whats the best way to start out on the dragstrip?

i noticed dropping the clutch doesnt get the tires spinning, and puts it below turbo territory...

how do you guys go from a stop fast?

 

The A4 is a heavy near-luxury car, so unless you've set it up for the strip (stripped the weight/upgraded the drivetrain), anticipate some damage if you hammer on it. Having said that, at the strip, the best way to launch is to stage shallow, and get a bit of a rolling start. Pump it up to 4,500-5,000 and dump the clutch. Remember, if you have aftermarket/sticky tires, you're more prone to damage the drivetrain the harder you launch.

If you have better exhaust, you can get into the turbo/power curve earlier (say, 3,500 rpm), and roll it off the green to take the stress of the drivetrain. Unless you have a ton of money to throw at repair, I'd err on the side of being conservative.

 

You dont just dropped the clutch,you have to have a good steady clutch feed and as well with the gas for a good launch. Dropping it will just make u bog.




BTW= Don't plan on breaking them loose with awd unless you have some sick power.

 

Yep, sorry. Audioboy is right. Clutch-feel is important. Too many launches at 4,500+ rpm will fry a stock clutch quickly. You may want to play with it until you fry it, and then upgrade.

 

If you have traction control, you'll never spin the wheels.

 

Even if you don't have traction control you wont be spinning any tires without some sick power like i said before,maybe some chirps,but not all out shredding them like 2wd.

 

I've always heard that called slipping the clutch. Rev the car into the turbo's boost range and then slip the clutch out slowly keeping your revs up in the same range. It's harder on the clutch but easier on the drivetrain than dumping it. Don't try this on a factory clutch. It'll may work the first time, but if you've got decent mileage on it, it's gonna go sooner than later.

 

agreed doose,if the clutch has alot of miles it wont last long with hard launching.

 

ok, the cars a 97 with ~87K miles

new clutch right before i bought it (less than 5k miles)

new turbo in the past 5k miles....

i dont plan on dragging it more than once... just for curiosity... unless someone can tell me what the stock car would run on the 1/8th of a mile, and 1/4 mile.... i tried searching...

 

Strange advice above.... exccept for the clutch feel issues, I suggest the following:

Rev the engine between 2200 - 2600 rpms. Drop the clutch and go. Anything higher than 2600 rpms and you'll be tempting the ol' glaze gremlin to attack your clutch.

Shift 1st to 2nd at redline. 2nd to 3rd shift at ~300 rpms below redline. The same for 3rd to 4th.

Note: If the car is chipped, then these shift points should be higher.