What do you guys think about traction control on the 92' and up Vettes??
Is it worth having?? Would you pass on say a 89'-91' Vette because it doesnt have the traction control, especially in the rain???? Any thoughts???

 

I own a 92' with traction control, and I have some good things and bad things to say about it. First, I usually ALWAYS drive with the traction control OFF for a few following reasons. I never take it out in the rain, but the one time I got caught in the rain the traction control helped a lot. On the highway in the rain with wide tires doing 55 to 60mph, the wheels were slipping and sliding due to hydroplaning. The traction control did an excellent job of slowing the car down and stopping the wheels from spinning.

A few things I do not like about it is if you are trying to get out intro traffic and you need to "get on it" a little bit to ensure you do not get creamed, if there is a small bit of sand (up here in New England, sand is everywhere even in the summer) or even if the tires break lose on pavement, the traction control will brake, cut the fuel, and restrict the gas pedal until the wheels stop while mean time, you are looking at the on coming Buick heading your way. :eek: Maybe it is just me, but I am sure it has happened to other people. Also, if you feel the need to play, you need to take traction control off anyway to do anything that requires tires slipping. (ie. burnouts, slidding around corners, road courses, drag runs, gear chirps, and so on...)

To your question about passing up on a Corvette for that option, I would say "No". :nonod: It is one of those things that are cool to have but not something that should buy or sell a Vette. If you are looking at a 88' to 91' without the option, but everything else is great, do not think twice about traction control. I would still love my 92' if it didn't have traction control. It is good to have in the rain and I would imagine even snow, for some people who have to drive their Vette in the snow :skep: but if you plan to drive your Vette in only sun-filled weather and not rain and snow, forget the traction control. Go with what you can afford and what suits your desire.

Take care. :flag

 

I like it, on days when there is not traction at the track I race with mine on :yesnod:

 

In my opinion, traction control is dangerous. There are times when the car noses over for a few seconds because one tire slipped on a little gravel, and I can't give the car any gas. Meanwhile, traffic is bearing down on me. If I could find a way to permanently disable it, I would!

 

ASR(traction control) was greatly improved in 1995 and refined even further in 1998.

The 1995-96 version(maybe '94) have an instant on instant off feature that the 92-93 don't have.

That makes a difference in some cases.

ASR is a good thing, what the others are talking about can be solved by using your left foot on the clutch pedal, I've never experienced what they have in my car.

ASR has never saved my butt, but it hasn't got me in any trouble either. There were times at well over the speed limit where it kicked in, and that can get scary because losing traction at high speeds can kill you.

 

I have ASR on my 1996 LT4, and I like it quite a bit. It's a real big plus in bad conditions for keeping it under control with that powerhouse under the hood. And I've been discovering some manuevers that I can do which rely on the ASR to regain the attitude on the car which are kindof interesting (you can intentionally put the car in a condition that only the computer can get it out of). I don't know about the earlier models, but the ASR on my car is _very_ good at it.

As to not buying an older model for lack of ASR? It's good, but I wouldn't stake the whole car over it. However, it's not the only improvement on the later models of C4. Being spoiled on a 96 LT4 CE now, I wouldn't buy anything less myself.

- Skant

 

I like having the option, but it would not stop me from buying the right Vette.
:D

 

I have a '94 and the traction control is awesome in slippery conditions. It is also nice when you're just cruising and a tire catches dirt on the sandy Colorado roads. It is also nice when your back tires become bald and starting from a stop becomes a chore. With the traction control on, it makes wheel slipping less of a problem. As for getting onto highways, etc. I just turn it off until I'm cruising.

 

I agree with boogie. It has put me in harms way much more often than it has saved my butt. I would remove it or at least make it something I have to activate, not deactivate every time I get in. The C5 is a much better system. In a C5 I would get the TC but early versions in the C4 skip it. Good tires will give you much better traction and safety in the wet than ASR ever will. :yesnod:

 

I agree that it sucks hving turn it off and its embarrassing to slam the peddle down and the asr kick in and you get no rubber :lolg: or worse a burnout with the asr on and you just slowly move forward :rofl: but it not really that hard to turn off just i think must of us just simply forget to. Mine has saved my butt when i got caught on the road during a flash snow storm. I like the fact that if someone does have to drive my car the nanny will keep them safe. I can't forget how when i first got my Vette and jumped on it getting on a onramp that curve the the right and having that asr kick my foot off the peddle and straighten the tail end out and then it kicked off and we were gone forget about it. The only problem I have with driving with it on is when my shift kit chirps the tires and asr kicks in. I also have a friend how recently hydroplaned his 89 Vette into a pole after running through a wet spot he said he wished he had traction control. All in all i love the 95 version. :steering: :seeya :flag