Hi everyone i am just learning to drive standard in the S and i am doing pretty well, except recently been having problems with starting in first gear from a stop. If i am just doing some calm city driving what rpm should i be at when the clutch is completely out? because it seems better to be a little higher but i feel like i am burning the clutch. I have trouble being smooth at higher revs without feeling like i am destroying the clutch. (in an ap2 if that changes anything)

 

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I would do some searches on YouTube.

 

"Hi everyone i am just learning to drive standard in the S and i am doing pretty well, except recently been having problems with starting in first gear from a stop. If i am just doing some calm city driving what rpm should i be at when the clutch is completely out? because it seems better to be a little higher but i feel like i am burning the clutch. I have trouble being smooth at higher revs without feeling like i am destroying the clutch. (in an ap2 if that changes anything) "

Your post does not make much sense. When you are starting in first gear from a stop you do not need to rev up the car to engage it into gear. You can get the car rolling without any throttle if you just let the clutch out slower. When I start off in the s2000, I am pretty sure my clutch is all the way out by the time I'm at 1500 rpms. It just takes time getting used to, that's all.

When I'm driving in the city my RPM's are at around 3-4.5k. I keep it closer to 4k at all times. I think the car responds better and I have yet to have an issue.

 

When you get good at this, you'll be able to engage first and get the car moving with the rpm never moving of idle because you'll know exactly how much gas to give in relation to the clutch. If I were you, I'd concentrate on learning the clutch and when it starts to pick up, then practice giving gas to keep rpms steady. The other method is to gas up to 2k rpm and then let it drop as you engage the clutch, since you will have more room to figure it out without stalling. I'm not a fan of this method because people tend to rush the process when they start giving it gas and stop focusing on the clutch behavior.

 

I had been driving manuals for about 12 years before picking up my S, and I still had issues starting in 1st gear smoothly sometimes. Seems that the s2000 is a little finicky, or maybe it was just mine.

When I was tought to drive at a young age, my father told me to use the method above. Learn how to get the car rolling without adding any throttle.

 

Your post is a little confusing, because you seem to be ambiguous whether you are talking about starting in first gear, or just driving around town (already in gear). Once the clutch is completely engaged and you are in gear driving around, you will not burn up the clutch regardless of what RPM you are in.

From a standstill, I find first gear starts from around 2000-2500rpm to be optimal. This will give you a nice balance of torque off the line without too much clutch slipping. Lower than that and it becomes difficult to really get moving (increased propensity to bog down) and much faster than that and tend to surge off the line or have excessive clutch slip.

 

I usually will be going 4-5 mph before Im fully off the clutch in 1st on flat ground

 

more practice and patience, less thinking

 

As long as the car is rolling you won't stall. I personally try to let go of the clutch before the rpm hits 1,500.

Obviously it's different for everyone, but don't worry, the clutch isn't made of tofu...2,000 rpm won't break it.

 

Every stick shift is a new adventure. I find the s2000 some what difficult to stall. The engine computer seems to increase the idle speed to compensate for the initial clutch engagement. In any other car, I'd be that much closer to stalling. Of course this only happens if you're engaging the clutch slowly enough. The whole drivetrain tends to rattle like crazy if you're nearing a stall, too.

It's not a science. I tend to aim for 1500 revs to get me going. Sometimes the drivetrain rattles as I pull away, sometimes the revs don't move at all for a smooth get away, and sometimes I give it 3-4k revs. If it helps, idling in first gear is 4mph. Clutch slip faster than that I'd consider a launch. The full set of these values might be handy:

Idle speed in X gear:
1st: 4 MPH
2nd: 6 MPH
3rd: 9 MPH
4th: 14 MPH