Launching Marauder

[Bradley G]

Hey MMers,

Now that the cold weather is upon us (most),With the moddest mods I have 4:10 and Lidios program ,The "launch" has become complicated with excessive wheel spin(I still recall dreaming of this) if I slam to go pedal real hard.
. All this being said what is your launch technique?After power adders did you have to modify this technique?
Bradley G

[Smokie]

My rear stock tires are toast, so the best I can do is hold the brake and leave at idle; 900 rpm's due to U/D's. The launch is a firm press all the way down, not a stab, the stab=no traction. My best 60' is 2.18. No gears or T/C.

I'm not so sure my results are so hot, but is the best I can come up with in my present set-up. I do need rear tires badly.:)

[BlackHole]

Best 60 I cut stock was a 2.300 now with the 4.10's/TB/and chip best is a 2.199. But I feather the pedal anymore. Kind of like bring the RPM's up to 1200/1500 anymore over this and the tires howl. I don.t push the accel. down fully until after the 60 foot mark. Then its just go go go.

[MikesMerc]

The launch is a firm press all the way down, not a stab, the stab=no traction.

A well said explanation ...this is how I do it as well.

To be honest it takes "seat time" to get "the feel" of getting the car moving as quickly as possible but be right on the edge of blazing the tires. Actually my best holeshots come when I ever so slightly "haze" the tires. When you do that, you know you are right on the line between max traction and max power.

[CRUZTAKER]

The BFG's always have issues hooking. But...in the cold weather, below 40, they get worse.

There are no tricks to launching BFG's, particularly in cold weather. In warm weather, maybe.

Aside from that, in a perfect world, temps never below 45, feather the BFG's and stab the slicks.:D

[sailsmen]

25 PSI, bring it up to 1,300 to 1,500.

[Smokie]

Actually my best holeshots come when I ever so slightly "haze" the tires. When you do that, you know you are right on the line between max traction and max power.Completely agree, my best came with a little tire burning. is it the converter that allows you to hold the revs at 1300 to 1500 ??? When I last attempted a launch in the 1200-1300 rpm range the traction was so bad I almost hit the wall, the car went from 1st into 2nd barely moving forward, no traction in 2nd, had to hit the brakes....

[Bradley G]

Thanks guys for responses!I have not had any sucess by loading the torque converter even with the slightest breaktorque I encounter a case of the slows.I read here someone Loading the T/C like sailmen said,Then as you ease off the break pedal you go easy to the floor with the go pedal simultainously.Anyone had any sucess trying this?

Bradley G

[MikesMerc]

Well, the real purpose of "loading" up at the line is to load up the chassis. What you are trying to prevent is the aggressive weight transfer at the moment of launch from "winding up" the rear suspension too far, which leads to the rear suspension "unloading" and tranfersing the wieght back to the front of the car too soon. You don't want the weight of the car "bouncing" off the rear suspension. Peloading the chassis with tension mitigates the problem to some extent. Having drag struts with unequal valving up front (like 90/10s) which "hold the front end up" also helps.

I think the thing to remember is that on our cars preloading the chassis isn't a big factor like other cars that have suspension work done that allow for better weight transfer (drag struts, no front sway bar, lightened front end, etc ). Are cars are still "pinned down" on the front end. This is likely why we don't see consistently good results with folks loading up on the line.

The other reason for preload is one of safety. A preloaded driveline is likely to experience less breakage on the line. Being preloaded takes of the slack out of the driveline and prevents parts from "slapping" at launch. Trannies, U joints, and axles appreciate the preload.

That all said, I preload very lightly at around 900rpm. Aything more leads to far worse traction.

[sailsmen]

My first run at the track and the tires spun like crazy, had to let completely off the throttle. A year latter I still have rubber on the rear fender wells from it.It was the result of no track prep.

[Bradley G]

I'm just starting to get feel of it!For me now my best effort goes like thisOD off T/C off gas 1/3 pedal for a split sec1thousand and floor it!very minor wheel slip= Good Launch!
:burnout: Godda get to a track
Bradley G

[BillyGman]

This is where the drag radials help a whole lot. They're made of a softer compound rubber than the standard radial tires are, and when you heat them up with a good burnout ( you need to get into second gear during your burnout) they offer better traction. Especially at the dragstrip. All my 1.6 second 60' times were accomplished w/out loading-up the torque converter at all, and by stabbing the pedal down all at once. However, Mike has made an interesting point about loading-up the torque converter just a little bit in order to prevent the drivetrain parts from slapping together violently. But if I can get the tires to grab real good with 4.56 gears and a roots S/Cer by stabbing the pedal down all at once, then you guys should be able to. :banana2:

[martyo]

^^^Billy: The benefit if pre-loading the Converter is that it also pre-loads the suspension, which will cut down on teh reaction time of the car itself (the time that it takes the car to launch).

[Bradley G]

OK,.............I Guess it's back to the Private track for Me to practice W/both feet!;) ......:burnout:

:D :D :D Bradley G

PS How bout you BillyGman?, this makes sense and you only need .007 to break that elusive 11 sec ET barrier.What do you say? :burnout: