best launch w/automatic transmission

[Trans Am]

stock 93 t/a a4 w overdrive (non eletronic), 3.23 s

launch in 2nd and then shift in D?
launch in D?
shift all gears ?

[LoudLT1]

Whenever I go out to play...
First I lower the tire pressure on the rear to 32psi....
I've got 3.73's and A4....
I power brake; get my rpm's up to around 1,000 and hold on the break...
then i feather it from there until i get traction....
Then I floor it and hold on....
going to add lca's and panhard rod and relocation brackets this winter to help in traction....
Eddie

[BadWS6]

My 97's shifter is labled 1,2,3,D I launch the car in 3rd holding the car in place at about 1000 rpm light turns green car launches hard if I am not carefull it will hop terriably so I have lousy 60' times as I sorta ease into the gas ...I have tried starting in 1st and shifting thru the gears all I managed to do is hit the rev limiter in every gear . I figure the computer is a lot smarter and faster than me

[alenstein]

My 97's shifter is labled 1,2,3,D I launch the car in 3rd holding the car in place at about 1000 rpm light turns green car launches hard if I am not carefull it will hop terriably so I have lousy 60' times as I sorta ease into the gas ...I have tried starting in 1st and shifting thru the gears all I managed to do is hit the rev limiter in every gear . I figure the computer is a lot smarter and faster than me

I have 93 also with non electronic tranny, then I guess we shouldnt be hitting the rev limiter when shifting through gears??

[Z Ya Later]

The trick with an auto is shifting a couple seconds before you want it to shift. Granted, the Z is a stick, but the GN and the Jeep are both autos. Try shifting a couple seconds before you want it to shift if you want to try that method. But, the beauty of the auto is to just leave it in top gear (Drive on the T/A, OverDrive on the Z) and let it do the shifting for you. Unless you've got a manual valvebody, you're not gonna see a difference. That's my experience anyways.

[hotwhip9]

When I have tried shifting through the gears i've found my times to be worse. Significantly worse. And no traction. I still have yet to run it since the lca's and re-location brackets have been put in.

[Trans Am]

when I launch in 2nd it seems bettter, I m not sure though
I just keep the pedal down from the start, i guess its not such a good idea but it feels good

[tclelland]

I lowered my tire pressure to 28psi, drove around the water box, did a quick burnout to clean off the tires but not enough to get them "hot". I put my A4 in 3rd, made sure the traction control was turned off (duh) and my windows were up (double duh).
After staging i held my left foot on the brake and raised the rev's to around 1100. At the last yellow I released the break and feathered the gas to put the power down with minimum wheel spin. After that it was a nice ride, easy directions, not even any turns, enjoyed the scenery.....watched the guys tail lights in the next lane.....
Best outcome is in sig. Have fun!

[HottestZ28]

I have found that if you lower pressure to 22 psi, knock into 2nd do your burnout long, stage and 1/2 to 3/4 throttle till you know your breaking point and then shift from 2nd to third you will notice a difference.
I have found that stalling a stock converter over heats the converter and slows the launch down
stalling the converter got me a 13.8 2.12 60ft
doing about got me 13.32 1.97 60 ft time
same tires, same air, no change but drivers way

[Formulaboy95]

Put it in drive, and hit the gas after the 2nd yellow.
13.466@103.85

[95z28]

Put it in drive, and hit the gas after the 2nd yellow.
13.466@103.85

Thats what i always do, i do a bit of a modified breakstand off the line, i bring the revs up to just before the tires wana break loose and i dont realy watch the lights i just count down once i see the first amber light up and go.

13.7 @ 102

[fastTa]

I have found that if you lower pressure to 22 psi, knock into 2nd do your burnout long, stage and 1/2 to 3/4 throttle till you know your breaking point and then shift from 2nd to third you will notice a difference.
I have found that stalling a stock converter over heats the converter and slows the launch down
stalling the converter got me a 13.8 2.12 60ft
doing about got me 13.32 1.97 60 ft time
same tires, same air, no change but drivers way

You are correct. You will almost always get a quicker ET if you do not hold the brake and stall the stock converter. Just put in D and punch it when its time. By doing this, the motor will build up inertia just before the stock converter reaches the flash point.

We took a friend of mine's bone stock LS1 SS to the track and made a bunch of runs. We tried it both ways and every single ET was quicker when we did not stall the converter.

[NorthernSS]

That's very interesting Fast TA because everything I have ever read has said to stall the stock converter then mash it. I will have to try this. What your saying is just mash it from idle?? Im going to guess it still best to stall an aftermarket converter with a higher stall?? I practice my launches almost everyday at this one stoplight and find that stalling my car has got me better launches. But going to high an rpm(right before it breaks loose about 1200-1400rpm) it doesnt seem to be better. I found that just a little stall (around 1000rpm) works best. Ive messed with alot and this worked best for me.

[fastTa]

That's very interesting Fast TA because everything I have ever read has said to stall the stock converter then mash it. I will have to try this. What your saying is just mash it from idle?? Im going to guess it still best to stall an aftermarket converter with a higher stall?? I practice my launches almost everyday at this one stoplight and find that stalling my car has got me better launches. But going to high an rpm(right before it breaks loose about 1200-1400rpm) it doesnt seem to be better. I found that just a little stall (around 1000rpm) works best. Ive messed with alot and this worked best for me.

Even with an aftermarket high stall converter, you still will always get your best launch without holding the converter at its foot brake stall. Just ask any serious drag racer who has been racing for awhile. The entire purpose of a ordering a torque converter with a stator ratio and foot brake and/or true or footbrake stall specific to your application is so that you will have a little room to rev the motor before the converter reaches it's flash point.

For instance when I had the TH400 in my 97 TA, I had a Vigilante 3600 foot brake stall. When I was sitting on the tree, I would hold the motor at about 3000, and then when it was time to go I nailed it.

The reason that drag racers do this is because you want to give the engine a split second to build up inertia before the stator and the turbine become hydrostatically locked (flash point). This will allow for better torque multiplication through the converter and furthermore through the rest of the drivetrain.

[NorthernSS]

Thanks man that is some great advice and info I dont know lots and learning as I go so this kind of stuff really helps.