Do you guys turn off aids in real life?

  • Thread starter Thread starter oohhh yeah
  • 97 comments
  • 4,868 views
eight6er
I nearly crashed a car because it had traction control, it was an alfa romeo 147 1400cc and I did not expect there to be electronic aids, as it's FWD and not much power. I was bringing it into a garage and pulling the handbrake to make a sharp turn in one go instead of a doing multi point turn, I do this often with no problems, only this time when I accelerated to pull the front in, the electronic aids interrupted and made the front go wide and almost taking the side off the car parked next to it.

So yes I turn off aids.
Click to expand...

I almost hurt my moms car like that. It was in a snowy parking lot and I tried a handbrake turn, the car didn't rotate enough and I tried to give it gas to bring the back end around like you would do with a RWD. Of course her car is a CR-V, and so it plowed straight on towards a curb. I was able to get it stopped and the ABS engaged, but that didn't really make a big difference.
I need a bigger parking lot next time.
 
Bopop4
I need a bigger parking lot next time.
Click to expand...

Or you could stop trying to mess around with your mom's car. If you are going to hoon or mess around at least use your own car.
 
It was ok, I asked my dad about what he thought would happen if I pulled the handbrake.
He smiled and said "I don't know."
 
homeforsummer
...because you were driving like a berk.

You can't blame the traction control for messing up handbrake turns, since the vast majority of owners wouldn't be doing handbrake turns in the first place. If you'd been driving normally the issue wouldn't have come up.

It'd be like me saying that ABS is a pain in the arse because it stops me from pulling up outside my house in a big smokey cloud every day.
Click to expand...

I was just giving my real life experience of having traction control doing more harm than good, which is relevant to the topic, although may not apply to everyone.
If the traction control wasn't there it would not have been an issue either and it was normal driving by my standards as I did it most days up to 15 times a day for 10 years without a problem.
 
eight6er
I did it most days up to 15 times a day for 10 years without a problem.
Click to expand...

Huh, back in the FWD days when I was younger and pulling handbrake turns it would only be a few times a week, for about 6 months, it destroyed the brakes at the rear and I ate tyres.... then I got a proper RWD car and couldn't be doing with the expense.
 
MatskiMonk
Huh, back in the FWD days when I was younger and pulling handbrake turns it would only be a few times a week, for about 6 months, it destroyed the brakes at the rear and I ate tyres.... then I got a proper RWD car and couldn't be doing with the expense.
Click to expand...

It was a smooth concrete and very shiny, I doubt it wore anything.
 
eight6er
I was just giving my real life experience of having traction control doing more harm than good, which is relevant to the topic, although may not apply to everyone.
If the traction control wasn't there it would not have been an issue either and it was normal driving by my standards as I did it most days up to 15 times a day for 10 years without a problem.
Click to expand...

The point is, that it's not normal driving for the majority of people, and that spoiling your ability to cock about isn't a useful appraisal of the pros and cons of traction control.

That, and these are presumably other peoples' cars you're fannying about in, so the whole thing is a bit dubious anyway.
 
homeforsummer
The point is, that it's not normal driving for the majority of people, and that spoiling your ability to cock about isn't a useful appraisal of the pros and cons of traction control.

That, and these are presumably other peoples' cars you're fannying about in, so the whole thing is a bit dubious anyway.
Click to expand...

It's a con against traction control, that maybe somebody might find useful to know. If you think it's useless info you're only adding to the amount of space a useless point is taking up. Now let's not fill this thread with any more useless bashing of what I do and move on.
 
There's definitely a difference if you're making an a tight, at-speed limit turn in an automatic Chevy Cruze or Fiat 500. After realizing that they were kicking on, and making things less fun, then shutting it off on these low-powered cars does make an obvious difference from my experience.

But 95-99% of the time, it never kicks in on most cars when I drive, or if it does, rather unobtrusively, or with expectation.

My personal car has none, and I haven't really hooned the Mazda 5 to find out it's limits, since there's usually kids in the van when I'm driving it.
 
