faster take off from neutral to Drive read.

I got a 1996 buick Riveria supercharged my friends keep telling me that if I start the car put it in neutral and rev the motor just a little the put it in drive that I will take off faster. but I know it will hurt my engine. is it ok to do that as long as im not revving it to much? or does anyone got any drag racing tips for my car

Anyone want to take bets on how long before graygoose needs a new tranny? LOL...

Your transaxle is meant to be put into gear from a stop/foot on the brake pedal, which also means idle throttle. Revving your engine and slamming it into gear puts an excessive amount of stress on your 4T60E, which was never designed for a car of this weight class and horsepower. My Riviera was previously owned by a college kid with a lead foot, and it went through two transmissions before I got it. I may be old fashioned, but I would suggest that you start driving your Riviera like the old fart machine that it is, or you will be in the market for a Grand Prix very soon...

Riviera has the same engine and tranny as a Grand prix. Lighter too I think.

DO NOT NEUTRAL DROP!!!!!!! It only hurts the transmission. You're Riv is powerful enough to take off from a stop and whoop the pants off of a lot of cars straight out of the box.

classicradiorepair- I take offense to calling a Riviera an old fart machine. Thats the same as calling all honda drivers ricers and all lexus drivers elitist assholes. a Buick, regardless of the age of the person driving it, is a Buick, nothing more or less. The fact that the average age of ownership is 60 something is irrelevant.

I take offense to calling a Riviera an old fart machine. Thats the same as calling all honda drivers ricers and all lexus drivers elitist assholes. a Buick, regardless of the age of the person driving it, is a Buick, nothing more or less. The fact that the average age of ownership is 60 something is irrelevant.
If my Riv had a transmission to back up the horsepower it is capable of producing, I would have no problem giving it a more respectable title. The fact that this model was underengineered to the point where we see such a high level of transmission failure in the 95-97 range lately proves that this car has more bark than bite. If you expect to have this car last, it has to be driven at a conservative level. I have no problem with what other people decide to do with their cars... I'm just trying to prevent the inevitable.

I hope you were kidding about the Riviera being lighter... the Grand Prix 2dr. weighs in at 3243 lbs, whereas a Riv is at 3690... not a huge difference, but a noticeable one. There must be some reason you don't see tons of tranny postings on the GP forum.

I never tryed it and I never will. just my dumb friends are retarded trying to tell me to do that

I never tryed it and I never will. just my dumb friends are retarded trying to tell me to do that

Good move, don't cave into the peer pressure! Just a funny story from my past on this issue.

I was 16 and driving my dad's 72 Chevy wagon when my buddies convinced me to do the "neutral drop". Well, the adrenalin was high, and the foot was much heavier than I meant it to be... The result was not pretty. There was a huge bang and dust flew inside the car as the u-joint and transmission yoke exploded, sending the driveshaft up into the floorboards! Not knowing exactly what I had just destroyed, I shifted it into park and got out, as the car car began to roll away. The driveshaft was bent and dragging along the concrete. Needless to say I found the weak spot in that driveline very fast. Stupid move!

its also a good way to snap your engine & or tranny mounts

I hope you were kidding about the Riviera being lighter... the Grand Prix 2dr. weighs in at 3243 lbs, whereas a Riv is at 3690... not a huge difference, but a noticeable one. There must be some reason you don't see tons of tranny postings on the GP forum.

Not at all, my judgement was based off of the weight of a Regal 4 door, which is around 3500 pounds. There havent been grand prix 2 doors since what, 99?

Regardless, the car is powerful enough to where you can smoke the tires and impress your friends without neutral drops. However if you do lose your tranny, let us know about it!

[btw, sprucegoose and graygoose, are ya'll btothers or something?]

Tman, I was wondering the same thing. I think I have it figured out. Sprucegoose has the 98 Riv and lives in WI and Graygoose has the 96 Riv and lives in CAL so, I don't think they are brothers.

No we are not brothers just someone guys with the same ideas with Screen names...by the way the car is powerful yes but u said u can smoke the tires? no not really it may spin maybe one rotate but it wont spin like I wished it would unless u know of a way?

You've got the series 2 Sc engine dont you gray? the SC series 2 regal will light the tires up for at least 15-20 feet. You're not doing it right, thats it.

How to spin the tires on a front wheel drive car, by tman:

1-get in car, be prepared to make sharp left turn.
2-accelerate to say 5 or so mph, just so your rolling
3-as quick as you can, turn all the way to left lock, while doing so, gun the gas pedal. the quick turn will upset the balence of the car, allowing the left front tire to break ground.
4-as soon as the tires begine to squeal, straighten the wheel.
5-This is key, and takes much practice. Once the tires are loose, let off the gas just enough so the tires continue spinning, and gradually press harder on the gas as the car accelerates. very easy to screw up, but done successfully will give a wonderful, smoke filled beautiful tire smoke and sound show that will be the envy off all your friends!

Hey Thanks for the info haha ive tryed that same thing before and it spinned pretty good but I think I could do better. but im just afaird of ruining my new tires.

Hey, you can't worry about tires if you like smoke!! My PA will smoke the fronts just like the TA below, from a stand still, wheels straight and no preload on torque converter.

http://files.automotiveforums.com/gallery/watermark.php?file=/501/297374payback.JPG (http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/%5Bimg%5Dhttp://files.automotiveforums.com/gallery/watermark.php?file=/501/297374payback.JPG%5B/img%5D)

if you want smoke, buy goodyear tires, if you want traction and long life, michelin. Not sure of any other brands, but those two are from my own experience.

i prefer bfg traction t/a's.. every michelin tire i have ever owned has dry rotted like hell before 50 % of the tread was worn

Simply, but technically put, the 4T65-E tranny is slow to engage both reverse and drive... I've owned many TurboHydramatics, and besides the different programming between the different brands (which is significant) the Turbo 325 in my last Eldo was very slow into reverse, my LeSabre 4T60-E was as fast as any 350 or 400, and my 4T65-E in my Riviera is too slow into both reverse and drive... I attribute it to the damn total electronic control...