Traction Control
 

I'm convinced that ABS is an essential.

What about traction control?

As far as I can tell, it doesn't really make any difference ... if the driveway is icy, our big chunk of metal on wheels still has problems getting up the slope.

Maybe if you're a Canadian who hasn't ever been taught how to drive properly it'll make a difference :p

Thoughts??

Re: Traction Control
 

Traction control aids drive. , traction control stops wheel spins it and allows drive to be slowly, a lot slower than u think to be applied to the drive shafts this enables drive to be put down. no matter how hard you rev the engine, traction control will not let you wheel spin. i use it all the time in my truck on muddy building sites, another advantage is diff locks, this allows the axels to lock independantly and when a wheel tries to spin it is stopped and the drive is spread to non spinning wheels until such a time that the wheel that wanted to spin can make drive, but is spread around all axels. its better with 4 wheel drive :)

Re: Traction Control
 

Yes, I understand the theory ... I live in Alberta where the soil is frozen for eight months of the year ... we don't see a lot of mud ... the simple answer to spinning wheels is not to rev so hard.

We were sold it on the basis that it would make driving on ice easier ... in practice if you're going to drive on ice and slide all over the place, traction doesn't do very much apart.

Re: Traction Control
 

May i suggest snow chains :) i know it sounds ridiculous and a lot of messing about to put them on, and when fitted your restricted in speed.... but they are worth there wait in gold. are they allowed in Canada ? failing that, NAILED tyres :D

Re: Traction Control
 

Both are illegal in most of Canada :eek:

Re: Traction Control
 

In the UK I have a camaro Z28 and I have to say it is a lively monster! I have driven it once without the traction control on and it became a completely an alien species!!! Unpredictable is a major understatement!

By the way I was a bit of a rally driver in my younger days, and I also have a Range Rover which I have driven to the top of the Brecon Beacons, Highlands of Scotland (the mountains I am talking about not using the roads) and down some of the scariest ravines, so I DO know how to drive. :)

Re: Traction Control
 

Why on earth are snow chains illegal??? and you can hunt with a gun.........don't understand :confused:

Re: Traction Control
 

Very good question frankie, it does not compute that you can shoot animals and walk around with guns BUT not fit snow chains,,,,,,,, they have been known to do quite the opposite of guns....... and save lives !?!?!? is this a DUH! thing?

Re: Traction Control
 

cos they shread the shite out of roads...surprised that studded tyres are illegal in Canada...are in most places in the states though, but there allowed in maine :)

Re: Traction Control
 

Yet although they shredd the shite out of roads, in a thread i was watching and contrubuting to...... there was a response about the damage SNOW ploughs do... i await your comments. snow chains snow ploughs or guns, which does more damage ?

Re: Traction Control
 

Move to Vancouver Island and you won't have to worry about such problems...... :p

Re: Traction Control
 

probably your average driver, who can't drive is more damaging...and yeah, snow ploughs knacker the roads, but then the roads also aren't made to last as long because of the weather.

Re: Traction Control
 

So if the average driver cant drive and knackers the roads, what on earth do the "poor" drivers do to them, especially if the poor driver is in command of a snow plough........ looookouttttttt theres a plough coming, quick honey get the snow chains on,,, , NO its to late just shoot the F^cKA lets get out of here... :cool:

Re: Traction Control
 

Chains and studs are fine if the road is not cleared down to the tarmac and there's a covering of hard snow left. If the road is completely cleared then that's when the damage occurs.

Re: Traction Control
 

All I can say is that if you took your time and drove carefully you shouldn't need all of these fancy gizmoes

Get back to basics Glas and get a feel for your car, who needs ABS and traction control.
How did our Dads drive in snow, none of your fancy gizmoes when they are driving.
Once a car starts to slide on snow or ice, there is no fancy ABS or traction control that will stop you, only experience will do that. ( and a bit of luck )

I drive a 44 ton arctic lorry on a part time basis. When driving them in the snow there is nothing like traction control or ABS to help you in them.
A few of you will say, But you have all of that weight to keep you on the road, Yes but I also have 6 axles that have live braking and if one axle locks up, particulary the trailer, well who knows what could happen. I have been driving these for 15 years now and have never had an accicent in the snow or ice.
Look what happened in Formula One racing, Wee Bernie told them to take all of these things out of the cars and told the drivers to get back to basics, learn how to drive their cars without the aid of computers to control wheel spin, and locking wheels etc.

So as I was saying, take you time and you will be fine

Eddie

Re: Traction Control
 

But our dad's weren't driving sports cars with near-enough slicks on them.

Good tyres will count for a lot! Have a car with almost smooth tyres and you WILL need traction-control.

Re: Traction Control
 

Im sure the Honda Oddessy that span off behind me (well between me and the car behind:eek: )on the 401 at 110kmh a few weeks ago had traction control. Didnt seem to help him and his family much. Fortunately the roll cage and airbags did and they all walked away after it rolled a few times and ended up 100ft off the highway.

I'd just pulled in from the passing lane after telling the OH that it was too bloody slippy (could feel the AWD moving the power around) and anyone trying to pass was out of their mind.

Give me AWD any day of the week. Traction control, apart from helping to get away at the lights in an auto, just makes you feel safer than you really are.

