Anyone with launch control?

[blewby u]

how do you avoid burning up your clutch? mines set at 5k and if i slide it i'll roast my clutch to 7k (it already cost me a new one) but i feel like if i drop it i'll snap something. any stories or advice or anything? i remember maybe 2 sundays ago on the blvd some black sti with a "jdm as f***" sticker on the back used his launch control and i smelled clutch like awful. can you avoid this, or not really since your engaging it at 5k?

[Vr-4-Life]

just drop the clutch.

jw is yours stock?

[blewby u]

yea, pretty much cept flash, obviously, and little things. tbe getting ordered this weekend, thank god

[Vr-4-Life]

i ment the clutch.

[blewby u]

oh lol, yea i just got another stock 8 one. got 1300 miles on it

[Vr-4-Life]

well i dont know about the evos but i preload my drivetrain whenever i can like this


1. put shifter in first gear
2. you bring the engine to your desired launch rpm
3. pull up on emergency brake while keeping your thumb on the button so it wont lock
4. release the clutch up to the point where it starts to grab (this takes the slack out of the drivetrain therefor reducing the initial shock introduced to all associated drivetrain parts)
5 put the handle down and launch

my vr4 has seen countless 5-6k launches and my drive train is PERFECT

I would also note that you have a new clutch and you may smell burnt ceramic for awhile. I get it every so often with a sloppy launch. when does mitsu say your clutches break in period is over?

[blewby u]

after 250 miles, and i haven't had any smell of clutch since i got this one either. so wait, we're using the e brake and foot brake?

[RayArroyo]

if you ride it out as your doing it you will burn you clutch, i would avoid launch control until you go with an aftermarket clutch

[blewby u]

Originally Posted by ray@turbotek

if you ride it out as your doing it you will burn you clutch, i would avoid launch control until you go with an aftermarket clutch

good to know, thanks

[Vr-4-Life]

i use the handbrake.. e brake whatever you want to call it. its the same thing to me.

the longer your on the clutch the longer it will be engaged and burn.. i never smell clutch unless it sticks..

i preload, press the gas 3x while holding the clutch for about 2-3 seconds before the launch. then i dump it at about 5-6k.. no burnt clutch. pretty good traction

[SpendOne]

Originally Posted by Vr-4-Life

i use the handbrake.. e brake whatever you want to call it. its the same thing to me.

the longer your on the clutch the longer it will be engaged and burn.. i never smell clutch unless it sticks..

i preload, press the gas 3x while holding the clutch for about 2-3 seconds before the launch. then i dump it at about 5-6k.. no burnt clutch. pretty good traction

I would not recommend this on a regular clutch setup. Twin disk is a different story. Keeping it preloaded will heat up the clutch which in turns will cause it to slip and wear out faster.

[Vr-4-Life]

oh.. i have a stock clutch and it never slips. ive been doing this for about 3 years too.

[evogsrviii]

also with ray, would reccommend an aftermarket clutch but it pretty much goes like this:

1. clutch in
2. floor it
3. slip clutch till you feel it catch
4. quickly release

If done correct, there should be lil to no clutch smell. I still had some clutch smell with my aftermarket which i heard happens with the ACT clutches, but was cutting 1.71 60fts. If you have a serious clutch smell, ur slipping it way too slow.

[SovXietday]

Honestly you're going to get excessive clutch wear with a hard launch, just kind of the name of the game. I believe the stock Evo clutch is also an organic clutch. Organic material does not hold up well to being slipped hard. A stronger aftermarket clutch will have different material makeup which will be less prone to excessively wearing with hard launches. In the end a clutch is still a wear item, if you use it hard you will need to replace it more often no matter what kind of clutch it is.

[BlkWhtTSI]

i have a 5k launch control and i'm scared to use it for fear that i'll leave my tranny where i started or break something.... but i really wanna use it soo one of these days curiousity is gonna kill the cat. : /

[ndubz]

I would honestly say that u shouldnt launch ur car much unless u really need to. Idk about the Evo b/c its torque charcteristics are different, but with the STi the best launch is Rev to 5k and sidestep the clutch. I have the Cobb AP, but i never bothered doing launch control. B/c im plenty good at launching on my own. But if ur going to do this alot, make sure u fully engage the clutch as fast as possible to minimize slippedge. I do this by side stepping off of it rather than pulling my foot backwards. And as far as snapping something, well that is a well founded concern. But that is the risk of launching ur car. thats why i dont do it much

[turbotaloon95]

On a stock Evo 8 you will absolutely NOT break anything on a hard launch. It doesn't put out enough power to break axles or anything. I did a couple hard launches on my evo 8 with a new stock clutch and year it burns it up a bit, but I mean what do you expect from abusing the car like that? I wouldn't do it everyday, just at the track.

On my 400hp Talon that has launch control, I have it set to like 4800RPM. If I just dump the clutch, the car totally bogs down and stalls. You have to slip the clutch a bit and like someone mentioned above, once it catches, then drop it and go! I got some nice 1.6 60's that way

[Hando567]

Whenever I do a hard launch I rev it to launch control via the cobb AP v2 then when ready slip it until catch point and once I feel it start to move I drop it and take off, there is a small amount of clutch smell but it is not all too bad.

[Vr-4-Life]

Originally Posted by ndubz

I would honestly say that u shouldnt launch ur car much unless u really need to. Idk about the Evo b/c its torque charcteristics are different, but with the STi the best launch is Rev to 5k and sidestep the clutch. I have the Cobb AP, but i never bothered doing launch control. B/c im plenty good at launching on my own. But if ur going to do this alot, make sure u fully engage the clutch as fast as possible to minimize slippedge. I do this by side stepping off of it rather than pulling my foot backwards. And as far as snapping something, well that is a well founded concern. But that is the risk of launching ur car. thats why i dont do it much

my friend jay had an 06 and he launched it every day. never broke anything

[blewby u]

hm, i'll probably just hold out on the launch control until it's after market clutch time, which won't be for a while. but thanks guys, vr-4-life - you're lucky as hell you've had so many 5 n 6k launches with no problems lol