What are the downsides to having the traction control turned off?

[Rick Shin]

(This is a sister thread to http://genesisowners.com/hyundai-genesis-forum/showthread.php?t=16355.)

Someone mentioned that having the traction control turned off is a solution to the "unresponsive pedal during cornering" problem.

Because I think the car going unresponsive during a sharp turn is potentially dangerous, I'm going to try what people have suggested to avoid it. One suggestion was having the traction control turned off.

What are the downsides to having the traction control turned off?

 

[Midnightsun]

IMHO the only downside is the light in the dash remains on. The only thing traction control does is prevent wheel slip. Personally I much prefer to have it off in snow conditions as I find it much too intrusive, then again I have driven for well over 40 years in the snow and enjoyed it so much as a kid I used to go out in every snowfall for thrills. On an empty highway I would even do handbrake spins at over 60 mph, single spin and continue on my route at 60mph. That being said, if I were to put my wife behind the wheel, traction control is a must. She drives very well but does not have the experience to handle the slippery because all of her life she avoided these situations and basically never learned how to master them. Unfortunately with all the mandated safety features in cars today the art of actually knowing how to drive will eventually be lost as the car takes over more and more. Your grand children's, children will be in awe when they hear about how people actually had to use a steering wheel/throttle and brakes to get some where. The Genesis works quite well with both traction and stability controlled disabled however it really is never disables as when thing get past the point the Hyundai engineers deem as dangerous, the electronics kick back in to supposedly save the day. In other words, you can forget major drifting or donuts.

 

[Focusin]

IMHO the only downside is the light in the dash remains on. The only thing traction control does is prevent wheel slip. Personally I much prefer to have it off in snow conditions as I find it much too intrusive, then again I have driven for well over 40 years in the snow and enjoyed it so much as a kid I used to go out in every snowfall for thrills. On an empty highway I would even do handbrake spins at over 60 mph, single spin and continue on my route at 60mph. That being said, if I were to put my wife behind the wheel, traction control is a must. See drives very well but does not have the experience to handle the slippery because all of her life she avoided these situations and basically never learned how to master them. Unfortunately with all the mandated safety features in cars today the art of actually knowing how to drive will eventually be lost as the car takes over more and more. Your grand children's, children will be in awe when they hear about how people actually had to use a steering wheel/throttle and brakes to get some where. The Genesis works quite well with both traction and stability controlled disabled however it really is never disables as when thing get past the point the Hyundai engineers deem as dangerous, the electronics kick back in to supposedly save the day. In other words, you can forget major drifting or donuts.

Midnightsun, you and I shared a snow storm recently and it was first time in 25 years I've been out in anything other than a front wheel drive. The AWD with traction off was an absolute treat. Bit of fishtailing when pulling away from stop lights but otherwise powered through everything.

The traction control is useful for me when I'm on a highway and not paying as much attention but in the city, I take it off and it's a gas. It's like driving a rear wheel again but with traction.

 

[amartz]

At least in the G1, turning off the traction control also disables the cruise control.

 

[Midnightsun]

At least in the G1, turning off the traction control also disables the cruise control.

Forgot about that one and yes it also shuts down the cruise on the G2.

 

[Fight4Hemp]

Midnightsun, you and I shared a snow storm recently and it was first time in 25 years I've been out in anything other than a front wheel drive. The AWD with traction off was an absolute treat. Bit of fishtailing when pulling away from stop lights but otherwise powered through everything.

The traction control is useful for me when I'm on a highway and not paying as much attention but in the city, I take it off and it's a gas. It's like driving a rear wheel again but with traction.

I heard that it usually runs at like 70 something percent going to rear wheel and the rest in front is that what your experiencing? I find it funny that an awd system has a traction control button I figured it would always have its traction controlled (for the most part).

 

[Midnightsun]

I heard that it usually runs at like 70 something percent going to rear wheel and the rest in front is that what your experiencing? I find it funny that an awd system has a traction control button I figured it would always have its traction controlled (for the most part).

It does not have a traction control button. The button defeats traction control and if held it will also defeat stability control.

 

[Fight4Hemp]

It does not have a traction control button. The button defeats traction control and if held it will also defeat stability control.

Sounds like a button that enables and disables traction control. I don't know why you would correct me on something so insignificant. It's like trying to communicate with spellcheck

 

[Nikgen]

Sounds like a button that enables and disables traction control. I don't know why you would correct me on something so insignificant. It's like trying to communicate with spellcheck

The button is really to deactivate the TCS and, if held down for a few seconds, the ESC. So default is both systems are always on and you can choose to deactivate. Once deactivated, a single press will reactivate both systems again (as will a restart).

