Blimey - can't get my car to break traction from a stand-still - all i get is the smell of burning clutch material!

[This message has been edited by Paul Habgood (edited 09 May 2001).]

 

I am wondering weather to buy a traction control and launch control system for my Uk 96. I know the car is very good in standard form but would it help it or hinder the car by fitting this sort of system. I would appreciate any feedback.

Cheers.

 

Launch control is about as mechanically sympathetic as a "Driven" performance test driver. It will eat clutches and put a big strain on the rest of the drivetrain and engine.

I looked into traction control... I could still add it to my motec system, but... on a 4wd car like ours, the traction is already immense... the benefits would not be quite as appealing as on a 2wd car. I suppose it might me nice to switch to a t/c safety mode and drive it home knowing that the t/c will stop any slippy road and heavy throttle events... other than that, you would probably be much better off spending the traction control money on a "wetter the better" type driving course. Then you gain a traction control system that should work in any car you drive.

 

Have any of you guys driven on snow, I was shocked to find that my MY00 performed terribly on snow with loads of rear wheel spin.

Traction on wet/dry roads is awesome though.

 

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:<HR>Originally posted by Davej_Smith:
[B]Have any of you guys driven on snow, I was shocked to find that my MY00 performed terribly on snow with loads of rear wheel spin.

B]<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

I bet you are on the standard RE010 tyres........

 

Davej_smith,

I've driven scoobies on snow, sheet ice, grass, sand and mud etc... I have also done the wetter the better course where I drove on the MIRA wet weather handling facility. Scoobies on standard profile road tyres don't drive particularly well in the snow... a spare set of wheels with a thinner profile set of winter tyres would make a big difference. My front LSD also helps a lot in really slippery conditions.

Moray

 

Ah, the joys of trying to put down just the right amount of power

Launch control will allow you to get a "perfect" start off the line every time, but as Moray says it's about as mechanically sympathetic as a sledge hammer... What it does is reduce the engine power while maintaining the revs / boost by a combination of fuel cut and ignition retard. Different units use different strategies., but its always gonna be a bit sub-optimal on a 4WD car, unless you have a ground speed sensor

As for traction control, again, difficult to do properly... ideally you need an input from each wheel (use ABS sensors) and a ground speed sensor... after all, it is possible to spin all four wheels, then how could it tell how fast the car is going? Sadly my ECU has only 4 speed inputs for 4 wheels (it's really designed for 2WD use), and MoTeC has only one... hmmm, naybe I need to get the next model up, but I can't justify the extra seven grand needed !

FWIW, the TC stuff on my setup can be preset to give certain slip factors depending on loud pedal, steering angle etc. But since I can't get a proper reading of ground speed I don't use it at the mo...

Again, TC isn't very mechanically sympathetic, since it also controls engine power by cutting cylinders / retarding ignition.

But if you wanna be even more brutal you could run ALS as well... was "testing" the ALS system tonight, it's like an untamed animal, minute prod of the loud pedal after a trailing throttle / balanced throttle in a corner and it lights up all 4 on the way out in a wonderful drift

Hope this helps,

Pat.

 

Helps what Pat....making us jealous?

Richard

 

Not quite a scooby, but I had Racelogic fit their Traction Control system to my last car. Absolutely amazing for the right cars, but I can talk from experience now and say that I feel that the benefit to the Imp would be minimal and despite Racelogic's system being the smoothest TC that I have come across, I too think that even their's would place a fair bit of strain on the car. My opinion is don't bother, Improve the handling, grip and safety by other means......

 

Pat,

Just a sidenote: The motec's one input for T/C can be connected to their T/C multiplexor, thus giving the ECU the required number of inputs... The unit costs ~250+everythingtheyforgettotellyouaboutwhentheysel littoyou+vat+ishfactor, which is a little less than the 7K you talk about for the pectel upgrade... ho hum...

Moray

 

Moray,

the extra seven grand doesn't just cover an extra speed input! The next unit up in the range is the T10 which is currently deployed in the Ford Martini Racing WRCar, the same one which Colin McRae piloted to victory in the last WRC event. I think this is in a slightly different league to even the latest offering from MoTeC. For example, its timing control is five hundred percent more accurate. Check out

 

The scoob behaves exceptionally on snow!!! As I live in a country where snow is a common thing during 4 months of the year I have quite a lot of experience on snow and different cars and there aren't many other cars I would consider doing 65 mph sideways through a bend in.

What you need is a set of real wintertyres and you'll have a car that'll keep you smiling constantly! Studded wintertyres and a frozen lake will turn you into a kid with a new toy.

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:<HR>Originally posted by Davej_Smith:
<B>Have any of you guys driven on snow, I was shocked to find that my MY00 performed terribly on snow with loads of rear wheel spin.

Traction on wet/dry roads is awesome though.[/quote]