Hi, Guest
02-24-2006, 11:27 AM
Traction control is basically like an "electronic LSD" if you will. It monitors the wheelspeed of all 4 wheels. If one front wheel starts rotate faster than the other 3, it knows it's spinning, and will reduce spark advance to cut torque, and brakes that wheel. The brake torque on the spinning wheel will cause engine torque to transfer through the open diff to the other wheel.
If it notices both front wheels spinning faster than the rears, it reduces spark advance and brakes that wheel.
The potential benefits of this "electronic LSD" is completely nullified by the fact that it cuts engine power BEFORE braking the spinning wheel. If it weren't for that, it could actually be useful for performance.
Advance Trac actually helps stabilize the car, prevents it from excessively understeering or oversteering. I would like to try it some day, but I think I could navigate an autocross course with the throttle pinned the whole way, just steer, and let the system control the car.
It can't make the car go around a corner if the laws of physics say you're going to fast, but if you turn in early enough, the system will dump a bunch of speed for you by braking the inside wheels.
It's kind of like the scene in that latest pirate movie... with Johnie Depp...? Where they drop the anchor out the side of the ship, and it pivots around it. Feels like that.
But really, this isn't what the system is designed for. It designed to allow very aggressive lane change manoevers, without losing control. It will never oversteer, which is what put us into the wall on the 401, which is why we replaced that car with the AT ZTW.
For the history...
2003 was in fact the last year for AT. They stopped making it because it wasn't selling. I went to the plant many times, never saw a single car built with it. They had a little workbench to assemble the rear control arms with the disk brakes, and there was nobody there. They only did it every once in a while.
I believe it didn't sell because first of all they didn't advertise it well enough. The lack of understanding on an enthusiast website of all things is indicative of their utter failure to educate the buying public.
Secondly, at $1600, it was rediculously priced. The components only cost $100 on top of the price of an ABS equiped car.
They should have sold it for $500, and aggressively marketted it as a selling point of the Focus overall. At the time, it was the lowest priced car to offer the system. The next step up was a $40k BMW.
But they're too farking stupid as we all know.
The Mini does have a similar system now, but that's hardly a family car. The sales benefits of having the only affordable compact family car with this system would have been huge.
Traction control is essentially "free" once you already have ABS.
If it notices both front wheels spinning faster than the rears, it reduces spark advance and brakes that wheel.
The potential benefits of this "electronic LSD" is completely nullified by the fact that it cuts engine power BEFORE braking the spinning wheel. If it weren't for that, it could actually be useful for performance.
Advance Trac actually helps stabilize the car, prevents it from excessively understeering or oversteering. I would like to try it some day, but I think I could navigate an autocross course with the throttle pinned the whole way, just steer, and let the system control the car.
It can't make the car go around a corner if the laws of physics say you're going to fast, but if you turn in early enough, the system will dump a bunch of speed for you by braking the inside wheels.
It's kind of like the scene in that latest pirate movie... with Johnie Depp...? Where they drop the anchor out the side of the ship, and it pivots around it. Feels like that.
But really, this isn't what the system is designed for. It designed to allow very aggressive lane change manoevers, without losing control. It will never oversteer, which is what put us into the wall on the 401, which is why we replaced that car with the AT ZTW.
For the history...
2003 was in fact the last year for AT. They stopped making it because it wasn't selling. I went to the plant many times, never saw a single car built with it. They had a little workbench to assemble the rear control arms with the disk brakes, and there was nobody there. They only did it every once in a while.
I believe it didn't sell because first of all they didn't advertise it well enough. The lack of understanding on an enthusiast website of all things is indicative of their utter failure to educate the buying public.
Secondly, at $1600, it was rediculously priced. The components only cost $100 on top of the price of an ABS equiped car.
They should have sold it for $500, and aggressively marketted it as a selling point of the Focus overall. At the time, it was the lowest priced car to offer the system. The next step up was a $40k BMW.
But they're too farking stupid as we all know.
The Mini does have a similar system now, but that's hardly a family car. The sales benefits of having the only affordable compact family car with this system would have been huge.
Traction control is essentially "free" once you already have ABS.