For as long as I've had my '99 Boxster, over 2 years now, pulling away from a stop or shifting in low gears has never been a smooth proposition. I bought my car with 16,000 miles on the odometer and have added another 16K since. The car has always "shimmied" in reverse, I assume due to a flat spot on the disc/ plate? But, it engages too well to be really worn. I don't percieve any slip at all. While I do consider myself a novice "driver", I've owned a total of 5 Porsches, including this one, a 924, a 944, a 911 and a 964. I think I know how to shift gears. But no matter how hard I try (especially with my wife riding next to me), I can't seem to avoid that lag then lurch when starting out, and a jerky 1st to 2nd shift. Is it me or my car????

 

Hmm...I've heard others complain that the earlier Boxsters require a lot of revs to get going. But I've gotten mine down to a pretty smooth operation. I occasionally get a little lurching from first to second (depending on how I'm driving), but never a shimmy in reverse. ...so I'm sorry to say that it might be your car?

Probably not much help? ..sorry.

 

Yep, my car shudders a bit more when it's really cold outside. I find that if I blip the throttle up a hair more than in summer, everything is smooth. Try 1100rpm. I'll bet you're easing it out more like 800rpm. These numbers are on my S, so they may be different on yours. As for 1-2 shifts, you're shifting too quickly. First and second are spaced really far apart in newer Porsches (Boxsters and 996s). If the revs cannot fall quickly enough, it makes the shift feel harsh. Try this: shift 1-2 in two steps 1-N, N-2. Still the same general speed and motion as before, and I'll bet your shift gets 100% smoother. For me, it's become second nature. It's plenty quick (I do this AXing, and I often win my class), and much smoother. HTH

-Paul

 

My shifting experience is similar to yours, though not the reverse issue. From a standing stop I think you and I are both not giving the revs enough. Like you, I've driven a lot of stick shifts for a lot of years, but the Boxster clutch seems to not like my shifting style. I just need to adjust to it I guess.

I believe ettsn is correct about the 1-2 shift; the gearing is spaced a little too far apart for the amount that the revs drop in a quick 1-2 shift. I find that revving not quite as high helps, or lifting just a little sooner than you otherwise might, at about 6500 rpm for me.