Hey guys,
Quick question...I have been reading a few posts in which people say they turn off TCS unless its raining or wet because it tends to rob the car of some power, or tends to kick in at the least appropriate moment.
I've had my 07 for 4 months, live in South FL, which for those who have never been here, its only the "Sunshine state" when it's not pouring.
I have never seen the SLIP light come on, other than when I first put the key in, even while driving trough some decent rain (granted, I am not stupid, I drive like a grandma when its raining).
I am starting to wonder if those if you who turn TCS off do so because your Slip light comes on constantly and hence you feel the car braking and the TCS kicking in....or there's big difference you can feel while driving with it off.
I've only turned it off a couple of times for short periods and didnt feel any difference. I am starting to wonder sometimes if maybe the 07 TCS is not as sensitive and thats why i don't experience it coming on randomly like some of you do...or maybe my TCS is not working properly cos like i said it never comes on, rain, sun, curves or anywhere.

 

The SLIP light comes on when the back of ur car is spinning(Wheels) , so only if you take a corner at high RPMS to drift to you are drag racing and at your take off it will go on. Well that is the only time i see it and ya ya i do drag/drift alot with the car.

 

I believe that it only comes on when the computer senses loss of traction, like wheel spin, etc...otherwise it does not come on, I drive with mine on all the time and don't get the "slip" other then if I redline and shift hard then it'll come on bc of the wheel slip, oh and of course launching the car at a dead stop with the TCS or VDC on is pointless also it'll come on and cut the power.

 

When TCS kicks in the SLIP light comes on. When this happens, both your rear wheels are spinning (traction loss) or one is spinning faster than the other.

I always turn mine off unless there's rain....when its on it almost always kicks in if I gun it.

 

Thanks for the info guys! I haven't pushed mine too hard yet so guess maybe that's why it doesn't come on for me....

 

Find an empty parking lot in the rain. With TCS ON, turn the steering wheel hard, and hit the gas.

With TCS OFF, turn the steering wheel hard, and hit the gas.

 

Unless you actually want to do a burnout, there is no good reason to ever turn TCS off.

bill

 

hahaha thats about the best way you can learn about TCS first hand!

 

actually dave makes a good point. the only way to understand how your car handles at the limits is to push it to the limit and beyond. When i first got my Z, i took it into a parking lot on a rainy day with NO OBSTRUCTIONS around and tried handling my car at the limits of traction. It was good to see just how far I could push the Z before it would slip out, how much gas was too much, and what was safe to do in rain. I later did the same excersize in dry weather.

To answer the OP.

The Slip light implies that your car is slipping (otherwise it would be called the random light for when it randomly turns on and off). If the car senses that you are loosing control (aka slipping) then it will show you the slip light for a split second, it is possible to let the back wheels spin a bit BEFORE VDC/TCS kicks in, however, the margin is very slim. Once the slip light is on, it is shortly followed by the TCS implying that the car is applying brakes and/or cutting off gas to the engine in order to keep the car from further loosing control. Once the spin/skid/slip has been corrected, the computer then disengages TCS and allows the driver full control over the car again.

People tend to drive with it off because most people who truly drive their Z's hard, do not appreciate the car taking control. For instance, if you have VDC on and you need to accelerate very quickly (especially in a M/T) wheel spin is going to occur. However, if that wheel spin occurs and VDC/TCS does not allow the engine to continue revving (it cuts gas going to the engine) you may end up in a very dangerous situation. Most experienced drivers who push their Z are comfortable enough to know how much wheel spin is enough and how much is too much or loosing control. I keep mine off most of the time too. I have had way to many near death experiences and one wrecked vehicle (my lexus IS300) due to traction control related issues. For the standard everyday Z driver, TCS is really handy, especially if you are not used to all 306 horses or you are driving in rain.

hope that helps

 

TCS is a safety device designed to kill power when the rear wheels begin spinning faster than they should in relation to the rotation of the front tires. The default state of TCS is on (it reverts to on when starting the car).

When TCS is on, and the rear wheels spin faster than what the computer thinks they should; TCS kills power to the rear wheels and you see the SLIP light illuminate on your dash.

If you turn TCS off (push the TCS button on the lower left dash), you see an indicator light on the dash displaying TCS OFF. That tells you that TCS is off, but only it’s function (to kill power to the rear wheels when they are rotating at an inappropriate speed to the rotation of the front wheels). In fact even when you turn TCS off, its sensors remain active. That is why guys doing burnouts, donuts, and drifting see the SLIP light illuminate on the dash even though they turn TCS off before these maneuvers. The same is true when someone mounts tires that are not the correct size and drive the car. When you turn TCS off, the device will indicate a problem, but never go beyond this (it won’t kill power to the rear wheels).

--Spike

 

my original "04 potenzas are almost treadless, so my slip comes on quite frequently, i imagine newer tires do this 99% less

 

Thanks again! I will definitively try the empty parking lot idea.
I keep it on as I mentioned, just wondered about any difference felt (which now I know is none) during regular day to day dry driving conditions

 

wow can one more dumb@*** please explain what TCS is don't get it yet

 

TCS = safety

That is such a general statement and it has never helped me out. They only time TCS is on in my car is when i let a friend drive my car, or if i have to drive it in the snow.

The first few months of owning my car i found out it works best when its off. once i was stopped at a light and took a right turn, when i got half way through i guess i hit some gravel on only the right side so it kicked on and off and on and off...etc making my car look like one of those rodeo machines and then it slowed the revs down so much i ended up stalling and almost getting rear ended. So eff that safety device.

You want to have a safe way of manipulating throttle in slippery situations - take up drifting. Knowing what i've learned over the past 3 years doing it has saved me numerous times.

 

Re:> “They only time TCS is on in my car is when i let a friend drive my car, or if i have to drive it in the snow.”

When driving in snow and on ice, I turn TCS off. TCS is usually a hinder when driving in very slippery conditions. In this case TCS will activate often and kill power when you really need it. When driving in snow and on ice, you must depend upon your skills using counter-steering to maintain direction and the Z’s great LSD to maintain forward momentum.

--Spike

 

How did the experiment work out? What did you learn?

 

Been there....done that.

Lot of fun

 

Doing this between parked cars will yield better results...

 

+1, they are one in the same grasshoppa....

 

Just wanted to say that the TCS doesn't come on immediately. I've frequently done a quick squeel and let off the throttle without so much as a blip from the TCS/SLIP light. It engages only after a certain amount of time, as minuscule as that time frame may be, but it isn't instant.