Launch control
Thread Starter
Advanced
Joined: Mar 2016
Posts: 54
Likes: 4
From: Russia
Launch control
Hey guys so I'm new to the corvette and I have a manual, 2016 Z51. I went to try launch control and ended up burning tires like no other. I went to track doubled tapped it to put it in competition mode. I pushed the clutch in and slammed the gas to the floor. I don't want to red line it or spin tires like that again. I read that when you put it in comp mode and hit the breaks once it takes it out of that. I'm honestly scared to do it again. Can someone help this novice first vette owner please and thank you.
Thread Starter
Advanced
Joined: Mar 2016
Posts: 54
Likes: 4
From: Russia
Safety Car
Joined: Jul 2011
Posts: 4,496
Likes: 1,209
From: Phoenix, Arizona
I hear ya! It is scary to floor the gas while having the clutch in. Did I really set Launch Control properly? Am I in Launch Control Mode Armed or not? GM couldn't ya have made a light light up saying "Launch Control Engaged"!
Derek, yes it is sort of scary but realize that theoretically, the care should either "Do The Right Thing(tm)" if you properly set Launch Control or at least have limited the revs such that your engine doesn't explode.
After you do it a few times you start feeling a little more comfortable with it but I still think there's a lot of wheel spin that happens anyway and I might be able to do better without it.
Thread Starter
Advanced
Joined: Mar 2016
Posts: 54
Likes: 4
From: Russia
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=STQ59J9jhQM
I hear ya! It is scary to floor the gas while having the clutch in. Did I really set Launch Control properly? Am I in Launch Control Mode Armed or not? GM couldn't ya have made a light light up saying "Launch Control Engaged"!
Derek, yes it is sort of scary but realize that theoretically, the care should either "Do The Right Thing(tm)" if you properly set Launch Control or at least have limited the revs such that your engine doesn't explode.
After you do it a few times you start feeling a little more comfortable with it but I still think there's a lot of wheel spin that happens anyway and I might be able to do better without it.
I hear ya! It is scary to floor the gas while having the clutch in. Did I really set Launch Control properly? Am I in Launch Control Mode Armed or not? GM couldn't ya have made a light light up saying "Launch Control Engaged"!
Derek, yes it is sort of scary but realize that theoretically, the care should either "Do The Right Thing(tm)" if you properly set Launch Control or at least have limited the revs such that your engine doesn't explode.
After you do it a few times you start feeling a little more comfortable with it but I still think there's a lot of wheel spin that happens anyway and I might be able to do better without it.
Tech Contributor
Joined: Oct 1999
Posts: 41,066
Likes: 9,833
From: Charlotte, NC (formerly Endicott, NY)
Don't worry about it. If you get it wrong the programming that keeps people from over revving the car in neutral when displaying their exhaust noise to a crowd will stop it. If that doesn't work then the rev limiter that turns on above 6500 rpm will stop it. If you see the rpms go above 4K and stop at 6500 then you know you didn't do it right. The only way you are going to over rev your car is by downshifting into a gear that is too low for the speed you are traveling (for example downshifting to third at 130 mph). The rev limiter more than likely cut your engine off when the rpms went above 6500 which would be about 106 mph in a Z51. On a Z06 with different transmission gears the cutoff is around 123 in third.
Bill
Bill
Corvette Stories
The Best of Corvette for Corvette Enthusiasts
5 Best & 5 Worst Corvette Daily Drivers
Joe Kucinski
The Headlights of Every Corvette Generation Explained
Joe Kucinski
5 Best & 5 Most Overrated Corvette Track Packages of All Time!
Joe Kucinski
Every 2027 Corvette Engine Explained
Joe Kucinski
Designer Imagines A Corvette That Looks More Like a Corvette Than the Corvette
Verdad Gallardo
10 Ugly Corvettes That We Still Kinda Love
Joe Kucinski
Top 10 Most Expensive Corvettes Ever Sold on Bring A Trailer
Brett Foote
10 Things Every Corvette Owner Needs (2026 Edition)
Michael S. Palmer
