Does Traction Control Make You Slower?

[shinryuhoshi]

Will the TCS reduce the power of the SC300/400's acceleration? I've been debating on whether or not to turn off the TCS everytime I switch my ECT to 'Power' to give my car more added speed (as long as I know the road is dry) but i dunno if there is any acceleration differences. Those that race their SC's, do you leave the TCS on or off?

[Bubbles]

I believe the ect power mode just makes the car shift at higher rpms. The traction control is like a second butterfly valve that limits the air into the engine, thus limiting the power to the wheels so it may help reduce loss of traction. Trac turns on when the wheels start slipping, that I dont' know how it works.

[jzz30]

it all depends onthe situation you are in. if there is too much wheel spin you will definitely be slower. if you can controll how much wheel spin you have it will definitely be faster than any traction controll system. formula 1 race times dont seem to change with or without trac. controll.

[SKperformance]

Traction control wil give a slower launch time only.

[SPORTcoupe300]

I have no TCS since mine is a 5spd but I drove an automatic Corvette for a few weeks :D and learned that TC is the DEVIL.

It not only limits power at all the wrong times but one time when I was taking a corner in slippery conditions, the TC decided to transfer power to the wrong wheel and caused the Vette to spin. Luckily I wasn't going fast at all and there wasn't much traffic around me, but I ended up facing the wrong way on a one-way street.

This left a very negative impression and I try to stay away from cars that don't allow you to disable TC.

[shinryuhoshi]

Thanks for the info everyone. Out of my own personal experience, the TC does hinder the performance of the car during launch(the main reason why I shut it off). As jzz30 stated, "if you can controll how much wheel spin you have it will definitely be faster than any traction controll system". I find that to be very true as long as you know your machine's limits at high speeds.

[jzz30]

you can always shut off the trac controll by simply pulling the fuse even if there isnt a disable button. and then you can do your burnouts everywhere

[UCF3]

We, Formula 500 and Star Mazda guys, don't have traction on our cars. To little Torque and HP. I also know the GT, GTS, DP, and FIA cars don't have traction either. F1 uses something similar to traction control, but William BMW and Renault uses something called a Limited Variation Control. It looks almost like a limited slip, but it's small.

SPORTcoupe300

You should stay off the Adam Sandler Movies :D . Limited Slip is better on Cornering, and yeah, trac control should be left for the big LS, in my opinion.