How do you launch?

fingers

Torque Master
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How do you launch from the lights on the strip. Have been talking to a few mates and different people do different things, whatever works for them best.

If you have a manual, do you bring the revs up when you've staged and drop the clutch on green or do you just pull away hard.

And with an automatic some people wait untill the amber lights come up and just nail the throttle. This way, by the time the transmission has bit and got going the green light is lit and you get a good reactio time. I personally get staged, stand on the brake as hard as I can with my left foot and press the throttle 1/2 way down. Ths loads up the drive train ready for a good launch, once the green is light I release the break and off I go (after a little wheel spin).

How do you perfer to do it?
 
I usually use a few revs, around 2000-2500 revs and then just pull of hard. If i rev it up ready for a high rev start to try and deliver the power band straight away my car just wheel spins. Driving it that way I can sometimes get it to wheel spin when changing in to 3rd in the dry and pretty much every gear when wet.

So to pull off with just a few revs and do it hard allows me to get the power down and usually pulls alot better and rather needed for me. Plus high rev pull offs is sort of what helped my clutch to die. Standard clutch just couldn't take the power and died after 6 months lol.
 
Try this one then....
Set neutral :shock: , Rev to the start of your peak torque band, dip clutch select first and progressively release clutch. Sounds slow but try it - Flywheel and transmission will be spinning at the launch speed and the tyres will take the strain rather than the transmission. :wink:

When the tyres bite progressively increase the throttle to keep traction and momentum building.
 
i tried to rev alot then release the clutch quikly the car just got crazy the wheels spinned for about 10 meters and that was wild i'm telling you
 
i was in my friends focus once (1.8tdci ~90bhp) he revved to 4000rpm (limited there) dropped the clutch at it wouldnt spin, no word of a lie, i thought that in a diesel torque is higer so easier to spin? but then it didnt feel like a particularly fast set off... if a little wheelspin is good, why do f1 cars not spin?
 
wheelspin is not good, as you lose traction between the tyre and the road you are losing time. f1 needs a quick start, and they deliver less power at low revs.
 
so aswearing what should i do not to spin the wheels and set off as fast as i can :?: :!: :!: :?:
 
if you find out what rpm your wheels decide to spin then go just beneath that figure, for example: if in my car i set revs at 4500 revs then drop the clutch i'll get lots of wheelspin, causing me to release the throttle to stop it, whereas at 4000 revs, drop the clutch its like being catapulted.

when you cant hear your tyres screeching you have good traction and keep your foot planted.

i sorted of get what you mean waynne, once or twice ive only had my clutch partly up with increasing revs. knackers my clutch :p and if you just bring your clutch up halfway through you bang your head on the seat :lol:
 
......very carefully! I have a VW Golf Mk1, obviously its FWD and applying full throttle, even from launching at idle rpm, will spin the wheels. So its a tricky balancing act to choose and hold the optimum launch rpm, then gradually apply the throttle (if I launched, clutch fully in, then applied full throttle the wheels will lose grip) until I'm at full throttle somewhere near my changeup point. Its all too easy to see the "red mist" and apply too much throttle. And of course, if I didn't spin the wheels, I'm left wondering if I'd applied enough....

Luckily, with my decent tyres, 2nd gear and onwards is WOT all the way.
 
since each car setup, tyres, suspension, clutch & mod is different, best use try-n-error to launch practice after warming up and correct the tyre pressure. There's indefinite ways draggers launches the car at the starting grid and you gotta find your own style of doing so.

my preferred technique is simple because I already knew my car's behaviour - simply hold the throttle at 3500rpm, halfclutching and launch... but before flooring, I'd balance the throttle to the wheelspin.

This also relates closely to natural driver's talent to feel the torque delivered to the tyres.
 
the ideal would allways be to have maximum power available at launch (foot to the floor) combined with perfect clutch control (not too much slip and no wheelspin) this is very hard to pull off once let alone consistently so in drag racing measures are taken to repeat the perfect launch time after time. It also means parts must be able to cope with this extreme method of launching. And thats what drag racing is all about .... making things strong enough to take the abuse.
A 2-step launch control is useful.... it has 2 rev limits, one for the startline and one for max revs/engine protection. So once in stage you just stick your foot to the floor and the 2-step will hold the revs at a set RPM (say 5000rpm) once the clutch is out a switch triggers the 2-step which then sets the revs at the engines usual RPM limit (say 8000rpm) That instantly gives you repeatable and tunable throttle control. Next step is to tune the clutch so you just dump the pedal.... but then it gets a lot more complicated........

Oh and setting off when you see green is waaaaaaay too late, you need to go on amber on a pro tree.
 
for the average petrol car around 4000 revs held constantly is best, and dont tap the throttle which i see people do. some people also move the left foot off the clutch by movin it off to the side so they get a good launch but if you have cold normal tires you will just spin up. the best way as said before is to hold revs and lift the clutch just higher biting so you get that initial movement without any spinning and then gas peddle down to floor n off the clutch, also when changing gear once clutch is down blip the throttle to keep the revs high and some again when changing down as it decreases the strain on the gearbox. it is a lot easier to be done on a motorbike tho!

and with regards to the turbo, yes get the turbo up n spinning. but be carefull about back pressure from the turbo. get a decent blow off valve!, make sure you don't spin the wheels off the line as it will give you a crap start!
 
Good tips there TorqueOfTheDevil and welcome to TorqueCars, I see this is your first post.

Gixxer - that is a good point about the BOV/Diverter. Drag racing a turbo car is yet another skill set to learn.;)
 
Good tips there TorqueOfTheDevil and welcome to TorqueCars, I see this is your first post.

Gixxer - that is a good point about the BOV/Diverter. Drag racing a turbo car is yet another skill set to learn.;)

Yeah i stumbled upon this forum, just seemed like it wasn't full of idiots like most forums and despite my interest being in bikes i just like drag racing.
In drag bike racing we tend to use either a slider or lockup type clutch. I think it's the same in cars but maybe the terminology is different.
The clutch is set so that it slips when you dump it, then centrifugal forces throw additional weight onto the clutch as wheel speed increased, eventually overriding the slip and 'locking it up' a short distance out.
 
The plan with the Elan is:

Throttle and brake pedal to the floor with revs controlled by ECU. When lights change to green (well, just before) off the brake and let ECU and launch control take over. All I will have to do is steer, change gear (No sequential gearbox yet) and try not to sh*t myself. Not quite as simple as that, but almost. We will be using very clever electronics to control traction and power delivery (fortunately I have some VERY clever people helping me).
 
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