[helloelectro]

Thought this might be an interesting topic. If you've done drag racing, what's your technique for a strong launch time. Be it turning nannies off, launch control, adjusting your tunes psi per gear etc. whatever you find to be a good combo. Include your car, model and mods if possible!!

[XutvJet]

I used to drag race all the time prior to my local drag strip getting closed about 10 years ago. I've got over 500 1/4 mile passes in FWD, RWD, and AWD 250-400hp street cars, most runs being on street tires and a few on drag radials. I've drag raced with both automatic and manuals.

First things first, you need to determine the ideal shift points. For a stock turbo M235 and M240, you should be shifting near redline except for maybe the 1-2 shift which might could be short-shifted (i.e., 6000-6500rpms). You'd need to experiment with that one. Shifting too early or too late can have huge effect on ET and trap speed.

To get good at drag racing takes a lot of practice, preferably at the track so that you can gauge 60 foot. A good and realistic 60 foot on a street tire RWD car is a 1.9 to 2.0 second 60 foot. Anything higher than that has room for improvement. Most people get 2.2-2.5 60 foots. For every .1 seconds you shed in 60 foot results in a reduction in 1/4 mile ET of around .15 seconds. The first 60 foot is critical. An xdrive M235/240 should be able to consistently obtain 1.7-1.8 60 foots. It's why they can obtain such killer 1/4 mile ETs.

Everyone thinks they're a great driver until they get that first timeslip 90% of the time, street cars at the strip aren't remotely as quick as mag times because most drivers really suck. Keep that in mind.

I'll keep my drag racing recommendations focused on the N55/B58 2 series cars.

Here are some general drag racing pointers:

1) Unless you've got drag radials/slicks, doing a burn out is detrimental to radial tire traction. You should drive around the water box and simply spin the tires enough to wipe the surface of debris and dirt. Doing a burn out on radials results is less grip.

2) Don't air down the tires past 26 psi. Radial tires aren't slicks. They are not more grippy with less air.

3) Slowly roll up to the staging area and set the prestage light and stop immediately. Then, ever so slightly creep up and set the stage light. By doing this, you'll get almost 1 foot of roll-out before the timing lights are tripped. This will result in a slightly lower ET.

4) If you take drag racing seriously, an LSD is a much needed mod in the RWD cars. It adds a ton more straight line traction. Your other option would be drag tires if you don't want to do an LSD. A RWD car with an LSD and slicks/DRs would be the most ideal, but be prepared for the potential to snap half shafts and possibly damage the transmission if you've got a lot of power or are launching at a high rpm (6MT) or with lots of brake stalling (automatic).


Automatics

1) Unless you've got xdrive, drag radials/slicks, or are on a highly prepared launch surface do not use launch control. It's too much for the rear tires and you'll roast them.

2) To launch the automatic, put the car in Sport+ or DSC Off. Stage the car and put the car in neutral. With your left foot on the brake, and mash it to the floor, and then mash the gas with your right foot to 3000-4000 rpms for one second. You should feel the brake pedal drop fractionally as the vacuum clears from the brake booster. Now you've got stronger clamping force on the brakes to hold the car for the launch. With your foot still firmly on the brake pedal, put the car in gear. Now take your right foot and bring the rpms up to ~1200rpms to remove drivetrain slack and lessen the impact on the drivetrain from the launch and to build a fractional amount of boost. When it's time to go, stab the throttle with about 50% throttle (the xdrive should be able to take full throttle or launch control), and about 1 second later release the brake. This technique will flash stall the torque converter and build some boost, improving off the line torque, but not delivering so much torque like launch control does that it destroys the tires. Then hold on and either manually shift or let the auto do it's thing.

3) A good launch on street tires will sound like the tires skipping while accelerating forward. If the tires spin and there's no forward progress or the back end is going sideways on launch, try again and lower how hard you stab the gas on launch. If there's no spin and the car bogs down on launch, then up the launch rpm. It's really a fine line between a tiny amount spin and a wasted run due to excessive spin.


