say it's a practice i'd be interested in trying TBH.

Suppose it depends on how you drive it and what mods you make- I had the 1.9 100 TDi for 6 years and 82k miles and always set off in second, no problems at all.....

i managed to pull away in 4th in one of my vans before. never did it again though as the smell was awful!!

saw quite a few people do that when attempting the strip runs before

Yeah, what ScoobyChris said above. Unlike petrol-engined cars, 1st gear in a diesel is a very short gear, primarily just to break the inertia and get the road-wheels turning. HGV and bus drivers (this is where they all jump out of the bushes and beat me up with safety manuals) when facing a downhill start may at times select 2nd gear as gravity takes the place of 1st.

Unless you have an uprated clutch and / or deep pockets, stick with selecting cog no. 1 for normal driving.

I tried a good sprint in a passat PD 140 the other day tanking off in second, didnt work too well! Ha.

Smell was quite bad also.

Yeah, what ScoobyChris said above. Unlike petrol-engined cars, 1st gear in a diesel is a very short gear, primarily just to break the inertia and get the road-wheels turning. HGV and bus drivers (this is where they all jump out of the bushes and beat me up with safety manuals) when facing a downhill start may at times select 2nd gear as gravity takes the place of 1st.

Unless you have an uprated clutch and / or deep pockets, stick with selecting cog no. 1 for normal driving.

going down hill empty i sometimes start in 4th,on the flat empty its 2nd,when loaded 1st 99%of the time:D

you need big power for 2nd gear launches to be quicker tho,mine just seemed to bog down when i tried this technique.