4th Generation Maxima (1995-1999) Visit the 4th Generation forum to ask specific questions or find out more about the 4th Generation Maxima.

Takeoff Tips

Thread Tools
 
Search this Thread
 
Old 06-30-2002, 12:49 AM
  #1  
Senior Member
Thread Starter
 
DFord97's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2002
Posts: 123
Takeoff Tips

My max is my first stick shift car, and I haven't had it for long but I'm pretty decent with it now. All I know now, though, is the standard by the book crap and I really want to learn to take advantage of this powerful car. If anyone could give some tips on how to have good takeoffs, where to shift when racing, etc it would be much appreciated.
DFord97 is offline  
Old 06-30-2002, 01:07 AM
  #2  
My other car is a Hybrid
iTrader: (1)
 
Chunger's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2000
Location: SoCal
Posts: 3,825
Click Me!
Chunger is offline  
Old 06-30-2002, 02:08 AM
  #3  
Senior Member
Thread Starter
 
DFord97's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2002
Posts: 123
I've read through that .. don't really see anything addressing my questions there.
DFord97 is offline  
Old 06-30-2002, 02:31 AM
  #4  
My other car is a Hybrid
iTrader: (1)
 
Chunger's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2000
Location: SoCal
Posts: 3,825
Originally posted by DFord97
I've read through that .. don't really see anything addressing my questions there.
Search will do wonders

It just takes a little bit of patience...

Welcome to the .org
Chunger is offline  
Old 06-30-2002, 03:06 AM
  #5  
Senior Member
Thread Starter
 
DFord97's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2002
Posts: 123
thanks. tried searching, guess i just was retarded with regard to choosing the right terms.
DFord97 is offline  
Old 06-30-2002, 08:22 AM
  #6  
Senior Member
iTrader: (2)
 
Jamsan's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2002
Posts: 2,958
you have a 97 SE 5spd AND leather ??? lucky man ....well im not 5 spd driver, but some things you can try is....well launch at a high rpm....rev it up to about 3.5-4k rpm then pop it into first....your tires meet burn if you dont get good traction....another thing you can do is power shift....i wouldnt recommend this until you know the perfect shift points of your car and such....your tranny will end up on the floor if you **** this up.....basically you just shift with your foot o nthe gas....so your rpms wont drop while shifting, and you wont get the "shift lag"....thats all i can think off, but like i said im no expert, not even intermediate at driving stick, so be forewarned
Jamsan is offline  
Old 06-30-2002, 05:23 PM
  #7  
Moderator who thinks he is better than us with his I30
iTrader: (8)
 
I30tMikeD's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2002
Posts: 9,335
Don't rev your engine up to 4k rpm's and pop the clutch if you want to launch. You'll just sit there and spin your tires. Unless you are just trying to peel out which I don't know why you would want to do that. I found 1500 rpms is a good launch point.
I30tMikeD is offline  
Old 06-30-2002, 05:25 PM
  #8  
Senior Member
iTrader: (2)
 
Jamsan's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2002
Posts: 2,958
im sure it can launch atleast 3k rpm wihtout roasting the tires...i launched at 4k on my friends and it didnt spin that much
Jamsan is offline  
Old 06-30-2002, 10:06 PM
  #9  
Moderator who thinks he is better than us with his I30
iTrader: (8)
 
I30tMikeD's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2002
Posts: 9,335
Originally posted by Jamsan
im sure it can launch atleast 3k rpm wihtout roasting the tires...i launched at 4k on my friends and it didnt spin that much
It's kind of weird because eveyone does it a little diff. If I pop the clutch at 3k and Hit the gas all the way I will spin my tires too much. If I were to hesistate just a second on the gas and not slam it dowm I can launch at 3k and be O.K. I don't know but less than 2k seems to give me the best launch. I have yet to pop the clutch at 4k and hit the gas and not laid a lot of rubber. This is just me though.
I30tMikeD is offline  
Old 07-01-2002, 12:06 AM
  #10  
Supporting Maxima.org Member
iTrader: (14)
 
speedemn's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2000
Location: Ontario, Canada
Posts: 2,404
If you want to drop the clutch, do not launch any higher than about 1200 - 1500RPM or you'll sit there burning rubber... trust me... and then after that your car will reek of burnt rubber and not to mention its a waste of your rubber!

Now that I've mentioned rubber enough times in 1 sentence, I will go on to explain another way of launching that I have heard is more effective and even I am trying to perfect it. In 1st gear rev your engine to about 3000RPM with the clutch still in and when the light turns green slide the clutch out slowly so you don't roast your tires and at the same time you take off with all the traction under control. This requires a LOT of practice and a lot of concentration at first. But when you master it, you'll fly off the line like an AWD!

Like I said, I'm still trying to learn that for my next trip to the track. I should be in the high 14s stock easily if I can master that.
speedemn is offline  
Old 07-01-2002, 12:50 AM
  #11  
Senior Member
Thread Starter
 
DFord97's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2002
Posts: 123
I kind of suck on the terminology, so sorry for sounding like a newbie what do you mean by drop the clutch or feather the clutch, etc?
DFord97 is offline  
Old 07-01-2002, 01:12 AM
  #12  
Donating Maxima.org Member
iTrader: (-1)
 
spiff56747's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2001
Posts: 1,371
Drop the clutch means you just release the clutch really fast.

Feather the clutch means you slowly modulate the clutch, releasing it slowly.
spiff56747 is offline  
Old 07-01-2002, 06:34 AM
  #13  
Senior Member
iTrader: (2)
 
Jamsan's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2002
Posts: 2,958
well when i dropped it at 4k, i was in a WRX ....that explains the non burning
Jamsan is offline  
Old 07-01-2002, 08:46 AM
  #14  
I'm so hood
iTrader: (1)
 
blizz20oma's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2001
Posts: 1,689
well when i dropped it at 4k, i was in a WRX ....that explains the non burning
Just because they're both manuals doesn't mean the launch will be the same. I mean, crap, that's an awd car. Not to mention a 4-banger.

I've found if you drop the clutch hard in the max, it's a welcome invitation for wheel spin and wheel hop, especially if you're on an even slight incline. Although I don't really hard launch much at all, when I have, I've found moderate feathering is the best, getting the tires to chirp slightly upon release, but not spin. This just takes practice with the feet. My best advice is, don't floor the gas until you're off the clutch, and don't pop the clutch 100% - feather it aggressively (very quickly though).
blizz20oma is offline  
Related Topics
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
rbuswell
4th Generation Maxima (1995-1999)
7
11-12-2016 04:11 PM
JakeOfAllTrades
7th Generation Maxima (2009-2015)
6
10-05-2015 10:40 AM
dcam0326
5th Generation Maxima (2000-2003)
8
09-18-2015 04:52 PM
sdotcarter
6th Generation Maxima (2004-2008)
2
09-02-2015 09:53 PM
Justin Kroll
5th Generation Maxima (2000-2003)
7
09-02-2015 11:06 AM



Quick Reply: Takeoff Tips



All times are GMT -7. The time now is 04:08 PM.