Manual

1) To launch the 6MT, put the car in Sport+ or DSC Off. Stage the car and put the car in 1st. With the clutch in, rev up to around 3,000 rpms and slowly release the clutch until it just starts to catch (you don't want the car to roll yet).

2) When it's time to go, keep the rpms at 3000 and release the clutch enough that you feel the car start to roll forward (1-2mph). Once you feel that, start to release the clutch quickly while feeding the gas. Do not dump the clutch ever. You want to keep the rpms above 2800 to prevent bogging, but you don't want to release the clutch so quickly or add too much gas that you destroy the tires. It's quite possible that you won't go full throttle until around 5,000+ rpms as you're maintaining forward momentum and riding the fine line between bog and smoking the tires.

A good launch on street tires will sound like the tires skipping while accelerating forward. If the car bogs down, up the launch rpm. If the tires spin rather than skip, then don't release the clutch as quickly and/or reduce launch rpm. Launching a manual on street tires takes a lot of practice and skill. It's also pretty damn hard on the clutch as it requires a good amount of slip.

With 245/35R18 Pilot Sport 4S tires and the MP LSD, I can launch at 3500-4000rpms pretty consistently. When I didn't have the LSD, a 2800-3000rpm launch is all the car could handle and even then, it was and hit and miss in terms of consistency.

[helloelectro]

Originally Posted by XutvJet

I used to drag race all the time prior to my local drag strip getting closed about 10 years ago. I've got over 500 1/4 mile passes in FWD, RWD, and AWD 250-400hp street cars, most runs being on street tires and a few on drag radials. I've drag raced with both automatic and manuals.

First things first, you need to determine the ideal shift points. For a stock turbo M235 and M240, you should be shifting near redline except for maybe the 1-2 shift which might could be short-shifted (i.e., 6000-6500rpms). You'd need to experiment with that one. Shifting too early or too late can have huge effect on ET and trap speed.

To get good at drag racing takes a lot of practice, preferably at the track so that you can gauge 60 foot. A good and realistic 60 foot on a street tire RWD car is a 1.9 to 2.0 second 60 foot. Anything higher than that has room for improvement. Most people get 2.2-2.5 60 foots. For every .1 seconds you shed in 60 foot results in a reduction in 1/4 mile ET of around .15 seconds. The first 60 foot is critical. An xdrive M235/240 should be able to consistently obtain 1.7-1.8 60 foots. It's why they can obtain such killer 1/4 mile ETs.

Everyone thinks they're a great driver until they get that first timeslip 90% of the time, street cars at the strip aren't remotely as quick as mag times because most drivers really suck. Keep that in mind.

I'll keep my drag racing recommendations focused on the N55/B58 2 series cars.

Here are some general drag racing pointers:

1) Unless you've got drag radials/slicks, doing a burn out is detrimental to radial tire traction. You should drive around the water box and simply spin the tires enough to wipe the surface of debris and dirt. Doing a burn out on radials results is less grip.

2) Don't air down the tires past 26 psi. Radial tires aren't slicks. They are not more grippy with less air.

3) Slowly roll up to the staging area and set the prestage light and stop immediately. Then, ever so slightly creep up and set the stage light. By doing this, you'll get almost 1 foot of roll-out before the timing lights are tripped. This will result in a slightly lower ET.

4) If you take drag racing seriously, an LSD is a much needed mod in the RWD cars. It adds a ton more straight line traction. Your other option would be drag tires if you don't want to do an LSD. A RWD car with an LSD and slicks/DRs would be the most ideal, but be prepared for the potential to snap half shafts and possibly damage the transmission if you've got a lot of power or are launching at a high rpm (6MT) or with lots of brake stalling (automatic).


Automatics

1) Unless you've got xdrive, drag radials/slicks, or are on a highly prepared launch surface do not use launch control. It's too much for the rear tires and you'll roast them.

