Sorry to sound so stupid but I have seen a few members suggesting turning the traction control off in the snow and ice ? Surely it would be best left on to help traction ??? Had my Z 16 months and not had to drive it in any snow yet ? But will have to at some point as its my only car - help !
Traction Control on or off ?
- Thread starter The Badger
- Start date
I think you will find the comments to turn traction control off are a little bit tongue in cheek or are from the more experienced drivers who enjoy a bit of tail out fun (safely of course!). As a general rule traction control should never be turned off in everyday driving on the roads and some performance cars are set to never allow it to be turned off completely. If the T.C. is on and continues to cut in and out all the time it's probably an indication that grip is poor and perhaps driving conditions dictate that a more gentle application of the throttle pedal is called for.
ben g said:
How do you turn it 1/2 off ?
The Badger said:
Single short press, i.e. DTC on (amber light on dash), will give you a bit of a slip in a straight line, which can be handy on snow. Also useful for traffic light drag races, when you're racing a 57 year old man in a diesel Mondeo estate. Long press will turn stability control off, so helpful you if you want to go spinning wildly off a cliff and down a canyon (for example).
MrPT said:
Ahhhhh I get it :- SHORT PRESS = possible death / LONG PRESS = certain death
Both suitable for traffic light races !!!!! Cheers MrPT
The DTC setting is specifically designed for low traction situations - not just snow, but ice, wet roads etc. too. And hooning :evil:
Turning it all off in an M (the only option) may help at low speed as the LSD should do the same job... But I've never tried it. Too scared
Turning it all off in an M (the only option) may help at low speed as the LSD should do the same job... But I've never tried it. Too scared
and if all that fails use the handbrake with varying pull as a LSD and get going that way 
cj10jeeper said:and if all that fails use the handbrake with varying pull as a LSD and get going that way
Now that's a good idea
The other thing most people don't realise is that if you put most modern cars in first and let the clutch out with no accelerator then the car will move off without stalling.
I believe in the manual for my six series it explicitly states the DTC off/halfway mode is for limited grip environments because as others have said some regular TC will not let you get anywhere in snow because it just shuts the power off during a wheel slip event, even when you need it to spin to get moving.
The number of times a car has ever stepped out on me or did something genuinely unexpected are very, very few indeed. Even something as powerful as the M generally requires manhandling to get the back out.
The number of times a car has ever stepped out on me or did something genuinely unexpected are very, very few indeed. Even something as powerful as the M generally requires manhandling to get the back out.
turn it off.. turn it right off..
personally, I find it bloody dangerous in the snow, even if it's only half on.
I'm not joking, and I'm not being tongue in cheek.
if you start sliding on the snow, traction control won't save you.. it can even make things worse!
some info:
[youtube]KZ_ePJQfCjM[/youtube]
[youtube]aLEXsRmqg3s[/youtube]
personally, I find it bloody dangerous in the snow, even if it's only half on.
I'm not joking, and I'm not being tongue in cheek.
if you start sliding on the snow, traction control won't save you.. it can even make things worse!
some info:
[youtube]KZ_ePJQfCjM[/youtube]
[youtube]aLEXsRmqg3s[/youtube]
Got to a big snowy car park today in the XF and put my foot down. Was hoping for a wobbly rear or some traction lights and we wavered around, but just moved away slowly in 2nd.
Hadn't noticed Mrs Cj had pressed the 'Winter' button while I was getting a ticket. She thought it funny...
Hadn't noticed Mrs Cj had pressed the 'Winter' button while I was getting a ticket. She thought it funny...
I may be brave but not that brave (or stupid )
)sk93 said:
Great post, just shows you never stop learning. Never having driven in snow with T.C. (soft southerner!) I had never considered that it would interfere that badly, but I guess it's design is a compromise to work when a small amount of traction is lost and that something like snow is just far too much for it and it simply can't cope. As sk93 has shown, in situations like this you just need to make sure you can keep going.
you'll be getting winter tyres next! 
[with winter off :wink: ]