I am so hardcore I set the aids to actually make the situation worse just so I can be more hard.

Of course, I'm not an idiot according to most definitions, so no. I leave the aids as they are, because seeing as I have no experience in a car, I think no matter how intrusive the aids are, they'll help me with my level of experience. Maybe when I'm older, and I begin to live my dream of racing, then I'll consider turning off aids because by then, I'll know what to do.
 
eight6er
It's a con against traction control, that maybe somebody might find useful to know. If you think it's useless info you're only adding to the amount of space a useless point is taking up. Now let's not fill this thread with any more useless bashing of what I do and move on.
Click to expand...

Irony right there.

Bopop4
I almost hurt my moms car like that. It was in a snowy parking lot and I tried a handbrake turn, the car didn't rotate enough and I tried to give it gas to bring the back end around like you would do with a RWD. Of course her car is a CR-V, and so it plowed straight on towards a curb. I was able to get it stopped and the ABS engaged, but that didn't really make a big difference.
I need a bigger parking lot next time.
Click to expand...

Try to do tricks in car, fail to realize what the drive train is.

Sounds like a good idea to me. :rolleyes:

Rykon Zero
I am so hardcore I set the aids to actually make the situation worse just so I can be more hard.
Click to expand...

Like a boss?
 
I know what the drive configuration is, and is supposed to have AWD but it never engages. I thought that the front might be able to pull the car around, and 10 years of RWD gets ingrained into your mind.
 
My car has two "aids".

Traction control and ABS.

The traction control is a very, very nasty thing to deal with in Michigan, (too sensitive... You try making a Michigan Left with what power you tried to apply cut off and people coming at you doing 55mph) so it stays off. ABS is sticking around.
 
Bopop4
I know what the drive configuration is, and is supposed to have AWD but it never engages. I thought that the front might be able to pull the car around, and 10 years of RWD gets ingrained into your mind.
Click to expand...

I assume you mean ten years of driving karts. Which handle quite a bit different than 3000 pound vehicles period. Don't confuse the two.
 
No, bikes. You can't steer with the rear in a kart but that is one of the main ways to ride a bike. I know that it is not the same as a car but when I drive a RWD car I can use that rear sliding technique to keep it on line.
 
I've never driven a car with any aids but considering how fun and icy it gets in the winter and how hilly it is in western PA I'd like to abs for security at least. I do fine without tc even in a car with well used all seasons.
 
savage388
I've never driven a car with any aids but considering how fun and icy it gets in the winter and how hilly it is in western PA I'd like to abs for security at least. I do fine without tc even in a car with well used all seasons.
Click to expand...

Eek, all seasons have nothing on winter tires. But considering how little snow there was this year, it probably doesen't matter much.
 
Bopop4
No, bikes. You can't steer with the rear in a kart but that is one of the main ways to ride a bike. I know that it is not the same as a car but when I drive a RWD car I can use that rear sliding technique to keep it on line.
Click to expand...

Bikes are still quite different, because you don't 3000 pounds of object you are trying to change the direction. Hell, the difference between my old MR-S and the M3 I have at the moment (1000 pounds) can be felt when sideways.
 
For a while I always turn ABS off, but it also lit a yellow warning light on the dash and I hated it. so I turned it back on.

Never got close to triggering it though, even in spirited driving, I would never test my car's braking potential on a public road.
 
Those have different drivetrains though, and coming out of a hairpin sliding on a bike is like sliding a car round the hairpin, just point and shoot.
 
Can we all stop being holier than thou, and admit we've all curbed (or kerbed) a car?
 
Bopop4
Those have different drivetrains though, and coming out of a hairpin sliding on a bike is like sliding a car round the hairpin, just point and shoot.
Click to expand...

They are both RWD, 40/60 weight distribution versus 50/50 basically. The difference isn't where the engine sits as much as the mass. The same happens when I compare driving a Miata to a heavier car. Changing the direction becomes much more complicated as more mass is introduced. This is physics.

And it isn't point and shoot in a car that is RWD. Sometimes in AWD, but not RWD.

