How to Get a Good Launch

Hi All...it's been almost a year (except Winter driving) since taking owership of my Cayman S , and have yet ot really give it a proper " launch " off the line...don't laugh! I have very much enjoyed the second gear through third motions. Any pointers on how to do this properly with these cars? Not sure if there is an ideal rev to start at when releasing the clutch etc. Open to objective feedback! )

I enjoy not needing to replace my clutch, so I don't attempt to develop that skill.

Fair point

With PDK it is awesome. Sport plus mode, brake to floor, gas to floor and release brake. Then all hell brakes loose. It really scares the passengers though. Not sure if I would do it with a manual though.

My Boxster , with its low center of gravity, distribution of weight and power, and grippy tires seems like it would take a scary amount of rpm’s, followed by a clutch dump just to break the tires free, and I don’t think I would want put that much stress on certain components. I get on it pretty good at times and never even feel the slightest loss of traction.

Why would you want to do that? It stresses all sorts of stuff. These cars are not designed or built for that. They are designed and built for fast driving AROUND TURNS.

I've had a 987.1 CS from new. I have 110k of daily-driver mostly commuter traffic here in Silicon Valley, as this is my only vehicle. I'm on my 3rd set of brake pads and rotors, but still my first clutch! Clutches are relatively easy and cheap to replace, but be aware that the 2nd gear synchros are very difficult (and thus expensive) to replace, so that's probably a bigger worry if you're shifting from 1st to 2nd aggressively. Remember that, for a given pressure between the clutch plates, the speed of wear is proportional to the differential in speed between the plates. For example, for a given amount of clutch pressure if the wheel side of your clutch is spinning at 1000 RPM and the engine side is spinning at 2500 RPM, the difference is 1500 RPM. If instead with the same clutch pressure the engine is spinning 4000 RPM the difference is 3000 RPM and your wear is 2x as quick! Also, assuming the clutch pressure is the same in both cases, you're acceleration will be the same. But of course at the higher RPM your engine will produce more torque and thus you'll be able to apply more clutch pressure for faster acceleration unless the wheels loose grip and start spinning (the more clutch pressure will also cause even faster wear). All of this clutch information is to say: You want the lowest amount of engine RPM that still allows you to apply enough clutch pressure to not quite get your wheels to break traction. I've had some glorious runs with the tires briefly chirping (and traction control briefly and lightly intervening) from stop all the way through 1st gear with only slipping the clutch to maintain 2500 to 3000 RPM. I don't have much experience with jackrabit starts, but these are my practical suggestions from over the years... I'd start with some modest jackrabbiting by aiming for 2000-2500 RPM. I've had success from idle by giving the accelerator pedal a generous push and letting the clutch engage as the tach spins past 2000. Then, when getting the feel of the clutch/tach right and starting to move, you can mash the accelerator while releasing the clutch more too keep the tach at 2500. Release the clutch too much will cause the engine to bog down as it drops the RPMs. Release the clutch too little and the engine RPMs rise and cause much more clutch wear while missing out on maximizing acceleration. At some point, the car's road speed will match the engine's first-gear speed and you fully release the clutch. You should be able to feel when the speeds are close to matching and you can release the clutch quickly and get a little wheel chirp and forward lurch. If you have good traction and are consistenly on-target at the 2500 RPM target, you could raise your target to 3000, 3500, and finally 4000 RPM. 4000 RPM is about max torque, so there's little point in exceeding that unless you're trying to get that extra 0.1 second by storing rotational energy in the engine that'll you put into the car by dropping the clutch somewhere around 30 MPH. Yeah, don't do that to your car! Also, that 4000 RPM is going to be easily 2x as abusive to your clutch as the 2500 RPM. All-wheel-drive cars sometimes use the strategy of dropping the clutch and dumping rotational energy into spinning the weels. That's not going to be useful with 2-wheel-drive and open differential. Practical considerations if you're on public roads... understand "show of speed" and "street racing" laws and steer very clear of them. If the road is straight and smooth, electronics will proably keep you from going into a ditch or another lane, but still... be careful and smart out there!

Excellent explanation on the inner workings of the clutch, SunnyvaleCA. I could mindfully picture what you were describing and have a much better understanding of what I can feel in the pedal and the seat of my pants. I agree with not wanting to clutch dump at high revs. I would always fear the sound of something giving way, usually the most expensive one. I’m pretty much driving as you describe on those occasions when the road is clear and dry and I want to push it a bit, but I’ve still never chirped the tires . These cars are so sticky and well balanced it seems an effort to break traction.

It's even trickier with a 718n turbo 4. It starts to really go a few seconds after launch . Haven't figured it out yet after 4 Autocrosses in this car.