Pros and cons of traction control?

[Benzadmiral]

Hello,a ll,

My new-to-me '03 Buick has traction control always enabled. Of course I understand the its value in slippery conditions. But is there any advantage, or disadvantage, to having it enabled in the dry? Would I see a little quicker acceleration from a standstill with it off?

I'm not one to floor the car at lights, so I'm not sure if I'd see any difference. How does it work (controlling wheelspin, etc.)?

 

[Lonnie]

Leave it alone for driving on public streets. You may not have enough power and traction to benefit from spinning the tires a bit on start, after all you have a sloppy transmission in the way. In my 4Runner I sometimes try to drive up to the point where the system beeps and takes over on freeway ramps. I only do it when it's save and no one is around but it is making me a smoother driver. It's kind of fund. My wife is not bothered at all but my brother freaked when I showed him my little game.

 

[Quattro Pete]

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Hello,a ll,

My new-to-me '03 Buick has traction control always enabled. Of course I understand the its value in slippery conditions. But is there any advantage, or disadvantage, to having it enabled in the dry? Would I see a little quicker acceleration from a standstill with it off?

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Most likely you won't notice any difference in typical street driving. If you turn it off and floor it, your acceleration will actually suffer because instead of going, you'll be standing with your wheels spinning. Try it for yourself. Different manufacturers implemented their traction control system differently, so it's hard to say what exactly is the effect in your particular car.

 

[Russell]

Ha! On my 95 525i it will hardly spin a tire on dry pavement with traction control off! However big help in icy conditions.

 

[CBDFrontier06]

If it's the type of traction control that utilizes wheel-braking, it can shorten the life of your front brake pads if you find yourself doing a lot of jackrabbit starts. If it just kills throttle when wheelspin is detected, it will just help keep the car on its intended path and extend your treadlife (barring any hard cornering). I think overall these systems are more about helping complete idiots stay out of the ditch than to keep you from having fun...but they do take away your fun.

 

[Matt_S]

GM systems activate the ABS brakes and retard timing to cut power from the engine when wheel spin is detected. In normal street driving, you're not going to notice any difference with it off. The only exception that I've noticed is if you want to accelerate hard from a stop going around a corner to the point where one of the drive wheels would tend to spin and chirp a bit. The traction control will dial back your timing in that case and stop the wheel spin, which would slow your acceleration down coming off the corner. Most people don't drive that agressively, though.

 

[Quattro Pete]

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Ha! On my 95 525i it will hardly spin a tire on dry pavement with traction control off!

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Yeah, even in mine, on dry pavement and with sticky tires, it's not easy to spin. Going fast around the corner - it's easier.

But he has a FWD car with 240hp/280 lb-ft of torque (if he has the supercharged version), so I'm guessing it's easier to execute some wheel spin. Then again, I have yet to see anyone take off like that from a red light in a Park Avenue.

 

[Greggy_D]

On my 2002 Taurus, the only time it kicks in is when I give it too much gas in the snow. IMHO, it's not needed.

 

[rpn453]

On dry pavement, you'd definitely take off quicker without the traction control. A fast launch always has a little wheelspin! Of course, not many people ever spin their tires from a stop on public streets. I only do it occasionally when merging in or crossing heavy traffic.

Overall, pros and cons are similar to those of ABS.

Pros: Easier to drive on slippery surfaces and, in the absence of a LSD, may provide better straight-line performance on those slippery surfaces; forgiving of driver error.

Cons: Less traction on soft surfaces (mud, deep snow, soft dirt) due to inability to dig; inhibits near-the-limit performance.

I'd prefer to not have traction control on my own vehicle in most situations, but it would make it easier to drive on those icy days where you can barely give it any throttle before the wheels spin. The best traction control system is one that you have control over.

 

[MrCritical]

I'd only turn it off in a Buick if I needed for the vehicle to spin, like rocking it back and forth if you were stuck.

 

[Shannow]

There was an interesting "near miss" at work, in a Commondore (V-6 RWD) with traction control.

A management type was driving along a high dam wall, when he decided that he was sick of that part of the journey and wanted to turn around.

Three point turn was not an option, so he decided to flick it on the gravel road.

Turn wheel, floor pedal.

Traction control took over, and tried to spear him into the dam.

Yep, he was stupid.

The designers failed to understand ALL of the situations that their car would be in (maybe only missed two poofteenths of a percent, but missed the ALL).

I like systems that I can turn off when I feel that I have a better understanding of what I want than the computer.

 

[Benzadmiral]

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Yeah, even in mine, on dry pavement and with sticky tires, it's not easy to spin. Going fast around the corner - it's easier.

