Question:
Would I be correct in thinking that when traction control kicks in, I should not take my foot off the throttle at all (which is the immediate instinct) but continue to apply throttle and let the electronics do all the work?
Answer:
Everybody tries to use the traction control in a different way, some drivers assume (usually the slow drivers) that it will make them faster and instead of driving the car normally, drive the car with the pedal flat to the floor and let the traction control do all the work. The way I use the traction control and many of the quick drivers use it, is to drive the car normally but when the conditions are slightly suspect i.e. the driver is unsure of the amount of grip is available in certain areas, that the traction control will allow them to use slightly more throttle and be less cautious than they would have been. That way if a patch on the circuit is found to be less grippy than expected, the traction control will give you some extra protection.
One of the best example of this, is if you are drifting the back end of the car and suddenly hit a patch of oil, you would normally attempt to come out of the throttle to prevent the rear end of the car from producing an excess slide and putting you into a spin, because the traction control can detect this sudden change quicker than you can, it will back the power off and normally allow you to carry on at the same angle of drift without loss of control. If at the same time you back the throttle off, you will actually get slower and the angle of drift will reduce.
My suggestion is that the traction control should be used to help you to maintain grip in unforeseen circumstances rather than a crutch to rely on. Drive the car, do not change your driving style but experiment under controlled conditions so you get a feel for what the traction control can do for you. Traction control can not lose you grip, it can only help you to gain grip.
One last thing that is important with traction control, which many drivers feel including myself, is that when you have a normal start or lose grip is the sensation the driver feels of the car sliding and wheel spinning is quite intense. When the launch and traction control are working, the effect almost feels as if you are going too slowly, but the only way to tell is against the clock and in most cases the smoother feeling with the launch and traction control working, the car is faster but it just doesn’t feel like that for the driver.
Category:
Launch & Traction Control