JHM Launch Assist - B6/7 S4/RS4 Tune

B6/7 S4/RS4
#1

Back in February 2011 I met up with countvohn in Detroit while getting my JHM 2.5" catless downpipes installed. He wanted to update my tune, and the update included a nice bonus… launch control built into the frigging tune!

He had already figured out how to inckude this in the b7 rs4 tune, and he transferred that information to the S4. I was shocked he could do this. When you look at the other tune options out there for these cars and how head and shoulders better the JHM tune is already…and then they go and add launch control??? For free??? Awesome.

I did some testing/logging for CV and he perfected JHM Launch Assist in a week. Nuts.

Anyway I thought we should do a thread so that guys can post videos of launches and stuff. I will also include my ‘how to’ tips for what I found was the most effective way to use JHMLA

  1. TURN OFF ESP - if you don’t do this you’ll have a brutal launch but will also cause your car some harm as it wil be fighting itself (esp vs. Launch assist programming). This is very important so again TURN OF ESP!!!

  2. Depress the clutch - I liked to have the clutch just an inch below the engagement point but having it right to the mat is just fine

  3. MAT the accelerator - revs wil leap up to about 5500 rpm and hold if launch assist is working.

  4. Release the clutch in a swift instant motion. No feathering…no dilly dallying…just lift right off it.

important tip - do not hold the rpms at the launch control hold level for more than half a second…once you get there and it holds at 5500: BANG! get off the clutch and go. Just be ready to clutch again because first gear will fly by…its a short gear and you’re JHM tuned ;D

here are a few launches highlighting JHM launch assist:

good outside view. Held it for a full second here but still launched well… Half second is better.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoAxXcM2nN8

speedo/tacho view
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vgo9CiIZoZc

speedo/tacho view. Guess the 0-60 time (as measured by my GTECH PRO RR)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AxMkC7F4SyI

this one is me in my car (in car) vs. bangoman in his car in the right lane. I waited for him to start, so I could film him. Couldn’t catch him after giving him a 2.5 second head start unfortunately.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dL94O7iObDQ

here’s my 12.9 at 107.8 the same day…that’s bangoman cheering. My 60 foot was 1.82…easily better than any launch I was able to do. My 50 or so regular launches (non-JHMLA) before that in this car the best 60 foot was 1.89 and all the rest were 1.9 or worse. Once I got launch assist that first day I had 10 passes and 6 of them were in the 1.8 range… I actually slipped the 1-2 a bit as you can hear…wonder what I’d have run if not?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c8G9bgOr_NY

#2

I have watched your LA vids quite a lot it is fucking amzing how quick the car moves. I would love to see a vid of the RS4 LA.

My guess for you 0-60 is 4.45 seconds lol

#3

Just a question, is the RS4 LA slight different than the S4? I would think the rpm engagement point would be different due to the different powerbands, but wasn’t sure. Just curiousity.

Also, axel or whoever has the S/C with LA, PLEASE post up a video of it, I’d love to see the LA rip to 60 with the blower!

#4

http://youtu.be/lhDcNObZLpo

1:12 shows the time slips. 0:44 is the smoothest launch IMO.

At 0:26 in the video above, it looks like it’s quite close to 5500rpm

#5

Thanks Karsty I don’t know how did I miss that video, LA on the RS4 is off the charts…it seems to not mind sitting on the LA limiter longer than the S4.

I love near the end of the video the burnout and decent amount of flames coming out the back of the car. AWESOME.

#6

No that’s just the point they set the LA to hold the RPM’s at. It was designed to be. Dry high (much higher than you would ever launch at) in order to keep LA out of the way in case you wanted to launch normally etc. The RPM hold point is probably the same on both the RS4, S4, and if it makes it to he A4, probably still the same there.

It’s the “engagement” point that I’m curious about. On the S4 it’s around ~3100, just wondering if Count set it higher for the RS4 due to its lack in tq and higher rev band in comparison ton the S4.

So I didn’t watch the videos since I’m on my phone, but if their saki’s videos, they’re all on his old S4, not RS4. There aren’t many examples of the LA actually being used on the RS4 from what I’m aware of.

