how does it work? do you have to turn on the " launch control" to activate it?

 

Yes you do. Use the search box here,there were a few threads on it, YouTube search also.
EDIT: oops I stand corrected, guess you don't have to

 

Actually you don't have to turn on comp mode. It's active in all modes. Here's more detailed info:

 

I wish I could've found a stick shift in my area for sale while searching for mine. Comp mode sits there taunting me with my automatic.

It doesn't do anything with an auto right?

 

OK, thanks for the correction, I even saw a gm video saying different.

 

Well according to the owners manual it does NOT state that competitive mode is only available for th 5speed cars. However, when I owned my auto SS it did not feel like it did anything special for launching anyway. The tires would always just spin like crazy ( with gm tune) on the streets until I backed off the throttle.

BUT, the auto trans still has some cool features like brake boosting. I believe I was able to brake boost to like 4-5 psi which actually does help if you have traction. Another feature is you can control the second gear shift point too if you want to rev it out a little longer. This is accomplished by (IIRC) driving with the shifter in "I", floor it, after the tranny shifts to second, drop the shifter down to "L" and the back up to "I" to run out second gear :) ...Just move the shifter to "D" to shift to third gear.
Yep I saw that same vid and thought the same thing you did for a while.