devereiii

Well it's winter; my first with my 06 vert...

Had an issue braking last night. Only about an inch of snow on my road, was going slow and TCS was on (at least the "TCS OFF" light was not lit on the button). Only about 5 - 10 MPH up to my driveway, went to press slightly more on the brake to prepare for my turn into my driveway and the front wheels locked and slid. I have an automatic and I could feel myself being pushed.

My question is: shouldn't TCS have killed power to the rears (as I can feel when I spin in the wet in the summer) and also applied ABS?? This never happened...! I know in my '99 Cavalier Z24 as soon as my fronts lock up I can immediately hear and feel the ABS clicking and pulsing. Is there something wrong with my 'Stangs ABS even though I have no fault lights illuminated?

Thanks!

IndecisiveS197

well, as you were braking, there was no power to the rear wheels, so therefore no wheelspin in the rear wheels so TCS didn't need to kick in. And as the fronts were locked, again no wheel spin so TCS didn't kick in under those conditions.

As far as ABS, who knows.

edit: do you have snow tires? if you don't get a dedicated set of snow tires. I felt a huge difference in handling/braking/acceleration characteristics when I got a set of dedicated winter tires.

devereiii

Thanks for the reply... I was kind of hoping that TCS and ABS would work together; would make sense to me. This isn't the only time that I've had front wheel slide in snow this season either; also without feeling ABS kicking in, but after last night and almost kissing the curb, I thought I'd pick some brains here!

:: I have a full set of Firestone all seasons on right now... I hear Pirelli's are really good in the snow though and I was thinking of picking up some new wheels from AM with Pirelli's installed. ... Still think though, that I should've felt some sort of ABS kick in.

aaquib1992

If you're talking about the Pirelli P-zeros, I've owned them and they are anything BUT good in snow. Decent maybe, but mine had about 2/3 tread left and they were useless in the snow or any moderate rain.

I'd recommend some dedicated winter tires if you can swing them. I have blizzaks and sumitomos for summer and dedicated tires are always worlds better than the usual "jack of all trades master of none" all seasons.

About the ABS and TCS, it was not standard (it was an option) until 09 or 10 models I believe. So make sure your car actually does have ABS/TCS, either look up the VIN or take a look at the window sticker if you still have it.

devereiii

I have a functional TCS button on the dash and I can also feel the rears cut out when they either spin on wet roads or hop (while accelerating and hitting small bumps in the road enough to pop the wheels up)...

I'll keep that in mind; I've seen many here speak well about those blizzacks - Thanks! Where do you get them?

aaquib1992

Huh, interesting. I have no experience with the 05-09 ABS/TCS since mine doesn't have that stuff, but if it was a sensor problem then there should be a check ABS light. I'm guessing it just didn't engage at that low of a speed? Wish I could be of more help.

I got the blizzaks off of Tire Rack, just stuck em on my stock wheels and bought some Bullitts for the summer. I would even recommend the firestone winterforce tires over all-seasons, I had those for a while too and they were much better than my P-Zero m+s tires.

Cruzinaround

Just to be straight on this...

ABS is set off when there is STILL forward momentum and the brakes have already been engaged.

TCS is engaged when there is throttle applied and the wheels begin to slip.

Advancetrac engages when either of the above are kicked in. It will use the EPAS and computer to distribute braking and may even retard engine power if required to assist the EPAS in correcting the direction of the car to the left or right side to correct based on monitoring the current forward momentum and direction of the vehicle.(in other words this is drift prevention) and all this happens faster than a human can react. In some cases the computer will even allow for correcting based on driver inputs.

AdvanceTrac constantly monitors the vehicle motion relative to the driver's intended course. This is done by using added sensors that compare the steering inputs from the driver with the actual motion of the vehicle. When there is a discrepancy between the driver's inputs and the vehicle motion, AdvanceTrac changes the force at each tire to help control the vehicle. If the vehicle begins to rotate excessively left or right, spin out, or slide sideways, the system will attempt to correct the excessive motion. If the vehicle does not respond to steering inputs, the system will attempt to increase the turning response of the vehicle.


I know for the 2010 and above models all three of the above are a part of the on board systems. Not sure about earlier models.



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Cruzinaround

I've tried them all...Blizzaks, X-Ice to the best offerings from Hankook, Ventus Continental and general....

The Ones I stick with are the Pirelli Scottozeros. Hands down the best winters I've ever owned. The serie 3 are the most current variation on this tire. And they are made specifically for performance oriented sports cars that will be used in the snow.

Just saying

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devereiii

OK... Traction control makes sense; and I can feel it kick in as I mentioned above when I get wheel hop or spin.

But as far as ABS; wouldn't I have forward momentum, with brakes applied, front wheels locked, still moving forward at 5 or 10 MPH or so? ... If this happened in my Cavalier, its' ABS system would be going nuts and pulsing away (not that I'm boasting on the Chevy; my '06 vert has cured me of that, LOL...). But in the Mustang, nothing.

Thanks-

::EDIT:: - Just checked out those Pirelli's; pretty sweet, if not expensive...

Cruzinaround

Yep. If you had ABS on that stang the brakes would rapidly pump instead of lock. I believe the 2010 and above will pulse front and back and provide bias to each brake individually in combination with advancetrac.

If your VIN reveals the feature set on your car and it says ABS... something is wrong my friend.

Those Pirellis will make your stang with 2 - 50lb salt bags in the trunk...handle VERY differently. Almost on par with an AWD vehicle on all seasons. And can make the difference between being in a wreck or skirting past one. Money well spent my friend.


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