Just been out tonight for a play in the car and decided to try and get a couple of fast starts as I'm hoping to put in a few 1/4m runs in the near future. A guy I know with a 172 cup with filter/r-sport chip/zorst has run 14.1s at Crail and I'm very worried of taking a slapping from it so the pressure is on.

First I tried to be mechanically sympathetic but she bogged down a lot. Next I tried to hold around 5k rpm and ping the clutch with the same effect. Next I tried 8k rpm and something of a sympathetic quick lift (I was certain the wheels would spin) and the wheels gripped and she bogged whilst whirring the clutch Then I gave up

All in all I couldn't get the car to break traction in 1st gear for love nor money and I sure as hell couldn't get her into vtec with any kind of urgency. So, I admit defeat and ask for your guidance I'd prefer methods that won't screw the car up too much.

 

If you've been gunning about then running slow in town for a long time, then you'd be hard pushed to launch her quick. All the hot air in that engine compartment builds up fast and really strangles the engine. There's not a lot of vents in VTEC cars you'll notice.

When I launch her, I do a sympathetic one from around 2500-3000rpm and let 1st gear shoot up through the rev range and into VTEC. This minimises wheelspin.

And don't worry, as long as you haven't been sitting in traffic for 5 mins with the engine running, there won't be any clio's beating you off the line. A V6 Phase 2 would keep up though!

 

8,000 rpm will mess up the clutch as it will slip slip. I will be the first to admit that I am no expert nor have I really tried but in the S the clutch is the weak point and 1/4 times suffer. Some say 6k and side step the clutch others thinhk that this is a bad idea as you shove all the power through the diff but I am sure the rear tyres will let go and spin using this method.

I am sure someone will be along shortly to put you in the picture and remind me never to post about things that I know nothing about

 

some say rolling start and floor it which I think is my approach

 

I can't brake traction at all!!! Its like its a 4wd in the dry in a straight line. I suppose for Crail I could run higher pressure in the rears. I actually want to get a little wheelspiin as that will give a faster start.

Is heat build up in the engine really going to cause that much of a power loss? My car has a cone filter that is situated at the front of the bay near where an PRM intake cone is located.

 

Heat soak does have a big effect - in traffic it will kangaroo down the street if you are not careful

 

I don't think you can in this car.
I remember 6500rpm(Dave?) doing it at one of the Academy Days and he did get a good launch, but the smell from the clutch was nauseating.

Just be gentle at the start, then pedal to the metal in 1st all the way to redline (you'll really feel the VTEC kick doing this), quickly into 2nd and you'll be at 60 before you know it.

 

the video in my sig is a 4000 rpm dump with cut slicks and the thing snakes off down the road but hooks up pretty well considering, car was also running like a bag of crap and seriously down on power..

Try 4-5k rpm and dump it- worked for me even with fat rubber

 

I used to boot mine hard 95% of the time and what I used to do was keep the revs at about 4,500RPM and then just lift of the clutch and dump the throttle. She wheelspan like a bitch at times, but if the conditions were dry it wouldn't spin too much and you could get a decent start, albeit with a little wiggle.

When I sold mine on nearly 90k miles it was still on all of the original bits (clutch, diff, gearbox, discs, etc) so to say that the clutch is a weak point surely can't be true??? Either that, or I was one of the lucky ones!

The car is designed to be thrashed, so damn well do it! And, if you smell the clutch burning, just breathe through your mouth.

 

You've got a lot more torque low down do you not. I feel the key thing with this car is to get some tyre slip. If you can get some slip then it'll be entirely possible to compete 0-60 with more torquey cars.