TRACTION CONTROL

[MW666]

LOOKING AT NEWISH CARS WITH AND WITHOUT TRACTION CONTROL ..
DOES ANYONE HAVE EXPERIENCE OF THIS .. IS IT WORTH HAVING? CAN IT BE RETRO FITTED?
GUESS I'M A LITTLE BIT MORE INTERESTED IN THIS THAN MOST AS THE LAST TIME I HAD AN ELISE I NEARLY DIED IN A VERY BAD SMASH LOL

[NathanE]

Not needed in Elise really provided you don't drive like a ****. It would have been handy a couple weeks ago when it was uber greasy/muddy/sloshy/icy on the roads though but even then.. not needed.

If you're buying new though you may as well have it. It's only like 300 quid IIRC. And it will help resale value and is also a "yeah i got TC" down the pub.

Edited by NathanE on Wednesday 18th February 20:31

[dave111s]

hi my car has it it was i good idiea as a48 ant the best in the winter does work well it comes in after things have gone wrong and cuts power . it wont stop you spining it if you get it realy wrong . i think you can retro fit it as well

[The Bandit]

Just to re-iterate its only traction and not stability control i.e you can still have an 'off' even with it fitted.

Definately worth spending money on driver training as well

Oh,and turn off the caps lock

[martbabs]

Mine has cut in a couple of times recently during the nasty slippy slidey stuff

Still dont think it was the ideal conditions to be driving in an Elise - so I have stuffed it back in the garage 'til the salt and ste disappears

Got it thrown in as a free sweetener when i bought my R from Williams

[Hollywood Wheels]

www.carlimits.com

[boobles]

Pah traction control is for wimps!
Never had it in any of my Elises & certainly do not have it now in my 321bhp m roadster.

[21TonyK]

The Bandit said:

Just to re-iterate its only traction and not stability control i.e you can still have an 'off' even with it fitted.
Definately worth spending money on driver training as well

Something rarely noted by many who assume TC will save them when it all goes wrong. All TC will do is cut power to the driven wheels if they slip, nothing more. Basically it stops wheel-spin if you do a hard launch by cutting the ignition. Not what you want on a hard launch anyway!

Personally, I'm not a fan of TC, full on stability control is great on the road but TC seems to lull people into a false sense of security. I know two people who totalled their cars and claimed it wasn't their fault because the "traction control failed"

[S Works]

Personally I'd rather not have TC, for the reasons noted by Tony above. It's not something that will save you, and oftentimes you want to be able to add power to get out of a situation.

Full on stability control is a world of difference from this.

[cyberface]

I spent 3 weeks trying to get the TC to kick in when I bought my Exige after managing to activate it on the test drive (in a demonstrator).

Of course, my car doesn't have TC. I was wondering why it was sliding about and spinning the wheels

They're not widowmakers, just keep in mind that most the weight is behind you and they're *designed* to be throttle adjustable - lift-off oversteer is just as (if not more) likely as power-on oversteer.

[bjc388]

It's probably a useful thing to have usually (more so for road use) but as pointed out above it merely cuts the ignition to stop wheelspin - it's NOT stability control. Good thing is that you can switch it off

Edited by bjc388 on Thursday 19th February 20:38

[bordseye]

got it on my car - cant say I've ever noticed it working. would probably help on resale but unlike aircon it isnt an essential.

[ihum]

I have TC and for the road it is fine. You only really notice it when you are pulling away from a junction. For track days you can switch it off as it does limit the slight oversteer you get through high speed corners.