How to drive an automatic for best 1/4 mile time?

[FirebirdTA]

I drive a 100% stock (for now) 2001 Firebird Trans Am with an automatic transmission. This is probably a dumb question, but if I don't ask it I'll never know. How do you drive an automatic for best 1/4 mile time? Is it simply a matter of flooring the acclerator or is there more to it than that?

Thanks.

[ridge_runner]

yup i would just leave it in d and floor it and dont let up til your cross the finish

[matt11583]

get it down as fast as you can after the light hits green adn dont let it up til you finish

[irdc019]

Put in 1, wait for the light floor it! tach it out, then shift to 2 and so on. maybe not the best thing for your trans, but its fatser than just flooring in D.

[BadAzz240]

Acutually, no its not... With the 4l60e Tranny leaving it in drive produces the best 1/4 mile times, proven over and over... Just gotta practice your take-off without TCS on. With TCS on it will easily slow you atleast 2 tenths of a second...

[ridge_runner]

its slower in most cars if you drop it into 1st and manually shift, added a second to the 1/4 time in my truck

[cndctrdj]

when you are on the line hold one foot on the brake and one on the gas until just before you spin tire, wait till the light turns green and let of the brake push down the gas the rest of the way. if you start to spin let off the gas a bit until you can get on it all the way. you need to pracitce this so you know where your car spins tire. most of these cars will start to spin tire again after 4k rpms when you are already moving. so try out a few different things and see what works best for you.

[FirebirdTA]

Originally Posted by cndctrdj

when you are on the line hold one foot on the brake and one on the gas until just before you spin tire, wait till the light turns green and let of the brake push down the gas the rest of the way. if you start to spin let off the gas a bit until you can get on it all the way. you need to pracitce this so you know where your car spins tire. most of these cars will start to spin tire again after 4k rpms when you are already moving. so try out a few different things and see what works best for you.

Cool ... and I take it the TCS should be off too, right?

Hmm ... theres a football stadium near where I live. You think they'd bitch if I practiced in their lot? I don't feel comfortable doing this in the street where I could easily lose control and run into somebody.

Thanks.

[cndctrdj]

ya make sure the fun button is off

stadiums are a good spot as long as any securtiy gaurds no you are thier..... go around and find a spot that is emtpy and ask someone who owns it if you can practice thier.... like the stadium or even a church parking lot.... thier are people who dont care if you are doing things like that you just have to find them