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Launch control is an electronic aid to assist drivers of both racing and street cars to accelerate from a standing start. Motorcycles have been variously fitted with mechanical and electronic devices for both street and race. Popular
automobile A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people instead of goods. The year 1886 is regarde ...
s with launch control include the BMW M series, certain
marque A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's good or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create an ...
s of the
Volkswagen Group Volkswagen AG (), known internationally as the Volkswagen Group, is a German multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony, Germany. The company designs, manufactures and distributes passenger and commercial ...
with
Direct-Shift Gearbox A direct-shift gearbox (DSG, german: Direktschaltgetriebe) is an electronically-controlled, dual-clutch, multiple-shaft, automatic gearbox, in either a transaxle or traditional transmission layout (depending on engine/drive configuration), ...
(most notably the
Bugatti Veyron The Bugatti Veyron EB 16.4 is a mid-engine sports car, designed and developed in Germany by the Volkswagen Group and Bugatti and manufactured in Molsheim, France, by French automobile manufacturer Bugatti. It was named after the racing driver P ...
), Porsche 911 (sport+ mode), Panamera Turbo, Alfa Romeo with TCT gearbox and certain General Motors products. Mitsubishi also incorporated launch control into their Twin Clutch SST gearbox, on its "S-Sport" mode, but the mode is only available in the Evolution X MR and MR Touring (USDM). The Jaguar F-Type includes launch control. The
Nissan GT-R The Nissan GT-R (Japanese: 日産・GT-R, ''Nissan GT-R''), is a high-performance sports car and grand tourer produced by Nissan, unveiled in 2007. It is the successor to the Skyline GT-R, a high performance variant of the Nissan Skyline. Alt ...
has electronics to control launch but the company does not use the term "launch control" since some owners have equated the term with turning off the
stability control Electronic stability control (ESC), also referred to as electronic stability program (ESP) or dynamic stability control (DSC), is a computerized technology that improves a vehicle's stability by detecting and reducing loss of traction ( skiddi ...
to launch the car, which may void the warranty of the drivetrain. One version of Nissan GT-R allows user to launch the car by turning the Traction Control to "R" mode.


Operation

Launch control operates by using an electronic accelerator and a
computer program A computer program is a sequence or set of instructions in a programming language for a computer to execute. Computer programs are one component of software, which also includes documentation and other intangible components. A computer program ...
. The software controls acceleration based on engine specifications to make the car accelerate smoothly and as fast as possible, avoiding spinning of the drive wheels,
engine An engine or motor is a machine designed to convert one or more forms of energy into mechanical energy. Available energy sources include potential energy (e.g. energy of the Earth's gravitational field as exploited in hydroelectric power ...
failure due to over-revving and clutch and
gearbox Propulsion transmission is the mode of transmitting and controlling propulsion power of a machine. The term ''transmission'' properly refers to the whole drivetrain, including clutch, gearbox, prop shaft (for rear-wheel drive vehicles), differe ...
problems. In racing cars, this feature is only available at the start of the race, when the car is stationary in the starting grid. After the car is running at a certain speed, the software is disabled.


Reason for use

Racing drivers have only a very short time at the start of a race in which to achieve competitive acceleration. High power delivery to the gearbox and driven wheels cannot easily be managed even by the most skilled drivers.


