I've never seen anyone mention this so it just be me. 1st gear seems so low to me that a fast start from a standstill seems to be less than it could be as 1st ends up being wound out almost immediatley. 2nd seems to high to use from a standstill. Any thoughts other than hurry up and shift?

 

You must be new to driving a manual. In order to get a fast start in first gear, you need to rev the engine before releasing the clutch.

Try revving the engine to 1500 to 2000 rpm while at a light, THEN release the clutch normally. For really fast starts, you need to rev higher then DUMP the clutch. However, the latter method is not recommended as you will fry your clutch and tranny quickly if you constantly do it.

 

Thanks for the reply, actually I've been shifting cars and motorcycles for the last 30 years so it's not something I'm unfamiliar with. The concept of building the revs before releasing the clutch is pretty much a no brainer, and is not really what I was referring to, possibly my question was posed poorly. What I was trying to say is that 1st gear seems to rev extremely quickly and the need to shift to 2nd is immediate. So much so that a high revving start in 2nd almost seems possible but not quite. In other words, I was wondering if anyone has had any luck with a high revved 2nd gear launch?

Maybe it was my use of the word "start" rather than "launch" that was confusing since I'm referring to "fast" start

 

I agree, 1st gear is short, 2nd gear is extremely short. the rest are ok.

These ratios would be perfect if the car could rev 500 - 1000 rpm more.

 

[Insert our Nissan Performance chip that we have been promised here]

 

Yes, I agree about 1st gear, though I find 2nd is fine.

This is my 7th Z, and I owned my last one the longest...a 300ZX. I'm still redlining 1st gear WAY too often as it just gets up there so much faster than the 300 did. Still have to get used to it I guess.