Hi all,

Can anyone tell me what exactly the TCS button does? I know...it turns off the traction control system...duhhh. But what technically does it actually do? Also, is it good to have it off for going fast? Why? Sorry for all the questions, just trying to get to know my new car.

T

 

When you car senses it loses traction, the engine's computer cuts off the throttle, letting you regain traction. Since our cars don't have independant rear suspension, this is how the TCS works. That's why the throttle body on this car is electronic and not cable actuated.

TCS is good for every day driving. If you slip when it rains or on ice this will save your life. If you are racing or doing burnouts or whatever, you want to turn TCS off.

 

Thanks for the info. I was curious if this was a throttle cut or something mechanical in the rear end.

Tilt

 

I thought TCS tapped the brakes, too ... kind of like a reverse anti-lock function ...

 

I still don't think my traction control works! Any sure way to give it a test?

 

The traction control will first apply the brake to a spinning tire, and if the power of the tire is overwhelming the brake, it will then cut fuel to as many as 4 of the 8 cylinders.

 

Probably the easiest way to check is when it is wet out, accelerate hard enough to cause wheel spin, and see if it activates it. If you floor it, the computer will assume you are doing the wheel spin on purpose, and may not intervene, so do it just enough to get the tires loose a decent amount.

I can also do it on dry pavement pretty easy. There is a light on the dash that will flash or illuminate when it engages, but you can feel it and usually hear it when it's engaging.

 

Technically . . . when illuminated . . . it allows more teeth to be seen behind your lips

 

On the WOT 1-2 shift with my auto tranny, my street tires break loose all the time. If I forget to turn TCS off, the car will take a major nose dive on that shift. At the track, the burnout will remind me immediately if I forgot to turn TCS off. That can be a little embarassing.

 

so do we have a limited slip diff in the manual GT?

 

All GTs are on LSDs.

 

yes we've all done that

It always happens when 200 people or so are looking at your car too

 

I hate having the TCS engage when I don't want it to !!

I like having it on for safety reasons but when it engages when I'm just playing around, it makes me mad.

 

I usually get mad at myself for forgetting to turn it off!

 

I agree! The few times I have forgot to turn it off, it really kills the 1-2 shift on the auto at WOT.

 

TCS has actually saved my bootie a couple of times. I'm still inexperienced with having all this power and the two times it engaged, I'm actually glad I had it on. If I didn't, I'd probably wrapped it around a tree.

 

Just for entertainment value, I have a little video clip of a short burnout with the Traction Control on. It was a day that I was shooting some of my other videos and still had the film rolling when I thought, "I Should do a burnout". I quickly realized it was on, and hit the off button, but it wouldn't turn off while it was already activated. You can hear it struggling, and this is at WOT. Had the TCS been off, it would have just been a smokescreen. One day I'll have to get a clip of a real burnout or some hard accelerations from a stop.

Anyway, heres what a burnout with the TCS still on looks like...
Traction Control on During Attempted Burnout (Real Media)
Traction Control on During Attempted Burnout (Windows Media)

 

Bummer... I can't open the vid.

And it's strange that you can't turn it off like that. I've never had a problem quickly reaching up and hitting the button in mid-burnout and having it turn off. It's not like it happens all the time, but I've probably done it 3 or 4 times at the track now. Start burnout... car craps out... hit button... continue/finish burnout.

If I forget to turn it off, it is usually because I've been in the staging lanes a while... starting and stopping the car multiple times.

 

Okay, I added a .wmv format too, so check my previous post again for a link. The first clip was an .rm file.

 

haha... saw it now. That's pretty funny (and vaguely familiar :scratch: ).

We need to start a Burn-Out Video thread (good and bad ones).