Pupik
Can we all stop being holier than thou, and admit we've all curbed (or kerbed) a car?
Click to expand...

Not trying to pull that one so much. Hell, you can read about my curbing of cars in my car thread :dopey:
 
You can point and shoot in a RWD, it just accelerates slower.
I wish I had abs for my bike sometimes, locking the front on snow isin't fun.
 
eight6er
When ever I buy cars I always try to buy the model with the least aids. Usually any cars I'm interested in only have ABS as an option anyway, if that. I have completely removed ABS from cars before. I had one car with traction control for a loan and the traction control was always turned off, I didn't feel there was any need for it.

I nearly crashed a car because it had traction control, it was an alfa romeo 147 1400cc and I did not expect there to be electronic aids, as it's FWD and not much power. I was bringing it into a garage and pulling the handbrake to make a sharp turn in one go instead of a doing multi point turn, I do this often with no problems, only this time when I accelerated to pull the front in, the electronic aids interrupted and made the front go wide and almost taking the side off the car parked next to it.

So yes I turn off aids.
Click to expand...

Most cars disable stability control while the handbrake is applied.
 
Pupik
Can we all stop being holier than thou, and admit we've all curbed (or kerbed) a car?
Click to expand...

*raises hand*

I haven't.


Also the CR-V is FWD based AWD. Rear wheels get powered when the fronts get some slippage, so its going to plow ahead either way.
 
Yup. I think I've only ever felt the rear diff kick in... once... in our CR-V, and that was when we were climbing a sand dune. (Yeah, we could've gotten stuck, but the stuff was packed down hard enough to keep all wheels in contact)

eight6er
I was just giving my real life experience of having traction control doing more harm than good, which is relevant to the topic, although may not apply to everyone.
If the traction control wasn't there it would not have been an issue either and it was normal driving by my standards as I did it most days up to 15 times a day for 10 years without a problem.
Click to expand...

You performed that turn expecting the car to do one thing, without ever verifying that said car would react in the way you expected it to... based on the assumption that a car would lose control in a linear, predictable fashion... without ever having performed that maneuver before.

This is a big, big, BIG no-no.

I test dozens of new cars a year. I can't claim to be a saint, I've hooned a fair bit of them. Probably because I get to test them on the racetrack every October. And the mantra is: Find out how they behave first before you take liberties with them.

When I'm planning to drive hard, I usually work out the personality of a car first. Intrusive traction control? Poor grip? Lack of rear sway bar? Too much rear sway bar? Will the car ultimately understeer when I get through the corner, or does the rear become unstable when I give it a little flick? Those things are important out there.

Whereas here, you glibly attempt a handbrake turn in a car you've never handbrake-turned before expecting it to act exactly like any other car you've handbrake-turned. Duh. Not all handbrakes and cars are equal. If the handbrake is tighter, it slides earlier. If it's just a notch looser, the car initiates much later or not at all. If the front end lacks grip or has funny ABS intervention, it'll roll through the turn and understeer out (in much the same way as you mentioned).

Even experienced drivers can sometimes fail to initiate a handbrake turn in a new car (unless you have lots of space, in which case you can drag on it a bit longer to ensure you really lose rear traction before jinking), because of these factors, and they have to adjust accordingly.

Traction control has nothing to do with it. You attempted to perform a maneuver without understanding how the car would react to it, and it bit you in the rear.

This is the same sort of false expectation that has people swerving into a ditch while braking with ABS... but then, that's down to stupidity... they're over-controlling the car, a situation which would have them plowing straight into the next car without it.

Pupik
Can we all stop being holier than thou, and admit we've all curbed (or kerbed) a car?
Click to expand...

Curbed, spun, flipped... I speak from experience. :lol:
 
:odd: So I guess a Chevy 2500 isin't RWD? If I were to come out of a tight hairpin in 4WD mode, it would take off like a rocket. The same turn in 2WD would still get me pointed in the right direction, it would just take longer to get up to speed. And especially in the snow, it will have a fair amount of grip due to the weight.
 

Latest Posts

Back