Launching with stock TQ converter at the track, some observations.

['03BlkMM]

I was down in Houston visiting a friend this weekend and we had the chance to run over to HRP and run my car and his 2003 Nissan Maxima on Friday night. There were so few people there on Friday night that I had the opportunity to run several times and experiment with the launch. I tried launching the way I did at Ennis earlier this spring and couldn't get anywhere near as good on my 60' time as I did there. Wheelspin was a problem only one time. I was launching by holding the car at approx 1/4-1/3 throttle brake torqueing it. I would roll out for a split second and then floor it. The best 60 I could get launching this way was a pathetic 2.404. The car felt like a dog when I launched it this way, bogging pretty badly. I noticed everytime that I cleaned the tires off before staging though that the car felt stonger when it was just punched like that. I was just stabbing the throttle and breaking the tires loose for a second when I did that. I decided to try the same technique when launching. I let the car idle at the light and just punched it and tried to moderate the spin. The car immediately felt better off the line. It took a bit more effort to keep the tires from spinning by lanching this way but the 60' times came down into the 2.28-2.32 range. My best time lanching the old way was 15.02, after changing the lanching technique it dropped to 14.75-14.8. Looks like the torque converter is flashing at a higher RPM when its hit with the power suddenly versus brake torqueing it. I was seeing approx 2200 rpms brake torqueing it. The best I could tell it was going to about 2400-2500 rpms when I would just punch it off the line. The conditions were pretty bad out there. It had rained about 3" that afternoon and you couldn't make it from the end of track back to the start without going through a bunch of little ponds in the roads and parking lot, so with the heat/humidity I didn't feel too bad about the horrible times.
On another note. The real surprise was my friends stock '03 Maxima. Its a 4 spd auto with the 255hp 3.5L. It was killing me out of the hole, even if I beat him on reaction time. He was ripping off 2.01-2.05 60' times. He had me down by a car or more out of the hole everytime. I would pull back up on him 2/3 of the way down the track as he was only trapping 90-91 mph versus my MM's 95-96mph. But that thing leaps off the line. I tried it once down the track and was amazed how much more power it has off the line. I ran a 2.05 60' when I drove it. He was surprised also, he has raced his LS-1 6spd and his 94 RX-7 turbo out there and both of those he had trouble getting that low of a 60' time with the stock radials. The Maxima did it with little trouble.

Anyway, hopefully this will give some others some ideas on lanching their car.

[duhtroll]

Dude.

Paragraphs.

Please.

Unless you are spinning off the line (which should not be possible w/o 4.10s and a tune) then you should just mash the pedal - I think the overall feel of the racers feel that way (not the heavily modded ones - don't know what they do).

Works for me better than anything else.

-A

[Marauderman]

Dude.

Paragraphs.

Please.

-A
What he said^^^^^^^^^^^.....thanks

['03BlkMM]

Sorry, I don't usually have very long posts so I don't worry about breaking it up into paragraphs! Guess I let this one get away from me. But at least my spelling was correct, I've seen posts on here that every 3rd word was misspelled and nobody said a word!


From what I've read on here several people have said the way they launch the car is by brake torqueing it. I do have traction problems if I just floor it off the line. Thats why I was saying that I have to moderate the throttle a bit when launching.

FWIW I had an '80 camaro at one time with a high stall and a built 350 in it. The best way I found to launch it was to brake torque it and roll out easing into the throttle. I was able to get consistent 1.95-2.05's with cheap street radials in that car. Of course it was a lighter car with more low end torque. Looks like that technique won't work in the MM!

[David Morton]

Sorry, I don't usually have very long posts so I don't worry about breaking it up into paragraphs!...Since "posts" is a plural, "it" is incorrect grammar. "Them" was the correct usage in this sentence.
Guess I let this one get away from me. But at least my spelling was correct, I've seen posts on here that every 3rd word was misspelled and nobody said a word!

From what I've read on here several people have said the way they launch the car is by brake torqueing it. I do have traction problems if I just floor it off the line. Thats why I was saying that I have to moderate the throttle a bit when launching. ...Missed the apostrophe. "That is" contracts to "That's"

And in a possesive indication the apostrophes' location goes after the "s" as in its' usage twice in this very sentence.

All on good fun my friend. BTW, congartulations on you're win. Way to repersent their!

:lol:

[DEFYANT]

All on good fun my friend. BTW, congartulations on you're win. Way to repersent their!
Shouldn't "on" be "in"? And shouldn't "their" be there? :D

:beer:

[David Morton]

Outstanding! Defyant wins the grammar contest but fails to notice the horrendous spelling error.

YeeeHah! :lol:

[David Morton]

Outstanding! Defyant wins the grammar contest but fails to notice the horrendous spelling error.

YeeeHah! :lol:Shouldn't that be "errors" David? There were two.

HuAhh! :lol:

[David Morton]

Son-of-a-bi... :mad:

['03BlkMM]

Since "posts" is a plural, "it" is incorrect grammar. "Them" was the correct usage in this sentence. Missed the apostrophe. "That is" contracts to "That's"

And in a possesive indication the apostrophes' location goes after the "s" as in its' usage twice in this very sentence.

All on good fun my friend. BTW, congartulations on you're win. Way to repersent their!

:lol:

i Enthuziastikally aKcept yor congartualtion

[David Morton]

:laugh:


I LOVE this site! At the end of a pisser of a day I come here, read about my buds, put in my two cents of horse hockey, and all of a sudden God is in His heaven and all's well in the world.

Thanks again Logan!

[Bradley G]

Anything over 1100-1300 rpm's using a breaktorque method, whilest launching, has routinely resulted in tire spin (poor 60' times).

Third yellow and floor it, has resulted in more consistant 60' times.
I have not even got close, to one cool day at Byron, where a 2.09 60' was some how pulled off.
Not trying to come across as a weenee, but the Track prep was incredible.

[David Morton]

On Nov 20th last year I did this bone stock. I was brake torqueing but not doing a burn out in the water box and keeping the tires dry. I've never just stabbed the throttle from idle. I'll have to try that method now that I have the tune installed and transmission mods from my warranty rebuild last May.

[Bradley G]

Hey David!,

Those are some pretty darn good reaction times, for an old guy!:D J/K


On Nov 20th last year I did this bone stock. I was brake torqueing but not doing a burn out in the water box and keeping the tires dry. I've never just stabbed the throttle from idle. I'll have to try that method now that I have the tune installed and transmission mods from my warranty rebuild last May.

[David Morton]

Reaction times?

OH! THAT"S what that "R/T" stands for! I'm so embarrassed. :o

Hell, one of them is a complete nothing! .000! I feel like a total failure. :o

:lol: