Anyone know the "secret launch code" for the 430? Does it work for CS?

In June 2005 Motor Trend:

"After we shared our data with Ferrari and Ford personnel (who were largely pleased), the factory Ferrari driver hinted that his car might be able to "make a better result" with a little-known launch technique. Insisting that this technique is for qualified drivers (and they blessed me with that status) and is not publicized by Ferrari, il piloto showed me the "not-recommended" protocol. Just like getting the cheat code for a video game, it involves a series of button pushes and shift-paddle manipulations that wouldn't occur by accident in normal driving. When it's set up, the car is in first gear with the clutch engaged and spinning. Holding the car in place with the brakes, the driver shoots the revs up to 4000 rpm and releases the brake pedal. Rather than spinning the tires, the clutch spins down from 4000 rpm until it locks up at the top of first gear for a launch that'd be about as smooth and quick as those you see on a Formula 1 grid. At 1.3 seconds to 30mph, the "secret" Ferrari chops two to three tenths from every measured speed and finishes the quarter mile only one tenth of a second and 3.4 mph behind the GT.

MPH NORM SECRET GT
0-30__1.5___1.3___1.7
0-40__2.1___1.9___2.4
0-50__3.1___2.9___3.0
0-60__3.8___3.7___3.6
0-70__4.7___4.5___4.5
0-80__5.9___5.7___5.4
0-90__7.0___6.8___6.3

I *need* to know the secret code IF it works with the Stradale!!
Anyone know?

 

I just hit the little button called L.C. Sorry I am aware the U.S doesn't have this available. Do you know why Brian?

 

The Stradale has the LC button. I believe Brian is referring to something over and above push the button.

 

Or.....The US 430 does not have the launch control botton so this so called 'secret launch code' would in fact work as if it did. Your turn Brian

 

Huh?

Okay...
1) Motor Trend tested a 430 that has an LC button (Launch Control).
2) They used the Launch Control to get times reasonable vs. Ford GT, given the diff in HP.
3) They reported the results to Ferrari.
4) Ferrari said, "Sounds good. But you can do better if you use the 'secret code' for the Launch Control!"
5) Motor Trend re-tested the 430 using the 'secret code'... and improved the launch by 0.2 of a second!! That's huge! Put it ahead of the Ford GT up to 70mph!!

So, that of course, gets me thinkin'...
6) I have a Stradale with a LC button.
7) The same 'secret code' might work on my Stradale.
8) Maybe somebody on FerrariChat will know that 'secret code'.

So, I asked... though evidently not clearly enough... my apologies... hopefully my question is clear now.

 

In the 575 launch control was activated by, 1st gear engaged, set susp to sport mode, ASR off, Brake pedal pressed. Now a different indication is on the gear display (I never used the LC so I do not know what the display is and the info I have from Ferrari does not have it). As long as the car is stationary and the brake pedal is held down LC remains ready. You can now bring the RPM to any desired point and when the brake is let off the clutch will start to engage.

The idea is to have minimum wheel spin and to slip the clutch to that end for a maximum performance take off. The clutch pays a heavy price for that.


This info is for a 575 and I suspect a CS is the same or similar.

 

I'm sure one of us will find out by the time our 430's arrive. I could only assume all the 430's have the function we're just missing the button.

 

Brian I may be wrong but my Stradale doesn't keep the clutch spinning and drop RPM"s to match, it just dumps the clutch. They got .3 seconds faster in some perameters if I remember especially 0-30, should be a blast.

 

If it just dumps the clutch that sounds like std non-LC F1 operation. I know on the US 575's we got a service bulletin instructing us to remove the LC equipped TCU's from 575's that were initially delivered with them. US CS's may not have had them for the US market either.

The whole idea was for a computer controlled use of the clutch in the same way dragster drivers have been doing it for decades. Raise the RPM to a point of max torque or HP and realese the clutch just to the point of the tires limit of traction and accelerate the car with decreasing clutch slip all the while retaining high rpm. Like I said, makes the car accelerate hard but is brutal on the clutch.

 

With my CS I just hit the button with one foot on the brake and raise my revs to what ever I want to launch at, release the brake and it drops the clutch right then.

 

Brian with the 575, it doesn't seem that brutal on the clutch more so on the tires.

 

Interesting

LC in the US Stradale is not really a launch control – it behaves rather like a switch that prevents the clutch from engaging while the engine is rev’ed with the brakes applied – normal operation for the F1 is to close the clutch once a gear is engaged and throttle is applied (progressively with the throttle angle) – with LC engaged the clutch is dumped when the brakes are released with whatever RPMs are selected

Real LC (managing optimum traction during launch) would be simple to implement using the existing sensor inputs – such as wheel speed as done by the ASR – if you watch closely the following video - http://videos.eserver.com/Ferrari_Stradale1.mpeg - you can hear how the engine cuts out – based on that I suspected that the car has full LC

Considering that the TCU of the F1 gearbox is a full-blown programmable computer it is simple to activate & de-activate programs – the Challenge mode is actually enabled by a specific wiring of the Modena TCU and enables things like the double down shift

So Brian’s story does ring true to me – however finding the combination to activate the special mode will be a loosing proposition – even considering the controls that interface with the TCU (UP, Down, Brake,etc) only

Anyhow would be nice to get the combination ….

