I agree and disagree here. Ive gotten my car a little sideways in the rain before and let off the gas before TC kicked in but when im parking my tc activates alot (i have to drive up a bumpy hill off road with some tall roots until i pave the 15 feet to my parking space)
If TC activated too soon it would be a problem as well. I wouldnt want my car shutting down after and chirp of the tires.
Basically, dont rely on TC to save you from a wreck. It may help you from sliding around a curve but in general its your job to keep control. Static friction is higher then kinetic, so once you break loose its alot harder to grab traction back.

 

I don't like mine in the rain, but I think it works OK in the snow for me.

 

Who cares about traction control, you just need to know how to drive a RWD.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PCjf_GwIFUM

 

You are correct stating traction control only works during acceleration.

Pretty much if the rear wheels are travelling at the same speed as the front wheels, no loss of traction is occuring. If one is faster than the other, you have lost traction.

Stability control is what aids you regain control once you have lost it. One thing our cars lack.

 

Wow, thats skill!

Also to add to the thread, do you guys with wider tires notice much more problems in the rain? My car is a DD pretty much 7 days a week but i want some 18x10 or 20x10 rims. Will i have more problems in the rain? I already hate driving in the rain as is. My car is so squirly. I gave it a bit of gas in third when entering the highway and the back end started coming around on me. Scared the hell out of me but fortunetly i was smart enough to let off the gas and steer.

 

Traction control in the 70s was done by the driver.
Wheel spins, back off the throttle.
Ice in the 70s is the same as nowdays.
Drivers are the only variable in the equation.

The best thing for ice is to park the loose rear end stang..

 

That's exactly what my dad told me when I wanted to buy a Mustang. He told me the stang has the power but it's rough in stability and is easy to lose control. This is the first time I have ever slipped while driving. The only other times is when I'm coming off the line and usually the surface is wet.

No kidding about that one, that is some driving. The part where he spins around and crashes into the wall is just about the same thing except he was able to control the front end much better so it didn't slam. I do agree, need to learn the skills.

 

I thought that our traction control only helped to keep the wheels from spinning while accelerating. Like posted earlier, stability control is what catches you around the corners.

And Nuke, on the studded tires, I was rotting my brain watching youtube yesterday and came across a tirerack video that tested studded vs. non studded snow tires, and the non studded actually worked better according to them. It was suprising to me. Of course they were testing at 10 mph in a ice rink, so maybe real world might change the results. I will see if I can find the link.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S8MnCH-Z0QY

It doesnt say what brands of tires they ran, but I would imagine tirerack to be a fairly unbiased source.

 

If you want to learn control, go out and do auto-x and drift events. It is a lot easier to learn to control the car there and then if you get into a situation on the street, you will not wreck.