GenVibe - Community for Pontiac Vibe Enthusiasts

I Just bought a 2003 GT and I love it. I am, however, having trouble being efficient/quick starting out in first gear. I seem to rev the engine too much. Is this something that I will get the hang of after a little more driving or is there a little trick I need to learn. If anyone can offer some advice to help speed up my learnig curve I would appreciate it.

Well, with my 2003 GT I usually just try to slip the clutch as little as possible. When starting in first, my revs don't go beyond 2k rpm. That makes it slow initially, but once the transmission is fully engaged and the clutch is out, I mash the pedal if I want to go fast. This will extend the life of our weak clutches, but if you don't care and want to go faster, rev the engine up to about 4k rpm and then drop the clutch. You'll get some wheel spin, then it will grab, and before you know it you'll be in lift and going beyond the speed limit! I've only launched like that probably 4-5 times since I got mine in May of 2002. After reading all the clutches going out early, I'm being careful. It takes some getting used to, most people tend to slip my clutch when they drive it, including mechanics. Once you are used to it, you can treat it almost as an on/off switch and rarely slip it.Welcome to the site and enjoy lift in your GT!

I concur with justin. If you dont have a good clutch and sticky tires it is either bog in low gear or blow the tires off.

Well I have a manual 5spd (base Vibe) and find burping the throttle when staging works very well. Basicly I rev to 2k, step off the gas and let it idle down, rev up again at 2k. when ready to go, I step off the gas very briefly when releasing the clutch (RPM is already around 2k which gets rid of the bog down) and then as the clutch is almost fully engaged I floor it.

Just keap in mind that our clutch is quite different from most cars. Our clutch truly doesn't engage until you have practically lifted your foot all the way up. So naturally you will have some slipping when first learning it, but once you find that spot, you should be fine with it. And like what JustinVGT said, try to maintain the weak clutch as much as possible. It has a bad rep. of going out super early.

when i had my vibe gt, i remember finding that "sweet" spot where the clutch would let go. i'd rev it up a bit, adding gas and letting off the throttle a little and as soon as the light (green) would change, i'd take my foot off the clutch (only just a little because i knew the breaking point) and let it fly. if i remember correctly, i'd rev it up to about 4500 rpms.

Quote, originally posted by trdvibe »when i had my vibe gt, i remember finding that "sweet" spot where the clutch would let go. i'd rev it up a bit, adding gas and letting off the throttle a little and as soon as the light (green) would change, i'd take my foot off the clutch (only just a little because i knew the breaking point) and let it fly. if i remember correctly, i'd rev it up to about 4500 rpms.Hope, would you dump the clutch completely? As in, from the floor and then all the way up as fast as possible. Or would you kinda feather the clutch up a bit. As in, engaging it rather slowly and maybe letting it slip a bit.Because I've tried holding the revs at around 3,500 or so and if I just dump the clutch, I spin my tires pretty bad.

wheel hop/spin is easy to do with a Vibe... GT or otherwise and I doubt my clutch or axles appreciate it to much lol.

Quote, originally posted by Mavrik »wheel hop/spin is easy to do with a Vibe... GT or otherwise and I doubt my clutch or axles appreciate it to much lol.lol, I could imagine.

Quote, originally posted by tcam »Hope, would you dump the clutch completely? As in, from the floor and then all the way up as fast as possible. Or would you kinda feather the clutch up a bit. As in, engaging it rather slowly and maybe letting it slip a bit.Because I've tried holding the revs at around 3,500 or so and if I just dump the clutch, I spin my tires pretty bad. no, i could not dump the clutch or i'd be in the other lane just from the wheel hop and torque steer! especially after i had the CAI and unichip, it got even worse (imo). like i was saying, I'd get the clutch just to the breaking point so all i needed to do was let it off just a little (to reduce wheel hop) and after i got moving a bit then i'd dump the clutch. it's been a while, so hard to really remember.

Quote, originally posted by trdvibe »like i was saying, I'd get the clutch just to the breaking point so all i needed to do was let it off just a little (to reduce wheel hop) and after i got moving a bit then i'd dump the clutch. it's been a while, so hard to really remember. That is what I currently do, but only when I'm racing cuz of all the grinding on the release-bearing in the transmision when you hold the clutch part-way out.And I also think this is the most efficient launch, but I was just curious if anyone truly dumped the clutch. But I agree with what u were saying. There's jut too much torque steer and tire spin that goes on when u do that. thnx for your advice

well, ya, i don't recommend doing this every time you drive your car! LOL just when i was trying to launch for fun.