Traction control
Thread Starter
Cruising
Joined: Oct 2016
Posts: 11
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Traction control
The traction control on my 2017 ZO6 is useless. I brought the car to the dealer and demonstrated to them with rev matching on, shifting from 2nd to 3rd gear at about 85 MPH the tires lite up. They said I must have done something to the car to increase the horsepower. They checked the computer and said there was not anything wrong.On the way home I received an email from onstar saying there could be a problem with the traction control. This happened while driving in sport mode. The dealership retested the car and said there were not any error codes.
Tech Contributor
Joined: Oct 1999
Posts: 41,058
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From: Charlotte, NC (formerly Endicott, NY)
If you break both rear wheels loose under hard acceleration TC may let them spin a little. If just one breaks loose it would shut you down. That is the way my two C5s, C6 and now C7 have behaved.
Bill
Bill
Racer
Joined: Sep 2018
Posts: 280
Likes: 48
I tested the traction control on a private road doing roll ons in 1st gear starting at 10 mph on my 2015 Z06 3LZ M7 (without Z07). The traction control works, but in my opinion, it's takes too much time with the tires spinning before it become enabled, taking somewhere between 1/4 to 1/2 second before it becomes enabled. I suspect that the Michelin Super Sports on my car are part of the problem, specifically there's much less grip when they are spinning, and the computer takes a while to reduce the torque enough for the tires to regain grip. Another part of the problem could be the amount of rotating mass in the engine and drive train. Still, it seems a "smarter" traction control could be programmed to take these factors into account and react more quickly than it currently does. Once the traction control is enabled, I can go full throttle without tire spin and the car will track straight, and there's a big increase in the amount of acceleration with the tires hooked up and the traction control doing it's thing. Also the yellow halo around the tach lights up when traction control is enabled (it also lights up as a shift indicator). I haven't tested this in 2nd gear, as 1/4 to 1/2 second of tire spin at 50+ mph could be much more of an issue that it is at 20 mph.
Last edited by rcgldr; Oct 8, 2018 at 10:25 PM.
Racer
Joined: Sep 2018
Posts: 280
Likes: 48
I get the impression that he lifted once the tires started spinning rather than to let them spin for the 1/4 to 1/2 second that it took for my car's TC to kick in. I was also lifting when I first got tire spin, but I read that the traction control is supposed to work, which is why I tested on a private road where I could let the tires spin without risk of incident or ticket. I recently bought my 2015 Z06 used, and based on date codes, the Super Sports are 1 1/2 to 2 years old, and I don't know how the previous owner drove the car, so that could explain why they have less grip than newer tires.
Last edited by rcgldr; Oct 9, 2018 at 11:54 AM.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Oct 2005
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From: Metro Detroit Michigan
Melting Slicks
Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 3,271
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From: Manassas VA
Whether the tires spin on a shift depends on how hot the tires are ,how hot the road surface is and it's condition and obviously the condition of your tires.
On my car (2017 M7) at 60-65F ambient temperature a 1st to 2nd no lift redline shift produces some wheel spin but the car goes straight. 2 to 3, 3 to 4 and 4 to 5 no lift redline shifts produce no wheel spin. The above is with rev match on or off.
55-60F F 1-2, and 2-3 can cause some wheel spin but the car is controllable. I would add the car has the DSC recommended street alignment and the factory tires (not Cup 2's)
Above 70F or so none of the shifts produce any wheel spin although standing on it in 1st usually produces some spin.
Below 55 F driver beware as 1-2, 2-3 may spin a lot.
All the above are on a well maintained interstate. On side roads you are at the mercy of the traction gods.
On my car (2017 M7) at 60-65F ambient temperature a 1st to 2nd no lift redline shift produces some wheel spin but the car goes straight. 2 to 3, 3 to 4 and 4 to 5 no lift redline shifts produce no wheel spin. The above is with rev match on or off.
55-60F F 1-2, and 2-3 can cause some wheel spin but the car is controllable. I would add the car has the DSC recommended street alignment and the factory tires (not Cup 2's)
Above 70F or so none of the shifts produce any wheel spin although standing on it in 1st usually produces some spin.
Below 55 F driver beware as 1-2, 2-3 may spin a lot.
All the above are on a well maintained interstate. On side roads you are at the mercy of the traction gods.
Last edited by ronsc1985; Oct 9, 2018 at 02:30 PM.
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Le Mans Master
Joined: Mar 2010
Posts: 5,909
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From: St. Louis
The traction control on my 2017 ZO6 is useless. I brought the car to the dealer and demonstrated to them with rev matching on, shifting from 2nd to 3rd gear at about 85 MPH the tires lite up. They said I must have done something to the car to increase the horsepower. They checked the computer and said there was not anything wrong.On the way home I received an email from onstar saying there could be a problem with the traction control. This happened while driving in sport mode. The dealership retested the car and said there were not any error codes.
