cold road + cold tires + no T/C = BE CAREFUL

T/C can be left on and still spin the tires
You just have to learn to feather it. With it off.......you can seriously smoke em.....and if not careful..........get out of shape in a hurry.
I leave mine ON unless I'm playing around. It doesn't affect daily driving that I can tell in my 38,000 miles.

 

For a trip at highway speeds, there would be absolutely no advantage to turning off the TC, so why not leave it on? If you're racing you turn it off or use the competition mode. For the rare occasions when you want to have fun in stop and go traffic where wheel spin is possible/desirable, you can turn it off, it only takes 2 seconds. All other times, it can only help you.

One time I was driving along on a perfect sunny afternoon when all of a sudden the car started acting strangely. The TC and AH both were going wild, slowing me down. As I looked behind me I saw 3 other cars spinning out and bouncing off curbs and guardrails, only to find out later that a truck had spilled an invisible clear coat of cooking oil on the entire 500 yard long curve.

It wasn't really funny but I really had a laugh when I realized that my vette saved my a$$.

 

I routinely turn TC off as soon as I start the car after gotten in near trouble turning across oncoming traffic and TC engaging. Now, I do keep the button depressed until COMPETETION MODE is displayed so that Active Handling is working. Active Handling is what's going to keep you out of trouble; it corrects understeer and oversteer and keeps you going straight.

 

no disrespect, but i think it would be smart for you to leave it on. if your not the "live on the edge" "crazy" driver, this car will get away from you faster than you can move your foot from the gas to the brake.

the vette has a very small "breaking" point. it doesnt give you much warning of losing control. take your car to an empty parking lot and play around. you will notice how the car is completely different. all of a sudden its not this "quick" car that you can just beat on. take off hard in first gears... spin the tires real good, you will notice the rear sway back and forth, now SLAM second gear... see what happens. chances are you will be thrown into a spin.

now im not saying there arent drivers that can handle the car, cause i know some of you guys can. but the average driver most likely cannot. and its not worth damaging the car or getting hurt.

take this advice.... USE COMPETITION MODE!!!!!!!!! it really is the best of both worlds. i dont understand why people turn A/H off. competition mode allows you to break the rear loose and spin the tires, but not lose control. why take the chance?!

 

Been drag/road racing a long time, one thing every Vette driver should do is go to a Autocross driving class. They have controlled courses designed to get your car out of line so you can feel what its like without damaging your car or someone elses property. Its cheap and can save your *** on the road. Your driving a performance car thats going to act alot different than other cars you have drivin in the past. The TC senses loss of traction, spinning tires and stops them, you can not do a "burnout" with the tc engaged. I can handle most situations in clear dry weather around town with the TC off. On the freeway or any bad weather I leave it on, it will save your *** in situations like the oil spill mentioned above or sandy dirty curves you dont see until its too late. The better a car handles the more severe its going to be when it gets out of line.These cars handle very well so when the back end gets out it does it very fast.One of the first things I did when I got my Vette was take it out to a deserted lot and turned the TC off and got the car sideways at a slow speed, like doing a U turn and giving it a little too much gas, very surprised on how fast the back end comes out, fun too:~) The more experience you have driving your car in this situation the better you will be able to control the car when it happens unexpectedly.
Matt

 

The answer as you've seen already is no, the car won't be hurt simply because it is off.

I can't understand why anyone would turn this while under everday driving conditions. TC essentially cuts off the gas for a split second when it detects the rear tires are spinning faster than the fronts. If you want to get the rears to spin from a stoplight them temporarily turn it off, and if you feel like you want to see how sideways you can get when it shifts to 2nd at WOT then keep it off. I'd suggest as others have that this be tested at a large open lot, but on the road?... what's the point of getting sideways in public.

And personally, I can't imagine anyone with reflexes faster than the computer that will ease off the gas when the rears are slipping. Again, I'm talking about street driving, pulling stunts in a parking lot are a whole diferent story. Keep the TC on, and save your tires for when it's safe to play.