History

Developments in electronics in the 1980s enabled the introduction of launch control. In 1985,
Renault Groupe Renault ( , , , also known as the Renault Group in English; legally Renault S.A.) is a French multinational automobile manufacturer established in 1899. The company produces a range of cars and vans, and in the past has manufacture ...
's RE60 F1 car stored information on a
diskette A floppy disk or floppy diskette (casually referred to as a floppy, or a diskette) is an obsolescent type of disk storage composed of a thin and flexible disk of a magnetic storage medium in a square or nearly square plastic enclosure lined wi ...
which was later unloaded at the pits, giving the engineers detailed data about the car's behaviour. Later,
telemetry Telemetry is the in situ collection of measurements or other data at remote points and their automatic transmission to receiving equipment (telecommunication) for monitoring. The word is derived from the Greek roots ''tele'', "remote", an ...
allowed the data to be sent by radio between the pits and the car. Increasing the use of electronics on the car allowed engineers to modify the settings of certain parameters whilst it was on the track, which is called bi-directional telemetry. Among the electronic driving aids were a
semi-automatic transmission A semi-automatic transmission is a "theoretical" multiple-speed transmission where part of its operation is automated (typically the actuation of the clutch), but the driver's input would be required to launch the vehicle from a standstill and t ...
, an anti-lock braking system (ABS), a
traction control system A traction control system (TCS), also known as ASR (from german: Antriebsschlupfregelung, lit=drive slippage regulation), is typically (but not necessarily) a secondary function of the electronic stability control (ESC) on production motor vehicle ...
, and
active suspension An active suspension is a type of automotive suspension on a vehicle. It uses an onboard system to control the vertical movement of the vehicle's wheels relative to the chassis or vehicle body rather than the passive suspension provided by large sp ...
. The 1993
Williams FW15C The Williams FW15C is a Formula One car designed by Adrian Newey and built by Williams Grand Prix Engineering for use in the 1993 Formula One World Championship. It was powered by a Renault V10 engine and driven by Frenchman Alain Prost and Bri ...
model featured all of these aids. This trend was ended by the
FIA FIA is the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (English: International Automobile Federation), the world's governing body for all forms of motor sport where four or more wheels are used. Fia or FIA may also refer to: People * Fia Backs ...
when it outlawed these aids for the 1994 season, considering that they reduced the importance of driver skill to too great a degree. Bi-directional telemetry was also forbidden, which was soon reinstated as the FIA found it too hard to analyse the engine programmes in order to search for hidden code that could be found breaking the rules. Fully-automatic transmissions,
traction control A traction control system (TCS), also known as ASR (from german: Antriebsschlupfregelung, lit=drive slippage regulation), is typically (but not necessarily) a secondary function of the electronic stability control (ESC) on production motor vehicle ...
, and launch control were allowed again from the
2001 Spanish Grand Prix The 2001 Spanish Grand Prix (formally the XLIII Gran Premio Marlboro de Espana) was a Formula One motor race held on 29 April 2001 at the Circuit de Catalunya, Montmeló, Spain. It was the fifth round of the 2001 Formula One season. The 65-lap r ...
, but as of the 2004 and 2008 season, they were outlawed in order to reduce the money needed for a competitive F1 team.


Motorcycle usage

Street motorcycles have been fitted with factory devices to balance power characteristics to rider requirements. Competition entrants can call it "holeshot".The science behind a MotoGP holeshot device
crash.net, 4 September 2019. Retrieved 10 April 2021
Race machines are increasingly using additional suspension-altering technology to lower the stance and aid aerodynamics.Qatar MotoGP: Alex Rins: I forgot launch control, difficult to manage the power!
crash.net, 30 March 2021. Retrieved 10 April 2021
Motocross Motocross is a form of off-road motorcycle racing held on enclosed off-road circuits. The sport evolved from motorcycle trials competitions held in the United Kingdom. History Motocross first evolved in Britain from motorcycle trials competiti ...
bikes use mechanical holeshot devices to temporarily compress the front suspension prior to race-start.Zeta Holeshot Assist, Product review feature
fullnoise.com.au, 9 March 2019. Retrieved 11 April 2021


Gallery

Black car dash with buttons (Unsplash).jpg, Center console where the launch control switch can be seen to the left Ferrari FXX K (20977302298).jpg, Picture of the cabin of a
Ferrari FXX The Ferrari FXX is a high-performance track-only developmental prototype built by Italian automobile manufacturer Ferrari. The FXX is based on the street-legal flagship Enzo Ferrari. Production of the FXX began in 2005. Overview The FXX uses ...
, where the launch control button can be seen in the middle of the center console Toyota steering wheel 1.jpg, Toyota Formula 1 steering wheel with a launch control button in the middle to the left Caterham steering wheel at Goodwood 2012.jpg, Caterham Formula 1 with a launch control button at the mid-bottom


References


External links


Ford Falcon XR6 Turbo Launch control

Cars With Launch Control: Houston, We Have Lift Off!
{{DEFAULTSORT:Launch Control (Automotive) Automotive technologies Formula One Mechanical power control