There is another thread with the correct info on the power splits for HTRAC:

http://genesisowners.com/hyundai-genesis-forum/showthread.php?t=17791

 

[Fight4Hemp]

Either way that's like saying the button that changes between driving modes "defeats" normal drive mode since it clearly starts in normal every time. Give me a break, like I need an explanation of what traction control button(yes that is what I will call it) does. My main point in the first statement was(correct me if I'm wrong) that the AWD changes its pull depending on conditions and always adjusting the power from front to back axel. I was wondering if you turned traction control off (by pressing the button) would it effect the way the system decided to move the power from front to the back axel? I always figured AWD was like the ultimate traction control system.

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[CanukV6]

Either way that's like saying the button that changes between driving modes "defeats" normal drive mode since it clearly starts in normal every time. Give me a break, like I need an explanation of what traction control button(yes that is what I will call it) does. My main point in the first statement was(correct me if I'm wrong) that the AWD changes its pull depending on conditions and always adjusting the power from front to back axel. I was wondering if you turned traction control off (by pressing the button) would it effect the way the system decided to move the power from front to the back axel? I always figured AWD was like the ultimate traction control system.

Yes & No
The HTRAC AWD system is capable of varying the torque/power between the front and rear drive axles. In Normal Mode it is about 70% rear 30% front. The Drive Mode button selects Normal, Eco, Sport or (if you hold it down) Snow modes and as already mentioned, there is another thread explaining these.
The ESC button controls traction and stability. Traction control is independent of the AWD system and senses when a wheel or wheels is/are slipping and applies the brake to that wheel(s). Stability Control uses Yaw sensors to detect when the car is losing grip at front or back and uses individual wheel braking to maintain control.
The above is a brief simplistic summary and I'm sure there is more detail available if you need it.

 

[Nikgen]

Yes & No
The HTRAC AWD system is capable of varying the torque/power between the front and rear drive axles. In Normal Mode it is about 70% rear 30% front. The Drive Mode button selects Normal, Eco, Sport or (if you hold it down) Snow modes and as already mentioned, there is another thread explaining these.
The ESC button controls traction and stability. Traction control is independent of the AWD system and senses when a wheel or wheels is/are slipping and applies the brake to that wheel(s). Stability Control uses Yaw sensors to detect when the car is losing grip at front or back and uses individual wheel braking to maintain control.
The above is a brief simplistic summary and I'm sure there is more detail available if you need it.

Traction control also seems to retard throttle response when it detects wheel slippage - but I agree the systems are separate (as the RWD has TCS as well), but related and the interaction is more complex with HTRAC.

 

[smirn0ff]

Look at that video: 2015 Hyundai Genesis | HTRAC All Wheel Drive | “Snow Day”

 

[markpoisson]

I turned off traction control the other day and noticed the light for the emergency braking (AEB) system also came on indicating it was disabled. I hadn't noticed that before.

 

[smirn0ff]

Here we have very good snow last days. On Saturday evening it was heavily snowing and the roads were good covered with snow.
I go out to test the AWD in those conditions
One time I tried to turn off the ESC+TCS
result was that the car start to be very hard for driving. The wheels start to slip, it was very hard to keep the car in the road.
With the ECS ON it was very pleasant to drive in the snow, the car was rock stable on the road, even one my friend who drives Audi quattro was very excited how stable on the road is the Genesis, more than the Audi

 

[Midnightsun]

Here we have very good snow last days. On Saturday evening it was heavily snowing and the roads were good covered with snow.
I go out to test the AWD in those conditions
One time I tried to turn off the ESC+TCS
result was that the car start to be very hard for driving. The wheels start to slip, it was very hard to keep the car in the road.
With the ECS ON it was very pleasant to drive in the snow, the car was rock stable on the road, even one my friend who drives Audi quattro was very excited how stable on the road is the Genesis, more than the Audi

I must assume you have the stock tires and not winters on the car as I have not experienced this at all.

 

[smirn0ff]

Winter tires Vredestein on all wheels.

 

[Midnightsun]

Wow excellent snow tires. I guess you need to learn how to drive then. Seriously, If you are too heavy on the gas pedal in snowy conditions and all the slip/traction control is turned off you will be all over the place, you do need to know how to master the gas pedal input to suit conditions just like any car out there.

 

[smirn0ff]

really the tires are good for this car.

that is I wanted to point in my post - that if you are heavy on the gas pedal and the ESC is off, this is not for you
I must tell that the stability and traction control systems make the drivers more lazy this is applicable for me also.
Here we have good snowfall in the winter so I have experience driving in snow conditions also without stability and traction systems