active handling, TC question
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Aug 2011
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From: Kremmling Colorado
active handling, TC question
The other day, temp in high 50's low 60's I left my house and went about 6 blocks to the only stoplight in town. Tires were still cold of course. Light goes green and I am making a 90 degree left turn. No cars around. I step on it and my *** end starts to drift around as I am accelerating. I was not punching it only accelerating hard. Should my active handling caught this? I have never had a vehicle with AH or TC so am not all that familier with the systems. 2011 GS. Thanks, Grant.
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St. Jude Donor '05-'06-'07-'10
The other day, temp in high 50's low 60's I left my house and went about 6 blocks to the only stoplight in town. Tires were still cold of course. Light goes green and I am making a 90 degree left turn. No cars around. I step on it and my *** end starts to drift around as I am accelerating. I was not punching it only accelerating hard. Should my active handling caught this? I have never had a vehicle with AH or TC so am not all that familier with the systems. 2011 GS. Thanks, Grant.
Active Handling can't defeat the laws of physics. Had you stayed in it, Active Handling would have likely started in intervene and started applying brakes but still would not have likely prevented the inevitable spin under those specific circumstances.
CF Senior Member
Joined: Feb 2006
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From: Tucson Arizona
Let's see....cool temperature, cold tires, 90 degree turn and you "step on it." I think the outcome is predictable with or without the nannies. I recommend leaving the nannies on for everyday street driving. TC and AH may help in certain circumstances and they may hurt in some circumstances but under no circumstance are they a fail-safe. 
Team Owner
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St. Jude Donor '21-'22-'23-'24
Same thing used to happen to me in my 05 coupe when leaving my mother's nursing home. Had to make a 90° left as I left the parking lot. Least bit of gas would make the rear end slide a little. It doesn't take much when the tires are cold.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Feb 2011
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From: Canaveral Groves Florida
St. Jude Donor '11-'12-'13
Let's see....cool temperature, cold tires, 90 degree turn and you "step on it." I think the outcome is predictable with or without the nannies. I recommend leaving the nannies on for everyday street driving. TC and AH may help in certain circumstances and they may hurt in some circumstances but under no circumstance are they a fail-safe.
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The other day, temp in high 50's low 60's I left my house and went about 6 blocks to the only stoplight in town. Tires were still cold of course. Light goes green and I am making a 90 degree left turn. No cars around. I step on it and my *** end starts to drift around as I am accelerating. I was not punching it only accelerating hard. Should my active handling caught this? I have never had a vehicle with AH or TC so am not all that familier with the systems. 2011 GS. Thanks, Grant.
Tech Contributor
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From: Charlotte, NC (formerly Endicott, NY)
AH will allow the rear end to step out quite a bit before activating. Best way to find out what will happen is to go to a large empty parking lot and try and see how much it will step out before AH intervenes.
Bill
Bill
Melting Slicks
Joined: May 2012
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From: One of the Edema Ruh
Cold tires and cold pavement = no fun.
Rear end snapped around on me pretty quick yesterday merging and not accelerating very hard. Only 47* and out and original Goodyear tires so I guess what do you expect.
Rear end snapped around on me pretty quick yesterday merging and not accelerating very hard. Only 47* and out and original Goodyear tires so I guess what do you expect.
Last edited by Kvothe; Oct 7, 2012 at 04:45 PM.
Team Owner
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From: Far NW 'burbs of Chicago
St. Jude Donor '13
The basic concept:
Active Handling compares your speed & rate of turn, with the steering wheel position. If it senses "too much" disagreement, either turning "too fast" for the steering wheel (oversteer) or turning "too slow" (understeer), it will intervene. Poor traction due to cold weather or wet roads, merely causes everything to happen sooner.
As others have commented, the AH on our C5 was rather sensitive and would intervene sooner than I liked, I usually drove in Comp mode unless the roads were cold or wet. The C6 system seems to be set "looser" and will allow more slip or slide before jumping in.
Drifting
Joined: Apr 2010
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From: Marshall, Missouri
Your Active Handling may not have been "on line" at the time of the incident. According to the owner's manual, it could take the system as long as 15 minutes to fully warm up and become active under some conditions.
