"launching Off The Line"

What is your personal thoughts of getting the fastest thought in our cars. What gear do u start in 1/2/3? Where do u shift? Do you get rpm up and hold urself with your e brake before you take off? How much do you want to spin your tires? Ive been trying lots of different combinations out and i cant decide what is actually the fastest start, thoughts?

I start by spinning the wheels to the start line. then i set the lights take the car to 1200 rpm hold it with one foot on the brake one on the gas go win the third amber lights and go like hell. 60' times usally run 2.150 to 2.30

[FormulaNERD]

i usually launch around 2200rpm's. with the auto tranny, no matter what gear setting you put it in (1,2,3) you're still gonna start in 1st. it'll just stop shifting on the gear you select.

if you have decent tires i'd hold the brake pedal (not the handbrake) launch at 2200+ as long as you're not spinning, and turn the ETS off beforehand, just in case you do spin.

any other questions?

Why would you want to have the traction control off? Does it send less power to the tires when they start spinning? (guessing) Im quite sure id be spinning at 2200, not much tho, ill try that next time thankx

[FormulaNERD]

with ETS off you're car will do exactly what you said. but after time and time again, i've found that all my 60ft times are better if i spin a little than if ETS takes over and slows the wheels down.

hope this helps

oh, and about the 2200+, i'd take it all the way up to 2700 or so, if you arent having problems with the wheels spinning.

and yes, burnouts are a must, but the extra heat created is going to slow you down too, best thing is to find what works for you, and try to stay consistent, but until then, play with it and have fun.

Since this topic was already started...

OK HOW IN THE WORLD DOES HEATING THE TIRES UP SLOW YOU DOWN? I KNOW BY OVER HEATING THE TIRES WILL CAUSE MORE SPIN OFF THE LINE, WHICH YES IN THE LONG RUN WILL SLOW YOU DONE.
HOW EVER I DO AGREE THAT YOU NEED TO DO WHAT YOU FEEL COMFORTABLE WITH AND GO FROM THERE AND MOSTLY HAVE FUN WITH IT IT IS NOT OFTEN YOU SEE AN ALERO AT THE TRACK AND THAT IS WHAT MOST PEOPLE THINK.

-edit-

I have found the best for me is to rev up to about 2000 with the brake applied, and then at the go release the brake and floor the pedal with the traction control off.

[Redog]

Does anybody shift? I'm starting to debate if shift or just leaving in 3rd or D is better

my car with my tires wont even spin them off the line power breaking it. it just launches. i just leave it in drive when starting from a stop cause ur going to start out if first gear no matter what with a auto.

I've always heard racing in third is better than Drive. Shifts are firmer or something. I dunno

[brim]

i'd just assume leave it in drive figuring that the majority of the tq and hp is reached up till about 4800 rpm, then let the next gear take over

racing in third i'm not sure of, i heard line pressure was more? But as I see it, it just means you'll push third gear to the limit before shifting into D (if needed)

You don't need to do a burnout to warm up the tires unless you have slicks. Street tires dont need to be heated up.

[Oldsman]

well with my tires (you have to test with your own) that by doing a burnout on the waterbox then doing a couple dry burnouts i got my best 60fts. I was launching at 1700-2000 rpms and i start off in 2nd. because it shifts firmer. then shift to 3rd when about halfway thru 2nd gear.

they call it test and tune because you make a run and then try to tune it a little better and try to get better. when i was at the track (at GAP and the track sucked) with cold tires i was getting 2.5 60fts so i went and tried doing the burnouts as i stated above and i got 60 ft down to 2.4

eveyones tires are different and you have to find what works best with your combo. it is part of dragracing.

[Oldsman]

Originally posted by sl3196@Jun 15 2004, 08:29 PM
You don't need to do a burnout to warm up the tires unless you have slicks. Street tires dont need to be heated up.

it all depends on the tire compound.

[Daytona]

^Exactly. Stock tires should be dry-hopped briefly enough to just clean them off but no more than that. DOT slicks and softer street tires benefit from a little wet burnout. And unless your car is running 12's or quicker and wearing soft non-DOT slicks, you do NOT need to do a big burnout. My Camaro wore DOT Slicks and ran 12.4's with 400 hp & 400 lb of torque, and even then the tires didn't need more than a small wet burnout.

As for the shifting question, I always leave my cars in 3rd and let the cars shift on their own. I notice a big difference in ET's vs. leaving them in "D". You can shift through the gears manually if you like but then you run the risk of running inconsistently from round to round, missing gears, overrevving or undershifting, etc.