Midwestern Members - can someone teach me how to drive an automatic?

first let me say i am a stick man :drive: , but i just picked up a new toy. its a 98 z28 a4 heads, cam & stage 2 tranny with a 3200 stahl. what gear do i start in for best results??? start in o/d or no? start in 3rd & brake torque it up to 3000 rpm & then launch? or start in 1st gear & brake torque it up to 3000, launch & manual shift it through the gears? :mullet:

Do not manually shift it. It will cause problems later on down the road. Always keep it in regular drive, and practice different launching techniques. Some converters like to be foot braked real high, whereas others like to be flashed close off of idle. Every car is different, so you will have to see when you go to the track.

Correct. You have a 4L60E. The E means that it is electronically controlled, by the computer. It always knows best, although you can reprogram it if you think other settings would be better.
As far as brake torque, it also depends on your rear tires. You'll want to minimize spin off the line, so you would have to start lower on street tires than on drag radials.
Welcome to the wonderful world of automatics, you're gonna like it a lot.

"R" is NOT for race :eek2:

what brand converter do you have? my .02 is do not bring rpm up w/ a vigilante but do w/ a yank

run in '3'
if you have a tire and do a burny I do mine in '2' and bring rpm's up but not to redline

if you're on a regular street tire you're gonna wanna launch a bit easy with the mods you have

trial and error . . . having fun is most important
good luck and let us know what ya run

wait I thought P was for Passing gear?

Then "N" is for NO WAY DUDE!
If you don't have a line lock, keep an eye on your right rear pads. They will be the first to go if you are holding your brakes to do your burnouts.

Actually, - for an automatic, the internal parts are made to hold much stronger if you shift through the gears manually.- Im not disagreeing with these guys in that the computer knows best, but when you put the trans into manual low it has 2 clutch packs holding the gear instead of 1 set of clutch packs. I know it also doesnt make much sense to go to manual low in 1st and then shift it into drive. so do what you want, but the trans internals are much stronger if going in a manual mode. However we are still talking about a 4l60E here so anything could happen...
Your best bet is to go w/ a TH350/TH400 setup.. - of course then you would lose gas mileage and your lock up converter.

Racers make sacrifices..

well i tried a few take offs in 3rd & the 1st time i held the brakes until 3000 rpms & the car started to lift in the rear a little & i let the brakes off & i went up into a giant smokey & hit the rev limiter!!!!!!! then #2 take off i just held the brake a couple seconds saw the tach climb & let the brakes off & took off alot better. but i need some tire,it just blast these good years off. it has the stock 273 gears in it now :barf: , i hope to put some 373 gears in it this weekend. then i am sure to need some nittos dr. i have to put on my ls6 intake & under drive pulley yet too! :judge:

Nitto's dont work well John, I'd get some M/T ET Drag Radials. Did you get my PM too?

Nitto's dont work well John, I'd get some M/T ET Drag Radials. Did you get my PM too?


not dogging you- but i cut a 1.8 60' on a set of Nitto NT555R Drag radials. 275/40R17 with 15 lbs of air in them..

not dogging you- but i cut a 1.8 60' on a set of Nitto NT555R Drag radials. 275/40R17 with 15 lbs of air in them..

1.8 is not that great. I went 1.4 consistantly on 275/40/17 MT Drag Radials, Cam Only with my old Camaro.

1.6s on nittos (245/50/16) on a bolt-on LT1 A4 2800stall) and 3.23 gears

1.8 is not that great. I went 1.4 consistantly on 275/40/17 MT Drag Radials, Cam Only with my old Camaro.


a 1.8 is alot better than my previous 2.33's, and im in a 6 speed car..

a 1.8 is alot better than my previous 2.33's, and im in a 6 speed car..

Yeah 6 speeds suck for drag racing. It's hard to launch it right and get decent times if you have the stock drivetrain.