I'm fairly new to manual transmissions (they rock! ) But have had a couple of friends suggest that I should never use 1st gear unless absolutely necesarry.....My friend for example starts from a dead stop in 2nd gear just to avoid using 1st....Is there any benefit to this? Are these people nuts?

I mean I dont use first ever really except starting from a standstill but he inists that even that is bad - can anyone chime in here and clarify this once and for all?

 

Never heard anything like that before. Ever.

I do know that starting from a dead stop from second will wear your clutch out if you fan it while accelerating. :pat:

 

yeah well thats what I figured - becuase I know when I start from second like he was doing you cant just let the clutch right out you ahve to give it gas and ride it a little longer than normal - I figured that cant be good for the clutch at all.

 

I have pulled out in 2nd if Im facing down hill but never just to not use 1st. I do often shift from 1st into 3rd to avoid using 2nd if Im just pulling out nice and slow but to not use 1st to get a heavy truck rolling is not good for the clutch at all. Do not listen to him he does not know what he is talking about un less he drives an old Ford with the granny gear 1st then I may see where he is coming from but that would be about the only reason I could see any one not using 1st! just my .02

 

I forgot to mention that when I do pull out in 2nd down hill its a steep hill in my light Mazda MX5 not my truck since its an auto!

 

ahhhhhhh! thats what he learned on an old ford! It was a work truck and the guy told him - "never use 1st gear!" so hes taken that as gospel ever since! AHA!

 

You need to tell him that he is killing his clutch and probably lugging his engine at low rpms pulling out in 2nd! My buddies old F250 had a super low 1st gear that was there just to get the wheels turning when loaded or pulling something, in that case you would use your 2nd as your 1st because it would be pretty much the same ratio as a truck without the granny gear. But a Toyota is totally different

 

yeah can you do any damage by pulling out at low (under 1000) rpms in second?

 

This theory is bunk. I agree it only applies on really heavy trucks that are geared so low that 2nd still does have the oomph to move it from a stop. I would only start from second if I were parked on a steep downhill, but that happens so infrequently I have to say I always start from 1st.

Yeah, be careful, your engine will not appreciate starting from 2nd all the time.

 

Nah, you don't need it, just rip it out and throw it away. Rip your clutch out while you are at it, tear a hole in the floor pan and Fred Flintstone it!

 

The old ford I had to drive on occasion years ago had a first gear that was really low as mentioned above but it was also a synchroless gear, basically the same as a reverse gear that way.

 

synchroless?

 

Meaning = No synchro or synchro free.

 

Yeah, this generally just applies to trucks equipped with a granny first. Like the NV 4500 and 5600, the SM420/465, T-18, ect. For those, first gear is between 5:1 and 7:1, and these are only used for getting heavy loads started or crawling. These transmissions 2nd gear is about the equivilent of your 1st. Driving arround normally, the really low 1st gear winds out extremely fast, and usually has no synchro.

So to answer your question, no. It is fine to use 1st gear, that is what it is there for. Its fine to use it in a granny equipped trans as well, but its a PITA.

 

At work, we had an 83 Ford 1-ton with a 4 spd. What I mean by 4 spd is more like 2. First gear, when empty, got a person from 0 to 1 mph and then it was time for second.

That truck would take off empty in 3rd gear. Pull 4th at 35 and that was all the shifting there was.

So the moral of the story, use first gear. Your truck is not geared anywhere near that low to merit skipping first.

 

Even with the old fords, there's no reason not to use first. Mt dad's '85 F-250 diesel could start from third, but we always used first gear and never had probs (250k miles).

 

1st gear is my new best friend

 

Not only will it wear out your clutch prematurely, but lugging the engine that way is not good for the engine either. Use all the gears, that's what they are for.

The modern 5 speed is not geared like the old work truck trannys with a granny first gear - those would start in second (when you weren't heavily loaded) just fine and that's how they were normally driven. There hasn't been a trans with that Super-Low first gear in decades.

 

Yup, pure caca de toro. You really need to use first in Toyota trucks unless you have spent a load of cash on an Aussie 5sp for your Landcruiser with a low range gear kit in it. Then you maybe could get away with starting in 2nd.
And, uh, guys what's with all this "old trucks, old Fords..." from the 80's?!! 80's isn't old! I'm not that old and I learned to drive a stick on my '64 Chevy pickup and spent my first couple summers of roofing driving a '50 Chevy pickup. I also wound up driving a number of different dumptrucks and stake beds and there were a couple of them that wouldn't get to moving starting in second even empty. It all depends on what gears you have in the tranny, rear end, tire size, etc., but for these 5sp Toys especially, 1st is a must, just don't run the crap out of it as it will wind your motor up faster than any other gear.
I'm going to go wash the gray out of my beard now...

 

LOL, I'm with you on the gray thing.... I too learned to drive a stick in a 64 Chevy, and it was only a few years old at the time... of course we didn't think of it as learning to drive a stick - most vehicles had manuals then, it was just learning to drive. Our family car had a 3 on the tree as did the pickup. I am always amazed at how many people I know who have never driven a manual. Shame.