The C6 was featured on Car and Driver TV today with Larry Webster at the helm.

While he was on the track he was explaining the "Competitive Driving" mode and stated (I paraphrase) that it allowed the car to slide around the track more before it intervened.

We all know that this mode simply disengages the traction control on the C5. Does it work differently on the C6 or is Larry mixed up on his facts? I thought this mode was basically the same for both the C5 and C6. Thanks.

RDD

 

RDD,
My C6 is my first Vette, so I can't speak from experience regarding the C5. But, in the C6, as you stated, CM does disengage TC. While it does not disengage AH, I have read that it sets different parameters for AH engagement. I haven't been on the track yet, so I'm not sure. But I have noticed when driving aggressivley in CM, it is rare that I engage AH, so maybe it does reset in CM. The limit with both systems on is pretty high, and hard to test much on public roads.

Whether it alters AH or not, I suppose one could agree that shutting off TC would allow you to "slide around the track more", although not a very informative analysis.

 

I agree with your analysis.

My question boils down to this, "When in 'Competitive Driving' mode, does the computer change the algorithm as to when Active Handling intervenes?" My impression for the C5 has been "No, it only disengages the Traction Control." Nothing more, nothing less. I assumed this was the case in the C6. From what you're telling me I may be wrong.

Here's a nice but somewhat dated article by Hib Halverson discussing the Active Handling system in the C5. I'm very interested in finding out if the C6's AH system is callibrated differently. Enjoy.

http://www.idavette.net/hib/ah1.htm

RDD

 

From what I read in the manual -
I haven'e tried this since it is snowing here

One push on the button disengages Traction Control but normal Active Handling is still working
A second push within five seconds goes into Competition Mode which allows the car to slide more before Active Handling intervenes
Hold the button down for more than five seconds and everything is disengaged.

 

This may be a novice question, but why in the world would you ever disengage TC or AH, while at the track. Isnt good traction the name of the game? I ran my C6 at the track today and had a great time, saw the AH notice come on several times thru the esses, mostly as I was driving over the side curbs. Anyway I thought it was great, the rear end got away from me only once, exiting a left hand turn, up hill and hard on the gas early. Maybe its because Im new to driving hard on the track, but I thought it was great.

Saw a Boxter totaled after only three laps. I was very glad Chevy has spent the $$ enabling me to drive probably a lot harder then I could otherwise.

 

it boils down to what AH is designed to do.....i haven't read anything authoritative on what the design parameters were, but it's my guess that AH is designed to assist the average driver, under normal driving conditions, when something bad suddenly rears its ugly head......like black ice, oily pavement in a turn, etc.

as opposed to being designed to assist an experienced driver on a road course, to allow him/her to push the envelope further....

two entirely different scenarios......i really doubt that they could program it to cover both extremes

 

Good article by Halverson. And I'm left with the same question as you. My street driving experience so far is just not sufficient to prove anything. And frankly, the system is so good, I think all but the very best competition drivers will be better off with at least the Competition Mode on. And lesser-experienced drivers should leave both systems on.

I have owned several cars with various forms of traction/handling control systems, and this is the only one I would recommend for experienced high-performance drivers. The others were so intrusive, they caused as many control problems as they helped. In my 2001 M3 for example, with it's control system on, it was almost impossible to get the car to rotate, and considerable understeer resulted. The Corvette CM will allow easy rotation, either with throttle input (since TC is off) or, steering input and weight transfer will do it, which tells me the AH system is calibrated to allow for some pretty aggressive driving, as it should be in a car such as this.

I am finding the CM setting to be a great learning tool as I gain experience with the car. The system is dormant unless the car is, for sure, getting out of shape. So, if you are driving the car appropriately, the system should activate only when you have either intentionally pushed the car a bit far (the learning mode), or, when you have unintentionally let it get away from you (butt-saving mode); both are valuable.

 

The original question was basically - does the C6 system differ from the C5's?

The answer is yes. There were three modes on the C5.

1) all on
2) all off
3) comp mode - Traction off, active handling on.

In the C6 there are four modes.

1) all on
2) traction control off
3) competition mode
4) all off

The owners manual is hard to pin down on exactly what the competition mode is, but as stated, it does allow some, but not all the active handling to come through.

 

Larry can hold his head up high and I learned something new! Thanks!