last night was a crazy ass night for me.. so me and some of my buds get together wanting to do some drag racing over by this long wide street where we live by. the cars were

2005 mazda6 5mt
1999 sc400 5at
2003 is300 5at
and my car, 2003 tl-s

things didnt last too long.. to keep things short, i got smoked by my buddy in the sc400 and bearly beat the is300... thinking about it at night i realized i drove my tls totally wrong because in ss mode every time i would shift i would let go of the gas completely. a friend should me to do this while he was teaching me how to "chirp" my tires.. i dont know why i applied this to racing but i did, and it made me go slower. anyways a cop came and we all split.. but with my luck i was the only one to get pulled over by a cop right after and it was a total scene of COPs that you see on tv. i was pretty scared and the cop knew that. after my parents came he showed major sympathy for me and let me off with a warning. how lucky was i? he threatened to put me in juvi and everything.

anyways, i plan to race the sc and is again and hopefully ill do better against the sc and smoke the is this time.

anyone have advice on how i could launch my car? ex: what rpm should i shift at stuff like that

 

You are so damn young I would feel guilty telling you how to launch.

Sorry learn to drive in all conditions and then worry about drag racing. Guess it's just the fatherly instinct in me.

 

If you want to contribute to the Darwin Awards by continuing after the karma you had last night--go ahead. Don't ask us to help you.

Learn to drive, learn your car, go at the streets carefully and get some experience.

 

:[ guess youre both right

 

lol@letting go on the gas and shifting.

 

Try starting in 2nd.

That way when the cops pull you over you dont really look like your drag racing.

With an auto start by getting good tires and then stomp the pedal, and dont let off till you WIN, or lose.
Dont power brake it, I know on the 3rd Gen TL's the comp gets funny about that.

 

Only 16, fast car, already street racing = diaster waiting to happen.

Drag strips in CA...
http://www.na-motorsports.com/Tracks/DragStrips.html#CA

 

kids should drive a shitbox until u know how to drive

i think u dun even know how to drive, and racing in ur parent's car is a nono

i would feel ashamed if the cop asked ur paretns to pick u up at the scene, i would never want to drive again

 

well, this is a forum after all and he did ask a question which about 50% of the posters should be able to answer. The way I see it is like sex: better off spilling the beans than letting curiosity kill the cat. So, if you are going to launch the TL properly (remember it ain't a race car), you should do it alone several (couple of hundred) times 'till you get it right:

a) VSA/TCS = OFF
b) SS mode, all accessories OFF including lights (night time racing is good for the movies)
c) on green, gently yet firmly and evenly squeeze the throttle 'till it hits the ground (like stepping on an orange) and don't change that position untill you are ready to shut it off (don't forget to shift at the begining of redline).

that is what gives me the best launches... Do I think you should do it? NO, however, history indicates you will (after all you are fearless and invincible right now). Good luck. we hope to see you around here for a long time. don't be foolish.

 

3 weeks ago...

 

I know what you are saying when you let of the gas at redline in first gear and immediately smash the pedal again to chirp the tires....

I've done it alot of times and i think it is a bit slower than just leaving your foot on the pedal the whole time.


Also...when launching the car, you need to have your left foot in the brake and right foot pressing the gas pedal down lightly to bring the rpm up to about 2000-2500 rpm. when the light turns green, release foot off brake and smash the gas pedal. make sure VSA light is ON and You should expect some wheel spin.

I know you are young and love to speed like I use to....

there is no problem speeding sometimes, but the most important thing is don't speed like a mainiac in a neighborhood.

I admit that till this age I do speed at times, but I will quickly slow down when i feel that the area requires me to slow down more.

Anyways... enough of my lesson... have fun and drive carefully at all times.

cheers

 

reading all of your guys post, you're all right. in basically telling me im young and naive(stupid). and i really do need to chill and watch out for what im doing while driving. but you cant blame me for wanting to test out and play around with my tl. but yeah, i gotta be more careful. thanks for all the replys

 

seeing that ur from bay area, i will say ur damn lucky you got away with it. In Cali, they automatically take ur car away and possibly suspend ur license if caught racing.

 

You have two things that are very valuable going on here: 1. You. YOU cannot be replaced, making you somewhat priceless to your parents and everyone else in your life.

2. Your car. Smashed and trashed Acuras make me very sad.

Like I said, experience behind the wheel is priceless. Follow the advice given about how to handle the car, and remember to chill. Let the fun come to you. Setting up drag night on a city street is gauranteed to get your scrawny little ass busted.

Reading all the threads here will show that most of us that have a run now and then kinda let things happen as they happen.

Well, the dad and teacher are both coming out and I oughta quit lecturing.

Enjoy the car and get some miles under your butt and the races will take care of themselves.

 

we all do stupid stuff. just try not to get caught

SSTS

 

Drive SS mode. Drive Carefully. Drive smart. Like these guys have been saying. Let what happens happen. Take races with your buddies, big drags anyway, to the tracks. Above all be safe.

 

The problem is that he is 16 and doesn't even have a license and is already out in the streets being unsafe. Sorry if I was your parents you wouldn't be driving this car.

