Here you go man, try this:

**** at 3k

dont jerk of the gas, let it take about .75sec to fully get off the gas

then clutch and shift

that's seems to give me a really smooth ride w/ out reving up too much. I hope this helps. It's funny. I mastered this early b/c somebody i was riding w/ called me a bad stick driver just b/c my 1-2 shift was jerky. After i kicked at person's *** out of the car i promptly experimented to see what works best.

 

If you take 3/4th of a second to get off the gas without clutching, you're going to use the wheels to slow the engine down.

You need to rev up to your 3k, push in the clutch pedal, switch to 2nd, and GET ON THE GAS A BIT when letting out the clutch.. this will provide for a match of the RPMs and won't jerk your ride.

 

Dude, your car must smell horrid.

 

you have no idea .

 

My problem is starting smoothly from a stop in first. All of my previous manual cars were wimpy little 4-bangers and the amount of torque and HP is taking a little getting used to. It's a nice problem to have. Any tips on a smooth takeoff would be appreciated. All the other shifting once rolling is nice and smooth.

 

Yeah, I had trouble making a smooth start in first when I first picked up the car (the salesmen's faces where priceless). Thankfully I got it down pretty much the next day...and perfected it about a month later. Don't get on the gass early, the VQ has gobs of torque down low, you only need the tiniest bit of throttle to get her going. Only bring the gas pedal into play when the clutch is about to fully catch.

Also, getting back on the throttle a tad earlier and more gradual is a nice trick I learned with the car for any gear...it likes to be shifted this way (at least i think )