Re traction control.

PARKHEAD67

Just a quick question regarding traction control. In my car a light comes on if I switch it off.Purely, for this reason I leave the traction control on at all times.The light coming on annoys me:D.Does leaving the traction on wear the eff out of my tyres. Some people have said this to me.

mickdw

It will save your tyres. Leaving the traction control to do its thing (no light on) means it will stop you spinning your wheels and therefore save your tyres.

If you push the button and warning light appears, that means its no longer active and you are then free to tear up your tyres if driving hard.

PARKHEAD67

mickdw wrote: »

It will save your tyres. Leaving the traction control to do its thing (no light on) means it will stop you spinning your wheels and therefore save your tyres.

If you push the button and warning light appears, that means its no longer active and you are then free to tear up your tyres if driving hard.

Jayzez.People were telling me the opposite.Good news.Cheers for that.It actually makes sense:D

Anan1

Leaving it on wears the eff out of your brakes.;)

Testament1

Simply having the traction control off isnt going to wear your tyres any faster either though. Your tyres are only going to wear faster if they are being overpowered and you're getting a lot of wheelspin while the traction is off.

PARKHEAD67

Anan1 wrote: »

Leaving it on wears the eff out of your brakes.;)

How?

Matt Simis

Testament1 wrote: »

Simply having the traction control off isnt going to wear your tyres any faster either though. Your tyres are only going to wear faster if they are being overpowered and you're getting a lot of wheelspin while the traction is off.

In this case he already said the light was coming on (showing TC was active to stop him loosing control) yet he was disabling it manually under the incorrect assumption he was "turning it on" permanently.

PARKHEAD67 wrote: »

How?

TC usually combines individual wheel braking with throttle/injector control (limits power and slows wheels).
Turning off safety systems without knowing what they do or how they work is not at all a good idea!

Dardania

TC is a safety feature, and is on by default in most cars when you turn the ignition on.

EuroNCAP do with & without tests of Electronic Stability Control (same thing different name) if the car has a switch - here's the open Insignia:

http://www.euroncap.com/Player.aspx?nk=878dcf5b-70b9-4633-98c7-46d9245b37e5&t=1&sel=b0ae0741-88f1-4096-b6ca-df908f17f888&media=flash

The only reason you should be switching it off in practice (apart from if you are a bravado fuelled hoon) is if you're stuck in snow and need good traction on all wheels to get out...

mickdw

I feel you would need to be driving the crap out of the car for TC to have any effect on brake wear.

Anan1

mickdw wrote: »

I feel you would need to be driving the crap out of the car for TC to have any effect on brake wear.

On normal roads, yes. On a low-grip surface, though, it's another story.

PARKHEAD67

Matt Simis wrote: »

In this case he already said the light was coming on (showing TC was active to stop him loosing control) yet he was disabling it manually under the incorrect assumption he was "turning it on" permanently.

No. I said I was leaving traction control on permanently.The light comes on when I switch it off. Anyway, Im happy enough to leave the TC on. Safer and doesnt wear the shoot out the tyres.

Matt Simis

PARKHEAD67 wrote: »

No. I said I was leaving traction control on permanently.The light comes on when I switch it off. Anyway, Im happy enough to leave the TC on. Safer and doesnt wear the shoot out the tyres.

Ah right, so you did!
If you think the light comes on too much, either you are driving too hard or your tyres arent right (thread, tyre pressure etc).

PARKHEAD67

Matt Simis wrote: »

Ah right, so you did!
If you think the light comes on too much, either you are driving too hard or your tyres arent right (thread, tyre pressure etc).

The light only comes on when I press the button.It briefly comes on if Im a little heavy on the gas;) at take off or in snow.I keep my tyres okay.I was just wondering if having it on all the time contributed to tyre wear. It doesnt thank God, so a lot of people I know are obviously talking through their rear ends:D

fletch

Dardania wrote: »

Electronic Stability Control (same thing different name)

Electronic Stability Control is not the same thing as traction control. Traction Control simply stops your driving wheels from spinning. Electronic Stability Control or ESP, controls the brakes to each individual wheel to correct a slide/skid.

PARKHEAD67

fletch wrote: »

Electronic Stability Control is not the same thing as traction control. Traction Control simply stops your front wheels from spinning and correct me if I am wrong, it just controls the engine power, not the brakes. Electronic Stability Control or ESP, controls the brakes to each individual wheels to correct a slide.

Its ESC that I have. Does that make a difference.I thought that was traction control.Is it not just a modern take on the same thing?

fletch

PARKHEAD67 wrote: »

Its ESC that I have. Does that make a difference.I thought that was traction control.Is it not just a modern take on the same thing?

No ESC is much better than traction control! Have a read of these two articles
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traction_control_system
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronic_stability_control

PARKHEAD67

fletch wrote: »

Electronic Stability Control is not the same thing as traction control. Traction Control simply stops your front wheels from spinning. Electronic Stability Control or ESP, controls the brakes to each individual wheels to correct a slide.

So its better than traction contol.Good stuff.Boards is brilliant for finding out stuff:D.Its better than an encyclopedia.

fletch

PARKHEAD67 wrote: »

So its better than traction contol.Good stuff.Boards is brilliant for finding out stuff:D.Its better than an encyclopedia.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OfXB0lCmXAM - How traction control works
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=akZ9AaFB7Zc - How ESP/ESC works
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j-hHWSQhKuc - Good Fifth Gear video

PARKHEAD67

fletch wrote: »

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OfXB0lCmXAM - How traction control works
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=akZ9AaFB7Zc - How ESP/ESC works
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j-hHWSQhKuc - Good Fifth Gear video

Cheers for that. Theres a lot of geniuses involved in car making.Thats for sure.

challengemaster

fletch wrote: »

Electronic Stability Control is not the same thing as traction control. Traction Control simply stops your front wheels from spinning. Electronic Stability Control or ESP, controls the brakes to each individual wheels to correct a slide.

Don't you mean it stops the driving wheels spinning? :P

fletch

challengemaster wrote: »

Don't you mean it stops the driving wheels spinning? :P

Yes I do, sorry

opinion guy

Testament1 wrote: »

Simply having the traction control off isnt going to wear your tyres any faster either though. Your tyres are only going to wear faster if they are being overpowered and you're getting a lot of wheelspin while the traction is off.

Isn't being able to spin the tires half the reason for turning it off ???:D

Testament1

opinion guy wrote: »

Isn't being able to spin the tires half the reason for turning it off ???:D

Depends on the car you have, some are more fun than others

opinion guy

Matt Simis wrote: »

TC usually combines individual wheel braking with throttle/injector control (limits power and slows wheels).

So question: does this effect your fuel consumption ? Mine noticeably rev's more freely with the ESP off. And wheel spin isn't very fuel efficient. Does driving with ESP on save fuel ???