 

i got my license right after i posted the pics of my tl up here so i've had it for awhile but yeah

 

Damn homeyy, 16? Shit Im 17 turning 18 with a 1999. You lucky you got a Type S man. Dont ruin all the fun now for yourself by getting cought. Dont race, Im telling you because down In FL, its about the same as Cali. They'll lock you up and take the car away. My boy got cought "speeding" from his story, and now he's paying up to $2500 + for ticket, court fees and everything.. Why? because it was a undercover who pulled him over, and undercover majority of the time show up at court. Take it easy though.

 

did you pay for the car yourself? i know im almost as young as you and have 2 jobs so i was able to buy myself my 02 tl-s that i just got last night :-)... anyway my point is... even if you didnt pay for the car imagine u dropped 15-16k on it and then imagine how much of a waste itd be if u got it taken away or crashed up... i kno itd make me sick to my stomach... and if nothing else gets thru to u to slow down a bit such as your own personal danger... think of how ugly a totaled tl-s would look... yah rereading my post makes me cringe haha...

 

You are lucky. There is a reason they lock you up and take your car. I hate to tell you but you are not bullet proof. At your age if you keep driving the way you are several things can or wil happen. 1 you or one of your racing buddies will crash and kill yourself or worse yet someone else. 2 you will get busted build points and loose your license before you are old enough to drink. Anyone one else read the story here in Central Florida where the young kid 160r 17 was racing and hit a car head on. His own Mother was driving the other car. Im sure he sleeps well at night knowing he killed his mother driving like a jack ass. I can tell you it is far better from the Officers point to take your car throw you in jail, then to go to your parents house in the middle of the night to tel them you were killed in a crash while racing. And by the way Mama can I swab your check for DNA because his body is in pieces and we only know it was your sone because his name is on the registration. If the officer let you off by calling your parents consider it a gift. Also you just used your get out of jail free card. If you want to race go to a school then the track.

 

Man I can't believe you lost to that SC400. I beat one of those in my 03 AV6. Race him again...........at the track!

 

haha, letting off of the gas when the AT is shifting? What kind of tard told you that? lol...

 

well, i havent even thought about trying to drag like that again but im still curious. shouldnt i lose to an sc? its a 1999sc400 the car weights just as much as the 03tl's but has a v8 engine... even if i drove it right, i woulda only beat it to like 60 and it still woulda been gone.

i dont know, a guy was trying to teach me how to kinda burn out in my tires i dont know why i applied it to launching my car

 

pretty sure the sc400 you beat in your av6 wasnt a 99. the olderones are pretty slow

 

The idea is this, first cars should almost always be a bucket that you can practice on until you get the hang of it. I was driving since I was 12, but even then, I didn't do anything stupid. Most of it was driving on private property, too. Fast forward to today, I can handle my car, since after driving Shitvics for awhile, I drove an 2 Accords, a Frontier, a Grand Cherokee, an Escape, and one more Accord. HAving and driving a variety of cars helped me appreciate the idea that I can drive as it really IS a privilege, not a right. Please be safe, m8.

~Cheers~

 

First off, take it to a drag strip. Its not worth endangering other people's lives for your cheap thrills.

The fastest method to get your car going in a straight line ( automatic TL ) would be gateshifting. Sportshift is actually slower because in second gear (5AT)the car shifts early. By putting the car into D1 and manually gateshifting to D2>D3>D4 you can get your RPM's closer to redline in 2nd gear which helps alot Remember you have to rev the engine while the brake is engaged in D1 to get the best launch.

 

I cant believe you parents... What were they thinking giving a kid who just got his license like 2 days ago a 2003 tls! did you parents take your car away after u got in trouble with the cops?

Atleast i learned for nearly 2 years on a POS 88 acura integra. i <3 acuras.

 

hahaha give the guy a break. like someone up there said 'we all done stupid things' and it's inevitable and we thoguht we were 'invincable'. i got my type-s at 16 and chilled out BIG time after my first speeding ticket (thank God it was just a ticket and not an accident). just don't let that cop's kindness go in vain...he could've given you the worst. you gotta fast car and fantastic car...don't be in too much of a rush to test out it's potential or prove anything

 

Classmate got a 02 TL upon getting his driver's license...

It's just a car...whats the big deal?

 

16 and getting a Tl-S Very Nice. I got a 97 honda prelude 5 Mt as first car. Now i finally got a 99 tl from my mom a hand me after she got a new bimmer. 2000-2500 rpm is a good spot to launch.

 

lol, the traffic law for yall is sad....with being 16 in canada, cant drive alone, only wit someone, wait a year den yea, but usually its like 17-18 for someone to drive........

and with a scary enuff car like a tls, coulda let the tls take control of him, and BAM...
lol

ur laws r kinda...........

 

So? Look at it this way. Suppose his TL-S is worth $20-$22K, and so is a new Camry. If this incident were to occur with a new Camry, would you be making the same comments? To me, the car is irrelevant...its really the dollar value.

 

u guys really wanna flame some1? i got my 04tl b4 i had my licence. go ahead.

 

Correct me if i'm wrong..but I see ur 20 ..so you must've gotten ur license when u were 18? If so, 18 and 16 are kinda different. Maturity level is a real difference.

 

its about age, and value here.

 

and punk little bastards like him raise our premium every year.

 

you wil NEVER beat the sc400, first of all its v8, more torque then your car, more horsepower, and RWD.....and did i mention wayyyy more torque, once that thing gets goin you will not catch up to it.....as for the lexus, i dont know how you didnt beat him

 

high five