I just got a used 98 corvette C5 ... everything seems to work fine... I looked in the book on traction control and it says if it is malfuctioning you will get a warning or something in the display... my traction control light seems to work fine... it says system on... and hit the button and it says system off (and the yellow skidding car lights up)...

I have an automatic... and with the traction on OR OFF... I can't spin the tires for nothing....

if I have it OFF.... should i be able to hold the brake on a little and gun it... and I should light up the street right???? what could be wrong is there a way to reset it or something ???

any help would be great.... just want to show off once in a while !!! :D

thanks!!!

 

could the last owner have put a chip in there to keep it on all the time ?? he did do some exhaust work... since it's used I don't want get hit with an arm and a leg bill just cuz I wan't the tires to spin once in a while... but it seems to act the same with it on or off ???? any help here fellas ????

thanks!!

 

Even with TC on the car will spin the tires a little and then you will notice the car lose power as TC takes over. I think some cars can and others just can't break the tires loose, with no real reason behind it.

Chris

 

my thing here is... when it is off.... shouldn't it not try to calm down the engine... or apply break to the rear wheels??? how can I smoke up the street... everyone (*well not everyone, most of the time I am a calm driver*) but people are allways like light up the tires... and I have to say I Cant, it won't let me... what do I need to do to get the computer to just let the wheeels rip... my buddy's 96 with the traction control off... just tap the frount brake a bit, lay on the gas and kaboooom the street is full of smoke...

don't get me wrong it's not totally importaint but would be nice once in a while to show off a bit :D

 

A near stock A4 car isnt gonna light up the tires unless you have crappy tires or are on a crappy road surface, or have a big stall converter.

 

This has been asked before, and the general consensus is that a 98 A4, particularly with the 2.73 rear (you don't mention which you have), will not light up the tires when power breaking.

Tom

 

If you have the 2.73 A4 axle ratio it is very hard to break the tires loose. I have the optional 3.15 axle and it has to be the right road surface to do it.

 

When you push that button it turns off the active handling, If you want to turn off the traction control you have to hold that button down for about 45 seconds and the competitive mode will appear. Now your traction control is stone turned off. :cheers:

 

Uh, no.

Pressing and releasing the button turns off both Active Handling AND Traction Control (assuming he even has Active Handling). A light will be on the dash warning that TC is off. If he does have AH (and it says Active Handling around the button), then pressing and holding the button, when stopped, for 5 to 7 seconds will invoke Competitive Mode, which is Traction Control off and Active Handling On.

In 2001 and newer, you can invoke Competitive Mode while moving, but not in a 98.

Tom

 

spray a little wd 40 on your tires after your "buddies" say light em up...this will help....OR...tell your buddies that lighting up the tires is for drag strips...in order to heat up the slicks for max traction...not for show...though it is neat to see your hard earned $ money go up in blue rubber particle smoke!

:jester

 

I just posted up the same problem in the F_BODY FORUM regarding my 2000 Trans Am.

These motors are setup for more top end power. Not like the old L98's, that were very torquey

Here's the trick I've found that works -


[b]Downshift to first gear. Apply the brakes pretty firmly, don't let the car creep forward, that only makes it worse. NAIL the throttle to the floor.[b]

You have more rubber than the Trans Am, so it's going to be tougher.

Ready to swap for a performance axle? :rolleyes:


[Modified by fight4yourrights, 7:34 AM 9/25/2002]

 

To find out whether your TC is working ok, try it in a wet parking lot.

You're in a pretty warm climate out there .. hot air is not the best for performance, and hot tires and pavement are very good for traction. On a cold day my Z06 will spin the tires uncontrollably thru first and second and into third. On a hot day, it will hardly break the tires loose from a roll. Have you tried this on a cool night?

 

I don't have the active handling package... just traction control... but my thing is that when it is off (I have an automatic) if I hold the break a bit should the RPMS start to skyrocket... thus lighting the tires... what happens thou is that I gun the gas and it seems like the car knows what I am trying to do.... so the rpms just sit and do shiiiizot!! until I let the break off then it takes off...??? gonna try that hold the button down thing thou...

thanks for all the reply's...

 

Looks like our friends here has the 2.73s...sux 2BU!! I just trashed mine and got the 3.42s and SY3500 with the TransGo and man do these f'ers light up!!

 

If you hold the BRAKES just a little bit, I'm assuming the car is allowed to creep forward some. I've found this makes it a lot harder than hold the brakes firmly enough to keep the car in place.

I tried it the way you are doing it and couldn't get the rpms up enough to really break the tires loose.

If you use the brakes to hold the car firmly in place, then just put the gas to the floor in 1st gear, you should be able to break the tires loose enough to really burn them. When I say really break the tires loose, I'm talking about getting them spinning enough that your rpms will rocket up to the rev limiter.

When I'd let the car creep a little, the tires would spin, but never enough to really get the rpms up, and that's where the power is.

 

OK let me try to help here it dont matter what gear you have or the stall any car with the amount of hp these cars come with should be able to do a nice smoke show..... Now I had the same problem as you, hard as hell to smoke the tires on a good surface and run craps with an A4, from what i have learned or have been told there is an antilock device when the brake is applied to not let the rpms "skyrocket" to the top so the tires spin... some vettes this happens on some don't, now dont get me wrong a higher gear and a converter will help alot, but a buddy of mines car would still have problems doing a smokey burnout but soon as he let of the brake it smoked them til 3rd gear..... (he has a gear and stall)

Simple thing to try-
While preparing for a burnout/smoke show
instead of putting the gear selector in "1" move it
to "3rd" or Drive not Over Drive just drive.
Apply the brakes lighter the better long as it holds the car
you should be able to spin the tires right off the rims,
as soon as the tires begin to spin and the rpm is going up then
can shift into "1" and amaze yourself along with your buddies,
Run craps do put on a good smoke show!!!! :cheers:

Let us know if it worked..... I know it worked on mine and my buddies.

Even though a Converter,higher gear, and a line line is the best way to do it, you should see results. :yesnod: :yesnod: :cheers:


[Modified by BLUBYU2002C5, 4:56 PM 9/25/2002]

 

Also; notice how w-i-d-e those C5 tires are? That's to give you traction... so you don't squeal the tires. I know how enjoyable it is to hear tires screech during acceleration, but performance wise that screeching is adding small increments of time to your ET.


.


[Modified by Mike Mercury, 6:09 PM 9/25/2002]

 

:D Just put it into nuetrel, take it up to 4K, slam it into D, (or OD, i have a MN6 so I dont know whats on the shifter). :lol: :lol: :lol: :smash: :smash: :smash: :smash:

Good show but will end up needin a tranny after a little while. :D

 

My 99 A4 stock with a 3.15 would never spin the tires with the traction control off unless I happened to be sitting on painted crosswalk lines when I floored it - or it was raining. It was a total pig, now there is about nothing I can do NOT to spin the tires from a stop with the new torque converter. Even brand new nitto drag radials spin pretty good from a stop on the street - much less then the run flats though...

 

I think I'm the guy that first posted a concern about not being able to spin the tires. My Vette is an '01 A4 Coupe with the Al Gore special 2.73 gears - UGH!!!! I couldn't create a "smoke show" if my life depended on it.

I'm hopeful the Predator will give me a bit more oomph to lay down some rubber, if not it's no biggy...... Gears & T/C or an S/C are going to find their way onto my car before the year ends. :)

My advice, suffer through it for now and save your $$'s for some performance mods.

Wish ya the best!! :cheers: