I can imagine. I launched a cayman s with PDK and launch control a while back and it was insane, I can't imagine in a much more powerful, awd car... It is fun as hell when it isn't your car, lol.
Makes you wonder...all these dealers offer stupid add-on insurance packages for everything under the sun...our BMW dealer tried to sell us a tire warranty that covers wear on the tires...if it wasn't my wife's highway commuter I would have bought it. If they offered a launch control warranty....that would be interesting.

 

How so? The VSA cannot reduce clutch engagement or slow clutch engagement (only the CDV can do that) so it shouldn't cause clutch wear. VSA cuts engine power and uses the ABS system to control the vehicle. As far as VSA is concerned, the clutch is either engaged or disengaged and that is controlled by your left foot, not VSA.

The CDV (clutch delay valve) can reduce the engagement speed of the clutch, causing it to slip which causes it to wear more quickly. Perhaps that's what you are talking about?

 

he probably meant the cdv, not vsa

 

So does the CDV protect the diff and tranny, but at the expense of the clutch? I sometimes feel my clutch slipping at the track, wonder if the CDV is contributing to it. How hard is it to remove?

 

correct. it's a pita to remove it

 

It's easier to just get an AP1 slave cylinder (no CDV) but you can also modify an AP2 cylinder. I've read doing the latter is indeed a pain and it also ends up feeling softer on clutch engagement.

 

+1 on going with an AP1 slave cylinder.

Chris, that is definitely the CDV engaging.

 

I'm not sure what difference it makes. Most "real people" aren't going to do full-throttle 0-100 or 1/4 mile blasts on a regular basis either, but those numbers are in magazine tests. It's a performance metric, not a representation of everyday driving. Since the car has launch control, why wouldn't the magazine review include it?

There have been magazines that claim to use a gentle launch when testing cars - arguing that it is "more realistic" - but the problem is that their numbers are so variable as a result they become meaningless for comparisons. IMHO, it's better to compare the fastest possible time than "the fastest time without driving the car hard."

And honestly, I can't understand why someone would buy a car with a DCT based on launch control ET's but never use launch control because "it's hard on the car." Yes, it's hard on the car, but there are plenty of cars/transmissions on the market that can handle a hard launch. Why get one that can't if 0-60 or 1/4 mile is one of your main criteria?

 

i see your point and a constant point of comparison is def important.

just tired of how our society inflates reality, but that's a larger issue.

 

In my experience the time it takes to set up a car for launch control is better spent just hitting the gas. Its a complete novelty imo outside of racing, and very few people use it for such.