i read numerous posts a/b how to launch an auto.....but whats the best way to launch a five speed at the track? im comin up on my first track run and i wanna get the best launch. Thanks

It takes a little bit of testing to find the best way to launch. I usually rev to about 2500rpm or so and then dump the clutch, but hold it a bit to keep traction. If you have slicks it's much easier, 3500rpm, dunp the clutch and you're off....

With ET Streets, launch at 6000, but on street tires takes practice. Try 1500 or so, and then work up in RPM. Should see some 2.0-2.1s out of it on street rubber.

Some cars don't liked to be dumped. My 96 WS6 couldn't take it. Either stock with the GSC's, drag radials, ET Streets.

Practice on the street. You need fast feet and that takes practice. Once you can do it without spinning, hopping, etc. then do the same thing at the track. Then practice some more adjusting to the line.

lookin at your mods, i doubt you have an aftermarket rearend. so 6000 on ET streets is NOT a good idea. get the slicks and start around 2500 and play with it. it looks like a daily driver, so you cant be too hard on it. try and get your hands on a 9'', then launch the hell outta it.

if you try to get your hands on a 12 bolt instead of a 9", you'll go faster

A 6000 clutch drop will probably explode a stock clutch or pressure plate as well. Before trying any sort of high rpm launch, invest in an SFI rated clutch and pressure plate.

bro,to be honest i dont think anyone hear including myself can teach or show you how to launch with a stick its something you have and feel and many people have different ways practice is the way to learn,on radial tires i can launch my old car with 18psi zr rated comp t/as at 1800 and feather the throttle up...

a lot is going to depend on your combination.

assuming you'll be on street tires ...

1. drive around the burnout box. if you go through the water, it'll stay up in your treads, then drip out when you pull up to the line. also, burnouts cause oils to come to the surface on slicks and help traction. street tires don't have those oils, so long burnouts do no good. do a short burnout after you get past the water to clear off any debris and stage it.

2. adjust your air pressure as you go. i started at 36, dropping 4 psi per run till i got down to 22 psi. i had a problem with bogging and actually put air back in. i eventually settled on 28 psi

3. there are two theories on launching on street tires. one way is to minimize wheelspin by launching at a low rpm, holding off on the throttle till the tires hook, then rolling on the throttle. when i launch this way, i start off at around 1500-2,000 rpm.

when your car makes as little horsepower as mine does, though, you can eat some wheelspin to pick up speed on the other end. this past summer i found my 60' times were a little slower when i launched at around 3,000 rpm, but the mph was generally 1-2 mph higher and the et a little quicker. note that when that was happening the car was bogging pretty badly when i launched at 1500. i've since done headers and exhaust. on the street, it's spinning a lot worse than it was before. i won't be able to get to the track till next weekend to see which way is better after the exhaust upgrade, but i suspect i'm going to do better by launching at a lower rpm and limiting wheelspin.

just get out there and have fun.

Just wind up the RPM's till the rev limiter is cutting in then drop the clucth! Just kidding

I agree, it's hard to give a set way, b/c or varibles, first try letting it idle then 2/3 stabbing throttle while lifting the clutch at a medium speed, this should bog(or spin 5-10' to bog) the car and give you 2.1x 60' times with a 305 TPI.

If or once you have some rear suspension mods and decent tires or DR(drag radials), try holding rpms at 2500-3000 rpm then dropping the clutch at a medium pace while leaning into the throttle(this requires some traction) and should give you 2.0x to 1.9x 60' times on street tires.

Personally, I wouldn't expect more than 1.9x 60's from a manual car and street radials. Best I've hit was 2.05 and I didn't spin one bit on $54 khumo 711 tires. I ran 2.10 on goodyear GS-C and a 305 TBI before too.

there are to many variable to tell you how to do it...with a good set of tires and a basically stock motor you WANT a little bit a of wheelspin to keep the motor from bogging...

sean said that his motor bogged when launched at 1,800..if your more aggresive with the clutch deployment you can launch at this RPM get a little wheelspin and cut a good time...

id launch at 1,800 and let the clutch out as fast as possible, so the wheelspin is controlled by your foot not the clutch...if you can get it out before the tree (the nose of the car), your halfway there....keep laying into the gas as rpm increase and also to keep the wheels SLIGHTLY spinning...as soon as you (your body) gets to the tree hammer it..the r's will jump to 5,200 or so...let then stay there for about 1 seconds then nail second..it took me a good 6 ruuns or so to get the launch down

i have a set of firehawk sz50's and i was able to cut hi 1.9's and a 1.94 best...

man don't tell him that! these aren't mustangs with an 8.8"

I was talking about my car... I wouldnt recommend it in any GM with a factory rear...

