nope.

 

Yea, that's what I was wondering.

 

Now that is funny. You must have been talking to someone at SLP Performance Parts then... and oh, btw, the guy you probalby spoke to no longer works there.

SLP Engineering did the SS and Firehawks. The Bosch traction control system was originally used on the C4 and BMWs. The SLP Engineering Chief Engineer who was responsible for the SS and Firehawks happened to be on the C4 team when he was at GM. I can assure you, the last thing he'd say is that the system sucked.

 

Each manufacturer calibrates their traction controls differently. As Scott said, they poured lots of time into making the Camaro drivable in the winter, meaning they made many, many calculations and calibrations in the computer algorithms in the eprom of the traction control that Ford probably didn't. Or the programing that went on at Ford was done differently.

I don't know for sure, but it's possible that the Bosch system GM used utilized not only engine fuel retarding but specific rear brake applications, while the one on your Mustang only uses one or the other. Hence it may not be very effective.

Perhaps the rear diff used on Camaros is posi or a lock up diff while the one on your Mustang is an open diff. That could definitely make a difference as well.

 

i'd like to know the system on the camaro. i'd bet its not all that different. i bet its more the car not the traction control system.

 

Traction control doesn't suck.

It saves a lot of people from themselves.........TRUST ME..........

The Bosch system was put on the Fcar, as an option, in 1998 --


How does it work?

At first loss of traction - -a couple of things happen:

1...a throttle relaxer will immediately 'push back' on the accelerator -- saying in effect "HEY! -- Back off!!!! You're losing traction!" -- and it stops you from 'flooring' the accelerator.

2.....the brakes will be applied to the wheel that lost traction -- and, in conjunction with the Zexel - Torsen differential - the torque/power gets transferred to the other wheel/tire.

3....if you continue to hit the accelerator -- the timing will retard and bring the car back closer to idle.


Does it work? Well -- yes.

Can a Camaro get buried in snow? You bet. It's low to the ground -- so if you go tearing off into a road where the snow is over a foot deep -- you may eventually pack snow under the car to the point where the car starts to 'porpoise' - and the tires lose traction.

The bottom line is that a Camaro isn't a Suburban -- but it CAN be driven in winter -- if:

>you use your head

>it has traction control

>you have the proper tires

>you use your head

>you avoid putting it in a snow drift

>you use your head..............

Finally - I'm with JeffY -- I know that the Chief Engineer at SLP didn't say traction control sucks -

 

Im sure that Camaro will be equiped with a good traction control system as well as there will be Stabilitrac stability control available if not standard on the car. Between these systems, it would probably take a good amount of work to get this car into trouble.

And im not a fan of the RS-As at all. For the price, there are TONS a better tire out there, even from Goodyear. The F1 A/S's would be tops on my mind.

 

wasn't traction control an option on 96's and 97's?

 

I would believe so, my 95 had it.

 

That's why I said, "maybe it's the driver" because not all cars have traction control. I do not have it on my Mustang, but I know when to let off the gas. It happened to me one rainy day on a very slick road. And maybe I'm comparing apples to oranges with rain vs. snow. Thankfully, I've never had to drive in snow. I've had to drive on icy roads in a 1980 Cutlass Supreme. Did it have traction control? I don't know. But I do know I was able to keep the car on the road. Guess I have my hardas* driving instructor to thank for that.

OK, back to testing. How about testing here in the south? I'd like a peek at that car.

 

thats my point. it does nothing that a decent driver can.

 

Test drive it on my paved street......we have not seen a plow all winter (Macomb County, Michigan). That would be very realistic in these times of recession with all entities of local government cutting their services in our state thanks to NAFDA and everyone buying their precious foreign cars....

 

Take it from a guy who has driven daily V8 Camaros in Michigan for several years that traction control does work. However, in situations like deeper snow or ice I used to turn it off because it doesn't know how to modulate the power like your right foot and keep you from getting stuck. Camaros sit low and are snow plows in anything over 4-6 in.

 

I look at it this way: If I could drive a 454SS El Camino in the snow, any modern car with T/C and decent tires will be easy.

 

This is an excellent point. In the (not so) "old days" all cars were rear wheel drive and had no traction control - and people drove all over regardless of the weather. I think that because we have every snowfall become a "Winter Survival" crisis, we're more conditioned to panic - when the previous generation is more inclined to not worry about it and just deal with it.