Does traction control really work?
Discussion
It can do - first time I was aware of it kicking in, I was turning out of a junction when a van came round the corner at limit and some, floored the throttle - wondered what the orange light was flashing on dash. It was only after I realised that flooring V6 FWD on wet road should have had me spinning wheels for a distance - instead of just accelerating smoothly
I think the rule of thumb should be that basic systems are a hindrance...As an ex-braking systems engineer for an aircraft manufacturer, I can say the top end technology used by the likes of Ferrari, Nissan, Mitsubishi etc to distribute torque or brake force is definitely an advantage. Obviously a driver cannot choose how much power/brake force to put in to which wheels as they are braking or turning, while keeping everything on its intended path...
It can be a pain with regards to cutting the power, especially in a car where there's no intermediate mode.
This demonstrates the difference in an emergency situation though-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embed...
This demonstrates the difference in an emergency situation though-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embed...
GadgeS3C said:
TC on a BMW 123d regularly tried to kill me, pull out of a junction, back wheels hit a bump and it would cut power. Just what you need when pulling out on a fast road 
It's a pain in the arse at low speeds in the 1 series. On another car I have it set not to work under 30 mph for the exact reason that I can easily catch any slide or adjust the throttle for traction at that level. But I find it vital not to have it working at junctions exactly so you don't get bogged down in front of oncoming traffic. It also removes the option to snap the tail round and out of the way if need be.
However, at speed it is actually a very good system and reacts in a very measured manner.
I was surprised to learn that on some cars you can't turn TC off. That to me renders them unusable in situations like snow.
DonkeyApple said:
It's a pain in the arse at low speeds in the 1 series.
On another car I have it set not to work under 30 mph for the exact reason that I can easily catch any slide or adjust the throttle for traction at that level. But I find it vital not to have it working at junctions exactly so you don't get bogged down in front of oncoming traffic. It also removes the option to snap the tail round and out of the way if need be.
However, at speed it is actually a very good system and reacts in a very measured manner.
I was surprised to learn that on some cars you can't turn TC off. That to me renders them unusable in situations like snow.
Intrigued, how have you done that? The no TCS until 30mph thing that is. Very interested in doing that on my 120d On another car I have it set not to work under 30 mph for the exact reason that I can easily catch any slide or adjust the throttle for traction at that level. But I find it vital not to have it working at junctions exactly so you don't get bogged down in front of oncoming traffic. It also removes the option to snap the tail round and out of the way if need be.
However, at speed it is actually a very good system and reacts in a very measured manner.
I was surprised to learn that on some cars you can't turn TC off. That to me renders them unusable in situations like snow.
Found in my 04 320d the traction control is brilliant.
In bad snow, with winter tyres and TC off it would get a bit lairy if you weren't careful, but it controllable (i.e. fun). DSC on and I was astonished by how much it killed wheelspin and fishtaling. Only switching it off may have helped was when I was stuck (got high centered), and even then I'm not sure.
In the normal conditions it allows some wheelspin, and lets the back end to come out a little, but trims it in well before things go ditchwards. However it did have ditchfinders with low tread on for a little while, and it was a bit overkeen in the wet, but that's more my fault for running crap tyres!
My only (minor) bugbear is that it takes a loooooong press to switch it off, and then you have an annoying bright light telling you off. I think its a good thing as long as it is unintrusive and can be switched off, certainly made a one or two situations a bit less lairier than they could have been without. I know we are all "driving gods" and that on PH apparently, but I'd rather not test those skills unless I intend to!
Saying that, I had a hired ford galaxy with some kind of beefy diesel and TC on that was awful. In the wet it would be banging away in a horrific manner with minimal wheelspin before it even gave you the option to back off the throttle.
In bad snow, with winter tyres and TC off it would get a bit lairy if you weren't careful, but it controllable (i.e. fun). DSC on and I was astonished by how much it killed wheelspin and fishtaling. Only switching it off may have helped was when I was stuck (got high centered), and even then I'm not sure.
In the normal conditions it allows some wheelspin, and lets the back end to come out a little, but trims it in well before things go ditchwards. However it did have ditchfinders with low tread on for a little while, and it was a bit overkeen in the wet, but that's more my fault for running crap tyres!
My only (minor) bugbear is that it takes a loooooong press to switch it off, and then you have an annoying bright light telling you off. I think its a good thing as long as it is unintrusive and can be switched off, certainly made a one or two situations a bit less lairier than they could have been without. I know we are all "driving gods" and that on PH apparently, but I'd rather not test those skills unless I intend to!
Saying that, I had a hired ford galaxy with some kind of beefy diesel and TC on that was awful. In the wet it would be banging away in a horrific manner with minimal wheelspin before it even gave you the option to back off the throttle.
themanwithnoname said:
Intrigued, how have you done that? The no TCS until 30mph thing that is. Very interested in doing that on my 120d
It's not the BMW but the Tiv that I've had that done on. I'd love to have it on the BMW. I guess that it's all computer controlled so could be done?
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