Please shine a light on this topic.
I was launching from a stop sign along with Mercedes AMG V8 Korpressor, my Traction control light came on and rear tires keep spinning so I ease off the gas pedal Mercedes just took off. Btw I have Michelin super sport tires.
Thanks for your input folks.

 

I have Michelin SS also. I get better 0 to 60 with traction control switched off. If you have an M7, 1500 RPM at launch and increase gradually as you let off the clutch. Depending on temperature you won't be WOT till 2nd gear in warmer temps, and in cooler temps even 2nd will be tricky.

 

 

 

Same here. The only time I break the rear tires loose is in the winter when it's cold.

 

In my opinion, the traction control should be off to allow the brakes from grabbing while you hammer down. If the brakes grab, not only the brakes wear, but most importantly, the CLUTCH takes a beating !!
Get to know your car by letting the car roll out a bit adding power gradually trying not to break loose. This may take numerous tries, feel the car and monitor the tachometer if you can.
Lastly, traction is based on many conditions...the weight of the car (extra passenger & fuel load)..the tire tread, tire temperature, road conditions (debris & gravel) & road temperature, outside air temperature & humidity, power to the tires. To much power produces to much torque which will cause tire spin. Have fun & hammer down.

 

Use less gas and just hang with the other car till you can get some grip. Gets harder to do the more power you get. You have to hold back control it with your foot watching and not go full bore too early. Also get some drag radials.
Even stock You are going to spin street launching the MPSS unless your on a hot day in the sun

 

I always have an impression of turning the traction control off was a bad idea for amateur. Thanks for your input.

 

Yeah there's a lot to be learned here, I need to understand the limits of the car, learn to respect the power in order to TAME the BEAST.

 

I assume you have tried Launch Control...

 

My 0 to 60 is always better without launch control. It cuts too much power when wheels spin.

 

Turning traction control off in this scenario in a Z06 is an excellent recipe for crashing your Z06. It is a lot of car for an inexperienced owner to control with extreme torque down low and tires that don't grip well until they are hot.

Normally TCS is going to reduce power via reducing engine power output. If you get to the point where the brakes are also getting involved then you are also to the point where stabilitrak is engaged and you better be glad the brakes are grabbing because that is the car doing its best to keep you going in the desired direction instead of mating your car with another very expensive vehicle.

Follow the advice of 3 Z06ZR1. You will also find plenty of youtube videos of people who turned off the "nannies" on the street and lived to tell about it... But their Z06 did not.

Traction control is triggered because the driver didn't manage the power well so turning TCS off means the poorly managed power scenario is likely to turn into an out of control Z06 scenario. If you want to play with turning the nannies off find a nice parking lot to experiment.

 

 

Thanks for all your input thus far folks.
I never knew our car had active handling option.

 

Operative word, "tromp" or "stomp". Don't. You can't, as someone said. Too much torque available for 'sudden' throttle inputs in the lower gears, whether in a straight line or especially in corners.

 

leaving everything on if you do mash the pedal it will spin and then start to mitigate the wheel spin and before you know it it's warp speed. just stay in it with it all on and you'd be surprised. when you try to back off the throttle AFTER the spinning starts and REAPPLY, it throws the computer aides off and accelerates slower than staying in it with everything on.

i've experimented "outsmarting" the aides and have not done better. at best i've matched what they do for you.

having said that the best 0-60 runs in the street i've done were with Launch control (3.3) but not feasible at a random quick dead stop.

OP- try it with all on and stay in it for the full run, watch what happens.

 

Use launch control, will not be your fastest take off, but will have zero spin.
I go to "track mode", double down center button, twist to "sport 1" (still carries nannies), hold brake firmly, instant mash throttle, let off break. Be sure steering is straight.

 

So without sounding like a total a**hole, in a short phrase, learn how to control a car with more torque available than available traction will allow to be transmitted to the pavement.
You will do that with practice my friend, as stated above, in safe places.
To be a little bit more complete, first you must change your question, just a little.
Do you want to launch wo wheelspin, or get the fastest launch, or beat the amg at a given distance? Or something else?
To those who suggested drag radials, well, op didn’t want to engage lc even, so that’s not really an option likely to be useful to him. You guys on those know you can break them free anyway, at will in your cars. Regarding the clutch wear, he’s got an a8, so I doubt the converter gets too abused by the nannies. Even dct cars don’t get beat up badly by these systems.
The easiest answer, modulate the throttle, in sport, probably. I have an m7, so it’s a bit different, but the idea still holds. The nannies are your friends. They monitor more things more often and modulate more things than there are manual controls on the car for, modulating them more frequently than a person could. The big kids even drive faster w the nannies engaged, at least on road courses.
So take your car out, to a safe place and check which gives you what your looking for...
Sport? Tour? Track? The sub menus in track are pretty specific for road racing, except for lc.

