[skorpion317]

as James, Craig, and a bunch of other people will tell you, weight reduction is God. Take the passenger seat and rear seats out, as well as the spare tire and jack. Run the car on a 1/4 tank of gas.

launching - try it at 1500 RPM's. if it spins, launch at a lower RPM. if it grabs, then try a slightly higher RPM the next time.

Burnouts - unless you have drag slicks or drag radials, don't do a prolonged burnout. A quick spin of the tires will do the trick.

Manually shifting an automatic - DON'T do it. you can possibly damage your transmission, and it actually makes you slower. Just leave it in Drive.

Heat - Heat is your enemy. you want the engine to be as cool as possible. that doesn't mean you have to ice it. Just keep your hood open whenever you can. With the air temperature still being cold, it should cool the engine considerably.