I’m sure this will sound stupid but what is the best way to launch a manual car at the track or on the street? With my automatic I would hold the brake and rev the engine as much as I could without rolling and then hit the gas and release the brake when the light turned green.

I have driven a manual for several years but never raced one. Should I rev to a certain RPM and then dump the clutch or should I slip the clutch a little before. Is it possible to break the axel or driveshaft if I do it wrong? I’m not running slicks, just street tires. I don’t want to burn up my clutch either. I just put in a T56 6speed and a hays street/strip clutch. I can drive it just fine and can speed shift it good but I’m just wondering about launching at a light.

 

There are alot of variables that can make or break a manual launch. Road / track conditions, hp / trq, drivetrain / suspension setup, tires / tire condition, posi / non-posi, gearing, driver experience etc etc all factor into having a good launch.

Well personally, what I'd suggest is to do a few trial runs to figure where and how to launch to really hit that (so-to-say) "sweet spot" that's right for your particular vehicle (not all 3rd gens are equal).

Of course on the street it's a matter of dropping it into first and juggling the clutch and the gas to get it into that rpm range where your car will launch like a bat outta hell. Dropping the clutch at too much rpm on street tires and your sure to leave a great smoke show for quite a few feet. Too little rpm and your risk the possibility of falling flat on your face (bogging into 2nd). I find hitting the right rpm range and easing the clutch into gear works alot better (and is alot easier) on my drivetrain than dumping it.

With a good setup and drag radials / slicks you can launch real hard and much higher in the rpm range as opposed to street tires on the street (cross your fingers and hope the drivetrain and rear end hold up).

The real nice thing about a 3rd gen (as opposed to alot of stangs I've seen) is that the back end is pretty forgiving and doesn't get real crazy-like and squirrely on a bad launch.

 

when im at the track i set the limiter to 6500 and launch it with my foot on the floor with drag radials its only a 305 tpi but i still goes low 13s

 

I aint calling BS, but that is surely something i'd like to see.

 

me too,heck id even be willing to stand by with a shovel and bucket to help pick up the rear end parts scatterd on the ground lmao

 

i broke a 9 bolt a month ago and a 10 bolt last wednesday if you dont belive me i really dont care come to cecil county on a wednsday night in about a month or so and see for your self, sister said she would video tape it next time we go but i need a new rear and u-joint first, my foot is never off the floor from the second amber till the traps and i have a t-56 cause the t-5 would never hold up to speed shifting

 

Okay, so what your saying is you make it a regular routine to blow up rear ends??

Cool. You must have deep pockets eh. I guess we'd all love to see video of that anytime!

 

i dont try to blow them up it just happens the guy who taught me how to race has a gt350h with a 358 windsor and his car is a 4 speed he launches at 7200 flat shifts at 7800 and goes 9.95, i listen to whatever he says im only 18 and hes been racing a manual for 40 years, if he says to do it i will, and i dont have deep pockets but i work full time and live at home so pretty much all my money goes to the formula or my jeep, im saving for a 9 inch moser so it doesnt happen again

 

i didnt figure a 305tpi could even make it up to 6500..... lol

with a stock clutch and stock 3.42 10 bolt, and 5000 dump on et streets, you can make a couple of passes before fragging something. (did this with a '97 z28 with some weight reduction)

with my heads/cam LS1 car, i revved it to ~6200, put it to the wood and dumped it. with 12 bolt, 4.30 gear, and et streets it was getting mid 1.5's.

 

What I did was I found an abandoned road in the middle of nowhere and I picked a launching RPM of about 3000, then I tried to see how fast I could release the clutch and roll on the gas without spinning or bogging. What ended up happening was the first time I tried it all I got was smoke. Then I backed off a bit and still spun a lot, but just tried to spin a little less each time. It's all just practice.

 

the 305 has aluminum heads ported edelbrock base 560 lift cam and as& runners so it revs pretty good