#7

I don’t have LA yet on mine. It’s not a standard option but can be requested. As I’m still in the process of figuring out why my car is occasionaly bogging (hopefully it’ll be resolved this month), I’m still on a conservative SC tune. Once everything is sorted out, I’ll ask for a more aggressive tune with LA. I’ll make some videos then.

#8

Thanks for the Great post. Sakimano feel free to bring those videos over here and host them and all your other Audi videos.

#9

what’s this lack of torque talk…you trash talking the rs4 motherfucker?

:smiley:

don’t forget the RS4 has 4.11 gears so it might make up for it. Actually I can say that my RS4 launches harder than my S4 ever did, even though the S4 made similar power (and likely about 30 wtq more)

#10

Guess I’m going to have to launch the hell out of my car this weekend. If I get a ticket I blame Saki…lol

Nice videos man. Its nice to be able to get an idea of what a LA launch is like before trying it out for the first time.

#11

Sorry, I missed when you said engagement point. I know what you’re getting at. I had LA on my STI but you had to press the rear defog button on in order to turn LA on, compared to the Audi, where you can’t turn it on or off. So the LA in the STI never got in the way because you had to physically turn it on. When it was on though, I had it adjusted to actually engage at 5500-6000rpm and that was it’s high hold point as well. No separation like the JHM tune has on the Audi’s.

The vid I posted was a JHM video of the LA on the RS4, not of Saki’s S4. It shows the rpm hold point but the camera gets too shaky once the clutch is released so it’s too hard to tell where the engagement point is. Maybe Count will pipe up and share this with us.

As far as sitting on the LA limiter for more than a half second, the only thing I can think of is the engine timing. Going back to the STI, many guys get better launches if they sit on the LA limiter for a very short time and then release the clutch. Supposedly it has something to do with the knock sensor or something. If you sat on the limiter the ECU would start to pull timing and you’d lose some power on your launch. Whereas you’d get a strong launch with full power if you were on the limiter only for a moment. I’m not sure if that applies to the S4/RS4 though.

#12

yeah its timing, lots of LC hold the revs by swinging the timing on certain cylinders super retarded. This causes the fuel to not burn and gives the characteristic popping/misfiring sound when its engaged… this will heat everything up and hurt performance

#13

I’m going to have to post some vids of the tiptronic action =P…when i get them that is

#14

I love launch control so much but I hardly ever get to use it. Everbody that drives with me is afraid of it, and there’s nobody to ever play with when I’m by myself :-[

Only time there’s somebody to play with I’m with like a full carload of people or there’s a cop nearby or something ridiculous. I need to just go to the track and see what I can run.

My only complaint is that I still struggle with low speed starts because of the dang aggressive throttle response on the tune. Especially in my workout shoes for some reason. I guess they are so padded I can’t get a good feel for my pressure on the gas pedal and I always jerk it around like a douche.

#15

I thought I was the only one, although I do have a tiptronic it’s just so much more responsive now I’m not used to it yet to get a smooth start all the time. I mean sometimes if i feel like im going to push the throttle lightly the car is like a beast coming out of a cage. lol

#16

Took me about 2 weeks to get over it (along with the stg 4 clutch, lwfw and sc).
Now, I just jerk it when I go over a big bump while going very slow.

#17

anchor the right edge of your shoe againzt the footwell for stability…works great

#18

I have anchored the edge of my shoe, I have also simply lifted my foot slightly until the care was done with the unsettled part then re-applied pressure to the gas. Even before I had the tune on my car, is S mode the pedal was uber sensitive in my opinion. THe short time I had the tune on the car, same thing. Took a few days of driving to smooth out stuff while driving (bumps, dead stops etc.)

#19

Yeah i have tried anchoring my foot but it doesn’t work for me. I hate when you go over a bump and your foot bounces on the gs and you buck like an idiot. You will get used to the tune after a couple of weeks. You will learn to just roll over speed bumps in neutral, or mat the gas and hope for the best

#20

This might help.

When at a stop or a light, put it in first and just slowly let off the clutch, this will get the car rolling (even up hill this car has enough torque to take it) and once the clutch is ALL the way out feather on the gas.
Thats how i do it on day to day driving.

Never go back to first gear unless your going to FULLY stop, once your rolling second should be as low as you go… that will reduce 90% of your bucking. Turning a corner, speed bumps ect… all in second gear.