But [Benzadmiral] has a FWD car with 240hp/280 lb-ft of torque (if he has the supercharged version), so I'm guessing it's easier to execute some wheel spin. Then again, I have yet to see anyone take off like that from a red light in a Park Avenue.

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No, mine is the N/A version, 205 (?) hp. I do move out briskly from lights, though.

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On dry pavement, you'd definitely take off quicker without the traction control. A fast launch always has a little wheelspin! Of course, not many people ever spin their tires from a stop on public streets. I only do it occasionally when merging in or crossing heavy traffic.

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I'm finding it easier to do since I installed the pedal extender that brings the gas pedal up to a better angle for my foot -- as I commented in that thread, it's almost as if I've gained more horses under the hood.

Perhaps I'll do a little testing on dry pavement with the T/C off, now that I can actually hit the pedal properly, and see if I can notice anything.

 

[Panzerman]

My wife leaves hers on all the time in the Lincoln, and Iam glad because they do help amazing in the sudden instance of a problem. Once when returning from Pa to Florida, on the beltway around Columbia, SC, on a dry afternoon day, the truck ahead of me dropped a 5 gallon bucket of Black stuff(not sure what it was, probably roof tar) anyway, I swerved around it and back in the lane, without instant, you could feel the car brake and let go, Iam sure the traction control worked well. I never even had time to touch the petals,It did what it was designed for and assisted in a emergency. It situations like that you dont have time to turn it on. In the situation of the Dam driver, sounds like he was driving reckless, point is dont do a "Dukes of Hazzard" turning on a dam walls.

 

[rjundi]

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My wife leaves hers on all the time in the Lincoln, and Iam glad because they do help amazing in the sudden instance of a problem. Once when returning from Pa to Florida, on the beltway around Columbia, SC, on a dry afternoon day, the truck ahead of me dropped a 5 gallon bucket of Black stuff(not sure what it was, probably roof tar) anyway, I swerved around it and back in the lane, without instant, you could feel the car brake and let go, Iam sure the traction control worked well. I never even had time to touch the petals,It did what it was designed for and assisted in a emergency. It situations like that you dont have time to turn it on. In the situation of the Dam driver, sounds like he was driving reckless, point is dont do a "Dukes of Hazzard" turning on a dam walls.

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That is not traction control but actually stability control or simple but very good ABS working for you. Traction control is what you use when taking off and one wheels spins a bit faster than the other so your vehicle compensates by moving power to the slower spinning wheel also by a variety of techniques.

 

[Master ACiD]

soon i will be adding traction control to my stratus. i found out that the sebring line of cars has it as an option, and its compatible with my strat. i have already added a bunch of things from the sebring, like an auto dimming rear mirror, etc.

traction control seems to involve an abs computer replacment and wiring up the on-off switch and adding it to the dash.

i could use it because i use my car for odd things like towing my atv on a small 4x8 trailer. the other weekend i amlost got stuck out in a wet grassy campgrounds. i kept spinning the tyres because of the water, grass and mud. traction control is probablt NOT needed on the street. why would it ever be? pavement, wet or dry has loads more traction than most people ever need. where traction control shines is those odd times you are in the grass or whatever and need to get out. anyone even bean almost stuck in a ditch? thats traction control territory.

 

[wantin150]

TC is often bundled with stability control (as in a Scion). Supposed to help in those situations where one's head is up one's arse while driving.

 

[rjundi]

The last two prior posts forget about something. Many people live where winter = ice/snow. Traction control really helps a vehicle get moving in slippery conditions.

 

[wantin150]

I was more refering to excessive speed in curves (dry or wet). The TC/SC is supposed to help maintain control by sensing wheel slip and adjusting braking automatically.

 

[Master ACiD]

alot of factory traction control systems only work at slow speeds, say 30mph and below.

i would guess this is because of rain puddles on the interstate and other reasons. you wouldnt want the traction control to freak out and aply brakes to one side if you hit a monster puddle at 65mph.

rjundi brought up a good point. snow is a good reason for traction control i hadnt thought of. being a southern boy, the concept of snow is alien to me. although i wish it wasnt. i would LOVE to find an abandoned parking lot and do some high speed sliding around with the traction control off. man you northerners get all the fun. all we get is hurricanes and immigrant issues. please guys, send some snow my way.

 

[gedcruise]

Not always. A little wheelspin is often a good thing. Spinning tires along with forward motion are a signal to keep your right foot steady while you drive the car out. Any disruption to momentum, like TCS, is an unwelcome event.
Now, if you've come straight from a no-snow climate to a winter wonderland, I have no doubt that TCS would save you a heap of trouble.