599 Secret Launch Control

Is it just a back door for US owners that don't get the LC button?

 

Seems like it!

 

I've seen the video before but I watched it again. Man a live he beats the you know what out of that car. I have got to go the track right now.

 

Have any of you 599 guys who are previous 575 owners tried this? If so, does that launch control trick work in a U.S. 575 car that does not have the European launch for various legal reasons. Sure would hate to do any real damage trying that trick at the end of my driveway tomorrow morning.

 

I'd be afraid to do it.

"Transmission Failure" to me means........Transmission failure...

A little risky I'd say.

 

It works, but it eats your clutch at a prodigious rate. I believe you won't get more than 6 LC launches before you need a a new clutch. Of course you don't necessarily need to rev to 4,000 rpm before you release the brake either. 2,000 should do the trick almost as well with much less clutch wear.
The 599 is just as much fun in sport mode simply nailing the throttle and letting it shift itself a couple of hundred revs short of redline. The shifts are so unbelievably fast you can't properly process them in your mind. The best place to do this is on a sunday morning on a long, preferably downhill freeway on-ramp when there is no-one else around. Check your mirrors for the law and then let it rip. If there is no officer behind you on the ramp the likelihood of being stopped for speeding on a freeway entry ramp is virtually zero. This car gets to 100MPH in less than 7 seconds and keeps on accelerating through that number as if it is being propelled by a rocket. You literally have to lean on the brakes as you merge with the freeway to get down down to 85MPH and blend with any traffic that might be there.

 

Watching the Stig's lap it looked like all the smoke at the start came from the clutch not the tyres

Fou, I've never tried the Launch Control on my 575, there isn't an LC button and the procedure is not in the manual although I've seen it described on the Internet

 

Evo magazine used this method either earlier this year or late last year when they were getting performance figures with the car. They had a bunch of Ferrari engineers who told them this. Wouldn't be suprised if Top Gear got the info from the article. Top Gear get the press car to test, right?

 

I can hear the recorded conversation for "customer satisfaction and training" with my insurance company as I call from the side of the road with my clutch aflame and car in the ditch.............."but sir, Jeremy says it works".......

 

i dont think they do, i think they fell out with ferrari and can only use private cars nowadays. hence the 599 report being so late and the 430 scuderia report non existant this series.

 

Interestingly, the method described:

* Race Mode
* Hold left paddle for 2+ secs
* (Transmission light briefly flashes to confirm engagement)

works on an 07 F430 Spider.

 

didn't appear as though he was wearing a seatbelt... tsk tsk

lol

 

The 599 used is one of Ferrari UK's car hence the registration number V12 FGB (F)errariGB

pics of the same car from the baton run earlier this Year
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VERY interesting! too bad my 03 575 does not have a race mode. All I have is Sport and can turn the ASR off.

 

Boy tell me if its me being an ediot but hes a bad driver! I mean does he know how to go through a corner without drifting? I mean seriosly if you are going for lap times you DO NOT want to slide... It seems all the drivers on top gear do that.

 

575 LC instructions (from Car&Driver)

Ferrari fitted F1-equipped 575Ms with a launch-control system. This system automatically adjusts clutch engagement and throttle position to give the 575M the best possible standing-start getaway. All the driver has to do is turn off the traction control, put the adjustable suspension in the sport mode, hold the brake, bring the revs to about 5250 rpm (peak torque point), and release the brake.

 

As I understand it, launch was not available on US spec 575s because of legal liability issues. I get this info per December 2002 Car and Driver Magazine 575 review. That is the reason I asked about the sneaky left paddle method in earlier post.

 

Jeremy, on a very good day, is a buffoon. Other days, not that good.
Launch control in the 599, however you activate it is essentially the same sequence of events programmed to happen when you set it up - foot on the brake, rev to mid 3's, release the brake and bury the throttle. You will take off with the absolute minimum of wheelspin and maximum traction. You will also destroy 15% of your clutch life. Maybe Mr. Clarkson believed he had entered some secret door to the elite acceleration club using the manual select sequence instead of the LC button, which gets you to the identical point where you can put your feet on the brake and throttle at the same time.

 

ok, so whats the difference between the secret launch control, and a proper launch control?

 

I watched that a week or so ago. He really drives the heck out of that car. Watched it so many times but it never gets old.

 

In Non US cars that have a LC button, you put your foot on the brake and hold the button until "L" flashes in the gear indicator window. The "manual method is to pull both paddles to go to "N", then hold the down paddle until you hear a beeping sound, the indicator should display L in non US cars, or you will just hear the beep in US cars.
I personally believe that LC is overrated and is just a shortcut to faster clutch wear. The best way for way to accelerate rapidly in the 599 is to put the car in sport mode and press the gas pedal to the floor and keep it there. The car will accelerate very smoothly and will burp through the gearshifts on its own just short of redline while you hold onto the steering wheel for dear life. It is a hellava rush and I can't imagine being any faster using LC, but then again I am feeling the sensations completely independently of any timing or measuring device - just me and the car and the sensory input I get through the seat of my pants. It's plenty good enough for me.

 

+1

 

thanks for the explanation