I got my drivers license in 1967.
I didn't need all that stuff then,
but maybe someday I will need it,
and maybe not.

 

Some of the statistics from Germany and the United States that I've seen show an incredible reduction in the number of fatal crashes for cars equipped with active handling systems -- somewhere in the 30 - 40% range. These systems may well turn out to be much bigger boons to safety than anti-lock brakes (alone) or airbags ever were.

It makes sense; I imagine that many people involved in accidents attempt evasive action but lack the car control to pull it off.

 

Well it wouldnt be the first time I've spun a car on a public road. Thankfully "both feet in" has always resulted in a clean spin without leaving the roadway.

However with a modern ABS car I might find like the Police have that it doesnt work so well anymore. The car will tend to "hook up" before the spin is finished because you cant keep the brakes locked. This results in the car driving off the roadway in which ever direction it happens to be pointed at the time.

Gene

 

I thought that one push of the button got you everything off, next push got you COMP mode, and the next push got you back to square one. (everything back on). Am I wrong?

 

YEP! Your are CORRECT!

BC

 

It isn't accurate. TC compares rear wheel speed to front wheel speed. If they aren't close to the same, it declares traction to be lost and starts taking action. That's why changing tire diameter significantly on only one end of the car leads to TC/AH problems even when there is no actual wheelspin.

AH uses info from the steering wheel yaw sensor to see how much of a turn the driver intends, and compares that with the G readings of the on board lateral accelerometers to determine if the car is exceeding the driver's intent. If it is, AH becomes active. (Its a bit more complicated than that, and the car makes assumptions that may not be valid in a modified car to make its determinations, but that's the general idea.)

 

You're wrong, unless you count push and hold for 10 seconds as that one push. At startup TC/AH are full on. One brief push turns only TC off. Two quick pushes puts you in competitive mode. Pushing and holding for 10 seconds at any time turns everything off.

 

Is there that much difference between TC off and COMP. mode?

 

AH is less aggressive in comp mode. TC is fully off in either case. Whether you can tell the difference in the sensitivity of AH will depend on your driving style. If you tend to be rough and abrupt in the way you toss the car around, you probably won't notice the difference between just TC off and comp mode. AH will still be coming on strongly to save your butt from your antics. But if you tend to drive smoothly, as a good driver should, you'll find that AH is less intrusive as you approach the limits of the car when set to comp mode.

 

I am SO glad I read this thread! I read the owners manual about AH/TC right off the bat when I bought the car and never saw the part about holding the button for 10 seconds. I thought "Comp mode" was as "good" as it got.

A week or so ago, I tried a nice long power slide "Drift" in the rain and was SEVERELY dissapointed with how the car behaved. It would flat out not slide. It behaved like a car that has an open diff. It would spin tire -some, but it felt like either one rear tire or the other was alway grabbing, preventing a slide. Not what I was after. I was pretty bummed about it and I theorized (correctly) that the AH was still interferring with my mission and my driving. Boooo.

Last night I held the button for 10 second and sure enough; "AH off and TC system off" appeared on the DIC. I promtly dropped the clutch, did a nice 50 yard power slide, cut the wheel away from the slide slighty, provoking a spin. The car cut a beautiful, and quick 360* spin, and I came out of that slighty sideways, going in my original direction, rear wheels still lit up. Oh yeah. I thought to myself, "So this car DOES kick ***! Sweet!"

-Tom

 

trying to figure out the logic in wanting your car to spin?

 

I thought you held the button down for 5 seconds to get this competitive mode. Then what's the difference if you push the button down once? I thought this just disengages the TC and active handling. Then you have to hold it down for 10 additional seconds for competition mode? Isn't competition mode the same as disengaging TC and active handling? In any event whatever you change it will indicate your status in the dash?
What are the reasons for disengaging TC and or active handling?
Is it by having these 2 features on slow the car down?
I look at these two features as pluses compared to driving the older Corvettes so I just leave them on

 

It's not only to spin -- but that is fun. I noticed a couple of weeks ago running an autox in the rain that having everything on kept me from shifting the A6 until the program was ready. That was not fun. Turning TC off was much better. I didn't test it in other modes that day. Running this past weekend in the dry with Kumho 710s I ran with everything off and the car behaved as expected. It was nice to still have the ABS when braking hard.

 

Wow. Let me ask you this: Why did you buy a 'Vette rather than say, a minivan?

I'll give you a hint: Fun.

Sliding your car around once in a while....it's just plain FUN! Furthermore, when I track it, I want to be the one driving the car, not a computer. Reffer back to my first post on this thread for the reason why. Hint: Fun.

LS WON:
*One push = no TC. Meaning you can thoretcially do a burn out (though my car doesn't seem to want to)
*Two pushes = "Competition mode" which lets you slide some and suppoesedly no TC, but it WILL intervene. So you can "Have fun", but still have a safety net there.
*Three pushes =Everything back ON
*One 10 second push at any time will turn EVERYTHING OFF. Now you, the driver are soley responsible for the cars behavior from that point forward. The car will behave the same as any car that was built before AH/TC came along.

*Yes, the AH/TC will potentially slow you down. It IS safer for the Layman, but it is also potentially slower. Plus the reward of knowing that YOU were soley responsible for the results (lap times) is somewhat diminished when you know that a computer was assisting you through the course.

-Tom

 

just had this argument last night at atco. i say hold 10 seconds for most power he said manual says no most power in competitive mode.on a m6

 

On my A6 TM is always there, regardless of mode. On S or D, comp mode or everything off. My best has been on D and comp mode. TM in my car is unpredictable. I was more consistent in my 6mn Z28 than I am with this car.

 

You say the rev limiter kicked in too early. Are you sure that it wasn't tach lag?

The tach reading 5K RPM and the engine actually turning past 6K RPM.

 

 

Tried my car again tonight and it works differently than what you've posted. Default has everything on, first quick push and DIC says TC/AH off....So assume they are both off. Another quick push and everything is back on. Hold down for a few seconds and I get COMP. mode. I have no option where DIC says..TC off/AH on. But this is competitive mode, no?