Re: quattro vs. traction control

[quattro@rogerswave.ca]

Hi everyone!

     I had a chance to try my mother's Volvo 850 GLT on the frozen 
driveway not long ago.  Since it has the optional traction control 
and front wheel drive I thought I'll give it a try.
I drove half way up the driveway after gaining some speed on the 
salted road.  Stoped the car, turn the traction control on.  I tryied 
two approaches.
First I took my foot of the brake and slowly added gas.  There was a 
lot of ticking sounds and no forward motion.  So I mashed the foot 
down on the gas with the same result.  
Second try involved turning the traction off and trying to apply 
throttle slowly.  The tires were spinning with no forward motion.
The tires were original equipment Michelin all seasons with about 
95%tread.
I then proceeded to try the same experiment with my 4kq and to be 
fair I replaced my Nokias with Yoko A509's.  
The car did spin couple of the tires with the diffs unlocked, but 
there was forward motion!  With the diffs locked spinning was only an 
issue if lots of throtle was applied.
I never believed that traction control could fail that badly.  Not 
only is it a costly option, but it gives a false sense of security!
Waste of money if you ask me.  I think the car would do much better 
with a decent set of winter tires.




Original Message.
> I think I saw some discussion about this in the archives, but I can't
> find it now, so I'll ask anyway (sorry if I annoy!):
> 
> At the local auto show yesterday I got into an interesting discussion
> with the BMW rep, who tried to tell me that their traction control was
> just as effective in snow as any 4WD system (including quattro).
> Specifically, she said that I wouldn't need tire chains when there are
> chain requirements.  Not sure I believe her.  (Actually, I'm sure I
> don't.)
> 
> This is an important consideration because in the mountains of
> California where I go in the winter, chains are usually required in
> snowy conditions unless you have 4WD and snow tires.  For those of you
> not familiar with California's mountains and who maybe don't have
> highway departments with such policies,  I can tell you that this isn't
> as conservative as it seems:  when storms come, the snow falls heavy,
> wet, and fast, and the roads are steep (plus the drivers are from
> California  - enough said).   Since putting on tire chains is a major
> nuisance, I want very much to have a car that doesn't need them.
> 
> Actually, I'm sold on Audi anyway, but I'm curious if anybody knows how
> well "traction control" would do in snow, and specifically, does anybody
> have any knowledge of California's tire chain rules:  Does the
> combination of traction control and snow tires allow you to escape
> putting chains on?
> 
> (It's interesting to see manufacturers like BMW and Saab try to position
> their 2WD cars as good snow cars.  You've probably all seen the BMW
> penguin commercial (the penguin can't make it up the snowy hill, but the
> BMW with traction control goes right up), and Saabs are heavily
> advertised as snow machines.  I wonder how many people buy these cars
> thinking they're getting AWD snow performance........)
> 
> Erik Bruce
> erdb@chevron.com
> 
> 
Martin Pajak
quattro@rogerswave.ca
1982 Coupe (428,000 km)
1984 4000s quattro (320,000 km under the wrench)
1970 Porsche 911E Targa (also under the wrench)

Who put my tools in the dishwasher?