This is what happened. We got freezing rain this morning causing the road extremely slippery. I was on a Bath Road, a divided road (2 lane per side), when a car behind me lost control and starts to slide side way towards me. The car beside me and I was at rest waiting for the light to turn green. As I saw the car coming towards me, a Lexus IS, I accelerate. At that time, the TSC on my TL was working overtime to keep traction while the car beside me, also trying to get away, keeps spining his tires. To make a long story short, My TL got away from a accident by having the car beside me to take the collision (due to the fact that I got ahead of him thanks to TSC). Thank god... I called the police and everyone was ok.

 

good work! I sure as hell didn't want to hear about another TL accident. It would just sadden me.

 

Nice drivin!!
Glad no one was hurt.

Finally a "I saved my TL" story!!

 

Good job!

Now go out and treat your baby (TL) to something nice.

 

Glad your TL is ok...too bad for the car that was next to you.

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in some ways I feel kind of bad knowing that out of 3 cars, I am the only one who got the experience without paying the price.

 

You feel bad because you were able to escape without damage??? I think you can feel bad about their cars, but you should be hap-hap-happy! that your car escaped unharmed.

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2000 Acura 3.2 TL w/ Navigation
Satin Silver / Ebony Interior
Factory Spoiler; CD Changer; Burlwood Shifter
35% Tint, No Mods (Yet! Waiting For Better Weather)

 

Acura Joe:

I live in L.A. (Los Angeles, not Louisianna), and have been wondering about the value of TCS (Traction Control System).

I understand it only works up to about 18 m.p.h.

Does that mean you had it turned on BEFORE your close encounter? (In other words, do you normally turn it on when beginning to drive in slippery conditions?) Or did you turn it on only when you saw the other car headin' your way?

Any advise would be appreciated, since we So. Californians can't even drive in the frickin' RAIN!

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White Diamond Pearl
Alpine CD Changer
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Speaking of traction control, even if the button is not pressed and the light is not on, the TL will compensate during slippage automatically, when the light starts blinking. Then if the button is pressed & the traction light is on, does this mean you won't feel that slippage and will it cut into your fuel economy?

Always wondered but never asked. Please advise.

Thanks.

 

I thought that you pushed the button to override and turn off the TCS..... And yes, it's only up to 18 MPH.... (I read that in the manual last night).

 

Traction control is always on, like VTEC Animal said, you would press the button to override it.

 

Light on = TCS off
Light off = TCS on

 

I don't think TCS is that great after all. It will help you in snow and wet conditions for sure, but mostly just the take off.

It is not like the stability control which will correct over/understeer for you. So I doubt that while you lost control of the car the TCS can get you out there.

In one of my friend's case, it's the opposite. He spun his M3, he tried to save it by give some gas. I don't know what he did, but he sure is a good driver and knows the stuff. So he said that the TCS kicked in and so he crashed.

Anywayz, it's always good to have TCS & Stability control system. What our TCS can do is really limited, but the porsche got really nice TSC & PSM

 

Just a reminder that the TL-S will have both TCS and VSC so will handle control irrespective of speed

 

Diamond White Scotty:

TCS is always on... YOu can turn it off if you want, but I have always left it on. I am not sure if this is true, but I think when you turn your car off, the TCS will reactivate itself again the next time you drive.


joe

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by SL1200MK4:
[B]I don't think TCS is that great after all. It will help you in snow and wet conditions for sure, but mostly just the take off.

It is not like the stability control which will correct over/understeer for you. So I doubt that while you lost control of the car the TCS can get you out there.

In one of my friend's case, it's the opposite. He spun his M3, he tried to save it by give some gas. I don't know what he did, but he sure is a good driver and knows the stuff. So he said that the TCS kicked in and so he crashed.


We don't know what he did either, but some people will blame anything to avoid the fact that he probably overcooked the turn and simply lost control.

 

"He spun his M3, he tried to save it by give some gas. I don't know what he did, but he sure is a good driver and knows the stuff. So he said that the TCS kicked in and so he crashed."

TCS is usually too slow to work right neways, but your friend crashed because he didnt know what he is doing. An M3 is RWD, you can control how much your car oversteers or understeers with the gas pedal. If you start to go into a spin you never touch the gas or break on a RWD car. You just countersteer. If he was taking a turn and hit the gas, that could have caused his car to spin too, if he gave it too much gas.

