Superking wrote:He fears that the Traction Control system will nullify the benefits of snow tires.Don't understand this. What makes him think it?

BUMP!FM Jim K. has a Chevy Volt. It has a feature called "Traction Control". He wants to disable this feature, but has been advised by the Chevy officials that one cannot disable this feature.I advised him to get snow tires to navigate the treacherous Chicago winter streets (as you all wisely advised me last winter).He fears that the "Traction Control" system will nullify the benefits of snow tires (let me know, Jim K., if I'm overstating that).So - does anybody know anything about Chevy's "Traction Control", and if so, could you advise our PRF brother Jim K?

Hi. Jim's Volt is a 2011. Apparently the ability to switch this off began with the 2012 models.

At this point, I would have to ask Jim K. to step in and speak for himself.It occurs to me I don't know his handle, off the top of my head.Jim K., are you out there?

icing wrote:true, appears unclear.I do not mean I floored it. I kept gas constant, did not decelerate, and just held firm. I continued going in the same correct, straight forward direction until traction control braked my right side and pulled me into the other lane. again, I've done a lot of snow rain driving, and in my opinion this is the best approach to hydroplaning. I think most people freak out and start making small changes which very quickly become large changes.edit: talking about front wheel drive vehicles here.Yeah, you don't stomp the brake pedal in a FWD car when you start to slide or skid; it rotates the car faster. A little bit of throttle and keeping the nose pointed forward should get you through it.FM icing would have been fine if the Stability Control ”which works by applying brakes at what it thinks are the right corners to stabilize the car ”hadn't interfered.

From the Volt forum:With the 2011 Volt the TCS and ESP* cannot manually be deactivated.TCS = Traction controlESP should be ESC = Electronic Stability Control, the same as "Stabilitrak"Generally, I think TCS is programmed to kick in too quickly in most modern cars. My wife's Malibu has it and from a standing start on an inch or two of snow, it wants to kick in right away even though I'm doing the same thing as effectively by feathering the throttle.

Superking wrote:At this point, I would have to ask Jim K. to step in and speak for himself.It occurs to me I don't know his handle, off the top of my head.Jim K., are you out there?I think he's jacky69. I don't think he checks this place very often or at all.

icing wrote:this was my first car with traction control. I'm in the left lane, going 60, hit a puddle, and like a sane person, keep my foot down and hold the wheel tight. I don't think you're supposed to keep your foot on the gas at cruising throttle when you hydroplane but lightly hit it or ease off. Works for me in my wife's Forester.

digressionfucking traction control.partially based on this forum, (speedy?) I purchased a 2014 ford focus st.I drove this car, a mazda speed 3 and a wrx.wrx was nominally the best, the mazda was uncomfortable and not that great, but then I called insurance to get quotes. focus st, speed 3, and wrx were ~$150, $300, $400 for 6 months.the wrx is a bear to insure. also, more importantly, cop magnet.the ford is a sleeper. it's fast as shit. turns corners very, very tight. from behind looks like a amc pacer. these are all perks.so I'm from chicago, far ne corner of la now. had driven in snow rain for 20 years.this was my first car with traction control. I'm in the left lane, going 60, hit a puddle, and like a sane person, keep my foot down and hold the wheel tight. fucking traction control kicks in and decides I'm doing it all wrong. all of a sudden I'm jerked over to the right, within a foot of the car next to me. fucking foot off the gas, jiggling the wheel around, recover, and turn that shit off immediately. traction control can go straight to hell. /digression

true, appears unclear.I do not mean I floored it. I kept gas constant, did not decelerate, and just held firm. I continued going in the same correct, straight forward direction until traction control braked my right side and pulled me into the other lane. again, I've done a lot of snow rain driving, and in my opinion this is the best approach to hydroplaning. I think most people freak out and start making small changes which very quickly become large changes.edit: talking about front wheel drive vehicles here.