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I was coming around a corner on a mountain road on a rainy day. I got on the gas mid corner and got sideways....b4 I could say $%*& the car hit the brakes and straightened me out. I probably would have saved it but Im rather glad I didnt find out!

 

You might want to turn active handling off in sub-freezing temperatures. I was making a left turn onto our loop, and slowly accelerating in 2nd gear, when active handling took over and started the car in a slow spin to the inside. I caught the rear end, and corrected, and the tail went back to the outside. I thought I was going off the road on the outside, but I was able to catch it again and this time I got it going straight again.

Since the rear end went the opposite direction of what I would expect if I had done something wrong, I think AH intervened when I did not need help. I never actually saw any ice, but now I turn AH off when there is the possibility.

 

I tried mine out on a light snow covered road that was straight. Turned the wheel and hit the gas. It came on and straightened me out right away. Did the same thing again turning the wheel the other way... worked the same and fixed me. The caution is that these systems can only do so much and expecting it to fix a stupid move is sometimes beyond the limitations of this system therefore subject to the laws of physics.

 

AH has saved my azz more then once.

Don't leave home without it !

 

Electronic stability control aka – “Active Handling” is the wave of the future in automobile safety.

The Corvette and some other “high end” cars were ahead of the curve in implementing the system.

 

Saying AH did all that is a pretty outlandish claim. The way AH works, it actaully doesnt seem possible.

Are you sure you didn't hit some black ice?


To the OP:
I never had an issue w/ AH and I leave it on all the time.

 

Driving on ice, the AH will not help...nothing works on ice. Got to have a little traction for the AH to be effective...at least something.

 

I made a left turn out of a parking lot and "got on it". I slid to the outside, so I countersteered. I couldn't tell if AH was helping me or fighting me. In the end it felt like AH bounced me from side to side (in a convergent oscillation) until I was straight again. Scared the **** out of me. I know how to "counter steer". I have done it for years. I learned how to drive a car in the winter/snow. I am not sure if AH was helping me (or fighting me). Bottom line: I stayed out of the ditch.

In general, leave it on. It works great when somone runs out of talent.

 

My real-life experience with AH:

Every time I get in my car, the first 3 things I do are:
1) Start engine
2) Latch seatbelt
3) Turn off AH/TC

Does that work for you? :P

Dope

 

Nope thats just dumb

350+HP through a live axle is not the best way to put power down if you're doing anything other than a straight line. AH will help in most cases except the track.

 

Works perfect

I dont know how you could enjoy a performance car with all that mumbo jumbo junk on. I hang tire alll day with it off!

 

Actually it's about 500hp at the flywheel and C5s have independent rears, not live axles. But I'm nitpicking.

I also drive my mildly-modded 98 Camaro SS year-round, especially as my primary transportation through the rough winters we get here in the Northeast. Have been doing so for 10 years. No AH on that one either.

To me, relying on a computer to save your bacon is dumb. Learning to drive is a better option. I've gotta buy one of those little gizmos that automatically turns off your AH every time you start the car!

Dope

 

I definitely could have hit black ice, and I am not saying AH did everything, only that something started the car in a reverse spin with the rear end going the opposite direction from what I would expect.

(Left turn, you would expect rear end to spin to the right, but the rear end suddenly swung around to the left to start the chain of events.)

 

No offense but that's a pretty arrogant statement. Maybe if you're expecting the car to get out of control you might be able to control it better than the computers can. I leave mine turned on for those cases where the car might step out of line unexpectedly. Wet or greasy roads for example.

I've heard too many stories of experienced/good drivers losing control and wrecking their car or risking life or limb then wonder how it happened. Doesn't matter how good you can drive, you're not "on guard" all the time like the AH system would be. Unless you're racing it's a safety feature I wouldn't turn off.

One last point. In the days of TC/AH/LC in Formula 1... do you think there would be a driver saying "relying on a computer to save your bacon is dumb" then turn the system off? Maybe if he wanted to finish last or crash a very expensive car.

 

There's a reason it's called the Fifty Thousand dollar button...

 

My point really is that if you rely on the AH system to save you, you won't learn how to drive properly. What happens when the AH doesn't work someday, or you drive a car that doesn't have it (most don't)? It's much more important to learn good driving skills in all conditions. By learning to handle a car properly, you can be ready for almost all situations. It's not a matter of expecting the unexpected, it's about training. When I'm driving in the snow and the rear end starts coming around (which is about every 3 seconds when you're driving a powerful RWD vehicle with all-season radials), I counter without even thinking about it. The skills are ingrained and become almost automatic. It's a good thing!

Personally I have always turned off any available TC functionality in any car I have driven. I find them intrusive and sometimes even dangerous (ESPECIALLY in adverse weather conditions). Just the way I am I guess. I learned how to drive on a car that had no TC/AH, or even ABS, airbags, or shoulder belts! I didn't think I was that old but maybe I'm oldschool :P

As far as your point regarding Formula 1, I don't see what Formula 1 has to do with daily driving. I'm also not familiar with Formula 1 at all so I have no idea what their AH systems are like. I'm sure they are very much different systems, cars, and drivers than your average person on the public roads. Kinda hard to compare. Furthermore, you are basically stating that a Formula 1 driver would be foolish to turn off his AH - however the sentence just prior to that paragraph states that you would only turn off AH if you were racing. Which is it?



Dope

 

Competitive Driving = AH on, TC off. That's my MO.

 

 

If you want to see just how it works take your car out on a road course and drive it fast around the track.

I could get carpotunnel syndrome telling you all about it so... The short answer's are.... If you get a little sideways it helps straighten you out. If you are going too fast it around a corner it will let off the gas and brake for you in a way you cant do yourself. That's the short answers to your question.