Ok before I begin I just want to say please don't tell me oh don't race or oh that is stupid or oh the TL is not meant to race. I'm 17...my engine is almost broken in...and while I will try not to race...it is inevitable...i am a teenager driving a 270 hp car.

My questions are with a 5AT what would be optimal revs for a good launch?
What kind of damage am I looking at by holding brake, reving, and launching?
Also, when using SS when's a good time to shift?

So far I only know that I should turn VSA off...I'm just wondering because soon I will have to have a grudge match with one of my friends...he smoked me in his RX-8 when I had a 93 Legend and I want to beat him by as much as I can.

This will be on a closed track so no worries.

 

It's good to know our TL's capabilities & limits, but as you mentioned being a 17 yr. old teenager driving a 270 HP car can easily wrap it around a pole... it is inevitable losing control.

Good thing you considered a closed track. BTW, the SS automatically shifts from 1st to 2nd.

 

since i dont have an auto (you should have gotten a manual) my advice may be a bit off.

Since the car has a Vtec engine, we get most of our power the closer we go to redline, so if we are limited at 6800 or something, you should shift near that.

Since you have an auto and SS will shift automaticaly from 1 to 2, if you want to keep it from doing that, launch in low, wait till it gets close to redline, and then put it in ss the rest of the way.

The problem with SS is that it is delayed, so you might hit the rev limiter and that will kill your acceleration, so if the first time you are gunna race, is with this guy, since you wont have had experience using SS in high revs, i would just keep it in drive. When you floor it, i think it shifts at 6200 which is still pretty close.

Also just in case you get into a sticky situation, get better tires since they will help when VSA is off. VSA can do wonders, only turn it off when you are familiar with the area and know that the chances of anything bad are low.

lol my parents didnt know about the engine until i told them, they were a little worried especialy with stick, but no worries, no tickets yet, and i havnt had the urge to wipe someone out...

good luck

 

You can't break torque the Auto TL. The tranny software retards the timing at 2k RPM's.

The best launch for the auto is to just floor it. It will bog if you break tourqe it.

I know it's sad, but true. Damn the week Acura trannies.

 

Here what I found:
Since the 5AT shift automatically from 1 to 2, I tried to floor it all the way both in manual & automatic mode and I was able to reach 6800 actually. Thus, make sure u race your friend from the stop, if you race him from a low speed around 5-15mph, he'll smoke you because you will automatically stay in 2nd gear and you won't be able to down shift to the 1st gear.

 

Here is a story about my best friend David, who cut his Civic in half after hitting a pole sideways at 85. Don't race, it's not worth it. Be the responsible person with your "270hp car." My friend is only 17 too, he thought he knew his car and it's limits. He was tring to race a BMW...


Crash victim in critical condition

By Staff reports
September 6, 2004

A 17-year-old Ventura resident who crashed his car into a utility pole Saturday was in critical condition at Ventura County Medical Center on Sunday evening, a nursing supervisor said.

According to Ventura Police, David Arroyo was driving his car on Kimball Road at Loma Vista Road at about 6:30 p.m. when he lost control of the vehicle and hit the pole.

Arroyo was thrown from the car and sustained major injuries, police said. He was taken to the hospital, where he underwent surgery.

Police say a preliminary investigation indicates speed was a factor in Arroyo's crash. Anyone who witnessed the accident or has information about it is asked to call Sgt. Dann Schindler at 339-4341.

 

As a father (and now a grandfather), I'd like to know WHY someone would buy a 17-year-old kid a $35,000 car with a 270 HP motor in it.

Let's all hope and pray he doesn't take someone innocent out when he wrecks it.

The best case might be the night he calls home to Dad for ride and then has to tell him that he shredded the transmission “just pulling away from a stop light”.

 

i think this is the wrong approach. i visited a friend of mine in FL about a year ago and down there they have race nights at a local speedway (1/8 mile) where you can race your car against others. this promotes keeping racing off the streets, and doing it on the streets carries a hefty fine. you can't stop it, but you can promote a safer place to do it.

 

someone with 5AT help? not to be rude or anything but let's not get off topic...again this is a closed track...

 

I thought I did help....

Read my post above....comments?

 

haha yeah thanks...so basically peoples' best recommendations are to just floor it? don't need SS? i just wanna know when people race if they simply floor it or what not...

 

do people not know what a closed track is? why does someone give me negative comments? it's not like i do this in the middle of the street...geez

kill myself? for your information i have a broken back because some idiot drove like a moron and ran me off the road. you know it annoys me not only that you automatically assume that i'm an idiot driver it bothers me that you would make a comment to me that i will die and you hope i don't bring anyone down with me.

"Go ahead and kill yourself, just hope you don't hurt anybody else."

What a mature way to approach a situation.

 

I race autocross in my TL. Why you would get an automatic and want to race it is beyond me.

 

With 3000 miles on the odo, injen cai ia ran a 10.02 in 1/8th mile track. Tranny will bog if you hold brake and floor it. Best results were vsa off, drive, let off brake and floor it. Good luck with the RX8.
Troy

 

Well you did write " I'm 17... my engine is almost broken in... and while I will try not to race... it is inevitable ... i am a teenager driving a 270 hp car."

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Neogeek

...Since the car has a Vtec engine, we get most of our power the closer we go to redline, so if we are limited at 6800 or something, you should shift near that.

...launch in low, wait till it gets close to redline, and then put it in ss the rest of the way.

...VSA _ off.

good luck...

 

see i still don't get how the whole closed track part was ignored. im not stupid enough to go out in the street and race...ive only street raced probably about 2 times...too risky for me. i always go out to the tracks

 

I know it will be in a closed course but maybe some people didn't read that far down to read closed course .

 

First my friend, the older members may just be giving you GOOD mature advice related to your first post which said "I'm 17...my engine is almost broken in...and while I will try not to race...it is inevitable...i am a teenager driving a 270 hp car."

I don't think any of them meant to disrespect you or hurt your feelings. They relate their personal experiences of knowing about losses of kids like you who end up getting killed because of the need for speed. But I can understand you fully that at your age, your lack of life experiences may lead you to believe that the whole world disagrees with you.

As a former police officer, I myself saw it close hand so many times how speed had snuffed the lives out of the teenagers who can't drive responsibly AND the unsuspecting other victim of this tragedy who did not know what hit them.

Pause for a moment out there and watch and see how majority of these teenagers with cars actually drive. These "enthusiasts" of speed and recklessness are waiting to get maimed, seriously injured and even get killed by their search for the sheer thrill and a brief moment of adrenaline rush.

I used to be like that when I was young. And I drove like a maniac, an idiot and yes looking back at it- a madman. And what did I get from it? other than the pats on the back from fellow idiotic drivers- Nothing. If it boosts the ego, by all means knock yourself out. But do it on the track. And by using a street car with an automatic tranny, make sure you have proper insurance and your warranty limitations.

There is a virtue that gets better with age called "maturity". It means waking up every morning after surviving a life experience and learning from it. I sure hope you know what this means before you use it. Sorry to "annoy" you, but you're starting to sound like that "idiot who drove like a moron and drove you off the road."

If you appreciate life, try to appreciate someone else's. When you fire that weapon, you better know where the bullet will stop or don't fire it at all.

 

dude i heard about that on the news... not to far away from wher I live... sorry to hear that about your friend. Hope he recovers well.