Launching an AUTO/CVT

[Frmr97GXE]

BNut on Superhonda.org's Accord V6 forum -


No particular order here ya go:

- Let your engine cool off by popping the hood and position your car so the hood will cast a shadow on your engine BEFORE you make any runs at the track.
- If you drive a V6, take off as many of the plastic covers off the engine as you can, all they do is help hold in the heat.
- Buy the 8lb bags of ice, they are worth the $1.50 you will spend! Put the ice on top of your intake manifold. Bring a towel if you can to mop up any condensation from the bag. When the ice starts to melt, use a key to poke a hole in a corner of the bag and drain out the water. When you put the bag back on, make sure the hole is facing UP so the water doesn't get all over your engine.
- Ideally your engine temp should be just above the C line when you start your car. By the time you finish staging it should be 3-4 lines above the C line. If your temp guage is still at the C line when you race, VTEC will NOT engage and your time will suck. (I ran a 17 something without VTEC)
- Every 5-10 minutes while your car is cooling off, start your engine for about 30 seconds so you can move the hot engine coolant away from the engine with colder coolant from the radiator.
- Avoid the water pit if possible when staging.
- Do a quick dry spin of your tires to knock off any rocks or dirt that may be sticking to them.
- In an auto: To spin your tires just hold the brake, punch the gas real quick and let off the brake.
- Staging: Slowly pull up to line while watching the Tree (The thing with all the lights in the middle) Once the first pair of yellow lights come on, slowly inch forward until the second pair of yellow lights come on. You are now staged!
- Launching: In an automatic wait until the car next to you is staged and then begin brake torquing. Use your left foot to FULLY depress your brake pedal while useing your right foot to bring the revs to around 1,800rpms or whatever works for you particular setup. There are 3 yellow lights and a green light. When the THIRD yellow light comes on, release the brake while flooring the gas peddle at the same time. If done correctly your car will start moving right as the light turns green and you will have a quick reaction time.
- If your tires peel out to much on the launch, reduce your rpms next time.
- If your engine bogs down of the line because your tires don't chirp, increase your rpms when launching.
- A small quick chirp generally gives the best results in an automatic.
- Racing in D3 or D4 makes no differences in your 1/4 mile times since 3rd is good for a very high speed and you will never go fast enough in the 1/4 mile to worry about your tranny shifting to 4th.
- Always turn off your radio, AC and any electical accessories. When racing at night, only turn on your parking lights. Always roll up your windows before staging and ALWAYS buckle up!
- When you finish a run, find a spot, pop the hood, put your bag of ice back on the intake manifold, and wait a good 30 minutes before you next run.
- If you go to a track with long lines try to push your car up to the staging area before starting it. Otherwise your engine will just heat up and your cool down period will have been wasted.
- If you drive an automatic leave your tire PSI around 30-34psi. It doesn't hurt to increase your rear tire pressure but typically auto's don't have problems with traction off the line.
- If you lower your tire pressure too much its going to increase your rolling resistance and decrease your trap speed and probably hurt your 1/4 mile time.
- Write down your launch rpm on the time slip so you can compare how your rpms affect your time.
- If you can buy a radio shack indoor outdoor thermometer that measures the humidity. After each run write down the the temp and humidity. This will help you because there are websites that can factor in temp and humidity to adjust your times so you can compare runs from different days when the temperature was different.
- Convert your times for hot and cool days: http://gafba.com/calculators/et1.asp

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CVT info.
Alot of this information is also beneficial in launching the CVT transmission found on the 4th Gen Altima's and 7th Gen Maxima's

- After you launch make sure you've hit the WOT switch on floor behind the accelerator otherwise you will not have the fastest acceleration.
- It is still up in the air whether leaving it in D (Automatic) or letting the Sport mode shift through the gears works best however the majority of people say leaving it in D yields the best results.
- People also note that leaving it in D until around 80mph, then sliding it quickly over to the Sport Mode gets you better results top-end.
- Never abuse your CVT and make sure it has ample time to cool off between runs.

If I think of any more I'll add them as I remember them.

[Rick]

Thanks!

[lil_z_33]

nicely done!!!
i think alot of ppl on here will find that useful!!!

Peace!!!

[snolden]

Note: Front tire pressure will help an 02 alti. Usually dropping to 28 or so is enough though (without TC on). You will spin forever at street pressure even with performance tires.

You will stall at ~ 2000 rpm, so don't go that high while torque braking.

Manually shift 1,2, 3 I usually move the shifter at 6000 so the tranny will shift at about 6200. this drops you down to about 4600 going into 2nd. for the 2/3 shift watch the guy you are next to and shift when appropriate

I NEED AN OPINION: I don't feel a large loss in my auto until i get to about 6500. I also get a better faster shift up high like that. But my power band dies off after about 5800rpm.

What I want an opinion on, is 1st gear at 6500 better than 2nd gear at 4800 as far as acceleration? I think it is, but I won't know for sure til I hit the track.

[Jordan]

that was very helpful, thanks!

[Kaio-Ken]

Thats probably the longest launch proceedure ever, but it rules. If us GP's start in 2nd we get a nice little push and powerbraking to 2000 helps too. BTW, I never thought about that coolant thing, thats a very good call!