Trac saved my life

1005 Views 13 Replies 10 Participants Last post by carbon5iber, Nov 26, 2001

MrRoccoPocco

Discussion Starter · May 29, 2001

Guys, I hate driving with TRAC on because i want more response etc when i drive. But it was raining on Saturday and I had 3 friends in my car. I wanted to test out the cornering abilities of my car. I wanted to beat the left turn arrow on a street so I took the turn at 50 mph, the car turned as if it was on rails. But somehow the back wheels started to slide and the tail kicked out. Thats when my trac kicked in and it wobbled my car back and forth until i was in control of my car again. Of course I tried to play the whole incident off and told my friends that I was trying to drift. They thought that was soo cool and now they think the Is300 is the most awesome car in the world! hahaha. Anyways, have you guys read the break in period? How the heck can you manage 1000 miles of below 55mph driving! I can't take it anymore! In 2 days of driving I now have 300 some odd miles.

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Badman Forever

· #2 · May 29, 2001

I've done the same thing and lost control the same way. However... I didn't have trac on and I almost bought the farm. Luckily all the other cars around me stopped in their tracks and watched me spin out of control until I finally somehow got it under control without hitting anything. From that moment on, I have not been as careless.

[ May 29, 2001: Message edited by: Badman Forever ]

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blueIS

· #3 · May 29, 2001

yea, i can c that u r still alive...

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Lexus_IS300

· #4 · May 29, 2001

uhmmmmmmmmmmmmmm...ok.

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jiggafett

· #5 · May 29, 2001

Worked for me too, but I can't wait to see the difference when I get the TRAC ecu replaced at the dealer next month. It's a weird feeling when the car takes control of itself, right?

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MrRoccoPocco

Discussion Starter · #6 · May 29, 2001

Yeah i guess its weird that the car controlled itself. It all happened too fast. Before I realized that my back wheels were slipping, the car gained control of itself. I love my car

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triz

· #7 · May 29, 2001

To bad we dont have VSC.

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IS-F-I-Found

· #8 · May 30, 2001

Originally posted by tenchi300:
I wanted to test out the cornering abilities of my car. I wanted to beat the left turn arrow on a street so I took the turn at 50 mph, the car turned as if it was on rails. But somehow the back wheels started to slide and the tail kicked out. Thats when my trac kicked in and it wobbled my car back and forth until i was in control of my car again. .

I realize there's thousands of history posts on TRAC and LSD, but I'm still curious, doesn't TRAC only work while the car is accelerating? If your foot is off the gas, going into your turn... Could Trac still register wheel spin, and effectively brake the wheels spinning?

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IS-F-I-Found

· #9 · May 30, 2001

Originally posted by triz:
To bad we dont have VSC.

Just a few more months, and it'll be an option, for the automatics at least

I can attest to some of the stability control programs out there. I was havin' fun with a friend's BMW 330i last weekend on an empty parking lot: driving an imaginary skidpad circle at full throttle, holding my tracs, turned the DSC off, spun out of control into a 360. Pretty amazing. Can't say the 360 wasn't lots of fun though.

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vlad_a

· #10 · May 30, 2001

Was it really the trac that saved you?
It only works while accelerating.
I automatically get my foot off the gas pedal when rear end looses control so the engine braking will be applied to the rear wheels and the car will regain traction.

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elemental

· #11 · May 31, 2001

if you suddenly jump off the gas, weight shifts forward and the rearend has less force getting pressed downward on the wheels ------------> more slippage. you guys should really read or something on how to control slides.

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vlad_a

· #12 · May 31, 2001

Originally posted by elemental:
if you suddenly jump off the gas, weight shifts forward and the rearend has less force getting pressed downward on the wheels ------------> more slippage. you guys should really read or something on how to control slides.

The correct way would be to partially release the gas pedal. Requires a ton of practice to get it perfect. Of course, stick shift would be ideal for that.
For average driver just letting go of the gas will work since the tires are spinning due to the acceleration.

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IS-F-I-Found

· #13 · Jun 1, 2001

qb][/QUOTE]
The correct way would be to partially release the gas pedal. Requires a ton of practice to get it perfect. Of course, stick shift would be ideal for that.
For average driver just letting go of the gas will work since the tires are spinning due to the acceleration.[/QB][/QUOTE]

Hey Vlad,

Would you agree that Trac only works when accelerating, not while decelerating or coasting: That's when VSC works...

[ May 31, 2001: Message edited by: Michael ]

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carbon5iber

· #14 · Nov 26, 2001

man, you guys askin questions about sliding yourcar better be careful. you should practice in a empty area are first. the reason being the electronic shifting on the lexus doesn't let you keep the car in the upper rev ranges without shifting on its own, this can cause the weight to shift the front and around you go. my current other car is a 345 horse 99 Z28 with manual six speed and 18 inch rims with 275/35/18 tires on the rear. its a slidin machine

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