What changes or what happens when you select this mode?

The owners manual is very vague....

 

Essentially comp mode shuts off traction control and gives you a reduced level of active handling. In comp mode you have somewhat more leeway to 'slide' the car....like you'd want on a road course.

 

Traction Control System (TCS):
This limits rear wheel spin by reducing engine power and applying the rear brakes when wheelspin is detected.

Active Handling (AH):
Helps maintain directional control by selectively applying any one of the 4 brakes when a skid is detected.
________________________________________ _____________

There are 4 separate modes:

1. Traction Control - On Active Handling - On (Engages when the car is started)
This is the default mode.
This is recommended for normal driving.

2. Traction Control - Off Active Handling - On (Engage with 1 push of the button)
Turning off TCS allows the rear wheels to spin, but alows the Active Handling to fully assist in skid contol.
This is recommended for drag racing.

3. Traction Control - Off Active Handling - Reduced (Engage with 2 pushes of the button)
This is the Competitive Driving Mode which allows the rear wheels to spin, while reducing some of the input that Active Handling has to assist in skid control.
This is recommended for road racing.

4. Traction Control - Off Active Handling - Off (Engage by holding button for 5 sec.)
This may be used when the driver does not want any on-board sensor input that may effect power reduction or brake application. No rear wheel spin or vehicle skid corrections are automatically applied.


Note: The Anti-Lock Braking System (ABS) is always on and is unaffected by the various Traction Control or Active Handling selections that may be made above.

.

 

Thanks from a newb.

 

Unless you know what you are doing and on a track, just say no to the button. You too could be then next big thing on youtube. Traction control is your friend.

 

Pfffftt ...

Ain't no fun with the nannies on. The front brake actuates too early on corner entry and there is no rear wheel steering allowed.
I immediately use competitive steering as I enter my car as a matter of course.
The last thing I want is to have my "nannie" steal power from me when I need it most.

 

that sure doesn't look like a newb's garage.

 

Isn't the competitive mode on the HUD and only control how that is displayed? Nothing else?

brdave

 

Switching to competitive has no affect on the HUD. You are thinking of the Street, Track Mode1 and Track Mode 2 settings on the hud.

 

Your right Bad, I am a recent c6 owner and still getting familiar with the car.

thanks,
dave

 

Great post!...that is what this board is all about!

 

Good info above, I did not know about the 4th mode.

 

Dont know that I agree with this wholly. I dont know much about the active handling aspect but I can tell you from experience that I dont like traction control. My reasoning is, in Florida in the mornings there is a thin layer of dew/moisture on the roads and when you pull out into a moderate traffic pattern when its clear to go and the wheels slip a bit on the dew, I dont want a vehicle that wants to apply the brakes in front of oncoming traffic. Its happened, its scary, and its dangerous. I know enough about driving to feather the throttle in that situation to get the car moving forward again and stepping on the brakes is NOT included in that equation.

 

You want to leave everything on for street driving. It can save your butt. There is a misconception that nannies slow you down. Not true. AH only activates during emergency avoidance maneuvers.

 

Personally, I have run in competitive mode since day 1. [ 33000 street miles ] . It is the closest thing to driving what I am accustomed to for the past 35 years. [ with a little active handling thrown in for good measure. ] I get weirded out when the traction control or the stability stuff starts taking over. Maybe I'm deluded , but I've never lost control of a car due to not knowing the car's [ or my ] limitations. I suppose if I were going to deliberately approach or cross that threshold , I would want some "help".

 

That's because you don't drive the car at it's limit. Professional race drivers do and they loose control all the time. I'll repeat what I said above. Leave nannies on for street.

 

with goatts!!

For driving on the street there's absolutely no reason to turn off TC or AH.

There are many very experienced track hounds here on the forum that will tell you that you can drive the car very hard on a road course track with everything on, and if you're smooth the AH will rarely intervene.

My fellow Ranger Ranger is very experienced on the drag strip, and he recommends to just turn off TC for the drag strip. Leave AH full on - if your tail end gets out of whack your run essentially over and you need all the help you can get to keep the car out of the other lane or the wall.

I run Comp mode on road courses at track day events, but I never turn anything off for street driving. On the track you've got corner workers who will throw a debris-on-track flag if somebody drops oil, coolant, car parts, or if there's gravel from somebody's off track excursion. On the street you never know what kind of crap you might run into and even though I've got a lot of track experience driving the car near the limits, I'm glad to accept help from the AH if I need it when I'm driving on the streets and highways.

So.....I say leave the AH on for street driving.

If you're driving such that you're activating AH on the street, then you're a hazard to other vehicles near you. The only reason to turn off the AH is to intentionally drift the car, and if you're doing that on the street then you're a menace to other traffic. That's why I go to track events - so I can drive the car hard and experience its performance limits in a place where it safe to do that.

Bob

 

Never felt AH kick in, but TC has, and it will stop you dead in your tracks in front of oncoming traffic.

 

This is BS. Where's my shovel? Never fails on these nanny threads.

I've launched my C6 and my Z at least several hundred times with nannies on and more than that with them off.

 

That sure seems like good advice that I don't mind heeding!