AH should be activated when pressing Traction Control button more than 5 seconds. I'm missing that option.
Is it possible to install Active Handling(competitive mode) afterward if that option was not originally installed?
Is that only computer based program or does it need additional components to be installed?

I can not find any "aftermarket" installation set for above.

Am I banging my head to the wall?

 

I do not believe that A/h in competitive mode is an option. Your car should have it. My 99 has it and I took delivery of it in nov 98. Does the button turn off the A/H and T/C when you first press it?

 

It WAS an OPTION and some earlier C5s don't have it.
I too would be interested in finding out what is required to install it on an older vette. Is ths a BCM option? BIGHANK

 

^^Most of the earlier vettes did not come with the AH option.

The default setting is for AH/TC to be on. Pressing the button for 5 seconds or so puts you into competition mode. Pressing again for 5 seconds turns it all off.

All the C5s came with traction control (TC). That's is probably all you have. AH was RPO option JL4. Look in glovebox and see if you have the code.

It is possible to add AH, but you will have to do yourself as there are no after-market kits. There are a lot of electronics that go into AH. There was a post a while back on what all is involved. It would not be easy or cheap to do.

Why do you want AH in the first place? If you are worried about losing your car take some driving lessons. Also, there are plenty of vettes that have had AH and still crashed because the car was too far gone for the AH to save the day.

 

If you have the AH option (I believe it was standard after 00 or 01), the default setting is AH and traction control on. When you press the button and release, it turns off both features. If you press and hold the button for about 5 seconds it turns off the traction control only (competative mode).

It would be expensive to retrofit if not originally equipped. There are sensors at each wheel and the steering wheel, and and I believe a module that would need to be added.

 

Unfortunately this -99 came without it. Why I need it? Well guys who have it says it is a greates thing on HPDEs and gives improved lap times.

Local GM service do not know where to get parts orhow to install. Looks like a dead end.

 

i have a *** that i turn with 3 settings, cruise, sport, performance, and a button, does that tighten up the suspension i guess? because i don't feel the difference, but then i am not a road course.

 

Really? I would have guessed AH would slow a professional driver down around a road racing course... I thought it was basically just a great option to save your butt if you get a little too jiggy with the gas in the corners.

 

Well, I'm not a professional driver and probably will never be
Because I do not have AH I can not comment.
I was hoping to have it installed and make my own statement later on but now I just have to accept the fact that if I want AH then I need to change to newer model.
Lousy thing is that I just had motor rebuilt so economically it does not make any sense to do anything but enjoy the existing capabilities.

 

On my 99 theres the traction button and the dial with 3 settings beside it. From what I know there is 2 generations on AH, the 2nd starting in 2001?. On the first AH (on mine) you have to be stopped and have to press the traction button for about 10-15 seconds to get to "competitive mode".

 

How good it is?
I have read from forum that it really improves e.g. lap times. Do you have any experience?

 

The 3 position switch changes the firmness of the shocks. It is the F45 option. I got rid of my F45 shocks, I didn't feel much difference between the settings and I wanted a firmer/sportier ride. The button turns the AH and TC on and off as I described in my earlier post.

 

I have it on my 99, and I don't see how it could improve anything, except for keeping you from doing a 180 degree spin... That would probably improve your lap time a lot, I guess. If you think about it, all AH does is apply brakes to keep you from spinning out of control. On a road course, your best time is going to be obtained by driving to the limit without going over. Once active handling kicks in, you have already lost your potential to run the best time, because you are sliding past the bounds of traction. I'm really glad I have active handling on my 410whp FRC; it has definitely kept me from getting dangerously sideways more than once, and I'm sure it will continue to. But I just don't see how it could improve a lap time.

 

Ive only ever turned it on then off, Ive never had the car on a track or anything so I cant say.
Competitive mode turns off traction control but keeps AH, I believe.

 

I would guess it would be cheaper to trade your car than try to install it on yours. It was introduced some time in the 99 model year. You can go to a HPDE and get an instructor and save your money fro track time.

Like HUDS I see people putting in which suck. It is useless and hard to see in the sun. AH would be way more involved to install.

 

I personally think the HUD is awesome, I love it, and not very often is it hard to see.

 

I have to disagree with you on this one. Active handling has saved me from a complete spin out a time or two. I wasn't intending on being overly aggressive when these situations happened, but rather the road conditions were a surprise. Road conditions such as oil from a previous wreck, or sand on the road around a curve. The problem is that the power and weight of the 'vette creates a more dangerous situation sometimes because it is too easy to just have fun and if a surprise road condition happens it can be a disaster. It's just an added feature like air bags even though you have seat belts. I also buy the best tires available regardless of cost because it is a safety factor and you can't put a price on safety in my opinion. It may not save you from a total wreck, but it may make enough of a difference to make the wreck not quite so bad.

I agree that a person should have better than average driving skills to get behind the wheel of one of these cars if they want to stay alive. Ive seriously considered a performance driving school and have taken a 1 day class to drive an F1 style track. The class was a tremendous amount of help even though it was very basic. If I'm tired or mentally pre-occupied I take my truck as a precaution becuse it doesn't require as much attention to get around (it's an automatic).

Based on what I see here in Seattle most people don't give driving enough of their attention and their capabilities are below minimal safety requirements with the traffic situation. I've driven with a few co-workers who drive too fast, follow way too close, don't pay close enough attention and aren't aware of the traffic around them. In the last year both of them have been in accidents and one of them totaled a car. I kinda expected this to happen for both of them....scary!

 

I think so also.....when the A/H kicks in it slows the car down, to get faster track time you just need to learn the breaking point of the car and knock on that dorr like there is no tomorrow!!!

 

The dial he is talking about is for the magnetic ride suspension, not the same thing. My 99 also does not have AH... I don't see the reason to have it. IMO, AH is there if you forget to respect the car and the skinny pedal. IMO, you don't need it.

When AH/TC kicks in, it cuts your power by about half to regain traction, then it gradually returns. I can't see how this would increase lap times. If anything I think drivers would be turning this OFF a the track.

Don't bother trying to install AH, spend the money on a track/driving school instead.

 

On the early model AH cars, you have to be stopped while pressing the TC button for 5 seconds to go into competitive mode. Later models could do this while moving.