Traction Control & Other Nannies
 

How are you dealing with the variety of electronic nannies on our cars? I find them very annoying and turn them off for normal driving. If I'm driving in dicey, slippery conditions, I may avail myself of their assistance. As I understand it, they work by deploying brakes to the appropriate wheel as needed. R&T magazine complained about brake wear after a day at the track; while street pads might not be up to snuff for a day of hot laps, one would certainly expect brake wear if the nannies were turned on all day. In dry, normal driving conditions I find them quite annoying. I can feel them engage and disengage in my butt and they tend to mask what's really going on in the rear-end. Even turned off, I found that they were still functioning in slippery winter driving; they just had to reach a higher threshold before kicking in. This is distinct from feeling the limited slip action at the rear. Every limited slip rear-end I've ever driven does announce itself when cornering. The combo of the LS and traction control just sends mixed signals to my posterior.

When they're off, they are off. You are just feeling the LS.

They are still on when they're "off", unless you do the pedal dance.

http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=25494

Are you Chris Harris?

Well nevermind, obviously I haven't been keeping up as much as I should.

I wish that vsc sport mode would wait just a little bit longer before it kicks in. I haven't messed with full off mode yet.

Do it in an empty, wet parking lot at night. You'll learn a lot.

Yeah, that's my plan. I'm hoping my experience with the dirt car will kick in and it'll be similar.

The only reason you would need to turn traction off is because you would be pushing the car beyond its street limits.
i do agree the skinny tires tend to lose traction easily but its not to brutal, id only realize it when i see the light flashing.

you can turn it off every now and then for fun, but don't for normal driving

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I86mQZJWabU"]2013 Lamborghini Gallardo vs ESP - autocar.co.uk - YouTube[/ame]



stay safe

Yes

Traction control & VSC
 

Nope, Not Chris Harris.

TC & VSC
 

If you live in the northeast and experiment driving under slippery conditions in a safe environment, you'll find that with the electronics off they still kick in albeit at a higher limit. Not only can you feel them kick in, but the dash lights will flash as well. I'm sure Subaru and Toyota were unwilling to permit a total cancelation of them for liability reasons. The only way to completely defeat them is to pull the fuse and I definitely don't recommend that.

check the link i posted above for instructions on the "pedal dance" which will completely disable ALL nannies.

TC & VSC
 

Thanks! I may explore that under "controlled" conditions.

It must be a miracle that i survived driving so many rwd sports cars growing up in the days before traction control, skid control, and even abs in a case or two...

I'm not advocating people drive like Initial D on public roads, but seriously, if you NEED traction and stability control on a 200hp rwd car to keep from hurting other drivers, property, or yourself then you really need to learn how to drive.

@Red2Liter, I do the hold "trac off" for 5 seconds most of the time. It did still act up on me a tiny bit at my last track day but not enough to worry about, it was only when clipping gators right before a hard breaking zone. At my last drift event it acted up a good with with "trac off" for 5 second. For the next drift event i am going to pull the abs fuse or do the pedal dance depending on run group timing etc.

Then slow down.

I've already said that turning the nannies off doesn't really turn them off. it just raises the engagement threshold. I find that mode to be a perfectly acceptable, safe mode in which to drive except under VERY slick conditions. I'm neither foolhardy nor do I consider myself immortal. So why did you folks buy this car, one which has such a great performance envelope? This is clearly a fruitless conversation, perhaps a Prius is the more appropriate choice for you, or did you just buy it for the image it projects?

If after trying the "pedal dance" the car still does not feel right try changing the diff. oil. I noticed that after changing mine to Motul 300 that the LSD engagement improved. If none of this helps there might be something wrong with your car.

@Red2Liter what cars are you used to?

TC & VSC
 

Thanks! I've got about 6 K on the car. Thought I'd get a few more miles on the transmission and the Diff. The transmission is already improved for smoothness with every mile of use.

Autocross: Everything off

All other times: Everything on (unless intentionally hooning)

Sport mode: Worthless, too intrusive to have fun

TC & VSC
 

I've driven or raced everything from Mini-Coopers (the originals) to Porsches & BMW's. Recently I've been driving AWD Subaru's. Still transitioning back to front engine/rear drive. Each drive layout has its' own unique handling character. The BRZ is inherently neutral, though it can be persuaded to oversteer. I feel most comfortable with trailing throttle oversteer; nothing quite as comforting as walking the rear out gently by easing off the throttle and being able to stop the oversteer by getting into the gas. Just a personal preference that is probably the safest solution for most folks. Of course the driver needs to be aware of what the car is communicating.

Strange. My V8 pony doesn't have TC or even LSD. Hasn't made me spin off the road yet. All these nannies on cars these days are goofy to me. It masks the real problem: drivers with no sense of responsibility. TC or not, there's no reason to drive like an ass on the streets. Morons kill people, not turning off some settings.


OP, there is a device for 08+ WRX/STi that lets you program the TC state when turning on the car. Not sure if it's available for this car, but I believe it was called "Setting Saver". Meaning if you normally have TC off, you can just turn it on when desired instead of the other way around. Might be worth looking into, maybe they can work out automating the pedal dance for those who track regularly.

Welp, the mods decided delete all posts relating to me pointing out that youre obviously breaking laws on public roads.

Just a guess, but it probably had something to do with the manner in which you chose to point it out.

TC & VSC
 

Yes, you certainly had good reason to be sensitive the subject, but to assume that a 71 yr-old experienced driver was some kind of a idiot was a bit of a reach. I've decided to not take it personally; I know the manner in which I drive responsibly.

Holding the trac button for 5 seconds turns off everything except ABS I believe. Works for me, although I can understand how that'd be annoying while drifting. Meh, so what if I like a litte tire spin occasionally. I only do it in situations where EVEN IF I crashed I'd only injure myself. I hate VSC sport, it feels like it does nothing...

Sadly, it does not turn off everything. Not even the pedal dance does. The pedal dance is the closest you can get to zero nannies without defeating ABS.

Again, i don't advocate putting other people or others property at risk by doing silly things on public roads...

I can just as easily argue that driving with VSC and TRAC full on means you are more likely to push the vehicle beyond it's true limits because you have the electronic safety net. This can lead to people (especially people learning to drive a sports car) developing a false sense of physics and vehicle dynamics.

Regardless, your logic is flawed. Choosing to turn off VSC and TRAC DOES NOT = Breaking Laws on Public Roads.

And besides, I promise you I can break just as many laws with the nannies on as i can with them off, IF i were so inclined :thumbsup: