For all you racers out there,

My new S2000 is the first manual trans daily driver I have ever had. (I have been stuck behind the wheel of an suv for 5 years) I don't really plan to race too much, as the cops in my town are vicious, but for the occasional run in with a hot headed heavy footer, I would like to get the launch right on the S2000. I have read that because the small displacement motors have very flat torque bands (until VTEC range), that launching and getting some initial wheel spin and then locking them up is takes expert feet. So, if any of you could give me an ultra-detailed description of what you do to launch the S2000 and run it up through about 60 optimally, I would greatly appreciate it. Afterall, I don't want to drop the clutch in my beautiful new car...

Thanks,
Nix

 

" VTEC, like most things in life, is not for everyone. To decide whether VTEC is for you or not, here are the pros and cons.

Pros

The main benefit of VTEC is that the resulting engine is very versatile. The torque curve is very flat: among the flatest of all the engines on the market. Thus where other engines are running out of breath, a VTEC engine maintains a nice and steady output of torque, making the whole RPM range usable for acceleration. So when you are just driving around at a reasonable pace, the car is very smooth and fuel consumption is similar to other engines of the same displacement. When you need more power for passing, all you have to do is down shift and take advantage of the extra power available at the higher RPMs. So you get the smoothness and fuel efficiency of a small economical engine when you drive a low RPMs, and the power output of a much larger engine at high RPMs.

Due to the greater range of usable RPMs, shorter gears can be used. Thus for any given speed or engine RPM, a VTEC engine will allow for a larger ratio multiplier, resulting in more wheel torque. Thus the benefit of the VTEC technology in terms of acceleration improvement also affects low RPM operation.

Since VTEC creates more power without increasing displacement, the engine is likely to be smaller and lighter.

Cons

A vehicle achives its greatest acceleration by keeping the engine RPM as close to the HP peak as possible. And for DOHC VTEC engines, this means keeping the needle at some rather lofty RPMs, and more frequent shifts to keep the RPMs up. To some people, including yours truely, this is a desirable trait: lots of driver involvement in the process of extracting excellent performance. To others, especially those accustomed to the Kansas-flat HP curves of muscle cars, the high RPM and frequent shifts become bothersome.

For a good launch off the line, such as at the start of a drag race, a certain amount of tire spin is desired. Muscle cars have torque peaks at low RPMs, and then taper off as the RPM builds. This is perfect for drag racing as the initial torque peak generates the desired tire spin, and then the lower torque at higher RPMs allow the tire to find and maintain grip. But DOHC VTEC's torque curve is very flat, so the initial tire slip is much harder to generate. And once the tire looses traction, the flat torque curve makes it hard for the spinning wheels to find traction. So to properly launch a DOHC VTEC car, the driver must slip the clutch at high RPMs to generate the initial tire spin, and then carefully modulate the clutch and gas to regain drive wheel traction while maintaining maximum acceleration.

Even though Honda's VTEC engines has lived up to the legendary reliability of Honda products, the fact remains that having the VTEC mechanism adds complexity and cost."

Here is more about vtec:
http://www.howstuffworks.com/framed.htm?pa...vtec/index.html

 

the driver must slip the clutch at high RPMs to generate the initial tire spin, and then carefully modulate the clutch and gas to regain drive wheel traction while maintaining maximum acceleration.


Yikes... wouldn't 'slipping' the clutch suggest releasing it slowly rather than dropping it? And wouldn't this burn up your clutch quicker than dumping or dropping the clutch?

If you modulate the clutch at high RPM's, you'll be burning your clutch up.

-B

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by bguernsey
[B]the driver must slip the clutch at high RPMs to generate the initial tire spin, and then carefully modulate the clutch and gas to regain drive wheel traction while maintaining maximum acceleration.


Yikes...

 

Notice that it was under the "CONS" section???

It's your car! You do what ever you like, I drive my car pretty slow on the street like the Civic (Sometimes, I still VTEC! (while the car is in motion) Well, At least 4 times a day!); But most of the time, I'll take it to the track! That where this car excel the most! You can keep the RPM up!

There are a lot of Track events and DE days in the SOuth East region: Here are some of the tracks I have attended:
http://www.bseries.net/html/events/talladega/index.php

http://www.s2000atlanta.com/cgi-bin/pgalle...atlanta_4-13-02

http://community.webshots.com/album/...57CUgFqw<br />

http://www.s2000atlanta.com/cgi-bin/pgalle...atlanta_4-13-02

http://community.webshots.com/album/39698236uPYawe

http://www.chinmotorsports.com/gallery/Roe...une%201%2C%2020<br%20/>02

And I just signed up for the Atlanta Motor Speed way event this coming August 18th, see link:
http://www.chinmotorsports.com/ams/ams.asp...%2013%2C%202002

 

I think you'd be better off racing from a roll.

In case you absolutely want to run from a stop:

Put car in gear. Push the clutch in. Rev up to 70000RPM. Lift your foot completely off the clutch or you can side-step it. Do not gradually lift off. Don't give the car much gas until you feel the tires start to hook up. Shift at 9000RPM and enjoy.

 

How can I rev mine up to 70,000RPM? Did you eliminate the rev limiter?

 

Wasn't he the one who replaced his engine with a gas turbine?

 

If you really want to know how and when to dump the clutch - check out this URL. I was sent to me by a friend. http://www.stanford.edu/~voloshin/lhowwhy.html

 

whoops...u know i mean 7000