Why the heck would you talk about your car when he's on a third gen f body site asking how to launch his third gen camaro?

I launched for a few seasons on a stock clutch + rear at 6200rpm.
The clutch will slip before it blows up.


-- Joe

Your right, sorry... I didnt know the GMs were that weak... next time Ill post eveything worse than I think it should be. I launch at 6000, a thirdgen with tires, at 4000, does that sound good? I shift at 5500, a thirdgen at 5000? I just want to know.

hahah!

-- Joe

And like everyone else has said, you are trolling here because? I guess your mustang doesn't entertain you enough and you feel the need to hang out on a third gen chevy camaro site to make yourself feel better? Instead of your smart *** comments, "next time" you should just keep your mouth shut and any comments or info regarding mustangs to yourself.

Sorry but i'd trade over half of the kids on this site for him, and some of the other non-thirdgen owners that actually have a clue on this site.

This site is filled with high schoolers with absolutely no real world mechanical experience, yet they're all experts. I've seen some of the stupidest suggestions and theorys lately it just angers me.

Sorry for the rant. But he should be the last person on here you're picking on.


As far as the "question" goes, before switching to an aftermarket clutch I used a stock item, launched at 6200 with slicks, and ran consistant low 13s.. It was only when I got the blower, than the clutch started slipping big time. (not exploding).

But then again a T5 won't hold up behind a 350, and a 10 bolt can't be used with slicks and I'd need a carbon fiber driveshaft, so I must be lying right??


-- Joe

Atleast those kids are trying to learn about their own cars. Nothing wrong with suggesting something even if you aren't an expert, but there is something wrong with coming on another website where you have no reason to be and doing nothing but talking **** about the very cars this site is here for. If that's his thing, thats great, but do it on a mustang site because this place is here to help out third gen f body owners, not fox body stang owners who think they are gods gift to the racing world. BTW, isn't he still in highschool? If he likes his car so much then why doesn't he stick to sites about his car, cause there are plenty out there. I love my car too, but I don't go trolling around other sites talking **** about every other car manufacturer and model. I have a little more confidence than that and have no need to do that sort of thing. And before you go saying you are here to "educate" us ignorant third gen owners about the wonders of the mustang, DON'T. I don't give a crap and neither does anyone else here. If I wanted to know I would be on a mustang site so spare me.

Well yeah, but he's prolly right. I've been racing for many many years and the fox body is a proven platform. Still I like my firebird, and I like GM engineering and SBC but I'm not gonna lie and say he can't build a better faster fox body for around the same budget. Scary huh? I've got a lot of friends who own shops and very fast fox body's. They are ugly as hell but they are a much better drag car, by far. If you want a list of reasons just look at all the things I had to do to my car.

As far as the high school thing, perhaps he maybe, I'm not sure. Its harder to tell from his posts vs say, most of the people in the TPI board.

-- Joe

And like I said, I don't really care. If I did don't you think I would have one? This is a third gen camaro site. I wanna learn about my third gen camaro. I don't give a rat's *** about some mustang and I certainly don't wanna read about it when I come here for my car, not his. If I ever want to know something I'll visit their site. Simple. Quit cluttering the boards with useless mustang nonsense.

Thats partly why fbody's are some of the slowest cars on the road today. Cuz they never wanna hear how the other guy did it. Sure its a fbody site. (firebirds ok too?).

Like I said I like my firebird more than a fox body, but I've learned a lot from those cars.

A firebird's an f body aint it, alright then. Anyways, that's all well and good. But what good is it gonna do me or anyone else by simply saying hahaha ford is better than gm hahahahaha. Mustangs are better than camaros, hahahaha, i got you, I'm cool. WTF, i dont give a ****. I have never learned a damn thing from this kid. I've never seen him once post something technical and useful that I could put towards my camaro. What he says is childish and stupid. The 2 suspension setups are completely different and I doubt even if he wanted to help out he could. Tell me, what have you learned from the local mustang boy?

