E39 Manual gear box 1st gear torque limiter?
 

I have a 1998 528i and when i push it in 1st gear, it's almost like the car holds back, RPM goes up but the car does not move quickly.

The moment I put it into second gear or higher it's fine.

I heard that BMW may have put a limiter in 1st gear to keep it smooth when accelerating, and that it can be disabled.

Is this true? Or what else could be the problem?

Thanks!

Sounds like a slipping clutch to me... .however someone recently told me that on the 540 there is a regulating device between the clutch master and slave cylinders, he had a similar problem... he had it replaced with a straight pipe which made engagement more positive.

BMW's with manual transmissions come with clutch delay valve. It helps make clutch engagement smoother.

Howerver OP's issue, as Mlue1 pointed out, sounds like a slipping clutch. Get it looked at soon or this will start to happen in all gears and you'll be going nowhere fast.

Thanks guys, I will look into the possibility of clutch slippage.

I may have found the issue...
http://www.zeckhausen.com/CDV.htm

It's the result of the clutch delay valve that slowly engages the clutch no matter how fast you release the clutch pedal. I will investigate the possibility of removing it or adding a modified version from the site above.

On an E36, you can just take it out. Not sure about any other models.
Keep in mind the CDV is only there to make engagement smoother, if you've let the pedal go completely and experience slipping, get your wallet out.

guys clutch slippage doesn't usually start from 1st gear. IT starts from 5th and goes down to 1st, so if it doesn't slip in 5th 4th 3rd and 2nd, than it's obviously not clutch.

Just remove it completely, no need for the modified valve. Just bend the hard line very carefully, and thread it straight into the slave cylinder. I did mine years ago, and it's a great simple mod.

That said, I don't think that's your problem, as it would have no effect on how hard your car can accel in first gear. It would only improve the clutch engagement feel.

Are you sure it's not just your DSC/ASC limiting power because of wheel spin in first?