Even if we haven’t all had the chance to try a launch control-assisted take-off in a modern performance car, most of us are familiar with what’s involved.
The exact sequence can vary from car to car, but generally you pull to a stop, jam your left foot on the brake and press a ‘launch’ button. Then you flatten your right foot on the throttle, the car automatically puts the engine under the optimum load, and as soon as you jump off the brake pedal the car jumps forward.
But what happens when you throw a clutch pedal and conventional manual shifter into the mix? BMW’s non-Competition M3 and M4 are available with a six-speed manual transmission and also come equipped with launch control, and BMW M has posted a video on YouTube explaining how it operates.
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Mostly, it works the same way it does in an M3 or M4 equipped with the eight-speed automatic transmission, which, if you’re buying the top-spec Competition model, is the only one available.
First the car has to be running and properly warmed up, and the steering angle can’t be greater than 30 degrees. Rather than pressing and holding the DSC button to fully disable the traction control, you press it once to activate the M Dynamic mode.
Slot first gear, press your right foot on the accelerator past the resistance point and hold it while the engine assumes the right speed for the perfect getaway. Once you see a message in the instrument cluster telling you launch control is active, you’ve got six seconds to step off the clutch and let the 473 hp turbo-six do its thing, which involves hurling you to 60 mph in 4.1 seconds.
Interestingly, BMW says that even when you lift off the gas to shift gears, “optimal charging pressure is maintained” so that full engine torque is available the second you get back on the loud pedal. What it doesn’t say is whether it works the other way, essentially allowing you to flat-shift. Anyone reading got a manual M3 or M4 who can tell us?