XV,

Just curious... with your SC and higher-ratio gears, do you still need VTEC engaged to break the tires free?

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Chazmo
XV,

Just curious...

 

I may have to come up to Calgary to "study" this subject with you sometime, XV!

Cheers!

 

Guys (Bill, XViper), the more we talk about this stuff, the more I'm wondering about what I actually do when I launch. I'm thinking specifically about the way the clutch is released. I learned to launch a straight shift car before I ever got a learners permit. There have been a few occasions where I've slammed the driveline by popping the clutch, and when it happens you know by the way it feels and sounds that it's not good. I tried side stepping a clutch once, so long ago that I don't even remember what kind of car I was in, but after hearing and feeling the slam it delivered to the driveline, its an act I won't repeat. I'm not exactly sure what I do when I release the clutch, and if I try to think about it as I do it, I tend to screw it up and blow the launch. I don't pre-load the driveline in any way, and the clutch engagement is quick, to break stiction with a sharp whack, yet somehow I am doing this without slamming the driveline. I think Bill is doing something similar to what I'm doing, but since I don't actually know what I do when I launch, I can't be sure. I *think* there may be a slight slowing of the rate of clutch release just as the clutch starts to engage, to pull the slack out of the driveline, followed by what amounts to releasing the clutch as fast as the spring will pull the pedal up. I know I keep my foot in contact with the pedal, but once the slack is out of the driveline, my foot is coming up so fast that it is only touching the pedal lightly (more or less just feeling what it's doing). Anyway, I *think* I slow the engagement rate slightly as the slack comes out of the driveline so that it doesn't slam, but it only takes a fraction of a second, and if I try to observe myself doing it, I can't do it right.
The same technique has always worked well with drag cars, and I've never fried a clutch or broken anything from shock loading (except for some GM motor mounts). Bill, since you're dropping the clutch quickly, without slamming things, I think you're doing the same thing I'm doing. I think I sweep the clutch from the floor to full release almost as fast as it would return if I side stepped, but I think I slow the rate as the slack comes out of the driveline, then resume the quick drop as soon as all the gaps are closed, dumping all the flywheel inertia into the tires as quickly as possible to overcome stiction. It just happens to fast, and I learned to do it by feel when I was a kid, and can't think about it as I do it now without messing up. So Bill, is that what you're doing? How are you "banging the tires" without "banging the driveline?"

I sure hope that makes sense to you guys. This is really getting into the nitty-gritty of clutch release, and what I'm saying may be way off base.

DISCLAIMER: ANYONE TRYING ANY OF THE ANTICS DOES SO AT THEIR OWN RISK.

RED

 

RED, it takes a bit of "trial and error", especially with this car if it is your first manual car. Launching a V8 with a huge clutch is simple by comparison. Also, an auto-X "launch" may not be the same as a drag strip "launch" because, in auto-X, you must think ahead to that first turn where you need to watch your speed. On the drag strip, it's get the revs to the right place, drop the clutch, get wheel spin till the car gets moving to just the right speed, let off on the gas ever so slightly to get the tires to hook up and then it's pedal to the metal till it's time to shift.
For me, I rev it up, take my foot off the clutch faster than the spring can bring it up. At the very instant of the clutch friction point, mash the gas to the floor so as to counteract the impending "bog". The rest is practice based upon the surrounding conditions.

 

I guess my training on a Bugeye Sprite in my younger days makes launching the S2000 a piece of cake. The sprite had about 65 hp, so launches were barely possible with just street tires.. The S has so much more power, I find launching to be rather easy by comparison.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Legal Bill
I guess my training on a Bugeye Sprite in my younger days makes launching the S2000 a piece of cake.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Legal Bill
I guess my training on a Bugeye Sprite in my younger days makes launching the S2000 a piece of cake.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Intrepid175
The only gear that survived was 3rd!

 

I learned how to drive stick on a dads 82' Toyota Hilux Pick-up truck. that thing can take abuse. I also leard how to launch, power shift on it. That truck can handle stalling, starting in the wrong gear, burnouts, donuts, off roading etc... all day with out a problem.

I launch my S alot, but I always have this slight nagging thought in my head.

I don't release my clutch as fast, or as high an rpm as discribed in this post. I guess, I bog the car, coz when the clutch is fully engage I'm not in vtec. it's not the fastest way to launch, but i don't care. It's just fun (I like it when it hits vtec), and i haven't broke anything.

Thanks for all the info.