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Traction control question

1492 Views 3 Replies 3 Participants Last post by  Mana4Real
Out of curiousity why is the traction control on by default? Isnt it bad to drive with it on all the time as far as driving on dry roads? I normally turn mine off first thing after starting up but have forgotten occassionaly. Can it cause any damage driving with it on all the time like driving in 4 wheel on dry pavement in a 4 wheel drive truck?
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I have always thought the same thing. I talked to a friend of mine who works as a mechanic in a Ford Dealership and he said it won't hurt anything if you drive at all times with the traction off. If anything on dry pavement it is better. If you have a lead foot like me and take off fast that stupid traction kicks in! Anyway, you can buy from California Mustang a kit that switches the traction to off automatically after you start your vehicle. You can then turn it on whenever you feel like it. Although, I had an SLP linelock installed and it kind off interacts with the traction control. You must leave it on when you use the linelock. Just a little info in case you have a linelock or are thinking about getting one. :smilie
Understand how Traction Control works. The ECM senses (with the ABS sensors) when a wheel starts to spin. It then will take fuel and spark out of the engine, reducing the power being applied to the wheels and reducing the wheel spin. Unless the wheels are spining it's not doing anything so it can't cause any damage under normal driving conditions.

However, with blower applications leaning out the A/F ratio when your pushing full boost (WOT) can cause detonation and the engine to self destruct. That, and the loss of power experienced right when you're trying to launch hard, is why most people will have their tuner permanently switch off the Trac Cntrl in the ECM chip.
G
Jakes said:
Understand how Traction Control works. The ECM senses (with the ABS sensors) when a wheel starts to spin. It then will take fuel and spark out of the engine, reducing the power being applied to the wheels and reducing the wheel spin. Unless the wheels are spining it's not doing anything so it can't cause any damage under normal driving conditions.

However, with blower applications leaning out the A/F ratio when your pushing full boost (WOT) can cause detonation and the engine to self destruct. That, and the loss of power experienced right when you're trying to launch hard, is why most people will have their tuner permanently switch off the Trac Cntrl in the ECM chip.
Actually, it's not the pulling fuel and spark on a supercharged engine that will cause it to self destruct when you hit the limiter/ traction control. It's actually the drastic change in harmonics that causes the motor to literally shake/beat itself apart.

As far as driving around with traction control on, it doesn't hurt a damn thing. But driving around on DRY payment in four wheel drive will definitly cause strain on the drivetrain.
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