launch at the strip

i went to the drag strip last night with my 02 WRX and had a blast. it's even more fun than street. i found out real quickly that you have to launch damn close to redline (6500-7000) to get a good launch. i was only able to get down to a 14.8 1/4 mile time. i think that has a little bit to do with the 18's i have on there though, also i had my bov wide open and didn't know it, so i think i was dumping boost too soon.

anybody have any other pointers when running the quarter mile at the strip?

Don't drop the clutch, let it out really fast. When i had my stock clutch and flywheel i had to burn it a little but i got great launches and ran 14.5's uncorrected in 100 degree bakersfield heat. but yea, i usually launched around 6 grand then, now with my turbo boosted and some new parts, i go around 5 grand.

aren't the WRX's supposed to run a 14.1 stock? i know it takes a good driver who's used to the car, but i haven't heard of anyone to get that low into the 14's with a stock WRX.

I heard that the stock transmissions are really shitty....do they hold up ok launching at 6 grand? I am going to the track on sat and am kind of leary about launching so high. But fuck it that's what the warranty id for right?...haha

14.1 is a corrected time, its not what the driver actually ran. The 5 speed tranny isnt as weak as everyone thinks, its pretty good.

hey the tranny held up just fine with those 6000 and even 7000 rpm launches. i've heard the tranny is great til you start getting up around and over 300 hp. has anybody else heard or know any truth to such rumors? and what does the corrected time mean? what does it correct for? thanks

A corrected time is what you would have ran if you ran in perfect conditions. Your car is capable of running a certain time but under ideal circumstances. Times that you see in car and driver are such times. My tranny still works great but i ease off of the heavy launches. I've heard the 300hp rumors as well, im sure it can handle more fine but if you do 6k launches, im sure it will break. Even so, at 300hp you shouldnt need to launch that high anyways

when I was at teh track this past weekend I was having trouble with my launches. It seemed like when I launched really high and let the clutch out real fast I would bog down in first and only run a 15.3 but if I launched a little lower and eased off the clutch I would run 14.8's +/- .1 only problem is you trash your clutch

well i have a stage 2 exedy clutch in my wrx, so it's going to hold up a little better with those 6k launches. i took 6 passes, and the clutch was just fine at the end of the night. you just have to give it some time to cool down in between passes.

ragnarok, you're right about the 300 hp launch though, i'm sure you wouldn't have to launch as high providing you have your boost and torque levels higher. i got the best results with my pretty much stock WRX when i launched at 6000-6500 rpms. my first pass i launced at 4500-5000 and ran a 15.4. i ran a best time of 14.8 with 18" rims. i plan to go out and run again with stock rims and tires to see if there is a difference.

i'm trying to get my buddy with an 04 STI to go out to the strip and let me drive it once or twice to see how it runs. i'm contemplating getting one next spring.

My bone stock 2002 WRX wagon ran 14.8 1/4 mile times with a trailer hitch (extra 50 lbs) with 4,000 miles on the OD.