Tips for the new (me in other words.) on launching/drag racing.

[ScubaSteve_RIoT]

Just as the subject says I am looking for tips on launching and drag racing. My car is 04 se2 automatic with the 3400 fsi. I was wondering if anyone could give me pointers on racing with an automatic. I am going to be visiting one of my friends from college back at rit this summer and we are going to go racing a little at the track something I never have done before. Any tips.

Oh by the way, my friends driving a monte carlo with the 3800 (not sure what year think its 02) do I stand an chance the only mods he has is a intake and new cat back system. So far I am stock but plan to have a cold air intake in shortly. Plus my car is like 500 pounds lighter then that boat I believe.

[Markgase2000]

You have a chance! Point and step on it when the light changes lol thats all you can do! If you get to know your car better you can figure out how to get an extra 5-10 mph out of each gear using the shifter manually but if you miss the shift its worse than missing with a manual , so get to know your shift points those extra 5-10mph are needed for decent times.

[matt919]

good luck with any V6 chevy, let alone a monte carlo...

[achievasc92]

you have a chance, the 3800 N/z w-bodies run low 16s and 3400 n-bodies will usually run high 15s- very low 16s (on a bad day)

Hold the brake with your left foot and rev the engine up to about 1500 rpm, this will load the torque converter. when the light turns green let go of the brake and floor it. thats all you can do with an auto.

[ScubaSteve_RIoT]

Hey thanks all for the tips. I will test out the preloading the torque converter tip this week a little.

Question for you markgase2000. By missing manual shifting would it just hurt my time or hurt the car. I don't want to bust my ride thats why I am looking for the advise before I try something stupid.
Thanks guys for the tips.

[Markgase2000]

By missing a manual shift it screws up your time and could hurt your clutch unless you skip a shift then it wont hurt it at all. Dont just rev it up to 5 grand and pop the clutch , get to know where the best launch rpms are without smoking the tires too much , get to know what the max shift point is in each gear youll need them , practice on the low end without stunting and if you can practice at the track.
I have an automatic and it is totally different , my first gear can shift at 85-90 kmph 1st to 2nd then 85-90kmph - 145-150kmph 2nd to 3rd I dont go past 190kmph so thats not important. If I were to let it shift on its own the points are - 75kmph 1st-2nd 75-135kmph 2nd to 3rd so it makes a difference , those extra 10-15 kmph per gear helps quite a bit.

[achievasc92]

do not try to shift an automatic as if it were a manual, it doesn't help you at all. Just put the selector in "3" (disabling overdrive) and brake torque, thats all you can do with an automatic.

[Markgase2000]

It helps I know for a fact , you just have to get time tested to tell and you have to be comfortable with it. The owners manual clearly states that use of lower gears on the shifter makes more power. That trick with boosting the torque converter is tricky , took me 10 trys to get it right , I have to try it at the track to find out if works for better time , Id use both ways then , shift manually and torque it at the start. Will let you know soon.

[Pvt_Murphy]

you probably have no chance in hell against the monte carlo, especally if it's got the super charger, as for shifting an auto like a manual; I tried playing w/ it and got no time diffence out of it in a 0-60 and 0-100

[Yismyaccountbanned]

Do Not Shift Your Automatic Like A Manual, You Will Damage Your Transmission This Way!

[shark2000]

I noticed when I shift my auto manually, if I get the RPM's to high, the limiter bogs it down really bad and slows my time bad. If I shift just right, it works good. The first time that happened, I thought something was wrong with my car. lol

[justin0717]

the only way how i can see it messing up your tranny, is if when stopping you try and shift it down, then yea your gunna fuck your tranny up bad, but when accelerating i dont see how it would hurt it.

[Markgase2000]

Originally Posted by Yismyaccountbanned

Do Not Shift Your Automatic Like A Manual, You Will Damage Your Transmission This Way!

Its in the owners manual plain as day , shifter in 3 more power shifter in 2 even more power but do not use for more than 20 minutes at a time its in there so why would they advertise that? Ive been using it that way for almost 3 years with no trouble and it works.

[Markgase2000]

[achieva]
Hold the brake with your left foot and rev the engine up to about 1500 rpm, this will load the torque converter. when the light turns green let go of the brake and floor it. thats all you can do with an auto.[/quote]
Ok I tried this with the jet on , the jet makes it stay 1200 rpms naturally but when I load the converter more it goes to 2800rpms then I release the brake tires spin I lose time , tried heating them up (useless tires when heated, dont stay hot) then doing it again same thing am i giving it too much gas?

[GASE 95]

it wont mess up ur tranny....if you dont hafta stop the car to change it from D1 to D2 etc. then theres no problem...i dont even see how shifting it down will mess it up unless ur shifting down at rediculously high RPM...but the same goes for all cars, manual or auto.

pvt murphy, the '02 monte carlo is only pulling about 180 hp with about 205 lbs of torque. The '04 GA SE2 puts out about 170 hp with 200 lbs of torque. The GA being 500 lbs lighter (if scubasteve riot is correct) then its gonna come down to who is quicker off the line so yes, he does stand a chance...id like to witness this one. Let us know how it goes man.