ABS isnt much help in the snow either..actually takes longer to stop, but Id rather have it for the help it provides the rest of the time

Re: Traction Control
 

Well I have a strong belief in using proper winter tyres…when I first moved to Canada I bought myself a nice little Celica.. fast and nippy and handled like a dream…until the snow came.. then I had an unimaginable nightmare It had normal all season tyres.. but having lost traction at several junctions and pushed it out of numerous snow banks.. I came dam close to selling it.. It was when my father-in-law took a look at the tyres and stated quite clearly ..�with something as light as that you’re going to need snow tyres� I trolled of to Canadian Tire.. slowly I might add.. we had a full set of Michelin artic alpines fitted.. the best I could afford…
Well from that point on the only thing that got in my way was the depth of snow.. I could even get the feeling I had control on ice with these tyres fitted.. I could drive in some of the worst conditions without too much worry.. yes it still slid .. but the key point is it found traction a lot quicker and I also had control on ice slides.. something regular tyres didn’t provide…

So until you put on good winter tyres all the rest of the gadgets are really useless.

Re: Traction Control
 

I'm not convinced all weather are any good either ... our van has self-healing tires & alloys ... I guess to replace the damn things with decent winter tires (which we need for 8 months here) I would need to buy a spare set of steel rims too.

I took a look at the NHTSA crash tests ... the Kia Sedona has 5 stars pretty much all round, it's also $10K less than the Ford Freestar ... it doesn't have traction control, but isn't that what your right foot is actually for :D

Re: Traction Control
 

You don't need to buy new rims as the winter tyres have re-enforced rims to facilitate repeated re-mounting of the tyre..

However for ease of change over you can’t beat having them ready on spare rims just in case the bad weather turns up early, :) (or in the case of Alberta in the period normally known as summer)
Also the winter tyres might have re-enforced rims.. But I’ve no idea about the regular tyres?

I kept my winter tyres on the steel rims, and the summer tyres on the fancy alloys.. saved on kerb impacts and salt damage too….

Re: Traction Control
 

Let mew guess ... wannabe F1 driver behind the wheel ... sneaking through gaps in traffic no one in a sane mind would take ... heavy foot on the pedal??

Re: Traction Control
 

ABS certainly is an necessity in winter conditions. Although it will take you longer to come to a complete stop, it will prevent skidding and sliding......

The key to drive safely in winter consists basically of two things: good winter tyres and a careful driver......

Re: Traction Control
 

Both of which are rare in Calgary ... there is no enforced vehicle testing in Alberta until you're selling something more than 10 years old :eek:

There's a lot of cars out there with F1 quality slick tires ... who needs treads anyway?

Re: Traction Control
 

If you have to have them I would like switches to turn them off, my pontiac ha the traction control switch. I find you lose the feel of the car and ABS is no good in snow. At least in snow you can lock the wheels and let the snow build up in front of the tyres. Same with gravel.

It's all about personal preference.

Re: Traction Control
 

Guns kill more people, ploughs and chains cause more monetary damage to roads. Given the sorry state of road repair here in general and the always tight budgets, I can see why they don't want to let people use chains or studs to add to the problem.

Re: Traction Control
 

First: studded tires are legal everywhere except Ontario. They make the biggest difference on glare ice at the expense of dry traction (and noise).

It's worth getting a set of cheapo steel wheels and leaving the winter tires mounted on them (salt and potholes will wreck your fancy alloys, anyway). Also, this way you can mount smaller wheels with narrower tires, which are *better* in snow.

My car doesn't have traction control, and it would sometimes be useful because the front wheels tend to break loose in snow when the turbo hits. On a FWD car, once the wheels are spinning you have no steering.

Re: Traction Control
 

I know this is not about tires...but it just reminded me to remind all of you that when driving in the winter...especially if not in the city limits...please make sure you carry at least a church candle, matches, blankets and shovel in the boot of your cars. I have been stranded on the highway for a few hours in a snowstorm and I can tell you that a candle throws off a lot of heat!!

Re: Traction Control
 

Most of Canada???? don't you mean most cities.

Re: Traction Control
 

Well, that's where most Canadians live :D

What happens out in the boonies doesn't affect me too much.

Re: Traction Control
 

If you dont count the food on your plate and the gas and oil in your car :mad:

Re: Traction Control
 

Eh????
And you're deeply concerned with what happens in inner city Calgary??
Let me guess ... you're concerned enough not to want to live there??

Time for me to take a rest from the forum ... looks like it's a day for inadvertently stepping on toes :D :eek:

Re: Traction Control
 

No offence taken, just pointing out to you city living folks that what goes on in the boonies does have some impact on you..assuming you use canadian oil (I thought you were employed by the oil industry indirectly?) and eat canadian grown produce. Humour of it possibly missed as I have the Flu.

Just being a smartarse...ignore it. One of us has to keep posting here, casting a dim light in the darkness, and its not going to be me for a while.

Re: Traction Control
 

Come on you two....let's play nice now.......sulking doesn't solve anything..... :p

Re: Traction Control
 

We already kissed and made up via PM ... what I should have said was that issues that concern drivers in rural areas don't really concern me that much because I mainly drive in the city.

Which also explains why I have a low opinion of 4WD's ... most of the ones I see are either:
a) In a ditch, because the driver tried to manouvre/accelerate/decelerate too abruptly
b) Screaming along at 150kph in a 100kph zone with no regard for other road users while the driver yaps on their cell phone
c) Taking up two parking bays at the local mall
d) Occasionally rammed into the front of a c-train or trapped under the level crossing gates

I'm sure that if I lived somewhere they were actually a useful and necessary requirement to get around, as opposed to an expensive toy, I would really appreciate them a lot more ... in fact, I would probably have one myself :D

Re: Traction Control
 

Ah.....how sweet....I'm really touched......I hate to see my two favourite men on the Canada forum have an argument and sulk instead of resolving the issue...... :p