May I ask that you give some advice on how to get a good start off the line in a race when the green lights go on?

I usually have the throttle down all the way at full rev with my clutch pedal all the way down. As the green light goes on I lift the clutch about 5% and ride the clutch gently lifting the clutch pedal as I get some wheel spin.

This is extremely risky for me as no matter how much I practice I will spin out about 4 out of 10 times. I've heard there are different ways people get good starts by using the pit-limiter or doing funky things with the gearing or pedal combinations but I haven't been able to find a way to consistently shoot off the line like a rocket like I see other drivers do in races.

This would be pertaining to a mod that does not use Launch Control.

I realize that the mod, the gearing and different gear (pedals) has a lot to do with all of this.

I'd like to know how you get the car to rocket off the line. I'm not looking for how many cars you've passed at the start of the race I'm looking for techniques of how you get a rocket start off the line.

It would apply to any car or mod that does not have Launch Control.

Thanks

What sort of car are we talking about here?

I'm not one of the aliens around here, but I generally launch with about 1/2 throttle, rpms a bit past mid range, say 5k rpms in a sports car. I hold the throttle as I let up on the clutch, feathering both quickly to get just a little wheelspin while keeping the rpms up. I don't mat the throttle until I'm rolling with minimal wheelspin. When it goes exactly right (which certainly isn't every time for me), you should spend minimal time on the clutch, get little more than a chirp out of the tires, and be applying full power to the wheels at just below the power peak of the engine. Then comes the rocket part :)

I`m no expert at starts but I do occassionally get a good one. How I do it is find the sweet spot with the accelerator so when I dump the clutch the engine does not bog down but the tires do not spin. If you nail this just right you WILL jump off the line. I have had some starts where I would pass 3 or 4 cars before turn 1 but usually they are faster than me and just pass me right back so it may not always be such a good thing to get a great start. Hope I helped a little.

ive passed 6 on a good start

Also depends on the difficulty of the race, and the car that your in Peeler. So 6 is really just a number.

Still a good start if you can get by 2 or 3 though.

Lol Andrew...

But please let us know how you did it! : )

For some strange reason, I usually get really good starts. So good, I risk a punt as I weave through the traffic, kinda scary to be honest! LoL

As I don't have a clutch pedal, I use Michael's technique, only using a wheel button for the clutch. I use about half throttle - or more - with rev's at least 50% (more like 70%).
At the green, I just let go of the clutch button and away I go, hanging on for dear life as my car proceeds to pass 2 or 3 cars before T1! LoL
I kind of suspect that due to the fact that I'm usually mid pack or worse, the cars around me are just being cautious at the start (smart) making it real easy for me to fly past them (not so smart!).

Good luck with your starts Phillip (and don't worry about it anyway - get entered in a novice race and have some real fun! : )

Cu then,

Dan

I max it right before green and sidestep the clutch immediately when the light is given. I'm still at max throttle for about half a second and then I start to tapper off it a bit, just enough for the rear wheels to finally bite the track. The more powerful the car, the more I have to lay off the of the trottle so I can get grip, but never more than 70%. Once I get bite, I start cycling through the gears and pass cars like mad :). I've enjoyed a lot of success on standing starts and this works like a charm each time. Not easy to learn, though.

This also works with the clutch as a button on a steering wheel if you don't have it as a pedal. Might help if you set the clutch sensitivity to something high like 100%.

Having a pretty tall first gear will help you light it up on the start. Just make sure you have the rest of the gears properly set so you can keep the engine running high in its powerband as you go through them.

Jumping on the start is the easy part. Going through the motion and properly shifting through the gears at the right times is the hard part, but the one that will give you the most success.

Yeah, none of this is working for me. I should add that this is an F1 mod (MMG) and I am using no aids so I have no traction control on at all. I do have a clutch pedal.

I have tried everything, I can't get it to work.

Conor, what does "side step the clutch" mean?

I tried different revs, throttle positions, etc...

I gauge myself by how well I can keep close to the AI off the start line when I do a race against the AI. I realize that the AI uses different grip levels than me but sometimes I am able to keep up with them off the line. I know if I can do that on a consistent basis then I have my start sequence down pretty good and I'll do well in the start of a race. The problem is I can only do it once out of 100 tries.

I've tried the techniques suggested and maybe I'm doing something wrong? Usually the RPM needle will just drop down when I pop the clutch and the car just bogs down as I slowly move off the line. OR, I ride the clutch a bit feathering the throttle but the car spins out or it just about spins out as I again slowly move off the line.

I usually get a good start, in fact, I would even go so far as to suggest that it is my strongest skill. in a recent race here at R2P a few weeks back I did something crazy like 10th to 2nd by the first turn. Generally speaking, I don't bother faffing about with trying to find biting point like you would in a real car, unless I am on a slope and the car is rolling backward. In which case obviously it's a good idea!

I usually have a set proceedure:

1. Get onto the grid about mid-way through any countdown

2. Warm up lap - if there is one, don't bother weaving; it will not achieve anything. I tend to simply slow down a bit in second gear and then accelerate hard upto about 4th so I can get a feel for how the car squirms under heavy straight line acceleration.

3. Pull up to the grid in gear with the clutch in, don't bother hitting neutral.

4. Bring the revs up to around 20% as the light sequence starts, bringing the revs upto 60/75% as the final light comes on.

5. When the lights go green I simultaneously let go of the clutch pedal and boot the throttle to 100%. A fraction of a second later I quickly drop throttle to something in the order of 75% to allow the intial weight transfer to settle (this also allows you to drive around anyone who had a slightly slower start as well) before bringing the throttle back up to the full 100%.

6. Snake your way through as many cars as possible! I'm extremely careful however, and I have only once had an incident here at R2P at the start, and in fairness it was more a case of another driver moving into my side than me driving into his rear.

Like I say, I ain't the quickest here over a race distance or even a flying lap by a long, long way... But I'd be willing to wager that I'm one of the fastest off the line.