The other day I was driving my dads TA and I stopped to do a launch. I feathered the clutch and my dad got mad and told me you should never feather the clutch when you launch. I was confused because I always feather the clutch in my n/a. Well with drag racing season coming up I want to see your guys/girls techniques for launch your car and what yields the best results.

PS- The best 60' time I pulled last year was a 2.29 on all-season tires. Should this be lower?

 

nasty burn out with BFG drag radials, and then a 6k clutch dump for my N/A.. no spin.. i think my best 60" was a 2.1
Dave

 

i just slam the gas a split second before i let out the clutch.... By feathering the clutch do you mean like slowly letting the clutch until you feel it grab??..... i wouldnt do that..... i dont know why but it doesnt feel right. good luck

 

Ya exactly. I would slowly let it out so that i wouldnt spin my tires much.

 

well instead of that i would just launch from a lower RPM. I used to have to launch at 3k but now i put 215's on my back wheels and put a front eibach anti-sawy bar on. Now i can launch from 4500, it just sticks to the ground. If you want a good lauch them fix up your suspension and get good tires...... I LOVE TO LAUNCH!!!!

 

Ill go out with my G-tech later and see if I can pull some decent launches using that method. Man i wish I had 215s on the back. My cousin just got 315s on the back of his Supra and that are beastly wide.

 

315's?!?!?!?!? damn...... thats like 1/3 bigger than mine!!!! ****.... my friend has 225's on his mustang and those are huge..... Maybe you mis-typed that..... damn...... 315's

 

Ya 315s. They are freaking huge!

 

Iave 225's on my TII! Can't do burn outs very well as soon as they heat up they hook up and vroom... know what i mean?

 

225's will fit on stock 15x6 S5 rims.

These are Kumho 225/50-15's.

 

launching is something, im still trying to get good at...
i need some tips....
i have sorta decent tires in the back, and i need to know what rpm to let 1st gear go in and when to shift to second......etc....
any help would be great

=-dustin

 

it varies from car to car you have to try different speeds of launch until you like the result.

 

I dump the clutch at about 6k.

 

launching is something you have to really work at. alot of varations take into effect.. condition of yer rear suspension.. condition of front suspension.. stickyness of the tires.. hp. the way i do it is i take her up to about 4000 and rev a few times to build up boost then dump.. i get some tire spin but not enuff that i care since i stay in boost the rest of the way down the street errr i mean track

 

i have launched at the track with 205,40,17s i feather (kinda ride) the clutch to match the amount of gas and i run 2.0 60 ft all the time. now i got 215s time to try for a 1.9

 

I tried to not feather the clutch and the best 60' I could pull was 2.6. This is on a city street with a gtech so the times might be alittle off. I just cant seem to find a good rpm to launch at. Damn I need an LSD and some better tires.

 

so say i have shitty tires and an old *** suspension...
i should rev to around 4 then dump or what???
i guess it all depends, im just looking for those that have bad suspension and not so great tires and see what works for them

 

i say slip the clutch (same thing as feather)
kills it but u can be in boost right off the line (for T2's that is)

 

I find the best method is to hold at ~4500rpm, and give the clutch a quick slip, then just mash the gas as soon as it catches. I sometimes get a little *chirp*, but usually thats about it. You dont want to spin the tires, and you dont want to bog down, you need to find the midpoint.

 

You totally want to spin the tires....well at least you have to on my car. I have crap tires on the wear bar. I generally launch at 3K. Hold the rev, dump the clutch, and steer. Oh yea, and then I usually shift at about 7K.

 

A rule of thumb a 2.0 for a street tire is very good (drag radials excluded).

When my car goes back together and I get a set of drag radials on it Ill probably be launched at 5k and slipping the clutch a bit thru first gear. Then going WOT in second.

 

yeah....i have dump the clutch before 3800 (right around when the 5th and 6th port open) if not, i spin my tires too much

i try to get it as close to the opening RPM so that when my tires grab, the ports open and im into my power band

 

No, you really dont want to spin the tires. Alls your doing is losing traction and wasting time. You want to keep your car in its powerband (above 4k) while giving as much gas as possible without spinning.

 

All depends on what comfortable for you and what kinda engine, clutch and tires you run. Stock everything i'd rap it to 4k and feather it out, as you let out on the clutch give it more gas to keep the revs up and about 10 feet or so off the light you should have the clutch fully engaged. Gotta do it quick or you'll burn up the clutch.

If you running slicks and a race clutch rev it to 7k and dump it and hope you don't drop a universal joint or twist the drive shaft.

Seen a guy at our strip with a rotary in a fiberglass bodied car that would rev it to 13k at launch and dumpd it. He was running a 5 speed manual. Sounded nasty. Home made manifold for the supercharger he was runnin. Thinking he was running 8's. This was back in 1988. His dad owns the local Mazda house.

 

Feathering the clutch and using the brakes is one of the most efficient ways to alunch. This keeps your drivetrain preloaded (so it doesn;t receive shock from a clutch drop and break), and it also helps keep you at your torque peak.

Dumping the clutch is never a good idea.

This is one of the reasons they sell roll control. They call it roll control b/c it allows you to keep from rolling while you preload the suspension while staging.
(It also keeps you from rolling during burn-outs).