Launch with TractionControl on or off?
- Thread starter thinkalert
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bergs
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propellerhead
New Member
Why? So you can apply too much power to the wheels and have them spin uselessly? I don't understand.
propellerhead said:
If you spin your wheels the traction control is going to cut fuel and/or spark, and I even think it may apply the brakes to the spinning wheel. You'd be much better off learning to control wheel spin on your own without the "help" of the traction control. Go out and try to spin the wheels with TC on and see what happens. It feels like half the power is instantly cut off, I seriously doubt that's the key to a quick launch.
propellerhead
New Member
TC will tap the brakes on the spinning wheel to get it to grip the road again. The spinning wheel is also known as a useless waste of engine power. Above speeds of 35 mph, TC cuts back on the throttle just enough to get the wheels to grip again.
I drove on ice a lot when I was living in Norther Michigan. We learned to modulate the throttle to keep the wheels from spinning. If you give it too much gas, you'll spin your wheel and barely move forward. If you apply the gas gradually, your tires won't break traction and you'll go forward. This concept is nothing new. The same thing applies with the brakes. You learned to sense when the wheels have locked up and instinctively release and reapply the brakes to get the wheels to grab the road again. The human response and reaction time is so much slower than the computer controlled system called Traction Control. I wish I had TC back then.
Whether it's snow, rain, ice or pavement at a race track, why would you not want TC to do its job? If it cuts back on my throttle, obviously I've given it too much gas that would cause useless (but cool) wheel spin. TC senses, corrects and rechecks wheel spin so much faster than a human can react.
So many people don't like TC. I even see kits online to have TC off when the car is started. Maybe I'm missing something else...
I drove on ice a lot when I was living in Norther Michigan. We learned to modulate the throttle to keep the wheels from spinning. If you give it too much gas, you'll spin your wheel and barely move forward. If you apply the gas gradually, your tires won't break traction and you'll go forward. This concept is nothing new. The same thing applies with the brakes. You learned to sense when the wheels have locked up and instinctively release and reapply the brakes to get the wheels to grab the road again. The human response and reaction time is so much slower than the computer controlled system called Traction Control. I wish I had TC back then.
Whether it's snow, rain, ice or pavement at a race track, why would you not want TC to do its job? If it cuts back on my throttle, obviously I've given it too much gas that would cause useless (but cool) wheel spin. TC senses, corrects and rechecks wheel spin so much faster than a human can react.
So many people don't like TC. I even see kits online to have TC off when the car is started. Maybe I'm missing something else...
Ryan02Stang
Active Member
If you don't want to listen to us go to the track...launch with it on, then launch with it off...you tell us which run is better. 
propellerhead
New Member
Ryan02Stang said:If you don't want to listen to us go to the track...launch with it on, then launch with it off...you tell us which run is better.
Care to explain why? I'm not trying to be a smartass or anything. I don't plan on taking my daily driver Mustang to a track but I'm here to learn. Why is it better to launch with TC off in a race track?
Ryan02Stang
Active Member
propellerhead said:
First off...you do a burnout to warm up your tires. Can't do a burnout with TC.
Second...a good hard launch is going to chirp the tires no matter what, unless you are on slicks. I run 315 BFGoodrich drag radials so i have minimal tire spin, but my car still shuts down if i forget to turn the TC off. If you have a manual you use the clutch to control tire spin, not TC. If you are launching with TC and not setting it off...then you are not launching hard enough.
Also...why not take your car to the track??? i would say that 90% of the cars at the track are daily driven cars. I have over 100 passes on mine!
john_324
New Member
But isn't the TC designed to automatically shut off if the car detects massive throttle application from a standing start? I remember reading that, but haven't tried it myself recently...
Ryan02Stang said:
I will have to admit, what I am envisioning is quite different when I think of this topic. I am thinking of the guy who stumps the gas to the floor as the light turns green. He just stays there, not moving an inch, as his rear wheels spin and smoke. Mean while, the little old lady to the right, in her Yugo, slowly rolls out, and gets 2 or three blocks ahead before he starts to move.
When traction control is activated, usually one bank of cylinders is shut off to decrease torque to the rear wheels. As someone noted above, you loose your powerband. I thought the traction control would be beneficial as well. But I launched one time while making a turn (empty parking lot), and the car started a mini drift, then stopped and rpm went to about 1000. Not good for racing.
decoy562
New Member
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