EDIT: I've got a few friends with stangs and sometimes we can compare setups and different theories to help each other out when they apply, but nonsense like this is retarted. He say's his reason for being here is, I'll quote, "To educate all you ignorant third gen owners." I don't need to be educated about mustangs. I don't want to be educated about anything concerning how great his car is. IF I DID I WOULD ASK! GET IT?

Let me give an example, which is purely hypothetical. Suppose someone on the boards wants to know how he can lower his 60 foots on street tires. If 25thmustang decided to quit trolling the street racing forum for a bit, he might chime in with a response such as, "We'll I'de put some slicks on that baby and launch her at 6,000. Opps I meant I'de do that in my mustang." How does this help? Or maybe he would say "go get a mustang's rear suspension." Good one there. If he would have actually said something helpful I would have no problem with him, no matter what car he drives or any other factors. As long as you can contribute and have a valid reason to be here that is completely all well and good. If you are just here to brag about how much better your car is or cause problems with no technical information what so ever then you need to leave. If anyone has actually learned something that they could use to help their car out from this guy that does not apply to a mustang speak up.

i agree with 25thrss. i've got a buddy who has a ford crown vic he messes with .... mustang ecm and intake, gt40 heads and cam, etc. he goes to a site where a bunch of other big ford lovers share info, just as we do on here. i occasionally go to breakfasts his car club holds or see them at the dragstrip and tease them about tuning with a "ford tool" (hammer), etc., but i don't go on their board talking about how much better, lighter, etc. my firebird is. they go to that board to learn about their cars, bench race, etc. going on there and slamming them is like going in an opposing team's locker room before the game. not cool.

save it for the field.

i might have a bit of advice, when i launched my 5 speed car on street tires, i held the rpms at about 4grand then i dropped the clutch, thats how i got my bes ttimes, my worst times are wheen i launched about 2.5grand

Hahah 25th you are one funny guy!

You dont brag because you have... thats right why would someone listen to an LO3 owner when you have NO track times to prove what you have done? I have times to prove what I have run, and Mustang or Fbody when it comes to racing they are pretty even. You want to run good times, better have traction and beter launch that car, thats what I am saying...

Im not in HS anymore, and I think it aggravates you that my car is as fast as it is, because a lot of Fbody owners dont want to believe what the Mustangs can do. Some accept it, others (such as yourself) get all pissy and whiny...

I will continue to post in threads whenever I want, remember, you started the **** talking on here, not me, so before you get your panties all wound up, realize that!

I would rather take advice from a 12 second Fbody owner than a 15 second Mustang driver... think about that one...

well he does have a vaild point, you gave advice without acknowledging that it was directed towards mustangs.

that could lead to trouble if someone listened to your advice.

Funny that you say that. Would you like to run my other f body? BTW, I do have track times, I just don't feel the need to advertise them all over the place. I especially won't be caught dead trolling on some stang site trying to push how much better my car is than theirs. You seem to have some kind of inferiority complex that makes you need to do that. This is a third gen site, that is why you will notice how I have my third gen listed as my car and I talk about third gen f body tech. You can continue to post all you want, just realize that nobody cares about your mustang except maybe other mustang drivers, and I'm sure it's the same way on mustang sites regarding camaros. If you still feel the need to post for some reason try to keep it somewhat third gen f body oriented, and certainly don't start giving about bad advice anymore when you have no clue what you are talking about.

Ok, Ill let you have it your way, you win (congrats) I guess...

Welll, I gaurentee with a solid rear and tranny you could launch at 6000, and run some great times. Maybe its a little incentive to do so with his car, see that others do it with good results, and then he could build to allow himself to do it!

thanks for all your help guys.....the advice is great. Also, thanks to 25thRS and 25th Mustang for the delightful entertainment.

Anytime, just let me know!

ok, i gots a question

you guys are talking about dropping the clutch at high rpms and it willl slip or blow up...now ok am i reading this write ur holding down the gas and pressing the clutch all they way in then dropping it or letting it go and away you go...are u guys saying if you do that at to high of an rpm ull mess up the clutch? I understand the right rpm were u get minimum wheel spin at the best rpm..

In my truck just to do peel outs and wat not...sence it doesnt have a tach i just hold the gas and the clutch and let the clutch go and errrrrr away i go...is that bad?

Theres not as much shock on the drivetrain if the tires spin... but if they hook the energy is sent into the driveline, from the rear to the tranny to the clutch.

Also the initial hit of the clutch from freewheeling to engaged, is hard on it. With the right parts it takes a lot of the worry out of it, but there is always the chance something breaks!