What Are The Benefits Of Turning Traction Control Off?

What keeps a car spinning out of control and smash into something when the driver turns around corners at a high speed? Traction control. By reducing unwanted drifting and wheel spins, this safety option makes it safer and easier to drive on slippery surfaces and around tight corners. Are there any benefits of turning traction control off?

What Is Traction Control?

Traction control is an automobile safety feature that helps a car to make use of all available traction on the surface in certain conditions. The feature kicks in when your car struggles to speed up on slippery or low-friction road surfaces. The system has wheel speed sensors for monitoring the rotation speed of all or front wheels and a hydraulic modulator that pumps the brakes.

When the sensors detect wheel slippage during acceleration, they send information to the electronic control unit (ECU). The ECU also continuously monitors the rotation speed of the wheels to check that if they are losing traction. If that is the case, it commands the hydraulic modulator to pump the brake, which involves applying and releasing the brake in quick succession, to the affected wheel.

     SEE MORE

• The Danger of a Flashing Electronic Throttle Control Light
• Driving with Danger: A Broken Control Arm

The traction control applies the brakes to slow the car down until it gains sufficient traction. In some vehicles, the system decreases engine power to the wheels experiencing traction loss.

The Advantages Of Traction Control

Before knowing the benefits of turning traction control off, you should have a clear idea about its functions and how it helps in certain conditions. The conditions where this feature will come handy are:

• Accelerating on an icy road when you are at a green traffic light with cars lining behind you.
• Speeding up on an uphill road where the surface feels loose because of gravels and stones.
• When the wheels lose traction due to hitting a muddy patch on a road.

Benefits Of Turning Traction Control Off

Why turn off traction control? In fact, you need the feature only in certain conditions, especially when the road is slippery. You will need a stronger grip on the surface when the road is snowy, wet, muddy, or unpaved. This means that the feature has no function unless you drive the car in these conditions.

The car’s gas mileage improves when you keep the traction control off. You will also notice a slight slowdown in tire wear. If you are a thrill-seeker, turning off traction control will let you experience the complete excitement of some stunts like drifting.

Remember that not having traction control does not affect the safety standard of a vehicle unless you are driving on slippery roads or turning corners at high speeds. The truth is no person in their right mind would try to drive that fast around corners.

Another thing every driver should keep in mind that safe driving practices are the best way to reap the benefits of traction control. Avoid aggressive driving, including unnecessary speeding, acceleration around highway curves, and tailgating.