What exactly does traction control do?

dvboy · 09-02-2016, 01:49 PM

Sounds like a dumb question,but my base 2016 doesn't do ANYTHING different from an older car without traction control.In wet conditions the tires will spin under hard acceleration at will without any restriction.Took the car to the dealership to have them have a look at it,and believe it or not they said they think it's fine but they aren't really sure what traction control is supposed to do??Is there any way someone can point out to me on how to test the traction control system to see if it's functioning properly?Could it have something to do with the base's open diff?

jcosta79 · 09-02-2016, 02:08 PM

What does your owner's manual say?

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Chuckles · 09-02-2016, 02:27 PM

Are you saying in the wet you can for lack of a better term do a "rolling burnout" all day down the road? It should start cutting out your throttle and forcing the car to stop accelerating / slow down once it feels the slip and maintain that until you stop slipping. That is what the 14's do anyway. I have a hard time believing that Nissan has done anything other than make it cut the acceleration fasting and baby things more since than if anything

dvboy · 09-02-2016, 02:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chuckles

Are you saying in the wet you can for lack of a better term do a "rolling burnout" all day down the road? It should start cutting out your throttle and forcing the car to stop accelerating / slow down once it feels the slip and maintain that until you stop slipping. That is what the 14's do anyway. I have a hard time believing that Nissan has done anything other than make it cut the acceleration fasting and baby things more since than if anything

Yes,thats exactly what I'm saying,I can spin the tries in slippery conditions without any cutting back of the throttle for 10 seconds straight.Its been like this from the start,I have since put a sprint booster on,don't really want to crawl under there to remove it to take it back to the dealership.

Chuckles · 09-02-2016, 02:46 PM

Your traction control must be stuck off or something then. There is no way with the trac control on you should be able to do that for more than a second or two at the most. with the traction on it's like being in "no fun mode" you cant do anything

sgosh · 09-02-2016, 03:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chuckles

Your traction control must be stuck off or something then. There is no way with the trac control on you should be able to do that for more than a second or two at the most. with the traction on it's like being in "no fun mode" you cant do anything

I agree. Mine cuts in rather aggressively, and noticeably, when roads are wet.

dvboy · 09-02-2016, 04:01 PM

Thanks guys,that's what I figured,going to have to have the dealer look at it again.

Jhill · 09-02-2016, 06:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dvboy

Thanks guys,that's what I figured,going to have to have the dealer look at it again.

When your wheels are slipping is it giving a traction notification (blinking yellow light)? If so I'm thinking your system is fine and is pulling power, could probably see it on a scan tool recording ign timing and throttle value pids while breaking traction. Traction control is a cause and effect system, meaning it needs to break traction before it will kick in, it isn't a pre active system that magically prevents you from ever breaking traction.

Had to go round and round with a customer on a new vette about this, reading him the manual on system operation and even bringing out a gm field engineer and waste everyone's time for something that was 100% normal. Wanted to tell him if you never wanted to break traction then why did you buy a massive hp and toque v8 sports car? Just get a Cruze and be more than happy.

I guess it doesn't hurt to check but today's cars monitor everything and if your system isn't working right I'm fairly confident you'd be seeing a MIL or abs light by now.

jcosta79 · 09-02-2016, 07:48 PM

Read the manual.

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NISMO IX · 09-02-2016, 08:29 PM

It is NOT traction control, it is called VDC. Vehicle Dynamic Control. And more than anything it is there to assist you when the system believes you may spin out.

Also, the base model has an open diff which means "one tire fire" and anytime when I heavy throttle and turn it kills the acceleration.

cv129 · 09-02-2016, 08:35 PM

Can't help but chime in...

Were you spinning one or both wheels? This makes a big difference.
Was your VDC off?

My understanding is even with VDC off (which covers the TC function), ABLS still interferes and wouldn't allow you to spin one rear wheel that freely. But if you are spinning both wheels, and VDC is off, system will allow it if the rear tires are spinning at approx. same speed.

See post #42 - Hello from sunny North Carolina -- 370Z Traction control vs VDC issue

NISMO IX · 09-02-2016, 08:42 PM

CV will the base model diff allow both to spin? The OP did mention he has a base model.

Spooler · 09-02-2016, 08:46 PM

Aggravates me to no end. That's what it does.

cv129 · 09-02-2016, 08:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NISMO IX

CV will the base model diff allow both to spin? The OP did mention he has a base model.

I know, and he's currently on 275/40/18 rears. I looked at some of his past posts and noticed he's mentioned this exact same scenario before back in late 2015. I think there are times one can make both wheels spin even with open diff (small amount of personal experience), but suppose it's next to impossible to a str8 line standstill burnout type of spin.

I asked because, from my reading, ABLS is never off (according to the post I linked and another post citing the owner's manual) and would be impossible to just spin one wheel so freely for so long. So I wanted clarification.

NISMO IX · 09-02-2016, 08:54 PM

Understood

09-02-2016, 01:49 PM	#1 (permalink)
dvboy Enthusiast Member Join Date: Jun 2015 Location: Canada Posts: 269 Drives: 2016,M6 Rep Power: 25	What exactly does traction control do? Sounds like a dumb question,but my base 2016 doesn't do ANYTHING different from an older car without traction control.In wet conditions the tires will spin under hard acceleration at will without any restriction.Took the car to the dealership to have them have a look at it,and believe it or not they said they think it's fine but they aren't really sure what traction control is supposed to do??Is there any way someone can point out to me on how to test the traction control system to see if it's functioning properly?Could it have something to do with the base's open diff? __________________ Pioneer AVIC 8000NEX,Hertz ML 1600,ScanSpeak D3004,Audison AV 5.1K,Helix DSP.2,Illusion Audio L10 Sub,RJM Clutch pedal,Stillen G3 long tube intake,Nismo exhaust,AAM S-line axle back,Ecutek tune Last edited by dvboy; 09-02-2016 at 01:52 PM.

