SR traction control
Thread Starter
Junior Member
Joined: Aug 2016
Posts: 58
SR traction control
Does anyone have info on how traction control works? The manual states that it reduces wheelspin in low traction situations. Anyone have more info than this? Can I use it at any speed? Thanks.
Member
Joined: Jun 2015
Posts: 123
From: Los Angeles
This standard feature — sometimes called stability control — continuously monitors your steering and braking actions, senses any oversteer or understeer, and compensates by reducing engine speed and/or applying brake pressure to specific wheels. In addition, Traction Control System can sense wheel slip or spin and responds by instantly helping reduce throttle which helps you both regain grip and maintain control of the road.
Senior Member
Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 8,143
From: a meadow south of Atlanta
Yep, Charlie Brown is right. The electronic stability control (called VDC - vehicle directional control by Nissan) monitors the car's movements, especially when there are indications things may be getting out of control. It can reduce engine speed and/or apply what it calculates to be the proper amount of braking to any of the four wheels in order to keep the car under control. This system was developed during the 1990s, and I seem to recall that the '04 6th gen may have been the first Maxima to have this feature.
Having driven cars on long-distance trips for half a century before getting one with VDC (my '04 Maxima SL), I can confirm that VDC works in wondrous ways. It was so easy to have a car begin fishtailing in tight high-speed maneuvers before VDC, because the power steering of those days did not allow reversing the steering wheel fast enough to stop the fishtailing, which usually meant a trip to the ditch, or worse.
Traction Control (TCS) has been around quite a while, and helps keep a tire that is not getting good traction from spinning wildly. accomplishing nothing. By reducing the power to the point that spinning wheel slows or stops its spinning and by transferring more power to wheels that are getting grip, the car can make its way through slippery situations.
IN GENERAL, VDC is associated with maintaining control of the car at road speeds, and TCS is associated with being able to get the car moving on slippery surfaces. But I don't know of any specific speed limits associated with either.
Having driven cars on long-distance trips for half a century before getting one with VDC (my '04 Maxima SL), I can confirm that VDC works in wondrous ways. It was so easy to have a car begin fishtailing in tight high-speed maneuvers before VDC, because the power steering of those days did not allow reversing the steering wheel fast enough to stop the fishtailing, which usually meant a trip to the ditch, or worse.
Traction Control (TCS) has been around quite a while, and helps keep a tire that is not getting good traction from spinning wildly. accomplishing nothing. By reducing the power to the point that spinning wheel slows or stops its spinning and by transferring more power to wheels that are getting grip, the car can make its way through slippery situations.
IN GENERAL, VDC is associated with maintaining control of the car at road speeds, and TCS is associated with being able to get the car moving on slippery surfaces. But I don't know of any specific speed limits associated with either.