hey guys, im taking the car to the strip with some buddies,

considering all the rubber that is layed down at the start, what you guys reccommend is the best rpm to launch the car at.

its obviously very different than the street, will the *** hop around or be smooth or still get wheel spin

on the street i usually do between 5-6k rpm, for the track what you say 4-5?

 

9250 rpm.

 

I would imagine if you go to the track and just drop the clutch at 4K RPM, you'll bog big time, but it depends on track prep. It could be ultra sticky, or it could be like launching on the street. You won't know until you try a few times. Try different things, and see what your 60ft looks like.

 

Dont forget to post the slip info..

 

I would say test the track out and try a few different rpms. when i go i usually go around 6.5 and feather the clutch a little bit. that was when i was stock, i need wider tires now seems my mods have made it a little harder to launch. wheel hop you most like still will get it now and then, just remember feather the clutch.

 

Hey what was your time and trapspeed? 55 shot?

 

wow,

drop the rear tires to 24 psi. and feather the clutch at ~ 4.5k rpm.. a quick feather..

now if you dont have the stock suspension you can up the stuff up a bit..

btw, with the stock suspension. any clutch drop is going to get you wheel hop. which is bad in so many ways. and time is not the most important..

beers

 

ok, so maybe my advice is going against what everyone just said here. but this is what works for me.

32psi
more than half a tank of gas (helps with traction)
4500 rpm
feather the clutch out
KICK THE MOTHERFUCKING CLUTCH IN AND SHIFT

shifting as fast as possible is key. remember to put the clutch in first then let off the gas, otherwise you will bog down the engine. if you want to see this in action, drive around in gear and let off the gas. what happens? even if its minute, for a fraction of a second, it stil matters in racing.

i am hoping if i ever get drag radials that i can run with an 1/8 tank of gas and launch at 7000rpm.

 

I launch at 5k, make sure you turn off all traction control. Your launch will be much smoother and faster. You can gain several tenths just by following my advise. Guys are getting 14.5 -14.7 ave. quarter times with healthy stock rx8s.

 

thanks to those actually trying to answer. the others i deleted

 

*Has never been to the drag strip*
*Is taking notes*

 

ah of course, thank you roaddemon, ALWAYS turn off ALL traction control.

personally it is a half second difference for me.

i can run 14.5 no sweat with tc off, but that goes to 15.0 with tc on.

my 2.0 60 foots go to 2.2+ with traction control on.

 

dude 5 1/2-6 is good. on street i do about 5 or just a little under. and i still get a tiny bit of spin. DO NOT 7 LAUNCH!! you will kill your LSD.

 

hold it at 8.5k and slowly feather the clutch out...thats the best launch possible

 

yes feather the clutch, that is the key. dont stright dump the clutch you will do some major damage to the LSD. sock LSD is only good rolling. now dead stop launch not so go for it.

 

*taking notes***

 

wow,

this is so full of stupid i had to make note..

you let me know where i am wrong skippy...

btw, you need to have a good answer. or i am going to go to your post, and that is not going to be good..

beers

 

agreed. i know ranked autocrossers sidestep the clutch for the quickest launch possible, but.... they launch on r-comps. with street tires, you just get wheelspin.

i would sidestep the clutch, if i had drag radials.

 

hmmmm. Feather clutch, as in just getting friction?

 

no, its riding the clutch out.

like, you are giving quite a lot of gas, maybe 70-80%, maybe even 100%. it happens so quickly, im not quite sure what i do. i maybe giving it full gas. anyway..

and then you let the clutch out as quickly as smoothly possible. so basically, you have the clutch in for most of first gear. i probably finish letting the clutch out around 8,000 rpm.

 

That is what I do to get the most power without breaking the tires loose too much. You have to go by feel. The car can really fly off launch if you know how to do it. I have a natural feel for it from motorcycles. Most owners do not know how to launch the 8. I see so many bad launches on You tube. Most don't even turn off the traction contol causing wheel hop all the way through 1st gear. That will cost ya a second right there.

 

Go by feel, but measure it at the drag racing track by your 60 ft.

 

damn guys so i took my baby to the dragstrip for the first time and bombed really badly... car is stock except for size 40 tires in rear, and intake.. but i need to replace my filter its very dirty i realized too late

i think since i was nervous i couldnt think straight and dropped the clutch every time... wheels kept spinning all through first gear... and my reaction time sucked.. but here are the 3 runs i had, my best was 16.14 how bad is this???

run:-----1------2--------3 ( note first run i launched at 6krpm second run at 3krpm and third at 2krpm)

rt-------.84----.57-----.61
60'-----2.8----2.6------2.5
330----7.1----7.0-----6.9
1/8----10.7---10.6---10.5
mph---68.8---69.1---76.7
1/4----16.4---16.2---16.1
mph---85.3---85.9---88.2

 

I see you live in reston, where did you go to do this?

Also, it was your first attempt so it's probably not that bad.

 

So you launched at 2k rpm and got 16.14 seconds....
wtf, why would you even do that? Note, 5.5k rpm is max torque. I would launch around that area. If you are getting too much wheelspin, dont drop the clutch. Ride it out a bit.