Life is strange. Just the very next day, and I do more than just try the LC. I was on my way home from the NW, and the NAV directed me down through central Oregon, past Burns and heading toward Nevada on Hwy 95.
The forest scenery prior to that was gorgeous and the road very fun to drive. It dropped down to the wide open spaces and should have gotten quicker. But Oregon loves their 60 mph highways. South of Burns all traffic virtually disappeared. I practically had Hwy 78 and 95 to myself.
The speed demon in my head whispered: "Dougy, you know that the NAV brought you here to play." And I didn't argue for even a second.
There was no traffic behind me, and none approaching. I stopped in the middle of the road, disengaged the traction and stability control, pressed the brake pedal and then the gas and let the brake go. The car took off, but not as fast as I had expected in "launch control" mode. What is more, I had forgotten that I had the shifter in manual gate and was supposed to do the shifting. Some "nanny" override compensated for my dumb oversight and killed the acceleration when first gear got into the red line. Man! It shifted up but the "whoosh!" was gone. That felt really weird. The car was in control, thank you Kia: you won't readily allow me to break my car!
After a couple of minutes I found another long, straight spot with visibility going forward and back a couple of miles, and stopped again. This time I put it in Sport (I had been in Smart the first time, which engages Sport when you floor it, that's why the LC worked at all, I guess, heh!). I launched and it went better. I took the top speed up to 130-something and then slowed down.
I was done with launch control. I wanted to try taking off from "auto hold". I put my left foot on the footrest, positioned my right foot just so over the gas pedal and gave it the guns (remembering to shift this time). Better! I did this a couple more times, trying out letting the car shift for itself, and then alternating using the paddle shifters.
I found the area between 4K and 5K RPMs to be the best shifting point; it doesn't waste any time shifting there; whereas if you take the RPMs up close to the red line (or c. 6K RPMS), it tends to shift with a little more delay, which kicks the RPMs even higher. So, I enjoyed all of that.
Then I decided it was the time and place to test speed. On two of my launches I had taken the speed up to well above a hundred. This time I was already going pretty quick, c. 70-something, nobody was round, fore or aft, so I put my boot in it, using 7th gear, watching the RPMs climb slowly and indicator clicking up and up, slowing as it passed 140. It reached 150 and I kept at it; the acceleration was still pretty good, about a mile per hour per second, I think. So in another c. five seconds I saw the indicator (the display, I wasn't watching the speedometer in any of these "tests") reach 155, my spontaneous "goal", and I backed off, and used the brakes to bring my speed down quickly (prior to this I had just let the car decelerate on its own without brakes).
That run was a rush! The car had been loping along the slightly undulating road surface, stable, smooth and quiet. I am sure I had a stupid grin all over my face.
Just a couple of minutes later I saw a sign that said, "Go slow. Prepare to stop." So I did that. And up ahead I could see a roadside guy with a Stop sign flipped toward me, and a single car already sitting. We sat for over five minutes while a mere trickle of opposing traffic came by. Then a truck with a "Do Not Pass" sign in lights facing backwards took station in front of us (there were at least three of us by then) and led us for a few miles and then turned off and let us go. I have no idea what that was about. The speed rush was still with me and I was satisfied with the day. I tried no more foolishness. There wasn't another opportunity anyway, there was traffic again; no spaces; no solitary road just for me.
Professional driver, closed course, that sort of thing..