 

This is true when you have the TCS off (indicated by the light being on)
as a reminder that system is off.When you turn the car off & restart it the TCS system will reset itself to on (indicated by the light bieng off)When the wheels start to spin the light will flash on&off rapidly.

 

Okay, it was snowing that day and he didn't switch to winter tires yet. Which is the main reason why he crashed IMHO. He wasn't taking a turn, he was actually switching lanes I think. Any how he spun out. He did countersteer, but I think he over correct and started to slide at another direction. Before he actually crash to the side, he had a chance to give some gas and try to pull the car back. If he had enough traction on his rear tires, that could be done. Anyhow at that point, the TCS kicked in.

He didn't blame on the TCS at all! He knew that if he had switch to winter tires, if he didn't over do the countersteering part...etc. But he said that if the TCS didn't kick off, he might have a chance to get out of it.

 

Oh and just wanna say that my car spun out REAL BAD in snow twice. The first time was like a 90 degree to the right and then 270 to the left. The second time was like a 180.

My traction control did nothing... wish I have the VSA. But I least I had the luck (99%) and skill (less than 1%) to get out for those spins.

 

"He did countersteer, but I think he over correct and started to slide at another direction. Before he actually crash to the side, he had a chance to give some gas and try to pull the car back"

Common mistake with the countersteer, you usually only need 1/2 what you think you need.

Rule #1 for driving a RWD car when you loose traction, never touch any pedals! Only countersteer.

And in the case with your friends M3, the snow only made it worse. How fast was he driving? On the Supra Forums some guys hit black ice and the cars slid off the road and flipped. Two downed cars in one week.

 

He was going around 140Km at least...

So what will happen if he gave some gas and the rear wheel had enough traction? won't that pull him outta that spin?

Please enlight me... honestly.... Thanks in advance...

 

If he had it in a spin and gave it gas his rear would come back out (in rain or ice or any other low traction condition or if you give it too much gas.). This happens since the rear wheels start spinning and you once again start to loose traction. This is especially true since he did not have snow tires. If it was a dry situation (and he had traction) and he then gave it gas, he would be shot into the direction he was countersteering in.

 

Thanks I see your point. So if the traction was good, then the trick will work. However in his case, he had almost no traction (summer timre + snow) so by give more gas will only make the matter worse... Is it?

I am learning something new here everyday...

But thanks thought... really...

 

NP, this site really helps understand some of the physics:
http://www.fortunecity.com/silversto...handling_5.htm

Your friends trick will work technically, but most drivers will not be able to add the right amount of gas to not fly in the counterstter direction. Most racing schools will tell you just to countersteer, dont touch the pedals, because for just about every driver (even good ones) you will get traction and get shot into the countersteering direction.

 

I had a similiar experience with the TCS. It saved my car and the hassle/injury of an accident. Unable to come to a complete stop to avoid a truck stuck in the snow, I was able to accelerate with TCS and changed to the next lane and avoided collision. The SUVs behind me used ABS and was hit by a minivan behind it. I think the TCS is wonderful but certainly not perfect.

 

TL_FAN:

Good for you.

 

With my experience with Honda TCS's, they react decent, but too slow to get traction for me. I can always beat the traction control in getting grip when I have it off.

 

Pretty cool, but what the hell is a tyre?

 

I think some countries spell it like that.

 

aight nate dawg, than why is it when i drive my lights is off...meainng tcs ON, and when i decide to do something stupid... gun it or take a sharp turn or skid, my TCS light begins to Flash constantly... WHAT DOES THAT MEAN THAN???
oh and what do you recommend, that i drive w/the light off or on???
when i turn the car on, the light is automatically off... meaning tcs is on right? why do i need TCS on if i'm cruising?????
hope you can answer that, it's pretty confusing

 

funny, i noticed that too... so much info on physics and sh!t, yet they can't even spell correct EHNGLISCH lol

 

Heh... It's the British spelling... they also "honour" the "colours" of their flag and get "petrol" to fuel their cars. Many Canadians like to use this inferiour spelling scheme as well.

And it's fun to watch them get in a huff about it.

As Homer Simpson once said: "English? Who needs it? I'm never going to England!"