I finally got up the nerve to try launch control last night on my 2013 C4S, and I wanted to share some advice for others who may not have used this feature before. First I brought the car to full operating temperature (200 F oil temp), and found a nice long, straight, four-lane divided road devoid of traffic (late night).

My first couple of attempts were failures.

My first try: I came to a stop, engaged sport+ and disengaged PSM (not sure if it matters), put left foot on brake and floored the accelerator. The car revved up to about 5K and I released the brake. Got a hot start, but something didn't seem right. Then I realized that the "Launch Control" light didn't actually come on...

Second try: Drove for a few mins and tried again.... Launch control light flashed, but a relatively weak "launch"... starting to worry that something was wrong with the car or my technique (I think I may have backed off a bit on the gas during the initial launch).

Third try: Car would only rev to about 3K, no launch control possible. Drove round for a couple of mins.... wondering what the heck was going on...

Fourth try: Success! Everything worked perfectly, and it was exhilarating (no video, but audio is attached, with my son providing the commentary...)

Lessons: The problem was that I was being too timid. I hadn't realized that to activate launch control, you need to stomp the accelerator QUICKLY all the way to the floor. That engages the launch control sequence.. then you take your foot off the brake QUICKLY while keeping the gas pedal floored. When done right it's awesome. Ironically, my fear of harming the car was actually preventing the feature from working properly. Apparently the failure on my third attempt was due to an aspect of the computer control that prevents launch control from being attempted repeatedly within a short time span (can anyone verify this feature?). When it worked it was a surprisingly smooth and controlled launch that the car seemed to enjoy as much as I did...

Discussion: The wisdom of using launch control has been debated on this and other forums in the past. Given that it's a factory feature, my feeling is that it's fine to use occasionally. The PDK is built to handle it (wet clutch with computer control). My car is running just fine afterwards, and even seems a bit smoother, if that's possible. Would be curious to hear other's experiences with launch control, and their thoughts about it's use generally... and, in particular, about whether or not to disengage PSM. The rationale is apparently that PSM will cut power if wheels spin, as they might do when launching.

Thanks for any input and thoughts...

 

I use it. It’s a blast. Will continue to use it.

There was a video of somebody doing 100 (I think) launches back to back to back in a Turbo....I wouldn’t sweat it.

Yes I’m sure it puts more strain and wear....but so does stomping on the grass and shifting at redline vs at 2-3000rpm....or taking an on ramp at 90mph vs 30.

Car was built for this.

 

vid of stomping on grass, please.

 

It was 50 launches in a row, not 100.

 

Good tips.

 

No video, but I've now attached the audio of the successful launch to the OP...

 

From the audio clip: "Oh yeah! That's how it's supposed to be!"

 

LC will also not engage when your steering angle reaches a certain point. Need to keep the wheels as straight as possible. In AX you can start at some weird angles and that's how I figured it out.

 

fun video!

 

Just a little FYI, 911's don't love to be launched. All wheel drive launches on a 6 year old car make my ********* hurt even more.

 

Very nice! If you ever get the chance to go to a Porsche Experience Center, using launch control (followed by hard braking) is a fun part of the experience.

 

When I did the Turbo vs GT3 experience the instructor gave me the braking cue and I stopped 2 full car lengths before the cone (I'm not afraid of the brakes). He looked over at me and said, "I need to re-calibrate!"

 

I don’t see why all wheel drive launches would be an issue. If anything, it would seem to put less strain on the car compared with a two wheel launch. No?

 

Ditto! ....and they let you do it over and over again at the PEC. Launch control is not some hidden feature. It's existence is published in the manual along with instructions on how to use it. If Porsche didn't want you to use it, it would not be there. So relax, and launch if you care to and don't if you prefer not to.