Launching an S2

[dest]

Quite a general question, but one for a good debate

How hard can you launch one with a STANDARD clutch and transmission set up?

My last car (Cav Turbo) was 4x4, but had an achilles heal; the transfer box.
This meant you simply could not launch it hard atall! Side stepping the clutch at anything over about 4k was putting it on borrowed time

Now, of course, I have the S2!
The only problem is, Im still in the mindset of being concious of not breaking something

I am planning on going to Pod for afew runs on the strip, so what can I safely do to get it off the line quickly?!

[Jas11n]

what can I safely do to get it off the line quickly?!

Tie it to the back of Dougs S4?
Sorry, I'll get me coat

I'm far to mechanically sympathetic to try launching mine with lots of aggression

Jase.

[dest]

I dont plan on taking mine to within an inch of its life!
I just wondered out of interest how hard other people do it

What revs, and how hard/quickly the clutch is let out etc

[andrewd]

I mostly try to avoid launching the S4 what with the known issues with the weak 1st gear. Having said that, I've tried it literally just a couple of times for 'research purposes'.

In the wet it'll spin all four wheels in the on a greasy surface, and in the dry it will give a brief chirp before taking your breath away with an improbably rapid gain in speed for such a large, heavy tank!

[Rusty]

In the dry:-

Hold it at 4500rpm, bring the clutch up quickly but don't side-step it, floor it at the same time but don't get the clutch slipping. The car will slightly bog down but should be just about on boost when all settles down, grabbing second is pretty easy.

In the wet:-

Press diff lock button, hold it at 6-7krpm, bring the clutch up very quickly and floor it, again, don't let the clutch slip... then hold on. If the clutch does slip then you'll knacker it very very quickly. The wheels should spin a little and maybe you'll bounce of the limiter. Then you need to get second at the right point, takes a few goes but when you get used to the wheelspin (rarity in the S2) then you can get it right. I've done this in town against some chav mobiles and the results are hilarious for all concerned, especially on the stock suspension

Both will kill a standard clutch after about 5 goes in a row but one-offs are fine IMO as long as your clutch is good. With a breather to let it cool down you're also fine. You're best to get the wheels to spin to save the transmisson, with the track rubber on that was nearly impossible and the clutch takes the brunt of any miscalculation in the revs and feet department...

The above methods see my car in the mid 5s 0-60 on the GTech, a bit less without the interior.

[Sonic]

I do like to give mine the odd blast in first gear i'll admit

However my best launch was completely co-incidental and before i had the 1st-2nd synchro fixed!

Me and a mate (Karak) were in 2 seperate cars at a set of lights after a long journey down the M6. He was in a hyundai coupe i was in the s2.

Karak took the piss a little and revved the **** off the hyundai (it wasnt his car), and i decided to be a bit of a chav and rev the s2 in comparison When i hit about 6krpm the lights went green and without thinking about it to much side stepped the clutch.

Needless to say the car launched and the hyundai disappeared. I had to let the revs drop before slotting it into 2nd, but the launch was pretty cool. Karak said it looked awesome

Edit: This was in the wet and as Andy Casey said the car bogs down for a split second as it struggles to get traction and the weight shifts to the rear, a slight slip of the tyres and then you're off.

[Rusty]

Andy, there was a vid you took at Inters'07 of me and Bo side by side, the squat on my car is hilarious.

[Acidburn]

Lol

If I try launching mine it would spin all 4 wheels in the dry, It really all depends what you want, good launch or best time.

Good launch - as andy said above

Best time - more rev's etc and go.... mine used to do this fine till I did one whilst up in lough bro and it still drove for a while afterwards till the clutch went.

[Acidburn]

Andy, there was a vid you took at Inters'07 of me and Bo side by side, the squat on my car is hilarious.

any links?

[Sonic]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sba06oRLMMU

[terrybullwon]

Video in my sig, is at about 6.5k... In the dry the car goes like a scared cat!

[DarrenM]

This is how NOT to do it, (vid taken by jogi) i got caught unprepared by the green light so tried working the clutch a bit to get the power & revs back up, resulting in bunny hopping off the line...what a t*t!

http://s271.photobucket.com/albums/j...nt=DarrenM.flv

[Rusty]

Nothing wrong with your car if it's running 13.88 Darren!

[urquattro-island]

i

just let it rip at 6000rpm with difflock on, my first ever 1/4mile was done in 13,7 and best 60feet 1,8, with that said this was with the tires spinning off the line and first gear was finished before i left the lights.
I am using a clutch i bought off ebay.. really good, oh that reminds me i have to put up some pics of it..

[DarrenM]

Yeah true i suppose Andy, luckily pulled it back at the other end of the strip hey!!