HokieCodeMonkey

I've been running my car in "TC On" ever since I got it. I'm a little nervous to take it off but I feel like I've got enough control of the car to try it out. What ranges will this effect? How much harder does the car pull with it off? What should I be careful of? Do any of you DD with TC Off? How about "Sports Mode"? I was also wondering if anyone had done a dyno with the TC On. Is there a chart that could compare the hp/torque curves of TC On vs Sports Mode vs TC Off?

I don't want to destroy my tires, but I got full tire coverage so I don't mind a little wear and tear on the road and on the track. I can replace them after a few years and not have to worry about insane costs.

What do you guys DD with? TC On, Sports Mode, or TC Off?

chrisheltra

One of the first things I do when I get in the car is turn the TC off.

Ive even inquired with a few tuners on whether or not they can turn the TC off by default in the tune.

assasinator

TC will pull throttle, and apply the rear brakes to stop spinning. ESC will apply which ever brake combination settles the car for however long it takes to stop yaw.

you can turn TC off and of you rip it and dont yaw you wont notice it. if you do get a little sideways ESC will step in and stop everything.


turn both off and your car is all to you. if you arent used to the power i highly recommned leaving it in sport mode at most.


none of the modes "hurt" hp. they just stop the spinning, yawing. if engaged they cut everything and brake.

assasinator

sports mode at the strack for the first runs, then turn it off. if the car spins bad abort the run. it isn't worth wrecking.

YOU DO NOT HAVE INSURANCE AT THE TRACK NO COMPANY COVERS RACING. if you wreck at the track its all on you.

fdjizm

The TC system doesn't do anything untill you lose control or trigger it via wheelspin, in everyday driving TC is just hanging out there .

Lancel

How's it do with wet roads?

MusicMan66

I can address this one unfortunately from experience.

Not long after I got mine, I was driving while it was raining. When I changed lanes to go around an annoying slow driver, I put my foot into it a little too much. I lost the rear end almost immediately, and by the time the TC kicked in, I was in a spin. However the ESC and TC allowed me to safely stop the car once it stopped spinning (wound up being ~540°). So have some respect for the power in the these cars and consider the conditions when driving. The electronics can only help so much.

newpony

As of now I'm planning on buying a 2011 V6 and it will be my first RWD car if I buy it. I'm a little bit scare of spinning the car specially going in or out of a corner since I'm kind of a spirited driver. Is it that easy to get a RWD car out of control with TC/ESC off? Not that I'm planning to that very often and definitely never until I get comfortable with the car in the first few months.

Another thing that scares me a little is that Mustang tend to side step when hitting a bump while cornering because of the live rear-axle. Is that only at extreme high speed or is just car reviewers exaggeration?

WildPony619

I use my car as a DD and keep TC fully on mostly when it's raining or rained recently. For the most part, I keep it in Sports mode. Sometimes I just don't bother with changing it if I'm doing errands and constantly shutting the car on and off. I will only do TC/AST completely off, if I plan to race at the track (and feel confident enough with my car) or I'm somewhere I can open it up and have room to control my car if needed. I still burn the tires a bit with a loud chirp on 2nd when full throttle with an auto on Sports mode.

chrisheltra

What is Sports Mode? Is that an auto trans car thing? Also what is ECS and AST?

corvettedreamin

The voice of experience???

Bert

Sports Mode is available with manual trans, and it is somewhere between Traction Control ON and OFF -- it will let you get away with more before it intervenes.

ESC = Electronic Stability Control -- I think that is the part of the system that prevents or reduces skids / slides (I'm not sure if Traction Control is technically just part of the system, or loose terminology for the whole system)

AST = Traction Control -- ??

WildPony619

AST (Advanced Stablity Traction) is the same as ESC. At least that's what it says on the message display when I shut off traction control completely (hold down for 5 seconds).

chrisheltra

A6 or M6

stupidgenius36

The only way you'll learn to handle your car is to push your limits...I just recommend doing so when there's nothing around to hit when you spin. If you're not comfortable without TC, then, by all means, leave it on. But unless it's raining or snowing, turning off TC is part of my "routine" for getting into my car.

wiplash

I turned of the TC on a test drive.......sales guy told me to turn it back on

fritzOSU03

I did the same thing but my salesman didn't know I turned it off.

db2797

This is fantastic advice right here. I would definitely not recommend anybody going to the track and racing all out until they've felt the limits of their car. You need to ease into it.

Lancel

Oh wow, I can comment on this random stuff now. Traction Control really doesn't interfere heavily, you can push the car. Stoplight on a 55 MPH highway, back of the line, I'm still a newb when it comes to the M/T, so I killed the engine starting off. Some truck behind me wasn't slowing down. He expected me to go and not KILL THE ENGINE. I get a little panicky and start off with some extra gas, and WEEE! I got some nice tire grinding action and wound the thing out and shifted it into second and still chirped the tires. I believe it told me TC had interfered, but I wasn't paying too much attention to random dash noise. I was more focused on getting my car home.

I love this car. So much.

JoshuaEIB

i would say the opposite!

i say go to a real track... talk to people that race cars all the time for advice... get on the track and ease into the car driving it harder and harder tell you are all out.

I would NOT advise people going out on the open road with normal drivers to find the "limits" of what your car can do.

there is a reason why drag strips have testing lanes and testing days and road courses have beginner groups.

my 2 cents