wassman1

I ordered my S4 a few weeks ago and expect delivery in late May/early June. I just read on cnet.com that there's a "hidden launch control". Anyone know anything about this feature?

mr.poker

I think you just hold down the brake pedal, rev the engine and let go of the brakes. Off you gooooooooooooo.

CHIO

post the link I will try it out and see

JohnEnglish

They're probably thinking about the B8 S4 with the DSG. As far as I know, none of the ZF equipped Audis have launch control.

dbuxton13

No its definitely the B9 he's talking about, I latched onto the same thing and posted a question to the author in its comments section, no response yet.

Article link: http://https://www.cnet.com/roadshow...di-s4/preview/

Here's the excerpt from article: "In a straight line, the sedan launches with a surge of power, even without activating the hidden launch control mode."

Since he uses the word "activating" it sounds like he's referring to an actual control or mode (buried in the MMI perhaps?)

superswiss

The sport models do have a form of lunch control. It takes the engine rpm up to the torque converter's stall speed to build boost and prime the torque converter and then it takes off. The stall speed is the maximum rpm of the engine that doesn't induce any motion in the drivetrain.

r0tten

I did it with a B9 S5 I test drove. You have to turn off ESC. Keep the brake pedal down while you floor the gas pedal, and a boost gauge will reveal You let go of the brake pedal when the gauge is between 1/2 full to full and your car will fly.

stillwaterS6

Can you tell us the VIN of the one you did it on? I want to avoid a non-broken in engine having launch control done to it. This is the reason I will only ever take a car right off the truck (order or in-process order).

Yes, I know i just stepped on the 3rd rail of car forums in bringing up break-in periods. Happy Thursday!

Glisse

That is correct, if you wish to avoid any torque cut from momentary wheel spin.

The stall speed is 3000rpm, so torque is optimal. One press of ESC engages sport mode (which is all you really need for a fast start), with reduced ASR/traction control - so will not cut torque with momentary wheel spin from a hard start.

A long push (>3 seconds) completely disengages stability and traction control systems, not always a great idea for road use.

Use of ESC modes is neither new nor a secret, maybe Cnet are not that familiar with Audi? Audi recommend using ESC sport mode in scenarios where there is constant wheel slip, such as snow or ice, to avoid excessive torque cut and loss of drive. It is in the manual.

Screen grab below is from an RS6, also using the ZF8HP, and the video link from which it came. Gets off the line just fine




All this stuff has been posted before.

markcincinnati

I have no idea why anyone would ever need to use launch control -- unless you're on a track.

Having said that, I did try it ONCE on my 2014 S4 (which has the DSG). It works exactly as has been noted here. However, if you are sitting at a full stop and simply floor the accelerator (I keep my transmission in S mode all of the time), the effect is not materially different (in butt feel) from the launch control mode. The thing is, using launch control is a deliberate act -- I would find it difficult to believe this mode would be used in any amount of traffic other than "very light" where the procedure won't **** anyone off nor put you or anyone else in any jeopardy.

I guess it's nice to have this feature -- but in 50,000 miles, I've only used it once.

It seems like it MUST stress the drive train. I see no merit in doing this.

On the other hand, I have certainly floored the car many times in 50,000 miles.

The problem even with doing that is that you need to punch it when the road around you is almost clear -- the S4 ROCKETS and surges to speed so quickly, you will overtake virtually everything else.

Whenever possible, since I know the S4 has more acceleration capability than virtually all other cars on a typical roadway, I feel "forced" to maintain lots of "space" around me when I'm feeling the need for speed (and acceleration).

With all due respect to the engineers that make launch control possible -- my car is my transportation, and I drive on public roads -- it jus' ain't no thang.