Traction control

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Chris90

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Hi all

Does anyone else find the standard traction control a bit pointless?

I have 4wd A4 and mostly keep the traction control on...

Rained fairly heavy other day, and I decided to put my foot down in 2nd off a roundabout, to see what the quattro can do.....only to find the back end stepping out and the car doing a 4wd drift with my about 1/4 wheel opposite lock trying to avoid the island at the exit of the roundabout....This is with the traction control FULLY on, no sport mode or off.

Thought it would have kicked in well before I managed to get the car to physically drift with a good handful of opposite lock.

Anyone else found anything similar?
 
I've got mine to step out a couple of times, but was easily corrected each time. Tyres will play a big part, can have the best 4wd system in the world but if you don't have tyres that perform well in the wet then the 4wd ain't going to help!
 
rainsports on the front and some kuhmos on the back...probably doesnt help.

BUt surely the car should stop you and apply the brakes to prevent the slide.

my only guess is all wheels were spinning at the same speed, and the car didnt register it was sideways because of this. No idea if theres any yaw or G sensors that would detect it in relation to the steering position.
 
I find the traction control / ESP quite good in keeping the car where it's supposed to be going. As above having different tyres front and back certainly won't help. Audi recommend the same front and rear on Quattro's as if there is any major difference in grip this really messes with the torque distribution that the Torsen diff is trying to manage. There may have been diesel down on the roundabout as well which certainly wouldn't have helped.
 
My old 2.5tdi quattro B6 had the same tyres on the front as it did the back. Same depth and I couldn't get it to step out on the rear.
 
I've found the tc will let you have a decent amount of leeway before kicking in. My tyres are nearly bald now, makes for some great fun in the wet
 
Chris90 said:
rainsports on the front and some kuhmos on the back...probably doesnt help.

BUt surely the car should stop you and apply the brakes to prevent the slide.

my only guess is all wheels were spinning at the same speed, and the car didnt register it was sideways because of this. No idea if theres any yaw or G sensors that would detect it in relation to the steering position.
Click to expand...

Same here - quite easy to swing it around a roundabout, especially at this time of year when the roads are quite green after a sprinkle of water. Nothing quite like a 4x4 drift though :welcoming:
The car also doesn't know the road surface - quite a lot of roundabouts (and roads for that matter!) have that awful stuff called chippings. The chips wear away after a few months leaving the tar underneath exposed - that stuff is like ice to drive on!
 
My old B5 Passat 4Motion use to behave a lot like that, ie it was keen to go into a four wheel slide, in comparison, my older Vauxhall Cavi GSI 4X4 just behaved in a more predictable manner and its four wheel drive system was quite basic, when moving from the GM system to the Audi system on the Passat, I did expect a lot better/predictable handling, which probably explains why I rarely take risks with my S4 as four wheel sliding is not too good. Actually the brakes on that GSI 4X4 were also brilliant, it always felt like it was braking "flat" ie both ends sharing the braking - which was handy when trying to unsettle BMWs in roundabouts and tight bends at junctions just when they thought they had the right to overtake in stupid places as lesser cars would back off or otherwise get out of their way!
 
rum4mo said:
My old B5 Passat 4Motion use to behave a lot like that, ie it was keen to go into a four wheel slide, in comparison, my older Vauxhall Cavi GSI 4X4 just behaved in a more predictable manner and its four wheel drive system was quite basic, when moving from the GM system to the Audi system on the Passat, I did expect a lot better/predictable handling, which probably explains why I rarely take risks with my S4 as four wheel sliding is not too good. Actually the brakes on that GSI 4X4 were also brilliant, it always felt like it was braking "flat" ie both ends sharing the braking - which was handy when trying to unsettle BMWs in roundabouts and tight bends at junctions just when they thought they had the right to overtake in stupid places as lesser cars would back off or otherwise get out of their way!
Click to expand...
Did the 4wd kick in 3rd or out in 3rd
 
It's the tyres

I put some michelin pilot sport 4's to replace the pirelli cinturato's big difference in the rain. I loved kicking the back end out when I done it on my private runway which I definitely so totally own
 
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rum4mo said:
Eh? Four wheel drive is active in any gear.
Click to expand...
So weird, I got taken out in one when I was 17 and I remember the guy telling me about it. I was gripping on for dear life and trying to stop the contents of my bowl staining his interior at the time though.
 
AudiLeon said:
So weird, I got taken out in one when I was 17 and I remember the guy telling me about it. I was gripping on for dear life and trying to stop the contents of my bowl staining his interior at the time though.
Click to expand...

If you are meaning the VX Cav GSI 4X4, they disengaged the drive to the rear wheels during braking "to preserve maximum stability during braking" - don't know why that worked for just them, or if it worked at all!
 
Thought having better tyres up front and poor ones on the back would cause it...Always used to slide out on the front with shagged conti's on the front.

However, that still shouldnt stop the TC from kicking in on one side of the car to prevent it from driving sideways up the road at 45degrees opposite lock to where the car is pointing.
 
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