1. 1-2 shift took me about a year before I really had it down on my first manual, a 2012 MK6 GTI. It really is a matter of going slow, but not just “going slow.” Specifically with the 1-2 shift, there’s an exaggerated delayed motion at the bite point. Shift around 3K and ease off to the bite point and hold for .5 seconds, then ease off for another .5 seconds to fully-engaged. If you follow the exact steps above, and practice, you’ll get it down.
2. This is ultimately a matter of experience, though even with 7 years manual experience, I noticed a drastic improvement in the overall ease of taking off after I deleted the CDV via the ECS bleeder block. That, a Dogbone upgrade, and a clutch stop + removing clutch return spring costs a combined ~$300 or less and drastically improves ease and comfort of operation.
3. If you live somewhere where it’s as low as 7 degrees out when you turn the car on for a cold-start, do 2 things:
1. Let your engine’s cold-start idle do it’s thing before pulling away. This gives your engine time to lubricate itself before applying any load as you drive away.
2. If its THAT cold where you live, you may actually benefit from short-shifting 1-2. Shift 1st-2nd ~10mph, and you’ll enter 2nd at around 1K RPMs. This could actually help you get the hang of the uniqueness of the 1-2 shift, while also keeping your RPMs lower at the beginning of your super-cold starts.
3. Never floor or even exceed 30% throttle before your OIL TEMPERATURE (NOT the coolant temperature gauge underneath the tachometer) have reached at least 140, 150 degrees. And even then don’t go “hard” until operating temperature, 180+