Getting off the line quicker

[Mk5 GTian]

Launch around 2000rpm foot to the floor as you may bog down otherwise. As soon as you lose traction change to second and keep your foot planted until its time for 3rd. Thats pretty much how i launch on the 1/4mile and did a 12 sec run

Tbh it defo does depend on tyres and how warm they are to what you can get away with when launching. R888s nice and warm you may get away with 3000rpm and later shift to second but you just have to feel for the grip.

I never short shift to third its very important to hit third in the "sweet spot" for a good run.

At this time of year, your never gonna be able to launch well your pretty much wasting your time tbh wait till summer

So, holding it on the clutch, take revs to 2000, then release clutch quickly at same time as burying your foot into the carpet?

[Mk5 GTian]

I dont think the mk5 gti is a bad car for getting of the line tbh, sure more skill is envolved than the 4 motion.
Tyres are a big factor and this time of year doesnt help !
Although on a dry good day id fancy the gti over the 4 mo !
With a little extra power and rubbish tyres i was launching my gti to 60 in 5.6 seconds
And my edition 30 was doing it in 5.2 secs and i wasnt at all happy with the tyres,
I dont think you can just dump the clutch and stomp on the accelerator i found that you need to be progressive with the throttle and thats in perfect conditions, in the damp and wet i never even tryed tbh

Were you getting those timeson standard power outputs? Thanks for the advice by the way.

[RobH]

Launch around 2000rpm foot to the floor as you may bog down otherwise. As soon as you lose traction change to second and keep your foot planted until its time for 3rd. Thats pretty much how i launch on the 1/4mile and did a 12 sec run

Tbh it defo does depend on tyres and how warm they are to what you can get away with when launching. R888s nice and warm you may get away with 3000rpm and later shift to second but you just have to feel for the grip.

I never short shift to third its very important to hit third in the "sweet spot" for a good run.

At this time of year, your never gonna be able to launch well your pretty much wasting your time tbh wait till summer

So, holding it on the clutch, take revs to 2000, then release clutch quickly at same time as burying your foot into the carpet?

With R1R's and in summer that worked for me although at this time of year forget it.

[Mk5 GTian]

Thanks a lot guys, some really good technical stuff there. That's what I was after!

I take your point about the weather though! It's little wonder I can't get away in this! I look forward to trying these in the summer.

I do miss that instant 4wd traction in all weathers though! Maybe a Mk4 R32 is in order for next winter. Always wanted one.

[Black9]

Around 2500-3000rpm is good for the gti depending on weather cond obviously, but give it some revs, bring the clutch up (not too fast) and soon as u feel grip feed in the power. With any fwd car especially with higher torque lowdown getting off the line quick can be a bit slower than rwd/4wd

Shifting around 5000-5500rpm is ideal as iirc this is where peak torque is delivered. 6500-7000rpm is ok if your really giving it beans is first or second.

[LouCyffer]

Ian, just stick with the GTI as you've come from a car that keeps traction well. I had the same issues, my previous car was an Impreza STi. It took a while to appreciate that you can't just apply gas blithely whatever the road conditions.

Obviously, acceleration causes the front to lift, & the rear to squat, hence it's easiest to lose traction under power in a front drive car. I once found I was overtaking on a wet road (between Oban & Kinlochlevin) and was lighting up in third under power (standard car, DSG). You learn to moderate the throttle as well as grabbing a higher gear if necessary. It soon becomes second nature. I must admit I regretted (briefly) turning down the R32 for the GTI but not for long. In the Impreza it was a case of foot to the floor & let the AWD sort it out. With the GTI you'll feed in the throttle in a more gradual fashion. Unless you have DSG in which case it's launch control and away we go

Stick with it, it's much more rewarding when you get it right  

[danishmkvgti]

along with straight line alignment you can raise the rear a bit to get more load on the front axle during acc. 

[Frenzy]

i've found with the default clutch if even slightly engaged, even if you've already been past biting point, will bog the car down in 1st, however you cant rush it otherwise you risk stalling - it's a fine art and i find i bog down more times out of ten but i got a sweet launch at the lights today and i did it by progressively squeezing the accelerator whilst more swiftly releasing the clutch (but still relatively progressively) once i'd exceeded biting point. No wheel spin and a big grin on my face was the result. 

The grin was removed about 30 mins later when i kerbed it, up until then all 4 wheels were pristine, now it's down to 3 

[Mk5 GTian]

i've found with the default clutch if even slightly engaged, even if you've already been past biting point, will bog the car down in 1st, however you cant rush it otherwise you risk stalling - it's a fine art and i find i bog down more times out of ten but i got a sweet launch at the lights today and i did it by progressively squeezing the accelerator whilst more swiftly releasing the clutch (but still relatively progressively) once i'd exceeded biting point. No wheel spin and a big grin on my face was the result. 

The grin was removed about 30 mins later when i kerbed it, up until then all 4 wheels were pristine, now it's down to 3 

Sorry to hear about your wheel. My Mrs does it about once a week on mine, so I'm not bothering to get them refurbed until she gets her VW Up.

It seems like a right old polava launching in these motors! I hope it's a lot better once we get into  summer, or I'm going back to 4wd. I always launched superbly in my 4Motion, and always had a big smile on my face. I know there's a lot more skill involved, but It sounds like there's also a lot of dissapointment too! I got bogged down the other day, and got beaten off the line by a 320Ci, which was frankly embarassing! I am seriously thinking of chopping it in for a Mk4 R32. I don't want to only be able to launch in dry or warm weather!

[Frenzy]

seriously keep at it because my launch yesterday was so good i'm still smiling now thinking about it. Yes it was a rarity for me but then i don't tend to race off the line at lights that often so i don't really have the practise. The fact that i beat a DB7 made it all the more sweeter - ok to keep things in perspective he didn't quite go for it like i did but he thought he was going to beat me without really trying and he did want to get ahead of me as the two lanes at the light quickly merge once you've crossed the junction.

I've just about come to terms with the kerbing, but i haven't forgiven myself for being such a goonie 

[Mk5 GTian]

A nice, dry day today, so Ihad a few practices, and did some really good launches.

Holding the car just below the biting point, revvving at 2000rpm, then, once at the biting point, quickly, but progressively (not dumping it) releasing the clutch, and progressively giving full throttle up to about 5500 rpm before changing into second.

I was getting a little flicker of the ESP, but none of that horrible bogged down feeling. So much better. I'll try it with the ESP turned off tomorrow and see how that goes.

Thanks for all the tips, Like some of you  have said, it's all about practice. It was very satisfying to start getting it right though.

 

[Frenzy]

Excellent, good work! Puts a smile on the face doesn't it? 

[tony_danza]

Yup, odd as it sounds, slipping the clutch is actually the fastest way of getting it going. You can do the same 2nd-3rd too.

[mad_pete]

I checked to see if my DSG has launch control active and it doesn't :-(

[Mk5 GTian]

Excellent, good work! Puts a smile on the face doesn't it? 

Certainly does mate, and thanks for the encouragement!