Traction Control System - How Is It Supposed To Work.

[kenfoxy]

I normally leave my TRC alone - tractional control ON. Nevertheless, my car can be easily induced into rear wheel spin eg tight turns on wet roads etc. The rear wheels just spin away for what seems like seconds followed by the skiddy car sign on the dash. Shouldn't the power be cut as soon as traction is lost?

[sparkystav]

The power is cut, if you do it in a straight line with your foot to the floor you'll notice you completely lose power.

I cant remember exactly how it does it (i know on the MkIv supra theres a second throttle butterfly that slams shut) but its not a very safe system as it just cuts all the power immediately until the car is happy again. Extremely dangerous if you pull out of a junction and get a bit of slip so you lose all the power and left there half out of the junction.

Personally i've disabled the standard traction control and fitted an aftermarket Racelogic Traction control system. Its considered the best after market system available if not the best full stop,

Stav

[Parthiban]

How does it decide how long it cuts the power for? I'm always confused how if you put your foot to the floor on a high speed bend, the TC only comes on for a split second and then goes off again, but turning left from stationary kills the power and doesn't give it all back for a few seconds...........

Is it based on how much the wheel actually spins?

[_Richie_]

Traction control is like ABS in reverse. It uses tha ABS sensors to measure wheel speeds if the driven wheel speeds exceed the non driven wheel speed (car breaks traction) then the ECU cuts the power and on some cars applies the breaks to regain traction.

[Tango]

Early Traction Control Powerful rear-drive cars from the sixties often had a primitive form of traction control called a limited slip rear differential. Sometimes referred to as Positraction, a limited-slip rear axle will mechanically transfer power to the rear wheel with the most traction, helping to reduce, but not eliminate wheel spin. While limited-slip rear axles are still in use in many front- and rear-drive vehicles today, the device can't completely eliminate wheel slip. Hence, a more sophisticated system was needed.

Electronic Traction Control Enter electronic traction control. In modern vehicles, traction-control systems utilize the same wheel-speed sensors employed by the antilock braking system. These sensors measure differences in rotational speed to determine if the wheels that are receiving power have lost traction. When the traction-control system determines that one wheel is spinning more quickly than the others, it automatically "pumps" the brake to that wheel to reduce its speed and lessen wheel slip. In most cases, individual wheel braking is enough to control wheel slip. However, some traction-control systems also reduce engine power to the slipping wheels. On a few of these vehicles, drivers may sense pulsations of the gas pedal when the system is reducing engine power much like a brake pedal pulsates when the antilock braking system is working.

[Andrew - D]

Early Traction Control Powerful rear-drive cars from the sixties often had a primitive form of traction control called a limited slip rear differential. Sometimes referred to as Positraction, a limited-slip rear axle will mechanically transfer power to the rear wheel with the most traction, helping to reduce, but not eliminate wheel spin. While limited-slip rear axles are still in use in many front- and rear-drive vehicles today, the device can't completely eliminate wheel slip. Hence, a more sophisticated system was needed.

Electronic Traction Control Enter electronic traction control. In modern vehicles, traction-control systems utilize the same wheel-speed sensors employed by the antilock braking system. These sensors measure differences in rotational speed to determine if the wheels that are receiving power have lost traction. When the traction-control system determines that one wheel is spinning more quickly than the others, it automatically "pumps" the brake to that wheel to reduce its speed and lessen wheel slip. In most cases, individual wheel braking is enough to control wheel slip. However, some traction-control systems also reduce engine power to the slipping wheels. On a few of these vehicles, drivers may sense pulsations of the gas pedal when the system is reducing engine power much like a brake pedal pulsates when the antilock braking system is working.

The IS200 has both

[Tango]

The IS200 has both

Only the Sport

[eddiea1]

The IS200 has both

Only the Sport

does the IS300 have a limited slip diff?

[Parthiban]

does the IS300 have a limited slip diff?

Yes it does :)