09-02-2016, 02:08 PM	#2 (permalink)
jcosta79 A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Jul 2012 Location: N/A Posts: 1,430 Drives: N/A Rep Power: 14	What does your owner's manual say? Sent from my SM-N930T using Tapatalk SouthArk370Z likes this. __________________ 2012 PW NISMO #0559 - GT Spec Brace Kit - Swift Springs - ARK TP & Invidia CBE K&N Intake - UpRev Tune - 15mm Z1 Spacers & Studs - StopTech Slotted Rotors & SS Lines - ZSpeed CMAK with Stage 2 Clutch and Lightweight Flywheel

09-02-2016, 02:27 PM	#3 (permalink)
Chuckles Base Member Join Date: Dec 2014 Location: Minneapolis Posts: 48 Drives: 14 370z Nismo Rep Power: 10	Are you saying in the wet you can for lack of a better term do a "rolling burnout" all day down the road? It should start cutting out your throttle and forcing the car to stop accelerating / slow down once it feels the slip and maintain that until you stop slipping. That is what the 14's do anyway. I have a hard time believing that Nissan has done anything other than make it cut the acceleration fasting and baby things more since than if anything Mysilverz likes this.

09-02-2016, 02:46 PM	#5 (permalink)
Chuckles Base Member Join Date: Dec 2014 Location: Minneapolis Posts: 48 Drives: 14 370z Nismo Rep Power: 10	Your traction control must be stuck off or something then. There is no way with the trac control on you should be able to do that for more than a second or two at the most. with the traction on it's like being in "no fun mode" you cant do anything Bshields22 and sgosh like this.

09-02-2016, 04:01 PM	#7 (permalink)
dvboy Enthusiast Member Join Date: Jun 2015 Location: Canada Posts: 269 Drives: 2016,M6 Rep Power: 25	Thanks guys,that's what I figured,going to have to have the dealer look at it again. __________________ Pioneer AVIC 8000NEX,Hertz ML 1600,ScanSpeak D3004,Audison AV 5.1K,Helix DSP.2,Illusion Audio L10 Sub,RJM Clutch pedal,Stillen G3 long tube intake,Nismo exhaust,AAM S-line axle back,Ecutek tune

09-02-2016, 07:48 PM	#9 (permalink)
jcosta79 A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Jul 2012 Location: N/A Posts: 1,430 Drives: N/A Rep Power: 14	Read the manual. Sent from my SM-N930T using Tapatalk __________________ 2012 PW NISMO #0559 - GT Spec Brace Kit - Swift Springs - ARK TP & Invidia CBE K&N Intake - UpRev Tune - 15mm Z1 Spacers & Studs - StopTech Slotted Rotors & SS Lines - ZSpeed CMAK with Stage 2 Clutch and Lightweight Flywheel

09-02-2016, 08:29 PM	#10 (permalink)
NISMO IX Track Member Join Date: Sep 2015 Location: Southern Maine Age: 46 Posts: 742 Drives: 2014 370Z MB M6 Rep Power: 583	It is NOT traction control, it is called VDC. Vehicle Dynamic Control. And more than anything it is there to assist you when the system believes you may spin out. Also, the base model has an open diff which means "one tire fire" and anytime when I heavy throttle and turn it kills the acceleration. __________________ 2017 Ford Focus RS Nitrous Blue "KB43VER" 2014 370z Mag Blk 6M "KOKURYU" (Black Dragon)

09-02-2016, 08:35 PM	#11 (permalink)
cv129 A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Dallas, TX Posts: 3,191 Drives: 09 Nismo, 16 Nismo Rep Power: 159827	Can't help but chime in... Were you spinning one or both wheels? This makes a big difference. Was your VDC off? My understanding is even with VDC off (which covers the TC function), ABLS still interferes and wouldn't allow you to spin one rear wheel that freely. But if you are spinning both wheels, and VDC is off, system will allow it if the rear tires are spinning at approx. same speed. See post #42 - Hello from sunny North Carolina -- 370Z Traction control vs VDC issue NISMO IX likes this. __________________ Setrab \| RE-71 \| SPL \| JRZ \| Nismo \| ARK \| Whiteline \| RacingBrake \| CJM Oil Pan \| Ti shield

09-02-2016, 08:42 PM	#12 (permalink)
NISMO IX Track Member Join Date: Sep 2015 Location: Southern Maine Age: 46 Posts: 742 Drives: 2014 370Z MB M6 Rep Power: 583	CV will the base model diff allow both to spin? The OP did mention he has a base model. __________________ 2017 Ford Focus RS Nitrous Blue "KB43VER" 2014 370z Mag Blk 6M "KOKURYU" (Black Dragon)

09-02-2016, 08:46 PM	#13 (permalink)
Spooler A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Jun 2014 Location: Ga Posts: 13,509 Drives: 2013 Nismo 370z Rep Power: 2684391	Aggravates me to no end. That's what it does. NISMO IX likes this.

09-02-2016, 08:54 PM	#15 (permalink)
NISMO IX Track Member Join Date: Sep 2015 Location: Southern Maine Age: 46 Posts: 742 Drives: 2014 370Z MB M6 Rep Power: 583	Understood __________________ 2017 Ford Focus RS Nitrous Blue "KB43VER" 2014 370z Mag Blk 6M "KOKURYU" (Black Dragon)

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