This topic doesnt get much attention, so I figured I would get everyone's say. We know that a FWD is NOT MADE TO LAUNCH. We all know th Evo guys and any RWD car will have a better launch, so we dont need to discuss that. But, us Ralliart, OZ/ES/LS owners have been known to see what we can do on the 1/4 and the launch is just as important.

How has everyone been doing in their respective cars? What mods have you done to improve you launches?

For me in my ralliart, with a fairly stock setup, I seem to launch with almost no wheelspin on normal dry pavement at ~3500RPM. 4000 gets me a bit of spin, but I think my times are a bit better. I dont drop the clutch, tho. I want to stiffen the motor mounts to keep as much weight on the front as I can. New rubbers will help, too.

 

The hands down number one mod that will improve launching in any car is limited slip differential. The Evo and other sports cars already have that, but econoboxes don't, so that's the first most important mod for the Lancer to get a good launch. Without it, I got a half way decent launch at about 3k rpm on max performance tires. But Lancers with a turbo and LSD usually get about half of the 60 ft time as me. Second most important thing is tires.

 

yea, those are a big given =] Also carry a big price tag! A LSD is what? $800? Some nice toyo's will run almost $600 or so. and thats if u put them on the stock rims. I myself would get something a bit lighter/sexyer. What about smaller things like clutch lines, bushing, etc? I know that they alone wont give better traction, but can let a good driver manually control traction.

 

I know I've heard Andrew (HobieKopek) say many times that he's never felt a need for the LSD since getting the Deyeme Racing motor mounts in his car, though I don't know how much he's really driven it since getting the mounts. That combined with good tires was plenty to keep the front wheels solidly planted on the ground.

Anyway, I find that a 3500rpm launch with light feathering just to keep the engine from bogging gets me off the starting line and into the first curves of an autocross just fine.

-N

 

Yeah, an LSD is almost $900 but there's a reason (well, ok, a couple reasons) the RRM Lancer is the fastest in the 50 states. And for reference, the stock OZ rims only weigh 15 lb, making not too many choices that are lighter... Bogart (drag racing only apparently), Rota, and a few others.

 

ya, the oz wheels are really nice. thats why they called the car the lancer OZ i think the stock RA wheels are about 23lbs, which isnt bad. but, if i need new wheels, ill get some new rims while im at it and shave of those rotating lbs.

 

Are there new OZ rims on the '04 OZ Rally cars? I was at my nearest dealer the other day and the OZ Rally rims looked more like the RalliArt's rims. They were 12-spoke, arranged in 6 pairs. They were definitely OZ Rally Lancers, there were a few of them with these rims (and I didn't see any of the old 5-spoke designs, they were the same size (15"x6"), etc... they were just different.

I know the 5-spoke OZ rims are nice and light, but I wonder if the same goes for the new 12-spoke ones? I'm assuming it wasn't just this dealership that had them.
-N

 

All the '04 OZs I've seen had the traditional 5 spoke rims on them. Maybe your dealership made some kind of upgrade package, or maybe they changed rims half way through the year and my local dealership still has the older model (the one near here is run by a hard @$$ and they probably still think they can get a $2000 markup on an OZ )

 

If the RA wheels really weigh 23 pounds for the rims alone, that is horrible! Are you talking about the rims alone or the rim and tire combination? Usually, the formula for a decent weight wheel is 1 pound for every inch in size. (I.E., 15" rim = 15 pounds)

 

im pretty sure thats just for the rim. and thats not really that bad for stock. 1lb/inch would be a good guide if you are buying aftermarket high quallity performance rims. but for stocks, dont expect it. they have to be made to live 100k miles! sure, its not oz, but with the RA, they didnt call it the "Lancer Enkei" after the stock rims. that wasnt the selling point

 

Suspension is crucial and so are good tires. Drag Radials/Slicks make for a much better track experience. Overall the most important part is the nut behind the wheel.

 

Well, from the experience that I have had messing around with friends and testing out our cars, rear wheel drive isn't always the best thing to have because a lighter rear end is more prone to slipping. Maybe he is just a crappie driver or something but I had a 2000 Ford Mustang(RWD 3.8L V-6 Manual) until he hit third gear(he was at my mirror at this point in time, switched gears, and soon passed me). I was very pleased at this responce by my car since it is an auto and the only performance mod I have done is an RRM short ram kit. (I may be a noob, but I am not lying, I was very surprised at this little achievement of mine.) THis was off-topic on my part, but kind of a cool little story about an econobox car holding its own and surprising its owner, Sorry!

 

Well, one thing to consider is that the Mustang is a 3400 lb car compared to your 2700 lb Lancer, and the V6 model doesn't have much power to say for. I think maybe 200 at the crank?

 

Yea, thats true...but i was still kinda surprised though. I think its like 195 or something like that and a little over 200 for the torque. I wish i could get 195 out of a N/A engine(4g94 that is on my budget... im just a poor student though

 

get yourself some bfg drag radials. they work. stiffer engine mounts also help launching by removing wheel hop. if you're even more serious you can get some 1000 lbs rear springs to prevent the rear from squating. you should be able to get 1.9 60 ft's with this setup.

on my fwd street car i do 1.6 60ft's w/ m&h slicks and a similar setup described above.