Need help getting off the line

[Senad Subasic]

I need help with my starts. I have tried several different methods, and 19 times out of 20, I get swamped.

Full throttle in neutral, shift to first on green.
Full throttle in first, clutch on, quick release on green.
Full throttle in first, clutch on, gradual release on green.
And everything the same again, but instead of full throttle, I use a guesstimated rev number at which the engine would have good torque.

All of the above usually fails. Miserably. How do you guys do it? I just need a regular start, nothing Rolandesque

 

[Neil Gault]

not much point in using full throttle as it the torque peak you want to catch and not the horse power, what i usually do is sit with the rev counter just at the end of the white zone and as the light goes green let your clutch out till it bites and then feed in more throttle to keep the revs up until you have the clutch pedal right up then it is full throttle until i need to slow down again.
There is also a line within your engine file that tells the AI how much revs to use for starts but usually just the end of the white is just fine.

 

[Erik Tveit]

Hold the clutch at the point where the power and torque bars meet. More or less 500rpm from max rpm. Depending on the car you either need to lift the throttle or put the pedal to the floor. Basically, a little bit wheel spin is better than being safe with nothing..

 

[Ross McGregor]

Turn 'auto-clutch' off for starters. (you can always turn it back on once you're off the line) No need to hold it in neutral and shift to 1st as the lights go green, that wastes a lot of time. (i know because i also used to do this!)

My technique is;
1) engage clutch & shift into first gear,
2) max revs
3) release clutch on green, sometimes giving it another stab if you've bogged down
4a) catch back-end or;
4b) hit ESC...


In some cars you can floor the throttle 100% no problem, others, like the BOSS, need a bit more co-ordination between your left & right feet.

 

[Roland]

.. I just need a regular start, nothing Rolandesque

Well I'm not sure if that's supposed to keep me from posting, but if so I'll just ignore that..

I really don't think I do anything special, it just seems to work out well lately. And IIRC you have a G27, so what I do with my G25 pedals should work for you.

First of all, for me options 1..3 don't work either. Full throttle is not the way IMO in most cars.
Secondly, of course I have Auto-Clutch disabled.

What I do is basically this:
- With about 5..8 sec. left on the countdown, I engage 1st gear and keep the clutch pedal fully pressed.
- At around 3 sec., I apply some throttle, usually slightly less than half, so the engine revs up to around 6k..7k RPM depending on the car as you mentioned, and then keep my right foot at that position.
- At the start of the 3-2-1 countdown, I stop blinking my eyes and focus waiting for the "GO" appearing on the screen.
- The instant the "GO" appears, I release the clutch just over half way, so it 'bites', with my right foot still in the same position on the throttle; then the car starts to move.
- As soon as it does, I apply full throttle (I don't instantly hammer the pedal, just a fluent move downwards) while simultaneously fluently releasing the clutch.

This is the key part that you have to get a feel for. If you step on the throttle too quickly the car will start spinning too much/fishtailing like when using your option 1 or 2. If you release the clutch too quickly before adding enough throttle your revs will drop and the car will slowly stutter off the line. If you release the clutch too slowly you won't pickup speed fast enough. It's an almost synchronous movement that once memorised will be just about the same for every car.
EDIT: I should add that while I start pressing Throttle and releasing Clutch at the same moment, the release of the Clutch is almost instantly, within, say, half a sec., while the movement towards Full Throttle takes longer, up to 2..3 seconds for powerful heavy cars like the Boss and lightweight FWD cars like a Mini, to prevent too much wheelspin. For a car like the default Cortina I'll go to Flat within a sec.

- Then I start blinking again and off we go..

Setting-wise, I think my throttle and clutch linearity are at default (which is 51% IIRC? ). Since I'm not at my game-rig ATM I will double check later.Checked.

Basically, it is exactly the same as I'd do in my every day car if I want to do a traffic light sprint race against the guy next to me; that is if my real car wasn't powered by some lame 60 hp diesel engine that takes forever to get to 120 km/h - I do get great mileage though

 

[Warren Dawes]

Thanks for the question Senad, this will be a very helpful topic.
Obviously, I won't explain my Start technique, since I'm actually worse than you. I think I safely have the title of RD's worst starter.

Already a couple of things to help me, turning off Autoclutch to begin with. :oops:
I have massive problems with getting the Mini off the line (surprisingly ). I seem to get the initial launch reasonable, but it quickly hits the rev limit in 1st, and as soon as I throw it to 2nd, it chugs hopelessly as everyone screams past. Is that simply the Autoclutch overriding everything, or do I need to use the clutch again when changing to 2nd?

 

[Senad Subasic]

Ah, right, same problem as Warren: rev limiter, gear change, cars flying by.
I have auto clutch on as well, but it still works if I press it (when trying to do a decent start). Will turn it off.

And LOL, looks like people have decent starts with all methods I tried

 

[Knut Omdal Tveito]

I'm doing exactly what Roland described (nice writeup). It does sometime end up in smoke or bogged down, but overall I found this to work best for me.

 

[Stuart Thomson]

I think, Warren and Senad, that if you hit the rev limiter too soon, you're actually wheel spinning and not going at the actual speed that top of 1st can offer.

Hence when you drop to 2nd you bog down, because - once the wheelspin dies - 2nd finds itself way down in its range.

Do a slow start in 1st, just gentle like you're pulling out of the pits. Slowly build up speed in 1st until you are at the rev limit, and check the speed.

Then do a "racing" start, and see if when you hit the limiter this time you are doing that same speed. If not, you're still wheel spinning at the rev limit, and that's the issue.

Me, I'm in 1st, manual clutch down, I rev to about 75% of the rev range, and when I see the "Go!" I release the clutch fast but smooth, and floor the throttle. Then I modulate the throttle back a bit to stop too much wheelspin, and then progressively get back to full throttle and change to 2nd once I know I'm at max revs, but not wheelspinning.

 

[Ross McGregor]

The clutch does work off the line when 'auto-clutch' is enabled, but it doesn't give the same 'bite' as manual clutch.
Warren- i'm no expert with Minis, but maybe starting in 2nd gear will help?

 

[Warren Dawes]

I think, Warren and Senad, that if you hit the rev limiter too soon, you're actually wheel spinning and not going at the actual speed that top of 1st can offer.

Thanks Stu, I just tested this with the 1275 Mini, and you were right. I was changing to 2nd about 20 MPH below what 1st revs out to.
DOH! Seems obvious now, but I've never practiced starts before (who would have guessed that ). Me, of all people, making this newby mistake, since I am very careful about avoiding wheelspin in the turns with the Mini.
Sometimes we can't see the wood for the trees. Look out Roland, you may only be able to give me 200 metres start instead of the usual 400 m.

Ross, I tried 2nd gear starts but it just chugged right off the line. Worth a try though.