What Bad Can Launching Do To Your Car?

[bugger]

Just a discussion on which part will be affected when launching your car?

say at 3000rpm and above?

Clutch?

Gearbox?

[dontfeelcold]

everything, depends more so on the car, its condition, power and the parts that it has on it.

Maybe be a bit more specific.

[Spook's_Skyline]

clutch, gear box, tyres, diff, engine

[r32line]

Launching a car is about as harsh an action as you can do... the most common component to give out is the clutch assuming its not aftermarket (like a twin plate etc) but as mentioned above there is also the g/box and diff at risk.

[typevu]

Your wallet.

Edited May 13, 2007 by vietorious

[EVILTD]

Everything, it's your baby you're torturing. LOL

[Ronin 09]

every part in the drivetrain. the impact shock loads are enormous!!

[Spunky Munky]

Question is: why do it then?

[benm]

Your wallet.

That's the simplest answer.

I did approx 35x 7000-8000rpm launches (about 30 of those at a prep'd drag track) in my R32 GTR in 8mths without any issues (best feeling in the world) but #36 has cost me about ~$15,000 (flywheel shattered, ruined my firewall, chassis rail, engine, gearbox, inner guards etc etc - the car is effectively a write-off) and has very likely put me permanently out of the import 'game'.

It's always the weakest link that goes first (naturally) but their is always a weakest link. Upgrade your slipping clutch then 1st gear goes, fix first and your axles break, fix the axles and the diffs go and so on.

[VB-]

yeah but after you fix all the weak links you go reallllyyyy quick.

random q, but all those urban legends on the next of clutches coming apart and cutting feet off and stuff, did any part of your flywheel pierce through into the cabin?

[d0p3y]

yeah but after you fix all the weak links you go reallllyyyy quick.

random q, but all those urban legends on the next of clutches coming apart and cutting feet off and stuff, did any part of your flywheel pierce through into the cabin?

It's not an urban legend, it's a fact - Ben is very lucky to have functioning limbs after his clutch and flywheel shat themselves.

[gtrtech]

That's the simplest answer.

I did approx 35x 7000-8000rpm launches (about 30 of those at a prep'd drag track) in my R32 GTR in 8mths without any issues (best feeling in the world) but #36 has cost me about ~$15,000 (flywheel shattered, ruined my firewall, chassis rail, engine, gearbox, inner guards etc etc - the car is effectively a write-off) and has very likely put me permanently out of the import 'game'.

It's always the weakest link that goes first (naturally) but their is always a weakest link. Upgrade your slipping clutch then 1st gear goes, fix first and your axles break, fix the axles and the diffs go and so on.

Faark.

Sorry to hear about your mishap, thats the biggest one i've heard of for a while.

One owner of a genuine 500 bhp road going GT-R told me he only ever ran a single plate clutch, as he preferred to replace it every 12 months or so rather that all the other driveline components.

[benm]

any part of your flywheel pierce through into the cabin?

Their are plenty of pics available in the drag section titled 'August 12th' (2006) or something like that.

When I got my car home the only visual damage inside the cabin was the plastic foot rest had popped off it's bracket.

After we removed the entire dash, pulled the carpet back we could see that the firewall had taken a massive pounding from the gearstick forward and the 4wd prop shaft had been lodged 2 inches up into the driver side floor pan directly below my left leg (had to hit it with a hammer to remove it).

The passenger inner metal guard between the strut tower and firewall (where the ABS + wiper motor is) does not exist, it was ripped clean out along the welds.

A piece of metal (unsure whether it was flywheel, guard, bellhousing or something else) ended up 50m away in the crowd and the only physical piece of flywheel I have left is the size of a 20c piece.

I won't make another appearance at a drag strip until I have a good aftermarket clutch and flywheel and at minimum a ballistic blanket around the gearbox.

One owner of a genuine 500 bhp road going GT-R told me he only ever ran a single plate clutch, as he preferred to replace it every 12 months or so rather that all the other driveline components.

I had approx 550bhp and a single plate clutch (Jim Berry - best clutch i've ever used) and it still happened. I'm sure that if I was using a cheap crappy clutch it wouldn't have lasted the ~35x 8000rpm launches I did and I would have had to replace it with something better and replaced the flywheel at the same time which may have prevented all of this happening.

[FineLine]

Their are plenty of pics available in the drag section titled 'August 12th' (2006) or something like that.

When I got my car home the only visual damage inside the cabin was the plastic foot rest had popped off it's bracket.

After we removed the entire dash, pulled the carpet back we could see that the firewall had taken a massive pounding from the gearstick forward and the 4wd prop shaft had been lodged 2 inches up into the driver side floor pan directly below my left leg (had to hit it with a hammer to remove it).

The passenger inner metal guard between the strut tower and firewall (where the ABS + wiper motor is) does not exist, it was ripped clean out along the welds.

A piece of metal (unsure whether it was flywheel, guard, bellhousing or something else) ended up 50m away in the crowd and the only physical piece of flywheel I have left is the size of a 20c piece.

I won't make another appearance at a drag strip until I have a good aftermarket clutch and flywheel and at minimum a ballistic blanket around the gearbox.

I had approx 550bhp and a single plate clutch (Jim Berry - best clutch i've ever used) and it still happened. I'm sure that if I was using a cheap crappy clutch it wouldn't have lasted the ~35x 8000rpm launches I did and I would have had to replace it with something better and replaced the flywheel at the same time which may have prevented all of this happening.

I wont be running my rebuild at least until there is a safety blanket or scattershield to protect both me and the car from this shit.

It isnt a myth, I saw 2 examples of this back in the old surfers paradise drag strip days. Its darn scarey stuff.

[markimak]

at ford next door. we had a XR8 BA falcon ute pop a flywheel thru the oil lines firewall and windshield.. causing a write off..

he was doing burnouts and taped it then he tried to claim it under warranty lol..

idiot.

[Modena]

This thread has just totally put me off any serious dragging or burnouts... at the track offcourse.

[r32-25t]

and bi metal fly wheels r the worst for doing this (alloy flywheel and steel ring gear)

and the diffrent expantion rates between the 2 metals corses the metals to put more pressure on each other and eventually something has to give

brett