 

My Vette does not have a switch for competition mode. It just has the TC button. I was watching the video the other night a friend gave me who had a 2001 Vette and on that one you could apparently hold the TC button down to get to competition mode. I don't think that is the case on my 04, but I've never checked. Dan

 

There is no competition mode if you don't have Active Handling. Competition mode turns off Traction Control but leaves Active Handling on. So obviously there would be no need for it. TC is either on or off then. Previous to 01, AH was an option.

Your 04 has it but there is no independent switch. You press and hold the TC button for 5 seconds while standing still with engine on.

 

Thanks for info. I'll have to read about the competition mode. My Vette is hybernating for winter anyway. Dan

 

I had a scary incident with my 98 C-5 several years ago. I was stopped at a stop sign waiting for a chance to turn left and enter the flow of traffic. When I finally started out, I floored it to jump into a gap in traffic. There was some gravel or dirt on the road and when the rear wheels started spinning, the active handling cut in and killed the throttle. I had no power just as I had pulled into the flow of traffic in front of another car. I let up on the gas, the car rolled out of the gravel, and I was able to continue after what seemed like a very long time as I watched the oncoming car in my rear view mirror.

 

I've never had occassion to turn either Active Handling or Traction Control off. I know it has saved my butt a few times while driving thru the canyons.

 

I read this thread today and went and tried to get the Competitive Driving mode to come up on my car:

I have a 99 C5 coupe with less than 50,000 miles on it. I read my owners manual on how to get into the comp. driving mode but it would not seem to come up on the display.

Could someone tell me what I am doing wrong.

Thank you
Crash

 

I leave it on for safety. Back to the comments of how did we make it all those years without TC, I would lived to have it on my old muscle cars too.....

 

I read this thread today and went and tried to get the Competitive Driving mode to come up on my car:

I have a 99 C5 coupe with less than 50,000 miles on it. I read my owners manual on how to get into the comp. driving mode but it would not seem to come up on the display.

Could someone tell me what I am doing wrong.

Thank you
Crash

 

Middle aged guy....turned it off once last summer on a prefectly dry road and almost spun it......nope, I'll leave it on, new tires cost enough any way

 

Your car must have Active Handling (RPO JL4) in order for you to have and turn on the Competitive Driving Mode. For the 1999 model year, Active Handling was an option that had to be ordered. It did not come standard for that model year. If your car has Active Handling, you will find the words ACTIVE HANDLING by your TC/AH button. Also, if so equiped, model years 1998-2000 came with the 1st generation Active Handling. To enter the Competive Driving Mode with 1st generation Active Handling, the car must be at a complete stop with the engine running. Then press and continue to hold down the Active Handling button until the words "COMPETITVE DRIVING" display in the DIC.

Hope this helps.

 

hmm I must put in my 2 cents.

I just sold my 2000 BMW 328Ci that had DSC ( that is Dynamic Stability Control) and I must say it was superior to the one I have in my 98 vette unless I dont understand what Traction Control suppose to do.

Yesterday I was riding on a empty parking lot and I turned sharp left and punched the gas, immediately my car rotated more then 120 degrees. That is scary because when I had the bimmer the DSC prevented that.

So I dunno what is the deal with the Traction Control, I was under impression it prevents that from happening . . . anyone comment please ?

 

Dang Darrell was this before or after we came by?

 

Mine does the same thing, only for a split second. A second that could get you in trouble. I think that there is a slight delay. The computer has to first sense the spin in order to correct it, or shut it down.

 

My A4 has a nasty habit of kicking back into first and spinning the tires hard. With TC/AH on, no problem. One night I was messing around with both off, came around a corner, straightened it out it second and jumped on it. The car hit first and I was chasing the tail before I knew it. Luckily, I let off and she righted herself. It was close enough that I drive with TC and AH on most of the time.

I use comp mode at the strip, seen too many guys lose the rear on the 1-2 shift.

Any GPs on driving schools???