What on earth is the purpose of launch control??
Discussion
Saleen836 said:
How many times can it be used before 'FUBARing' the clutch or something else?
If it can only be used say 6 times and they have all been used and you sell the car do you/would you have to be honest with the buyer and inform them LC wont work unless you replace 'insert part'?
http://jalopnik.com/5061221/gt-r-owner-busts-trann...If it can only be used say 6 times and they have all been used and you sell the car do you/would you have to be honest with the buyer and inform them LC wont work unless you replace 'insert part'?
http://jalopnik.com/5565919/this-is-nissans-gt-r-l...
I've tried it once in a Jag F Type at Millbrook - it was impressive but is pointless in a daily drive if the car needs you to go through too many option menus at a set of traffic lights.
As an aside I saw a Tesla P90D take off at a set of traffic lights over the weekend, that sort of effortless acceleration looks like it would be good!
As an aside I saw a Tesla P90D take off at a set of traffic lights over the weekend, that sort of effortless acceleration looks like it would be good!
VetteEd said:
Unless you like shreading your expensive rubber than LC is a waste of time. As my old mate said to me "it's not the 0-60 that counts it's the 70-150"
Wouldn't the opposite be true? The whole point of launch control being to get you off the line as quickly as possible, which generally doesn't include roasting the rear tyres...?Whereas not using LC and attempting to nail it off the line is probably more likely to incur shredded rubber (assuming we all drive with the traction control off all the time because it's PH, obviously)
Full disclosure, I f
king love shredding my expensive rubber (ooh er Mrs)VetteEd said:
Unless you like shreading your expensive rubber than LC is a waste of time. As my old mate said to me "it's not the 0-60 that counts it's the 70-150"
How? My Golf R doesn't break traction with LC activated? My Focus RS (without LC activated) does. I find it a bit pointless in my Manual Focus, in the DSG Golf it's hugely effective. I use it all the time, it's hilarious
Saleen836 said:
How many times can it be used before 'FUBARing' the clutch or something else?
If it can only be used say 6 times and they have all been used and you sell the car do you/would you have to be honest with the buyer and inform them LC wont work unless you replace 'insert part'?
I seem to remember seeing a car on Top Gear a while back when LC was a new thing. I think it was an AMG Merc of some kind, apparently the LC was only good for 15 uses and if you used it it invalidated the warranty? IDK if it was really the case or just Jezza Clarkson's idea of a joke though. If it can only be used say 6 times and they have all been used and you sell the car do you/would you have to be honest with the buyer and inform them LC wont work unless you replace 'insert part'?
RDMcG said:
When I did it in a Porsche Turbo S ( Porsche's car not mine) it just felt unnatural and very abusive to the car. I am not someone who abuses cars although I drive quite briskly at times, and I just felt I was flogging the thing,,,
I think there's a video out there of a 911 Turbo doing 50 launches without issue. PDKs are wet clutches so doing launches shouldn't do too much damage.I would not try it on the SMG equipped M6 you also mentioned, doing launches with that WILL damage the (very expensive) clutch!
I've used LC at a drag event, it is an impressive demonstration of how the car can get off the line. You could also use the same argument as to why anyone needs a 500, 600 or 700bhp car when you're probably using 150bhp or less 99% of the time. It's just nice to know it's there when you need it
SturdyHSV said:
I've witnessed this in action at Santa Pod in fact, chap in an A45 AMG, he obviously knew it'd take a while to set up, so he nipped up to the staging lights and set about performing the dance whilst the other car did its burnout.
Sure enough he was ready in time, revs banging against the launch control limiter, the other car took its time ambling up to the staging beams, lined up, first amber lights up annnd the A45 decides it's been 3 seconds now and nobody has launched, so deactivates it.
Poor chap just sat there and asked to have another go as the queue was massive
that's just crappy design Sure enough he was ready in time, revs banging against the launch control limiter, the other car took its time ambling up to the staging beams, lined up, first amber lights up annnd the A45 decides it's been 3 seconds now and nobody has launched, so deactivates it.
Poor chap just sat there and asked to have another go as the queue was massive
the LC on my last car took less than 2 seconds to engage and would hold it all day if you wanted
i probably used it a couple of times a week, great fun
Shaoxter said:
I've used LC at a drag event, it is an impressive demonstration of how the car can get off the line. You could also use the same argument as to why anyone needs a 500, 600 or 700bhp car when you're probably using 150bhp or less 99% of the time. It's just nice to know it's there when you need it
When are you realistically going to need it though? The only scenario I can think of is traffic light GPs which is some Fast & Furious level tttishness.Having more BHP whilst on the move means you can get past slower things quicker, so is objectively more practical than powering away from a standstill.
LC is on that basis in my humble opinion a gimmick unless you're running it up Santa Pod etc. As a previous poster said - personally I have too much mechanical sympathy to do it on my own cars, or anyone elses for that matter. I'm willing to be told that this makes me boring though
Jesus you lot are old farts! launch control has been in the tuning world for years and it's great fun, able to build 1.5bar+ on it and it's superb, I do think manufacturers have gone a bit ott with it tho, going through all these menus on the trip computer and pressing buttons etc. We set it up for when the throttle is 100% and the speed is less than 10km/h so it's effectively always on and much more usable in the real world I think. I do however think it's there as a safety feature on modern cars, if you break your brand new audi launching off the rev limiter etc that's their get out clause with the launch control on the car limiting the revs to a 4k rpm launch so a much lower strain on drivetrain. A full bore AWD launch is something every petrolhead needs to experience. Fact.
It's good for selling a car as it gets those 0-60 times down in magazines and allows the general public to willy wave in the pub. Would I bother using it if I had it in my car? Probably once just so I'd done it, then go right back to my existing launch control system called a left and right foot. I get more enjoyment from linking things up perfectly myself rather than a computer doing it all for me.
Pothole said:
I ride a 1050cc bike. I'm not bothered about/by launch control on a car.
Mr Rossi has launch control on his bike. Mind you, LRC could probably do with someone to replace Cal Crutchlow, so get your application in asap. Suggest you take your own leathers because CCs will be worn through the arse as a result of his bum-surfing all those gravel traps.
Fun. Quiet road, bored, select LC, smile. Do it again in a few months time. You don't have to use it but as it's there, why not? Some people really need to lighten up, it really is just a bit of fun and if you don't want to have a bit of fun with your car every now and then, well...hand in your licence.
Cue lots of comments about not needing to thrash your car's gubbins in order to have fun, etc.
Cue lots of comments about not needing to thrash your car's gubbins in order to have fun, etc.
Osinjak said:
Fun. Quiet road, bored, select LC, smile. Do it again in a few months time. You don't have to use it but as it's there, why not? Some people really need to lighten up, it really is just a bit of fun and if you don't want to have a bit of fun with your car every now and then, well...hand in your licence.
Cue lots of comments about not needing to thrash your car's gubbins in order to have fun, etc.
Fair enough. I started the thread because I genuinely did not get this thing. Yes, I have tried it, but for me personally slamming forward at the limit of the car does not do much for me. Mind you, I am not a fan of roller coasters eitherCue lots of comments about not needing to thrash your car's gubbins in order to have fun, etc.
.I enjoy hard driving but at much higher speeds...
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