Traction control not working? Fishtailing

[Larry]

When I first got my car I was impressed with traction control since it's easy to break the backend loose. It would hold it straight. But recently I've had a couple instances where I was pulling into traffic and it fishtailed. My question is, is it now not working? Or am I expecting too much? In both cases I was turning. Maybe it only works well when aimed straight?

 

[KrackaC8]

This is definitely a driver's car with barely there nannies. Coming from the C8 especially, it was quite the difference!

 

[speedjuno]

Poor tires get my vote, your traction control is probably doing its best. I experience poor traction on my Performance Z, just as I did with OEM tires on the 370Z.

 

[5amp5on]

When I first got my car I was impressed with traction control since it's easy to break the backend loose. It would hold it straight. But recently I've had a couple instances where I was pulling into traffic and it fishtailed. My question is, is it now not working? Or am I expecting too much? In both cases I was turning. Maybe it only works well when aimed straight?

If it was sensing any errors in the traction control system your dash would be lit up like crazy. When traction control is doing it's thing, you should see a flashing yellow light on the dash, of course this is while you are sliding so your focus might not be there lol.

I bet it's working but your Potenzas are getting a little more worn and are breaking loose more easily than they did when they were new. Just guessing.

 

[Larry]

Interesting point. I was wondering about tire pressure. I have my doubts about the accuracy of the TPMS system. I have inflated the tires to proper pressure measured with a pretty accurate gauge and the TPMS thinks they are all 6lb over pressure. Maybe I should look into that.

 

[FSUZ33]

Not making friends with this post. Reactions are expected. But my suggestion would be that in public, or at least in normal traffic, not driving so hard you know you’re leaning on TC/VDC to clean things up. It’s like braking late on purpose and counting on ABS to stop you in time.

 

[Who.Am.Eye.2716]

If both rear tires are spinning at the same rate, would Trac Control kick in... no

Only time Trac Control kicks in when 1 rear tire spins faster than the other rear tire

 

[FSUZ33]

Absolutely correct. It’s specifically the VDC (“anti-skid”) that keeps the car pointed forward. If they still call it VDC as they did in the Z33 days.

 

[Larry]

Wouldn't it also take into account the front wheel velocities? Seems like non driven wheel speeds would be much more accurate way to determine slip.

 

[trackratZ]

The S007s are the culprit, terrible tires trying to grip, overwhelming the TCS on our Zs. Happens to me often without even trying at part throttle out of corners. Terrible!

 

[ShearMe]

What's your mileage? The stock tires wear out incredibly fast...

 

[KrackaC8]

Interesting point. I was wondering about tire pressure. I have my doubts about the accuracy of the TPMS system. I have inflated the tires to proper pressure measured with a pretty accurate gauge and the TPMS thinks they are all 6lb over pressure. Maybe I should look into that.

All my TPMS sensors are within 1 psi of my Longacre dial gauge. Personally, I'd check your gauge.

 

[FSUZ33]

Wouldn't it also take into account the front wheel velocities? Seems like non driven wheel speeds would be much more accurate way to determine slip.

From mu understanding of VDC on a Z33, in monitors the speed of all four wheels and the position of the car (somehow?), and it chokes the engine and applies brake pressure independently to counter rotation. Not sure what, if anything, has changed, but I could tell VDC was much more effective with better tires. The Bridgestone RE040s it came with were horrible. You can out drive any VDC system though, especially in a vehicle with more power.

 

[thesilverbullet]

It’s not air pressure (specially not the accuracy of the TPMS - which is very good) or tire wear and there is nothing wrong with the traction control.

If you want to see how good your TPMS is, buy a decent air gage (calibrated) and make sure you check the tires cold - you can‘t compare cold to hot readings.

It‘s the oem tires with turbo torque. I can easily break the rear end loose not even trying from day one (1,200+ miles was day one - lol). I’m on stock tires with <4,000 miles and it’s not getting any better - lol

Keep in mind the traction control is reactive - it‘s not going to prevent tires from loosing traction, it’s going to help stop it. If you think traction control is not working, turn it off on wet pavement and get on it - lol

 

[FSUZ33]

You can feel TC in with an MT when you hit a high rpm full-throttle shift in a lower gear and the car bogs right after you dump the clutch And start accelerating.
VDC doesn’t kick in until the car starts to point toward a different direction than it’s supposed to be pointing.