Lc will plain and simple eliminate will spin better than almost any driver, maximizing use of AVAILABLE TRACTION. If the tire is spinning, no power is being put into moving the vehicle forward. Tc is monitoring wheelspin many times per second, modulating fuel delivery, spark, differential lock up, etc. it’s hard to beat it wo lots of practice, and controlled conditions, for ELIMINATING WHEELSPIN.
Regarding the stoplight gran prix, this may work for you, at least it’s decebtly safe, if that’s a thing here even. Let the car get moving wo breaking the car loose, by NOT APPLYING FULL THROTTLE TO THE FULLY STOPPED CAR. Yes, you can mash it on full throttle, and the more restrictive nannies will help, within the laws of physics. But once the contact patch of the tire is broken free, you aren’t really able to steer, brake, or accelerate w that tire ( yes, you can use your right foot to help steer)
Letting the car get moving a bit changes the physics from breaking the coefficient of static friction to breaking the coefficient of rolling friction, as well as shifts more weight on to the rear tires, somewhat increasing available grip. (It’s called roll racing, kinda. )
No matter any of these other more complex ideas, your brain is the traction control computer. If you can see the tc light coming on you have plenty of attention available to be feeling the car accelerate, or not accelerate, for that matter. Gently (!) modulate the throttle- more if you’re pulling hard, as you haven’t exceeded available traction, less if you are starting to spin the tires. Not off, and not to the floor if it’s cold, your loose, or you have the nannies disabled. It’s a dimmer switch, not an on/off switch, and your goal is to make the light as bright as possible, as quick as possible, wo blowing out the bulb by adding to much current too quick, “blowing the fuse( triggering the traction control)” or “blowing out the bulb ( spinning the tires)”

I currently have 2 amgs, both about 550 hp, one awd. You should smoke them easily especially in Dallas, decent pavement and warm days. Your tires have to be warm, the tread and the cord. The runflats have super stiff sidewalls, so they are a hindrance to traction management as the tire doesn’t “give” in the sidewall ( look at the bunching in a slo mo view of a fueler taking off, you’ll see what I mean)

There’s a lot to learn here, but it boils down to this.... human performance traction management interacting with the vehicle system to optimize power put down thru the tires.
Conditions vary, so there’s no right answer, other than perhaps, “do the right thing, quickly.”

For safety’s sake as well as your budget and to avoid another broken Vette video, don’t do this on narrow crowned roads. Wide open spots in parking lots, lots of practice, you’ll figure it out. It’s not impossible. Find a buddy who’s got a hot car, not awd, who does track days or drags. He or she will love to help. Go to one of the Vette performance shops around there from the forum... Texas has some great stuff, and you will be addicted to them soon enough.

But mostly, there’s no magic answer. Throttle modulation to available traction to optimize torque transfer from engine to pavement. You are the computer and actuator.

Again a final note: these cars, nannies or not are dangerous and can bite back, killing or maiming you or others. The nannies can’t always save you, and won’t save you if you turn them off. You’ve got a really fast car. Other fast car drivers know the car can smoke them, save for a few cars out there stock. Sometimes, if conditions aren’t safe, you aren’t feeling it, whatever, just wave and nod and let them take off. Sure, you will see their taillights. You’re car is still faster and in one piece, not having left the road going backwards, and going home on a hook.
Don’t gain the experience in car control you need 5 seconds after you need it.
(Sorry if I sounded preachy or snobby, not my intent at all)
Have fun my friend!

 

You do need some tire spinning just not a lot. Most tires get best traction with somewhere around 17 to 20 percent slippage. That is why cars at the drag strip spin their tires on launch. Even launch control permits some tire slip.

By the way launch control won't hurt the clutch on an M7 as power is modulated by the ECM as the clutch is engaged. With the engine running at 4K rpm with the driver pushing the throttle on the floor there is almost no engine power being produced (no load/no power). As soon as the clutch is let out load is being applied so power has to be increased so the engine doesn't stall as the wheels start to spin. To increase power the ECM will modulate fuel and timing. Once the clutch is fully engaged launch control won't affect it as there is no slippage there.

In the run with the Mercedes the OP used too much throttle opening initially over powering the rear tires and causing TC activation, once TC activated the ECM was reducing torque based on what the EBCM told it to do. Just as the ECM was reducing torque the OP suddenly lifted which reduced torque even more, thus losing his momentum. The throttle isn't an on/off switch and has to be managed smoothly even when TC is on. You have to be ahead of the car at all times which means you know what it is going to do under certain conditions and act to prevent it from doing what you don't want it to do before that happens.

Bill

 

Wow this is great step-by-step to launch control guide, will need to find an open road and put this to the test.
Will this work on paddle shifting as well?