Where's my traction control????

[dave_p]

OK, so we now have some snow in England

I decided to see what this 4*4 could do - I floored it. The wheels just span - all 4 of them. OK, I did get traction after a couple of seconds, but why did the traction control not kick in?

When spinning round corners, I did get some traction control, but not enough to stop me from having fun and losing it a few times. I thought that traction control should not have let me lose it so easily. Is there something wrong with the car?

Thanks,

Dave

[Wagner]

Umm, has a lot to do with the tires on your car and the laws of physics.

Just because four wheels are moving doesn't mean the car will get grip, especially if you smash the gas around a turn. I run snow tires and can still make tires slide with enough gas...

bottom line...gas + 5000lbs + snow = slide

[crosvs]

i don't disagree or take issue with the laws of physics, but ... having just had my car in tahoe in snow and ice, i have to say that the DSC would *NOT* allow the tires to spin. could i try to induce a spin? sure ... but only if i really tried. generally, i had to turn off DSC to have any fun whatever. so i don't know what's wrong here.

[dave_p]

Originally Posted by crosvs

i don't disagree or take issue with the laws of physics, but ... having just had my car in tahoe in snow and ice, i have to say that the DSC would *NOT* allow the tires to spin. could i try to induce a spin? sure ... but only if i really tried. generally, i had to turn off DSC to have any fun whatever. so i don't know what's wrong here.

I can just floor it whilst I'm moving and the wheels spin - traction does kick in, but too late. The DSC light does come on. ABS work fine, but traction doesn't. When I had an E46 M3, the traction would stop the power delivery almost as soon as the rear wheels span.

I know you have better traction with the snow chains, but how soon does your traction control kick in?

[crosvs]

When I had an E46 M3, the traction would stop the power delivery almost as soon as the rear wheels span.

That's how my X5 is too.

ABS work fine

If you have a sensitive foot, practice applying brake pressure JUUUUUUST to the threshold at which ABS is invoked: you will find that if you can brake WITHOUT the ABS kicking in, your stopping distance will be HUGELY reduced.

Put another way, the ABS system SUCKS in the snow.

[Estroil 4.8is]

Originally Posted by crosvs

i don't disagree or take issue with the laws of physics, but ... having just had my car in tahoe in snow and ice, i have to say that the DSC would *NOT* allow the tires to spin. could i try to induce a spin? sure ... but only if i really tried. generally, i had to turn off DSC to have any fun whatever. so i don't know what's wrong here.

[X5Jay]

ABS isn't designed to stop you on snow in a shorter distance; it's designed to allow you to continue to steer the vehicle under maximum braking. That's what ABS is really all about.

[Wagner]

Originally Posted by X5Jay

ABS isn't designed to stop you on snow in a shorter distance; it's designed to allow you to continue to steer the vehicle under maximum braking. That's what ABS is really all about.

Exactly.

[crosvs]

i hvae to say i find it pretty useless in the snow even for steering purposes ... i practiced repeatedly in the snow/ice: i could barely turn with ABS, i could do a better job myself with DSC switched off; not allowing ABS to kick in; and using the E-brake

[trueX5er]

Originally Posted by X5Jay

ABS isn't designed to stop you on snow in a shorter distance; it's designed to allow you to continue to steer the vehicle under maximum braking. That's what ABS is really all about.

and in most conditions that equals a shorter stopping distance.