darksky1984

I have question about using traction control and the other driver aids during race events like auto-x, road racing, and drag racing. I normally turn it off but am I hurting myself by negating the computer's ability to help drive the car and prevent wheel spinning? What do you guys do when you race your car? Thanks.

MustangFirstCar

All TCS does is cut power and lightly apply brakes when you start to lose traction. It slows you down, basically. I don't race in actual events, but around where I live we have a few roads that are deserted that we race on, and we just race for times. I always leave mine off because I don't like the idea of a computer driving the car. If it were up to me, the only thing computerized on my car would be the ABS and the locks.

Whiskey11

I was talking with a member of another forum who races an S197 in CMC or AI (can't remember which) who was saying that racing organizations where penalizing s197s by adding weight and dropping power due to the way the braking system works both controlling pressure fore/aft and left/right which had me confused. I knew these cars had the ability to vary brake bias fore/aft but left and right too?

I figured that was important to add to this as I'm not sure if that is a function of the traction control system or was always active. At any rate, the TC as I know it kills power and applies brakes (rather aggresively I might add) at the slightest wheel spin in the rear. From my own experience this last year my run times did not get better or worse with the TC setting when I forgot to disable it.

BlackBetty

The thing with traction control is that sometimes the right thing to do to "catch" the car in a race situation is to apply throttle; and sometimes the traction control decides that it's going to get in your way.

I've never run a road course but for autocross I always disable traction control.

gmoran1469

I've never done autocross but I have run road courses a bunch in my 09 S197 and I can tell you for a fact you want to have TCS off and also if you can throw a programmer in it (maybe).

I had my TCS off with a 93OCT tune for the street and going around corners with NT-01's apparently was too much and I wouldn't get any power when coming out of the corner, even with the throttle pinned to the floor, when I straighten out, I get the power back. I swapped to my 93OCT track tune and the problem never reared it's ugly head again.

MustangFirstCar

Sorry to threadjack, but how did you like the NT01s?

gmoran1469

I love them. I am away more confident going around the track on them than I was on street tires. Little bit of slip and you just lift on the throttle slightly and they grip right back up.

They have been holding up great to. I drive them out to the track which is a good 25 minute drive and then I run them for 4-5 20 minute sessions while I am out there. I've gone out to the track about 6-7 times with them total and I have yet to wear them bald. I drive very aggressively while I am out there too, trying my best to keep up with the ZR-1's and whatnot (which is surprisingly easier with a good set of tires )

I have been running them 24/7 for the last 2 months, just moved and my drive to work is literally 1.5 minutes and everything I need is within 5 minutes of my house.

MustangFirstCar

Lol that's exactly what I wanted to hear!

darksky1984

Thanks for all the advice. I'll keep turning it off when I race.

Norm Peterson

Using them at all in your daily driving can end up teaching you that you can get away with being "un-smooth", because the computer will step in and "fix" most driver clumsiness. If you're going to occasionally drive your car up toward its limits, that can't possibly be a good thing.

In order to be effective, these technologies have to start interfering at levels below where things have actually started to go wrong. That leaves a little slice of performance that you simply can't get at.

Remember - the computer can only follow its programming and cannot see road situations develop in real time. They can only react in fixed ways once they have decided that the **** is about to hit the fan.


(I refuse to call them "aids")


Norm