Pro Solo Launching - Help

[Steve Towers]

Please refresh my memory about launching from the christmas tree. My recollection is to start the launch when you see the last yellow. Is that right?

[Max Hayter]

Depends on your car and your reaction time. Everyone's timing is different.

My top tip would be to always try and stage in the same place. I like to turn both white lights on, reverse out until the 2nd light flicker, and then creep forward until it is off. Same routine every time and should ensure you stage in the same place. Then you can accurately adjust your timing on the lights.

[Theo O.]

Depends on your car and your reaction time. Everyone's timing is different.

My top tip would be to always try and stage in the same place. I like to turn both white lights on, reverse out until the 2nd light flicker, and then creep forward until it is off. Same routine every time and should ensure you stage in the same place. Then you can accurately adjust your timing on the lights.

Deep staging. Takes me back to my old drag racing days ;) wish we can use line-lock


I'm taking the Evo Hole shot school as a refresher.
http://www.evoschool.com/index.php?page ... ole-shot-2

[Rad_ Delgado_]

Please refresh my memory about launching from the christmas tree. My recollection is to start the launch when you see the last yellow. Is that right?

Steve, take the Evo Hole Shot School on Friday. $25, and plenty of good advice. I took last year, and again this week.

[Steve Towers]

Rad, good suggestion. I just tried to sign up but the website is screwed up. I may be that they didn't know how to say "full". If I can't do it done on the site, I'll show up Friday and hope for the best.

[Mako Koiwai]

Do the weekly 1/8th mile drag public drag races @ Irwindale use the same start light sequence & timing, etc. Do they have public drags at Fontana still?

[Max Hayter]

We used to go on the last yellow in the Subaru. I imagine you might want to go a little earlier in a Vette.

Just make sure you sign up for some practice starts on Friday. Have a friend listen for your reaction times, so you can adjust as necessary. If you can't get in the Hole Shot thing, plenty of us will be there to help.

[Steve Ekstrand]

Rad, good suggestion. I just tried to sign up but the website is screwed up. I may be that they didn't know how to say "full". If I can't do it done on the site, I'll show up Friday and hope for the best.

Steve- I just sent you a PM.

[Robert Puertas]

Rad, good suggestion. I just tried to sign up but the website is screwed up. I may be that they didn't know how to say "full". If I can't do it done on the site, I'll show up Friday and hope for the best.

Steve, I just tried the site, and it let me sign up.

Our secure cert just expired and we're scrambling to get it updated, so maybe that was your problem?

Regardless, you can call Junior to get signed up immediately. 804 380 0091

[Steve Towers]

Thanks to all. Problem solved thanks to Mr. Ekstrand.

[Casey Brier]

roll into the pre stage light
wait for the other person to pre-stage (at least for a drag race this is common courtesy, in a pro solo its not important as you have a shot clock)
roll into the stage light just turning it on (or where ever you like)
bring it up on the two step
when you see the 3rd amber just start to come on drop the clutch and hang on.


at least that’s how I roll.

[Marshall Grice]

launching is easy.

pull into the second stage light, floor it, dump the clutch on the 3rd yellow.

[Kurt Rahn]

launching is easy.

pull into the second stage light, floor it, dump the clutch on the 3rd yellow.

...then do a perfect pirouette at the first corner.

[Steve Ekstrand]

I try to just flicker on the stage bulb. Thats my key for staging consistently which is crucial. The "rollout" is longer, that is the car is rolling a couple of inches before the timers are activated. It can mean a tiny bit of time saved. A bracket racer in drag racing might stage deeper to get more consistent lights, or if on a pro tree to get closer to a perfect light when their car is too slow to actually red light. Neither of those apply to our purposes in ProSolo. We want the fastest time. Still.... I see a great deal of national level ProSolo drivers doing the forward and back thing which gives the deepest legal stage. It also puts you in risk of launching in reverse. Please be careful.

You need to know where you want to leave (say as third amber comes on) and you need to be leave with a consistent rpm, consistent clutch release, and consistent throttle application. Consistency is the key. You can't adjust your leaves based on your previous lights accurately, if you're not performing all the elements with discipline and consistency.

Now I'd really like to get through a ProSolo without multiple .498-.499 red lights. Please.

[Steve Ekstrand]

Another thing.... I really think most ProSolo drivers leave too aggressively. I see some pretty intense tirespinnage off the line. If the clock start were 40 feet out that would make sense to me. But with the clock just a few inches, I think its the wrong approach. But to each their own. That crowd has a few more jackets than I have.

[Jason Rhoades]

Another thing.... I really think most ProSolo drivers leave too aggressively. I see some pretty intense tirespinnage off the line. If the clock start were 40 feet out that would make sense to me. But with the clock just a few inches, I think its the wrong approach. But to each their own. That crowd has a few more jackets than I have.

I can't comment one way or the other, and the answer is probably dependent on the car, but...one place the data acquisition system quickly shows its value is analyzing launches. The best 60' times do not always map to the best 200' times, and speeds. Throttle position and RPM are good sensors to have in addition to the GPS stuff. They usually do 200' times at Friday practice launches. Unfortunately the launching surface usually changes so much heat to heat, inputs (launch RPM, etc,) have to change to match. I usually find Saturday afternoon the best for launches though Sunday morning is usually fastest overall.