 

Glad to hear that, actually. Given its just dumping the clutch, not feathering it to avoid wheel spin, as long as you don't dump at stupidly high RPMs, I wouldn't expect it to be particularly hard on the clutch. In fact, if you floor it without launch control, it seems to feather the clutch a bit, smoothing things out... so, I am not sure which is really harder on the clutch. Thomas... your opinion? (Have you experimented with LC much?)

Hmmm. That looked/sounded like just a normal start to me... the car leaps forward immediately, before you hear the RPMs come up... then the lift... I thought that was the driver lifting to control wheel spin.

Indeed...

 

http://motortrend.com/roadtests/coupe/112_0506_fordvferrari/index5.html


But the story doesn’t end there. After we shared our data with Ferrari and Ford personnel (who were largely pleased), the factory Ferrari driver hinted that his car might be able to “make a better result” with a little-known launch technique. Insisting that this technique is for qualified drivers (and they blessed me with that status) and is not publicized by Ferrari, il pilota showed me the “not-recommended” protocol. Just like getting the secret “cheat code” for a video game, it involves a series of button pushes and shift-paddle manipulations that wouldn’t occur by accident in normal driving.



When it’s set up, the car is in first gear with the clutch engaged and spinning. Holding the car in place with the brakes, the driver shoots the revs up to 4000 rpm and releases the brake pedal. Rather than spinning the tires, the clutch spins down from 4000 rpm until it locks up at the top of first gear for a launch that’d be about as smooth and quick as those you see on a Formula 1 grid. At 1.3 seconds to 30 mph, the Ferrari chops two to three tenths from every measured speed and finishes the quarter mile only one tenth of a second and 3.4 mph behind the GT. In our spec chart, we ran both the “normal” and “secret” launch acceleration numbers in parentheses. For shift speeds and relative acceleration rates, see the accompanying graph for the best recorded runs of these two cars.


Anyone know what they're talking about?

 

It's being discussed at http://ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=57972

Nobody seems to know the code yet.

I'm moving this to the Modern forum where the 430 owners hang out...

 

isnt there an actually ferrari test driver on the board??? i saw some of his post under showroom.... wouldnt he know??

 

According to a Ferrari Tech the LC will not be available on the US 430's and the dealers will not be allowed to "install" it. They way I understood it, all the cars have the capability. It is simply a program on one of the ECU's that will not be programmed on US cars.

It's all about liability. The story is that there was a driver (don't remember what make it was) that used something like LC and thought it would control everything including steering. He promptly wrecked his car and sued (the american dream right!?). Now Ferrari won't install or let the dealers install LC on any of the US bound cars.

Edit: My first thought was I'm sure someone would find that program and be selling bootleg copies on E-bay inside a year. Just my guess, but I also don't think that would go over well with Ferrari.

 

I should have included in the post above that I have no idea what the secret code is or whether or not any of what I said applies to a CS or not. That was only the story on the 430's heading this way according to the Tech.

 

could it be similar to the M5 'secret launch'


"....And so is, of course, the SMG's launch mode. For those occasions when you just have to blow off that Camaro from a stoplight, the launch mode automatically sets the M5 for optimum drag-stripping. Similar to the system used in BMW's F1 racers, you first have to disable BMW's DSC (dynamic stability control) and select the sportiest of its manual-shifting modes. Then you hold the gearshift lever forward and mat the gas pedal. The car remains stationary with the engine revving at around 4,000 rpm until you release the gear lever. Then all hell breaks loose as 384 pound-feet of torque and 507 hp are transferred to the tarmac by the SMG's computer-controlled manual clutch. It makes for rapid getaways. BMW even claims that the sophisticated SMG system has a fail-safe limiter which senses when you've abused the clutch too much and shuts down the whole system..... "

 

I know the M3 has a secret launch code, which became public a few months after the car was released. Maybe the same will happen here.

 

Okay, a month has passed since the article... surely somebody has dug this secret code up...

 

yes i know what to do but its a secret so if i post it on here it wont be a secret

 

Exactly! But nobody wants it to be a secret; FNA & F SpA just don't want the liability of being the ones to announce it... so do Ferrari a favor! Announce it.

 

On the new M cars it is not really a secret. On the M3, the USA manual does not discuss LC, but it can be activated. They have detuned it for the US though (starts off at lower RPMS). Frankly, all this talk of the F1 transmission upshifting while in sport mode (useful for the bumpy roads here as race increases dampening) and now now USA LC has me really questioning my getting the F1....

 

Was the secret code ever uncovered?