My last time at the track was embarrassing. I can not for the life of me launch my car. My 18s are probably hurting me yes, but surely I should be able to do better than 2.4-2.5.

Right now I kinda keep stabbin the throttle at the line waiting for the go light, and engaging the clutch - pretty much popping it, and taking off from there. Yes I get wheel spin!

How do I launch my lt1 M6?!? high rpm and partially let out on clutch, then once moving - let it out all the way?

 

"tires"!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!if your not hooking, my times droped dramatically with tires I took a full second of my 0 to 60 and my reaction time was alot lower!!!!!!!!!!I have bfg ta drag radials with 315 35 17.My first is still a little tricky but way better. I used to feather 2nd i can slam it now!!!!!!!Horse power isnt giong to help could just make it worse. I kept doing mods than checked my time they got slower it was harder to use what i had. I'd say tires are 40% of it, horse power 40%, suspension 10%, wieght 10% or something like that.Of course driver has somethin to do with it but horsepower can save you some what from your mistakes.good luck and be safe, screw that kill them out thier!!!!!!!!!!represent!!!!!!!!!

 

forget about tires for now, I can only afford to race with what I got.

Should I be waiting at the tree with my clutch almost engaging, rpms at what....and then get her going like that? cmon fellas, i've read other posts but I can't really find any help. (found some threads that would be good if I had an auto..)

 

I tried to help!!!! it doesnt matter what you do it wont get faster with out tires sorry .i wrote out everything i used to do than erased it. it wont change a thing.thiers no secret feather it ,dont rev to high 1 &2 shift third hard doesnt matter try diffrent rpms ive done it all no traction know faster 60 foot. you have to do tires bro save up and you will be happy good luck!!!!!!

 

Don't rev it high at all. Take it to about 1500-2000 and slip the clutch to your gripping desires while adding more and more throttle. Be patient and have a steady leg and you'll get it. You can knock a lower 2.x short time if you get it down. What size tires do you have? xxx/xx/18?

 

275/35 are the tires i have, kumho 712s with some miles on em...

 

Hold your rpms around 2500 and get the clutch to where the car is about to try and creep forward. When the light goes green gradually let it out and it should go pretty good. Hard on the clutch but it will work.

 

Tires or slip the hell out of the clutch... Tires are cheaper.

 

You have a lowered car with 18 inch tires and almost 300hp and can't hook up?

Basically, tires are literally the link between your vehicle and the pavement. A taller tire with more sidewall on a shorter rim will help absorb the shock of the launch. A softer rubber compound will help the tire stick better and it will also wear out more quickly. Between lowering the car and putting on 18" rims you have made two modifications that often make it more difficult to launch a car at the drag strip.

If you go to the track on a street night, often the track prep is not very well attended to because street tires generally ruin the starting line very quickly and front wheel drive cars tend to more water up to the line because the rear wheels just roll through the puddle and don't spin.

You can try dropping the tire pressure a tad, maybe down as low as 20-24 pounds but I don't think it will really help much, if at all. You can try unhooking the front sway bar but again I don't think it will help much. You can try running with a full tank of gas. You can try going on a regular race day when track prep is often better than on a street night.

In terms of launching, about all I can suggest if timing your clutch engagement so that your rpms are going up and the release should be around 1500 rpms. You should do a quick slip in terms of the clutch. What this means is a fast and smooth release of the clutch, not a clutch dump. Yes this is slipping the clutch, but do it quickly so as not to heat it up too much. Think of the timing as how you would engage the clutch on a hill so as to avoid a roll back situation. Over time you will wear the clutch out more quickly, but a few shots at the track should generally be ok.

Make sure the driveline is preloaded so you don't shock it too much.

I have never tried driving at the track with 18" street tires so this is mostly speculation on my part, however my car began life as a M6 and I consistently cut 1.8 sixty foot times with drag radials on the stock 16" rims on a decent track while being able to have reasonable reaction times.

Give it a shot and see what happens.

 

Kumho 712's should have plenty of traction. Sure, they're not drag radials, but they're good tires. On a clean, dry track, they should only improve as the tread wears away.

Plenty of good advice here.

You said you "stab" at the throttle. Don't! Hold it steady at the RPM of your choice (play around with different RPMs and see what works best). Let the clutch out just enough that it starts to make contact with the flywheel, but not so much that the car moves. This will preload your driveline, as tnthub suggested. When it's time to go, bring the clutch up smoothly, and push the gas to the floor smoothly. You'll have to experiment with your timing on both pedals, but smooth is the key. Just remember that smooth doesn't mean slow!

 

this is awesome advice so far guys, thnx. if theres anything else keep it coming!

tnthub: i saved my stock 16" rims specifically for drag radials, for when i can get around to affording them!

 

Rev to 4,000 and cook the clutch off the line. It's not good for the clutch, but by the time it engages your rpm's would not have dropped below the power band, and if you do it right the nose of the car won't drop untill you shift to 2nd. It takes some practace to get good at it, but once you know how to do it you'll rock. Definately preload the drive line. Also, let the clutch out in 2 steps. Engage it about half way and about 20-30 feet later let it out all the way.