Traction Control and Stabilitrac Question

[NoProblem]

I just went out and pulled the ABS fuse. I live on a rural dirt road which is snow covered and slippery at the moment and just got done doing a doughnut in half the intersection with no problem whatsoever.

 

You will still need to switch the Traction Control off manually, but pulling the fuse kills Stabiltrac completely - you'll just need to live with ABS warning light staying on.

[redwngr]

ABS saves lives.

[Ventilator]

ABS saves lives.

It can also get you in trouble. I learned the old fashioned way and hate ABS. The traction control and stabilitrac can also get you stuck in certain situations. I like the option of turning them off, problem is the stabilitrac defaults back on at 35 MPH.

 

I wish you could turn them off, and they would stay off. I guess you can?

[SMiller]

ABS will get you in trouble on ice, when in 4wd I can use the emergency brake to lock the tires up to help stop shorter.

 

Traction control goes off as soon as I turn the key, when in a tight situation and I need to floor it to cross a intersection I would rather spin the tires then loose all power and get hit.

 

If I am giving the truck throttle I don't want the brakes coming in fighting me, I would just rather not give it so much throttle.

 

Stabilitrac is great but when you get in a bad situation and need to drift, throttle, or steer out of a situation it will fight you and win.

[Jay700]

Smiller I couldn't agree with you more.

[z71 chevy]

Hey guys we finally got some snow today and I tried sliding around in a empty lot and it would not do it even with the t/c off is this the stabiltrac kicking in it felt like loss of engine power not brakes kicking on but hard to tell lol

[bboyce536]

I absolutely despise the nannies on these new trucks, probably the thing I miss most about my gmt800 was it's lack of them. On ocassion when it's snowy or wet I will purposely try and freak the truck out by just jerking the wheel to get the front end to push hard. It's funny how the system reacts trying to get the truck onto it's "intended" course. It has actually pulled the rear end into a slide from it's use of hard braking on certain sides of the truck.

Quite comical really. Sure i know the sytem can react quickly and potentially save you on the highway, but for the most part any driver with common sense can do more help then this system for dumbed drivers can.

[SMiller]

Hey guys we finally got some snow today and I tried sliding around in a empty lot and it would not do it even with the t/c off is this the stabiltrac kicking in it felt like loss of engine power not brakes kicking on but hard to tell lol

You need to press and hold the traction control button down for about 20sec. then you will have control.

 

These trucks are dumbed down for the 99% of the stupid people that drive them. Sign of the times...

[z71 chevy]

You need to press and hold the traction control button down for about 20sec. then you will have control.

 

These trucks are dumbed down for the 99% of the stupid people that drive them. Sign of the times...

Thanks I kept trying and it kept stopping the truck which wasn't a big deal I was just thinking if I get stuck sometime it would be annoying to not be able to give it some power to get out ha

[Cosmic Charlie]

TC eliminates wheel spin via automatic reduced throttle & engine timing.

ST eliminates fish tailing sideways by appling the rear inside tire's brake while excellerating and slipping out sideways.

 

Turn off TC when stuck & needing to spin the rear wheels, or just to have fun, or trying to get extra speed climbing a slippery hill ...

 

I leave ST on almost always, these truck are very light in the rear and can kick out sideways (unexpectedly) and spin out (into curbs, trees, poles, on comming traffic ...) Even with TC off and trying to stay unstuck or just getting unstuck keep ST on, you may overspin the tires as you get unstuck and could end up accidently fish tailing sideways WAY out of control. ST will help prevent this.

 

If your an VERY experienced (offroad) driver, your skills can usually save you in these situations without TC and ST on. (new drivers - don't ry this unless your practicing in a parking lot without telephone/light poles).

 

ST is REAL IMPORTANT to leave ON unless your perpared to go sailing sideway fish tailing !!! (which many on here actually want to do)

[redwngr]

ABS will get you in trouble on ice, when in 4wd I can use the emergency brake to lock the tires up to help stop shorter.

 

Traction control goes off as soon as I turn the key, when in a tight situation and I need to floor it to cross a intersection I would rather spin the tires then loose all power and get hit.

 

If I am giving the truck throttle I don't want the brakes coming in fighting me, I would just rather not give it so much throttle.

 

Stabilitrac is great but when you get in a bad situation and need to drift, throttle, or steer out of a situation it will fight you and win.

You will NEVER stop as quick locking the wheels with the parking brake as with ABS.

 

The bonus is that when the fronts aren't locked, it will still have some steering.

[Ventilator]

I can pump the brakes manually and stop way quicker than the darned ABS ever could. I understand you can also stear with the ABS, but it does you no good when it takes 1-1/2 times the distance it does manually.

[Cosmic Charlie]

ABS generally offers improved vehicle control and decreases stopping distances on dry and slippery surfaces for many drivers; however, on loose gravel or snow-covered surfaces, ABS can significantly increase braking distance, although still improving vehicle control.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-lock_braking_system

 

Your results may vary ...

 

My view - at highway speeds when making an unexpected heavy braking ABS will be to your benefit (as the documented scienctific tests shows).

[redwngr]

I can pump the brakes manually and stop way quicker than the darned ABS ever could. I understand you can also stear with the ABS, but it does you no good when it takes 1-1/2 times the distance it does manually.

Turn it off and do a measured test in some off road (track?) location and report back.

[SMiller]

Turn it off and do a measured test in some off road (track?) location and report back.

My roads were solid ice a bunch last winter, I could full abs brake for a 1/2 miles and the truck would still blow through a stop sign, pulling the abs fuse and braking near max would result in much faster stops.

 

Not saying abs is a bad thing but on true zero traction surfaces it simply doesn't brake, we all know on dry surfaces it out stops but there are times when it sucks.

 

Again these vehicles are designed for stupid people that have no idea how to drive, I get it.