Need tips on launching car

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hamsterpig
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Need tips on launching car

Post by hamsterpig »

Hi just need some tips on launching car, basically I want to stop the juddering when I launch the car, my clutch friction is about half way up the travel of the pedal so i usually let the clutch around half way give it gas and and let the clutch out.
Most of the time it judders, I can't work out why it does this?

It mainly happens when stopping and starting from a junction/roundabout, My problem is I over think the friction area.

Any help/tips would be great thanks.
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theholycow
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Re: Need tips on launching car

Post by theholycow »

What do you drive?

It sounds like you're experiencing clutch chatter. It is not uncommon, and there's no need to go around trying to find something or someone to blame. It may need one really aggressive launch to burn off some rust or glaze, or it may just need you to use a little higher RPM and a little less friction every time.
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hamsterpig
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Re: Need tips on launching car

Post by hamsterpig »

Hi,
I drive a golf,

Would you say letting the clutch out to or near the friction is fine?
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theholycow
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Re: Need tips on launching car

Post by theholycow »

What year Golf? Is it old and worn out or new?

The commonly used term "friction point" is a misnomer; there is actually a zone, not a point, and even the zone changes with differing conditions and wear. Where exactly you pause your clutch foot should be based on the result you get...and it sounds like you need to either pause your clutch foot lower, or use more engine speed.
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kayubassist
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Re: Need tips on launching car

Post by kayubassist »

same here.
I started applying gas before the clutch reaches where I originally thought the friction point was. and the judder is gone. rpm is more stable when launching.
for uphill, i apply gas a lot sooner than level ground.
also, i think every launch is different in terms of when to apply gas depending on the slope of the road. even on a slight slope where i think the road is almost flat, i feel like i have to compensate for that.
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AHTOXA
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Re: Need tips on launching car

Post by AHTOXA »

I think that the best way to launch a car is by strapping a few rocket boosters to it. Don't even have to use the clutch at all.
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hamsterpig
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Re: Need tips on launching car

Post by hamsterpig »

my Golf is 2003

I will try lowering the clutch see if that works.
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Re: Need tips on launching car

Post by tankinbeans »

AHTOXA wrote:I think that the best way to launch a car is by strapping a few rocket boosters to it. Don't even have to use the clutch at all.
But, where will the land walrus be to steer the thing?
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theholycow
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Re: Need tips on launching car

Post by theholycow »

tankinbeans wrote:But, where will the land walrus be to steer the thing?
What about a land sea cow?

...was going to google up the funny picture that goes with that but there's not a single relevant result. Hmm...I think it was this guy who said it:
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shiftmate
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Re: Need tips on launching car

Post by shiftmate »

I'm new to manual transmissions. I've been trying to do no-gas launches, and I find that if I apply gas at the point where the car just starts rolling, the clutch isn't engaged sufficiently so the engine will just rev. So it seems I should let the clutch up a tad bit more before giving gas, but if I do so, the revs drop too low and I have to gas to prevent stalling.

Any suggestions? Or do I just need more practice so that I can find the sweet spot in the clutch travel between (1) the car just beginning to roll and (2) where the engine begins faltering, and learn to apply throttle at that sweet spot?
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Re: Need tips on launching car

Post by zooom »

^I'd suggest--and it's a common suggestion here--going to an empty parking lot and practicing no-gas launches without ever touching the gas pedal and without looking at the tach. Do this over and over and over.

On the road, you can do this as well by leaving a good amount of space between you and the car in front and by anticipating, for example, when the light will change. I did it like this for at least a month, sometimes adding a bit of gas with some launches.

I found this method very helpful especially because on my car the throttle is very sensitive. It took me longer to learn to control the throttle than the clutch. So, the above method lets you concentrate on just one thing. Once you are comfortable with getting the car moving with just the clutch, then you can start trying to combine it with adding gas. And, actually, when I finally was comfortable with knowing the friction point of the clutch and started combining it with the throttle, I started stalling again, because the movement of the car made me think everything was coupled up! So, I went back to getting moving with just the clutch. Took me about 3 months to launch without stalling and about 4-5 months to get over the fear of stalling. So hang in there! After that it's a lot more fun! :D
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theholycow
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Re: Need tips on launching car

Post by theholycow »

If you add gas at the point where the car begins to roll during a no-gas launch, your RPM will indeed shoot up. You need to be slightly more aggressive with the clutch if you're going to give it gas.

Clutch work changes when throttle, RPM, road grade, or vehicle weight (think towing a trailer) changes. Throttle work changes when clutch, RPM, road grade, or vehicle weight changes. Everything balances against everything else.

With enough practice your feet will do their jobs subconsciously (most of the time), directly connecting to your senses to operate the car (like how they directly connect to your senses to walk steadily without conscious thought). By then, your feet will automatically deal with changes in the aforementioned variables. That's not very comforting, because "enough" was a whole lot more practice than I ever thought it would be.
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Re: Need tips on launching car

Post by tankinbeans »

theholycow wrote:If you add gas at the point where the car begins to roll during a no-gas launch, your RPM will indeed shoot up. You need to be slightly more aggressive with the clutch if you're going to give it gas.

Clutch work changes when throttle, RPM, road grade, or vehicle weight (think towing a trailer) changes. Throttle work changes when clutch, RPM, road grade, or vehicle weight changes. Everything balances against everything else.

With enough practice your feet will do their jobs subconsciously (most of the time), directly connecting to your senses to operate the car (like how they directly connect to your senses to walk steadily without conscious thought). By then, your feet will automatically deal with changes in the aforementioned variables. That's not very comforting, because "enough" was a whole lot more practice than I ever thought it would be.
I'm getting to the point where my feet have a mind of their own and need no help from me. Over-revs happen, and shuddery thingamablobbers, but not as often as before. For this reason, I only give cursory thought to what I'm doing. :mrgreen: :lol: I still pay attention to the road, but not my feet/shifter hand.
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Re: Need tips on launching car

Post by Rope-Pusher »

I still pay attention to the road, but not my feet/shifter hand.
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