2) To launch the automatic, put the car in Sport+ or DSC Off. Stage the car and put the car in neutral. With your left foot on the brake, and mash it to the floor, and then mash the gas with your right foot to 3000-4000 rpms for one second. You should feel the brake pedal drop fractionally as the vacuum clears from the brake booster. Now you've got stronger clamping force on the brakes to hold the car for the launch. With your foot still firmly on the brake pedal, put the car in gear. Now take your right foot and bring the rpms up to ~1200rpms to remove drivetrain slack and lessen the impact on the drivetrain from the launch and to build a fractional amount of boost. When it's time to go, stab the throttle with about 50% throttle (the xdrive should be able to take full throttle or launch control), and about 1 second later release the brake. This technique will flash stall the torque converter and build some boost, improving off the line torque, but not delivering so much torque like launch control does that it destroys the tires. Then hold on and either manually shift or let the auto do it's thing.

3) A good launch on street tires will sound like the tires skipping while accelerating forward. If the tires spin and there's no forward progress or the back end is going sideways on launch, try again and lower how hard you stab the gas on launch. If there's no spin and the car bogs down on launch, then up the launch rpm. It's really a fine line between a tiny amount spin and a wasted run due to excessive spin.


Manual

1) To launch the 6MT, put the car in Sport+ or DSC Off. Stage the car and put the car in 1st. With the clutch in, rev up to around 3,000 rpms and slowly release the clutch until it just starts to catch (you don't want the car to roll yet).

2) When it's time to go, keep the rpms at 3000 and release the clutch enough that you feel the car start to roll forward (1-2mph). Once you feel that, start to release the clutch quickly while feeding the gas. Do not dump the clutch ever. You want to keep the rpms above 2800 to prevent bogging, but you don't want to release the clutch so quickly or add too much gas that you destroy the tires. It's quite possible that you won't go full throttle until around 5,000+ rpms as you're maintaining forward momentum and riding the fine line between bog and smoking the tires.

A good launch on street tires will sound like the tires skipping while accelerating forward. If the car bogs down, up the launch rpm. If the tires spin rather than skip, then don't release the clutch as quickly and/or reduce launch rpm. Launching a manual on street tires takes a lot of practice and skill. It's also pretty damn hard on the clutch as it requires a good amount of slip.

With 245/35R18 Pilot Sport 4S tires and the MP LSD, I can launch at 3500-4000rpms pretty consistently. When I didn't have the LSD, a 2800-3000rpm launch is all the car could handle and even then, it was and hit and miss in terms of consistency.

Wow. I didn't expect to get an answer with so much great info as this. Thanks so much for such an in-depth response!!

[da jemster]

Originally Posted by XutvJet

I used to drag race all the time prior to my local drag strip getting closed about 10 years ago. I've got over 500 1/4 mile passes in FWD, RWD, and AWD 250-400hp street cars, most runs being on street tires and a few on drag radials. I've drag raced with both automatic and manuals.

First things first, you need to determine the ideal shift points. For a stock turbo M235 and M240, you should be shifting near redline except for maybe the 1-2 shift which might could be short-shifted (i.e., 6000-6500rpms). You'd need to experiment with that one. Shifting too early or too late can have huge effect on ET and trap speed.

To get good at drag racing takes a lot of practice, preferably at the track so that you can gauge 60 foot. A good and realistic 60 foot on a street tire RWD car is a 1.9 to 2.0 second 60 foot. Anything higher than that has room for improvement. Most people get 2.2-2.5 60 foots. For every .1 seconds you shed in 60 foot results in a reduction in 1/4 mile ET of around .15 seconds. The first 60 foot is critical. An xdrive M235/240 should be able to consistently obtain 1.7-1.8 60 foots. It's why they can obtain such killer 1/4 mile ETs.

