OK, so I know this has been brought up before, but after seeing what my rear pads looked like after the weekend, the topic is on my mind. I, personally, put the car in comp driving mode out on the track. Obviously traction control is a hinderance, but now I am trying to decide if active handling is worth keeping on. How many run with/without it? Granted it can "save you" but only to a degree. thoughts?

 

I've never liked active handling for driving on track. I did use the competition mode once on the first run of an unfamiliar hillclimb where the penalty for going off course was severe. I'd advise turning it off and learning how to drive the car the old fashioned way, at least after you've accumulated a little seat time(and you have). I believe it's a lot more fun when your inputs are what gets you around the course smoothly and quickly. And there's only one way to learn how to do that. Set yourself free!

 

I use the AH on the track for two resons.

1) Cheap insurance to protect me from my own stupidity!! If I do something wrong the AH will help keep me on the track. No driver (regardless of skill) can individually apply the brak to a single wheel to keep the car in a straight line. Yes, brake pads can get expensive but, so can body work.

2) As a training tool. A good smooth line with proper inputs will reward you with the absence of AH kicking in. When the AH kicks in at a certain point on the track I think about what I did to unsettle the car and how I can smooth out my driving. One of the ways I measure the progress of my driving skills is by how many times the AH is forced to correct me. It seems to get less and less noticable and less and less obtrusive on each outing.

 

I ran with AH on for my first dozen or so events. The Watts bothers mentioned to me when you run with AH on it teaches you to be smooth. If AH does not come on, your running smooth lines. IF AH does come on your F-Upped or are not smooth.

Then turn AH off and keep running the same lines and pick up your speed and learn to handle the car the old fashon way.

So there are different ideas about AH

 

body work costs more than rear pads and rotors

 

AH will only keep you from spinning in minor easy to correct situations. I spun my car at sebring with the AH on. Also many tracks have dips and bumps that cause the AH to come on. If I ran a good fast lap at road atlanta, it will come on 5 or 6 times each lap.

Smooth or not, sometimes it is benefical to rotate the car somewhat, ah prevents you from doing this.

BTW, when I was riding with the watts brother at VIR I felt his active handling come on several times? I guess he is not smooth??? I was wondering though wth he was doing running with it on. Maybe he forgot to turn it off. I haven't used mine in a long time.

Tim

 

Well put! I use comp mode too (for now).

 

When I started I ran in Comp mode but as I got faster I started to "lean" on the AH and rely on it to correct my driving. Eventually I got even faster and since I was "leaning" on the AH I started to exceed it's limits and wound up spinning the car anyway. And when your spinning with the AH on you're really driving poorly.

I realized that this was dangerous because I am competitive and I'm always looking for a faster way around the course. In order to go faster I had to turn off the AH and learn to drive the car all over again since I could no longer rely on the AH to correct my power oversteers anymore. Initialy this was frustrating since the rear was coming out all the time!! That's how much I was relying on the AH, but eventually I learned to squeeze my inputs and to approach the limits from the bottom. By eliminating the AH my times eventually came down about 2 seconds/course.

If your out for fun then feel free to leave it on and wear out your pads sooner, but if you want to be competitive and learn how to control the car yourself then you'll have to turn it off and learn to drive!! IMHO

 

I only use Comp. mode in the rain. I leave it off all other times.

 

Very good point

 

I drive in competitive mode. I haven't torn my car down yet to examine the brakes, but I can imagine the rears will be worn down a bunch. I felt A/H kick in a couple of times and, although it wasn't real intrusive, it affected the car. It usually happened going hard out of #13 where the runoff is safe and the speeds aren't excessive so it wouldn't be too bad to run "Commando" at that portion of track. I might "Let Freedom Ring" when I go back to CMP week after next since I know where the vulnerabilities lie.

In short, I'll use A/H on strange tracks, but will probably run without it on familiar ground, depending on how daring I felt that day.

 

I turn every thing off. No AH or TC, I think it gets in the way and some times has negative effects. I agree with Tim, some times you really want to rotate the car more without the AH getting in the way.

Using the "training wheels" stuff has merit in slippery conditions on the track. When I lived in big time snow country, I used to use TC on my BMW M3. But after I became a better driver I turned it off. I thought it was more fun and forced me to be a better driver. Seat of the pants skills. The snow driving made me a more skilled driver at the track. Easy gentle inputs and controlled drifts helped learn skills to increase car control.

