What does Traction Control actually do?

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Tangent

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What does it actually do, especially on a RWD vehicle that already is limited slip? And why would you ever want to turn it off then?

I've had my truck 6 years and never really bothered with it.
 

runamuck

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some folks say that it corrects for loss of traction by computer application of braking and so it may reduce your gas mileage by some tiny amount.
 

Dean2

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Limited slip locks the two rear wheels together but does not reduce the power to them. Traction control actively reduces power to slipping wheels. If you need some tire spin to clear the tread, like in heavy gumbo or deep snow, you want to turn traction control off. If you want to be able to use rear tire spin to aid in high speed cornering on loose surfaces, traction control needs to be off.

On my 2021 2500 4x4, I have to turn off traction control on slippery or muddy roads or it will overheat the brakes and not allow me to keep enough momentum. It cuts power from the motor to all wheels and brakes any wheel that slips and it does it often enough to slow you down. Before I learned to turn it off, I had it shut itself down and give me a SERVICE TCS warning lamp. The light went out after an hour and a restart, once everything cooled down. Now I turn it off completely when I am on real bad roads. Low range turns it off automatically, just for that reason.
 
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62Blazer

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Electronic traction control will both limit throttle input and apply individual brakes to even out traction. For example on a RWD truck if one back tire is on dry asphalt and the other back tire is on ice and push the throttle pedal all the way, it will greatly limit how much throttle it actually allows and drag the brake on the tire that is on the ice in an attempt to the get to transfer to the other side.
In regards to a limited slip diff versus traction control, they are both attempting to do the same thing but in different ways. There are positives and negatives to either and how effective they are greatly depends on the design of the system. You can make limited slips more aggressive at the trade off of some on-road handling. A combination of limited slip and electronic traction control can be very effective.
 

Socalramfan

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Both explanations above are spot on.

In a nutshell, it prevents, or more accurately corrects, the rear end from fishtailing. Which you may, or may not want at a given condition.

Don't really need to be fishtailing on a damp off ramp doing 50 :waytogo:
 

Jeepwalker

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I've had to make immediate evasive maneuvers at highway speeds (avoid sudden bigger animals), and was rather impressed how well the truck maintained control. Esp with a load of items in the box which are often difficult to judge their efffect. Obviously I didn't make a maneuver so great I was jeapordizing control, but in my limited couple times use, on dry roads, it worked great. Then again, I never lost control in the past.

I can see how it might really help with a trailer. Mostly for inexperienced trailer towers. As pickups have become more popular with people who don't have a lot of past experience with PU Trucks ....and older people who don't have the skill level they once did, they are probably more the demographic to benefit from nanny-controls.

[Edit] I should have written: Electronic Stability Control
 
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JPT

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I like the traction control on our trucks. We have a lot of power, with a lot of weight. These are not a good combination with anything but dry pavement. I haven't even had to shut it off in heavy wet snow (Long Island NY). I've had to drive 40 miles each way to and from work in heavy snow. Traction control did its job, and never got in the way.
 

John Jensen

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Traction Control System (TCS)
The TCS monitors the amount of wheel spin of each of the driven wheels. If wheel spin is detected, brake pressure is applied to the slipping wheel/s, and engine power is reduced to provide enhanced acceleration and stability. A feature of the TCS functions similarly to a limited-slip differential and controls the wheel spin across a driven axle. If one wheel on a driven axle is spinning faster than the other, the system will apply the brake of the spinning wheel. This will allow more engine torque to be applied to the wheel that is not spinning. Limited-slip remains active even if TCS and ESC are in the “Partial Off” mode. This brake pressure modulation transfers drive torque from slipping to non-slipping wheels to provide optimal forward traction.

Electronic Stability Control (ESC)
The ESC system enhances directional control and stability of the vehicle under various driving conditions. ESC corrects for oversteering or understeering of the vehicle by applying the brake of the appropriate wheel to assist in counteracting the oversteer or understeer condition. Engine power may also be reduced to help the vehicle maintain the desired path. ESC uses sensors in the vehicle to determine the vehicle path intended by the driver and compares it to the actual path of the vehicle. When the actual path does not match the intended path, ESC applies the brake of the appropriate wheel to assist in counteracting the oversteer or understeer condition.
• Oversteer - when the vehicle is turning more than appropriate for the steering wheel position.
• Understeer - when the vehicle is turning less than appropriate for the steering wheel position.
 
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