Everyone thinks they're a great driver until they get that first timeslip 90% of the time, street cars at the strip aren't remotely as quick as mag times because most drivers really suck. Keep that in mind.

I'll keep my drag racing recommendations focused on the N55/B58 2 series cars.

Here are some general drag racing pointers:

1) Unless you've got drag radials/slicks, doing a burn out is detrimental to radial tire traction. You should drive around the water box and simply spin the tires enough to wipe the surface of debris and dirt. Doing a burn out on radials results is less grip.

2) Don't air down the tires past 26 psi. Radial tires aren't slicks. They are not more grippy with less air.

3) Slowly roll up to the staging area and set the prestage light and stop immediately. Then, ever so slightly creep up and set the stage light. By doing this, you'll get almost 1 foot of roll-out before the timing lights are tripped. This will result in a slightly lower ET.

4) If you take drag racing seriously, an LSD is a much needed mod in the RWD cars. It adds a ton more straight line traction. Your other option would be drag tires if you don't want to do an LSD. A RWD car with an LSD and slicks/DRs would be the most ideal, but be prepared for the potential to snap half shafts and possibly damage the transmission if you've got a lot of power or are launching at a high rpm (6MT) or with lots of brake stalling (automatic).


Automatics

1) Unless you've got xdrive, drag radials/slicks, or are on a highly prepared launch surface do not use launch control. It's too much for the rear tires and you'll roast them.

2) To launch the automatic, put the car in Sport+ or DSC Off. Stage the car and put the car in neutral. With your left foot on the brake, and mash it to the floor, and then mash the gas with your right foot to 3000-4000 rpms for one second. You should feel the brake pedal drop fractionally as the vacuum clears from the brake booster. Now you've got stronger clamping force on the brakes to hold the car for the launch. With your foot still firmly on the brake pedal, put the car in gear. Now take your right foot and bring the rpms up to ~1200rpms to remove drivetrain slack and lessen the impact on the drivetrain from the launch and to build a fractional amount of boost. When it's time to go, stab the throttle with about 50% throttle (the xdrive should be able to take full throttle or launch control), and about 1 second later release the brake. This technique will flash stall the torque converter and build some boost, improving off the line torque, but not delivering so much torque like launch control does that it destroys the tires. Then hold on and either manually shift or let the auto do it's thing.

3) A good launch on street tires will sound like the tires skipping while accelerating forward. If the tires spin and there's no forward progress or the back end is going sideways on launch, try again and lower how hard you stab the gas on launch. If there's no spin and the car bogs down on launch, then up the launch rpm. It's really a fine line between a tiny amount spin and a wasted run due to excessive spin.


Manual

1) To launch the 6MT, put the car in Sport+ or DSC Off. Stage the car and put the car in 1st. With the clutch in, rev up to around 3,000 rpms and slowly release the clutch until it just starts to catch (you don't want the car to roll yet).

2) When it's time to go, keep the rpms at 3000 and release the clutch enough that you feel the car start to roll forward (1-2mph). Once you feel that, start to release the clutch quickly while feeding the gas. Do not dump the clutch ever. You want to keep the rpms above 2800 to prevent bogging, but you don't want to release the clutch so quickly or add too much gas that you destroy the tires. It's quite possible that you won't go full throttle until around 5,000+ rpms as you're maintaining forward momentum and riding the fine line between bog and smoking the tires.

A good launch on street tires will sound like the tires skipping while accelerating forward. If the car bogs down, up the launch rpm. If the tires spin rather than skip, then don't release the clutch as quickly and/or reduce launch rpm. Launching a manual on street tires takes a lot of practice and skill. It's also pretty damn hard on the clutch as it requires a good amount of slip.

With 245/35R18 Pilot Sport 4S tires and the MP LSD, I can launch at 3500-4000rpms pretty consistently. When I didn't have the LSD, a 2800-3000rpm launch is all the car could handle and even then, it was and hit and miss in terms of consistency.

Thank you!