I say you guys should try driving with it off. I know some of you guys are better drivers than you think.

 

What's active handling?

 

Good info guys...I actually only noticed AH kicking in coming around/out of oak tree, and this was primarily when I was in 2nd gear. After talking to Chris Ingle, I started using 3rd and gained lots of speed...the Z has a ton of power stock and even in 3rd, I was spinning the tires slightly (still coming out of the turn) and AH was on to put the rear end straight. I think most of my pad wear was due to the 2nd gear usage around oak tree. I might try no AH next time at VIR and see how it goes.

 

When I was racing my C5, I would usually run the car in Competition Mode. My thinking was that I'd rather be a bit slower than add more risk of serious damage to the car. The system didn't come on very often and I never spun the car in Competition Mode. It did save the car a few times when I did something stupid (like lifting going over a hill) and there is no way that I would have been able to save it manually.

Now that I run a dedicated race car, I'm on my own. However, the cost of repairing the race car is much, much less than the cost of repairing the Corvette.

Mike

 

Just for background to the question on what is AH. Some still seem to confuse the Yaw sensor input with the Traction Control. To those who note the system going on over bumps, are you sure you have Comp mode on? In Comp Mode the traction control is off, you can spin the rear wheels but the gyro that measures yaw notes whenever spin starts to overtake forward motion and corrects, different fix for under or over steer. Over bumps in a straight line like one at Buttonwillow going CW out of grapevine, I think, if you are in a straight line the AH won't go on but TC, if on, will limit rear wheel spin.
Another thing I don't see anyone mention is that AH is different based on year of production. The sensor is the same, just a gyro to measure yaw (spin), but the point it kicks in has been loosened annually so a 2000 car will be different from a 2002 which will be different from 2004, I think. All factors which will impact it effect on the track.
I still find it useful and to those who say it won't correct a big problem, you should have been with me going 95 through turn 1 at Sears Point late afternoon, little to lax and put about 1/3 of the right rear off the end of the berm into the dirt. Four big tail slappers with the fronts pointing up the hill firmly on track and didn't lift. Touch the brakes, down shift to 2nd and go through turn 2 much more awake, if a little rattled. I've got a 2002, they just about had the early intervention solved by then, IMO.

 

To take any turn fast you have to drift (slide) a little. Not so much that you get into an oversteer situation. The feedback comes audibly form the tires, physically from the steering wheel through to the suspension, and from your rear end sitting properly in the seat. AH hinders all of that sensory input for me. When I forget to turn it off, I know immediately when it kicks in (and then I kick myself for leaving it on!). If you want to take your high performance driving to the next level, you should turn it off. If it is your first few events, leave it on and see when it kicks in; and when you are comfortable turn it off. Better yet, turn it off and drive a course in the rain or when it is wet. This will teach you so much about your car and driving smooth. Also, if you get a chance to get on a wet skidpad, this is a great learning experience also. If you have never spun out, you don't know the limits of your car, its setup, and your driving abilities!

 

YES!

 

Now this very well may be the point at which the dissagreement stems.

During my runs I am not trying to test the absolute limits of my car and my driving. I am going out to drive FAST, enjoy the performance of my car in a safe controlled environment, and improve my driving skills.

As I progress in skill and get faster and faster and I imagine that there will be a point when I decided to turn off my AH. But with my current skill level I enjoy the piece of mind gained by having this safety net. As the Z06 is a quite refined car its limits are quite high. A spin out or run off of the track at the 100+ MPH speeds that the car can easily obtain can have disasterous consequences.

I will lead a fufilled life without the experience of knowing the absolute handeling of my car that can be only gained by a spin out.

For the rest of us, please consider the other cars that you are sharing the track with.

 

I usually run with AH on. It hardly ever comes on in my car. You can still slide the car and spin the wheels. I don't feel I have to spin my car to know it's limits at all. If you can slide the car you know it's limits. Sometimes I forget and it is off along with my tranny and diff pumps I hammered it good around Oak tree in second when at VIR. My car is no slouch by any means and has been right in front all year. I run GY slicks and DOT Hooisers and Goodyears with a non stock suspension. I did buy LapTrax in the spring or even the winter but it is still in the box. I will try to install it before Lime Rock this Nov 6th. then the car doesn't have to be stopped to change it. It may be the suspension on my car that keeps it from coming on or else it's broke. It's fun in the rain with it off to play around.