Launching
Launching with street tires
| I am running Dunlop D40M2's on the street.
Launching my car with street tires is a difficult and tricky process due to the amount of
power, limited traction, and wheel hop that occurs on standing start acceleration. I never slip the clutch. Slipping the clutch results in quicker
clutch wear and isn't necessary for good launches. I always let off the clutch very
quickly.
First, find an RPM point to launch at that is just high
enough to avoid bogging down the car. For my car, this point is around 3,500 RPM.
Hold the RPM's at the point that you found and quickly let
off the clutch all the way. The car should start spinning the tires. When the tires start
spinning too quickly and you feel that the car is approaching wheel hop, lightly let off
the throttle. Modulate the throttle to keep the car moving and tires spinning, but not
wheel hopping. As soon as you feel the car getting more traction apply full throttle. This
may seem difficult at first, but will eventually start working for you with practice. |
Launching with street-slick tires
| I am running 13 psi in 305/40 16 M&H
Racemaster D20 compound tires mounted on stock 3rd gen wheels with no tubes. These tires
are street legal but severely compromise handing. I only recommend running them at the
drag strip. If it is your first time running on these tires, please be careful. The car
will sway left to right during the run and you will need to countersteer the entire run.
If you feel like your losing control, let off the throttle and try again. Don't worry
about wheel hop with the M&H's, they will absorb all the wheel hop by wrinkling and
acting like a slingshot, thereby propelling you off the line like you can't imagine. The M&H tires need to be heated up before launching by doing
burn-outs. Make sure you remove the ABS fuse so that you can do burn-outs without the ABS
system interfering.
Burn-out
| Drive the car through the water box and pull
just forward enough so that the rear tires are out of the water. Quickly rev the motor to
6,000 RPM's and drop the clutch very quickly. The tires should start spinning. As soon as
the tires start spinning, depress the brakes hard with your left foot while still holding
down the throttle with your right foot. Hold down the throttle and keep the RPM's in the
6,000 range. The car should be sitting still and spinning the tires. Keep the RPM's up
high until smoke starts coming forward. If no smoke is coming forward after a few seconds,
raise the RPM's. After you can see a good deal of smoke coming forward let off the brake.
The car will keep spinning tires and start moving forward. Let the car move forward 10
feet and let off the throttle. Stop the car. |
Dry hops
| With the car stopped, raise the RPM's to 6,000
and quickly let off the clutch. The tires should bite hard and the car will lurch forward.
As soon as the car moves a few feet, let off the throttle. Stop the car and repeat. |
Staging and launching
| Stage the car. Raise the RPM's to at least
6,500 RPM. I launch my car at 7,000 RPM. If you have a lightweight flywheel, you may need
to launch higher in order to avoid bogging down. Hold
the RPM's steady until the 2nd amber light comes on, and quickly let off the clutch. If
your RPM's are high enough the car will blast off the line as if it's connected to a
catapult. Be ready to shift into 2nd gear, 1st gear will go by very quickly.
If you bog off the line, try again at a higher RPM. If the
car spins the tires too much off the line, heat up the tires more and/or lower the tire
pressure. |
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