Traction control system
A traction control system (also known as TC) is a system designed to prevent the loss of traction due to excessive throttle or steering. The traction control system is typically an electro-hydraulic system and is somewhat similar with the electronic stability control. However, these two systems do not have the same goal. To prevent the loss of traction, the TC can shut down one or more cylinders or reduce the fuel supply to them. It can also brake one or more wheels and can even close the throttle (in drive by wire cars). The traction control system commonly shares the brake actuator and the wheel speed sensors with the anti-lock braking (ABS) system.
The first traction control system was the limited slip differential, mounted on old high-torque rear-drive sport cars. This old system was known as Positraction and worked on a mechanical basis to transfer power to the rear wheel slipping the least. Positraction still allowed the wheels to spin. Mercedes-Benz was the pioneer that introduced traction control on the market. General Motors (Buick Division) introduced MaxTrac, the first traction control system based on an early computer system. MaxTrac detected the rear wheel spin and also set the engine power to them to provide the best traction.
Why should you need a traction control system? At the beginning, the traction control system was a security feature for performance cars. The system prevented the wheels from slipping and spinning out of control when throttle was applied, especially in snowy conditions. Nowadays, traction control systems are widely available to commercial cars, non-performance cars, minivans, and light trucks. TC is useful as a powerful performance enhancement. It allows maximum traction under powerful acceleration without any of the wheels spinning out of control. When accelerating to get out of a turn, the traction control system keeps the tires at the best slip ratio. Off road vehicles benefit the most from a TC system as it is used to replace or in addition to the limited slip or locking differential. The system commonly uses an electronic limited slip differential besides other computer controlled controls from the engine and transmission. If a wheel starts to spin out of control (as in the car slipping), it is slowed down by the brakes, and the power is transferred to the non-slipping wheels of the car. The steering and control of the vehicle are better than if a locking differential is used and also the stress on the drive train is greatly reduced.
Because the traction control system is believed to reduce the skill and aptitude of the driver, many motorsport fans are fighting to ban the system from competitions. Formula One, in an effort to ban the TC system, changed the rules for 2008. From now on, in Formula One, every car will have only a standard ECU (issued by FIA), which is relatively basic and does not have Traction Control capabilities.
The traction control system isn’t useful just at throttling without slipping. During maneuvers on a front wheel drive car, there is a limit at which the wheels can both steer and drive the car. If this limit is exceeded, the car will start to slip. By using traction control, this slip is less likely to happen. However, the risk is not entirely eliminated, and even if you have a TC system, be very careful. Even manufacturers warn drivers not to get involved in dangerous maneuvers just because they have traction control. There is a physical limit when the tires loose grip, a limit that cannot be suppressed. If the car does not take a corner as sharply as the front wheels indicate, the car will understeer. In some front wheel drive cars, the traction control system can lead to lift-off oversteering because of the throttle reduction. This can keep most of the cars stable during long and dangerous maneuvers. The Traction Control system is perfect for you if you are a racing enthusiast. It will greatly help you in situations where a slip is the worst thing that could happen and will also help you when throttling (especially on snowy conditions).