[Marshall Grice]

Another thing.... I really think most ProSolo drivers leave too aggressively. I see some pretty intense tirespinnage off the line. If the clock start were 40 feet out that would make sense to me. But with the clock just a few inches, I think its the wrong approach. But to each their own. That crowd has a few more jackets than I have.

in the evo while the tires are spinning we are very near max longitudinal accel. Theoretically there is a very tiny window where minimal slip is faster than excessive slip but it's is exceedingly difficult to consistently find that sweet spot given the variable tire temps/track prep/etc and more times than not you'll screw it up. Another thing to note is the more you spin the tires the longer it takes to get off the line, which would suck if the clock started from when you started spinning tires but it doesn't. Meaning if you can develop a consistent spinny launch (*cough* 2 step limiter *cough*) you can adjust what light you leave on to get rid of the crappy reaction times. disclaimer: I only know this is true for the awd cars, nose heavy RWD cars are likely different.

FWIW, the fsae car was also faster with an aggressive wheel spin launch, but it was rear heavy RWD, power limited and very light weight so i'm not sure how much that applies to real cars. Overall the times were pretty sensitive to when you shifted to gears. If you shifted as soon as you spun 'em up you'd bog after the gear change and your times would suck (ie good 60' but crappy 200') but if you waited until the car achieved an appropriate ground speed for the gear change regardless of how long you were on the limiter you'd get a decent time. it's just really hard to gauge your speed without directly related engine noise.

[Steve Ekstrand]

AWD seem to get away with more slippage. Its shows in their amazing 60ft times even in wet or semi-slippery conditions. Can't come close to matching dry launches with FWD or RWD. I've actually seen AWD improve in limited situations with a slipperier surface. I would suspect the solution there is a better surface and MORE TORQUE!

I doubt you could benefit from sit and spin in a Pro Solo. The clock starts too soon. It isn't instant, see my rollout comments, BUT its soon, a few inches. If the clocks were a couple of feet out, sure.

Need my 14x32 slicks (that's 14" on the tread surface), line loc, 2-step, and transbrake... Along with 700hp. Oh wait, I drive an ST car. Need to remember to stop by petsmart and pick up high octane kibble for my hamster.

[Will Kalman]

In a car with limited torque, your best launch will be with the wheels spinning with the engine sitting right on it's torque peak until the car catches up, the tires grab, and the engine revs out and you shift. The thing about torque is that resistance defines it. Since the car is on the torque peak, that's the force you're putting to the ground.

The Escort was very good at this, sometimes netting low 2.3-second 60' times on street tires. The first time I got it right was at LACR drag strip (RIP) where I thought I'd completely blown the launch with a ridiculous burnout but I stayed in it anyhow. I was shocked to see my 60' time and upon returning to my friends who were watching from the stands, the hole-shot on the other guy was amazing.

Some big-torque cars can get away with a strong "street start" with no wheelspin and just drive out of the hole and net equivalent times.

Our future electric cars are going to be amazing at launches with max torque at zero RPM and fast and precise traction control.

[Steve Ekstrand]

In a car with limited torque, your best launch will be with the wheels spinning with the engine sitting right on it's torque peak until the car catches up, the tires grab, and the engine revs out and you shift. The thing about torque is that resistance defines it. Since the car is on the torque peak, that's the force you're putting to the ground.

That's the force that's turning the wheel. Not so sure its putting to the ground.

[Will Kalman]

In a car with limited torque, your best launch will be with the wheels spinning with the engine sitting right on it's torque peak until the car catches up, the tires grab, and the engine revs out and you shift. The thing about torque is that resistance defines it. Since the car is on the torque peak, that's the force you're putting to the ground.

That's the force that's turning the wheel. Not so sure its putting to the ground.

It has to be putting it to the ground, otherwise there's no torque (resistance) and it would rev out.

[John Stimson]

Your engine RPM is determined by your throttle opening and the load. If the wheels are gripping, the load is as much as the engine can put out, and the torque output depends on the throttle opening.

If the wheels are spinning, the load is limited to the force of the sliding friction between the wheel and the ground. You won't need the throttle open as far to achieve a given engine speed. Or for a given throttle opening, the engine speed will be higher (possibly limited by the redline). You can try to maintain the engine speed the produces the most torque by adjusting the throttle. That results in the engine being at the speed where it produces peak torque at the instant that the ground speed catches up with the wheel speed and the tires stick. The throttle will be open all the way at that point.

I think that may be what you are suggesting.

I generally hold a certain RPM before releasing the clutch, then rolling on to full throttle as I release the clutch. I choose the pre-clutch-release RPM so that the tires spin until the car is moving fast enough to be in the high-torque range of the engine (150 ft*lb, baby!) but not so high that the wheel spin increases until the rev limiter kicks in. That's SLOW. I did that on Sunday at San Diego on my best run.

[Jayson Woodruff]

Don't forget there's often a slight uphill slope at El Toro that makes you roll back out of the stage. So practice that heal toe, or parking break hold.

Jay W

[Tom Dobyns]

My first autocross event ever was the ProSolo two years ago. Brian Robertson said, "Come on out...you won't do well, but you'll have a great time. Autocross on steroids!

With respect to the launch:

Indeed the car will roll back, so in addition to leaving at the right R's, leaving at the right time, you have to hold the parking brake up, with your thumb on the release, and then drop the clutch, release and push down on the parking brake, avoid wheel hop (a common occurrence on the Corvette), and decide when to shift. Cinchy!

I remember last year seeing my opponent out of the corner of my eye, and he was faster off the line than I was. It looked like a Miata, and I thought, "Wow, that's a fast Miata!" I must REALLY suck.

And then I saw it was Jason Rhodes and his Viper. Extra 100 horses!

Since that time, I've come to realize that high horsepower and torque don't mean the fastest launch times.

[Max Hayter]

[snob mode]

Some people tape down the knob on the parking brake to make it easier. I'm not one of them as, being English, we are taught to use the handbrake on any slight hill in regular road driving.

[\snob mode]