So with all this technology going into the TC system (ABS, throttle, etc.) I'm sure there is some computer algorithm that has everything tuned perfectly for Stock (based on power, tire size/traction, etc.). My question is: If you increase your wheel size to 9" wide in the front and 10" wide in the back, will that effect the TC system and the way it calculates traction? or is it independent of that?

 

I think it´s independent. As soon as one wheel stops turning, the system kicks in

 

I love to hear that grinding sound when I get sideways. I know the traction control saved my car one night after a rain. I thought I was taking it pretty easy but I guess not. But I know the TC works great.

 

The ford shop manual isn't real detailed on that, but it looks like the traction control compares the front wheel speed with the rear and kicks in to slow the rear wheels if they start moving significantly faster. The difference sized wheels would mean those speed sensors would need re-calibration unless they're smart enough to adapt on the fly.

 

Basically the system is infinitly variable. Road conditions will always be infinitly variable so must be the traction control.

The TCS measures 50 different factors every second to do its job, it compares the varying speeds of the two rear wheels, and also compares them to the speed of the front wheels. The mustangs system actually controls all 4 wheels independantly, thats why the car stops so strait, and why your thrusted forword in your seat, rather than forced forword and your body forced to scissor against itself. Do a 60-0 all out stop sometime and feel how the car pretty much seems to hit a wall, thats because the braking is being controlled so independently and precisely. On other cars the brakes might always be something like 80% biased to the front, so the car will always have a sensation of going over its front wheels... not the mustang!

In simple to understand terms: Think about a completely dry road, traction control still works its butt off even though your probably putting about 250hp into the ground, and the TC only absorbs 50 HP. However on an ice packed road the road may only be able to absorb 20 HP and the rest is left up to traction control. So in this case the TC system is takeing care of 280 horse. So, you make your car 500 HP with 12" wide rear wheels, now you can maybe put down 350 HP to the ground, and your trying to absorb a 150 HP difference... theoretically the same TC will handle it.

This all changes if you change brake sizes and dont recalibrate the TCS, you would really confuse the computer... I am not sure how you would adopt a bigger brake system without useing something that had its own TCM recalibration.

 

Shard Phoenix,

Thanks, that's what I was looking for because I'm also going to put bigger wheels on, move the front brakes to the rear and put 14" brakes on the front. I have to figure out who can recalibrate it for me (I really don't want to mess with that myself). There must be something out there to do it because the Saleen and Roush cars have bigger brakes.

Can anybody help with this?

 

Is it me or when I take the traction control off I feel like I have gained 50 horsepower? It it possible that you do lose horsepower when using the traction control?

 

Not really correct. The control software has an adaptive mechanism that compares the wheel speeds continuously while you are in motion. If you change the relative rolling radius of the tires, the system will see this and calculate a correction factor for the different tires. The same thing applies if you put a mini-spare on. This will ensure that larger wheels on one axle will not be detected as slip. If the tires and wheels are significantly larger than stock, they will also be heavier and have more rotational inertia. This may have some slight negative impact, on the performance of the abs and traction control, but not much. The control software is smart enough to compensate for a lot of variations, like different tires, surfaces, worn brakes and tires and still function adequately.