Traction Control

[catmanluge]

Has anuone had any luck shutting off their Thraction Control Completely??

I have tried several things but nothing has totally dissarmed the TC..

[itsnotanova]

Bump. I hate TC! Stupid thing always goes off when I try to take off fast. It takes the fun out of having a 3.4 and it's not like I'm dropping the clutch or anything crazy like that. It will kick in at the slightest amount of wheel spin all the way into third gear. It really sucks at auto cross events and my car was faster with it turned off. I wish it was activated when I want it to be activated and not the every time I start the car. I also hate the warning light telling me it's been deactivated.

[johnsjmc]

I read a thread a while ago which was linked by (I think radium king ). There are several sensors that could probably be switched which would disable TC problem with which one to avoid loosing ABS too.

[specboxCO]

Originally Posted by catmanluge

Has anuone had any luck shutting off their Thraction Control Completely??

I have tried several things but nothing has totally disarmed the TC..

The only way to 100% remove it is to swap in a non-TC ABS unit. The big problem is that the TC ABS unit is 4 channel, to allow separate braking to each rear wheel, whereas the non-TC unit is three channel, with a splitter in the rear brake lines. Not a huge issue, just join the rear lines together after the brake biasing valve and you are good to go.

There are no sensors you can eliminate with TC, it uses the wheel speed sensors to detect wheel spin to apply braking and cut throttle. If you eliminate those sensors ABS is gone too. PSM you can eliminate and keep ABS.

[thstone]

Originally Posted by catmanluge

Has anuone had any luck shutting off their Thraction Control Completely??

I have tried several things but nothing has totally dissarmed the TC.

I had this problem on my Spec Boxster where I would sometimes forget to manually turn off the TC before going out onto the track - and then I'd wonder why the car was applying the brakes in the middle of a corner!

To solve it, I developed a simple electronics unit that sends the TC "off" signal each time the key turns on the power to the car. It is based on the Robotop design - nothing more some re-programming and tying into the wiring harness at the right place.

TC disabled 100% of the time.

[GatorLapis]

Originally Posted by thstone

I had this problem on my Spec Boxster where I would sometimes forget to manually turn off the TC before going out onto the track - and then I'd wonder why the car was applying the brakes in the middle of a corner!

To solve it, I developed a simple electronics unit that sends the TC "off" signal each time the key turns on the power to the car. It is based on the Robotop design - nothing more some re-programming and tying into the wiring harness at the right place.

TC disabled 100% of the time.

Can you make one for all of us?

[stelan]

i want one for my TC and one for my A/C

Originally Posted by thstone

I had this problem on my Spec Boxster where I would sometimes forget to manually turn off the TC before going out onto the track - and then I'd wonder why the car was applying the brakes in the middle of a corner!

To solve it, I developed a simple electronics unit that sends the TC "off" signal each time the key turns on the power to the car. It is based on the Robotop design - nothing more some re-programming and tying into the wiring harness at the right place.

TC disabled 100% of the time.

[specboxCO]

Originally Posted by itsnotanova

Bump. I hate TC! Stupid thing always goes off when I try to take off fast. It takes the fun out of having a 3.4 and it's not like I'm dropping the clutch or anything crazy like that. It will kick in at the slightest amount of wheel spin all the way into third gear. It really sucks at auto cross events and my car was faster with it turned off. I wish it was activated when I want it to be activated and not the every time I start the car. I also hate the warning light telling me it's been deactivated.

Woody, $40 will buy you one of these:

http://www.kptechnologies.com/docs/SM20_installation.pdf

it remembers the state of the TC switch so it will always be off. Electrical tape will fix the annoying LED.

[steved0x]

Originally Posted by itsnotanova

Bump. I hate TC! Stupid thing always goes off when I try to take off fast. It takes the fun out of having a 3.4 and it's not like I'm dropping the clutch or anything crazy like that. It will kick in at the slightest amount of wheel spin all the way into third gear. It really sucks at auto cross events and my car was faster with it turned off. I wish it was activated when I want it to be activated and not the every time I start the car. I also hate the warning light telling me it's been deactivated.

I turned it off for the first time at my recent track day. Up until then I was afraid to turn it off as I felt the car would fly off the road. And the first time I turned it off at autocross I spun big time...

At this recent track day, for the first time, I could really feel it cutting the power almost every time I went through a corner at a fast rate of speed. I don't know if tossed is the right word, but I was tossing the car into the corners, and the stupid TC would activate and cut power. I turned it off and loved it. It was a hassle remembering to press the button every time and having the light on was an irritation as well.

Originally Posted by Bentley manual

Available as an option through the 2000 model year, ABS/TC 5.3 is
an extension to the basic Porsche ABS system with the added
feature of traction control. The traction control system is made up of
two sub-systems, Automatic Brake Differential (ABD) and Anti Slip
Regulation (ASR).

Automatic Brake Differential (ABD) functions similar to a locking or
limited slip differential to help the vehicle retain traction. Uslng the
ABS wheel speed sensors to detect wheel spln during acceleration,
the ABS control module will pulse the hydraulic pressure line of the
brake caliper of the spinning wheel to assist the vehicle in gaining
traction.

If ABD intervention is not enough to regain traction, the ABS/TC
system will employ Anti-Slip Regulation (ASR). ASR adjusts fuel
Injector cycles and retards Ignition timing to reduce engine torque.
When the Traction Control system is operational, the indicator lamp
on Instrument panel is illuminated.

The traction control function can be disabled by means of the TC Off
switch located on the center console. If the TC system is
switched off, the TC warning lamps in the instrument panel and the
TC Off switch are illuminated.

NOTE- ABD remains active until vehicle speed reaches 62.5 miles per
hour, even if the TC system is turned off.

This statement is interesting:

"NOTE- ABD remains active until vehicle speed reaches 62.5 miles per hour, even if the TC system is turned off."

Looks like the only way to get rid of this is to remove some modules or something as described earlier. Unsure if ABD is a bad thing, I guess any uncommanded braking could be considered bad, even if it is intended to simulate a limited slip diff?

[johnsjmc]

I believe the "yaw" sensor would need to be switched off to fully disable TC and leave abs active.

[specboxCO]

Originally Posted by johnsjmc

I believe the "yaw" sensor would need to be switched off to fully disable TC and leave abs active.

That would work for PSM/PASM but the basic ABS 5.3 TC system isn't that advanced, and only uses input from the wheel speed sensors. No way to disable it and keep ABS. Only 100% fix is to swap in a non-TC ABS unit.

[itsnotanova]

I talked to a friend who's the lead tech at a Porsche dealership and also races/works on a lot of spec boxsters. He said that he usually just disconnects a few wires from the ABS and it makes the car think you've hit the disable button. He also said that doing this makes the light in the cluster stay on but does not affect the ABS. I meant to get into more detail with him but the conversation went elsewhere. I'll get more out of him and let you guys know.

[jdlmodelt]

Originally Posted by specboxCO

Woody, $40 will buy you one of these:

http://www.kptechnologies.com/docs/SM20_installation.pdf

it remembers the state of the TC switch so it will always be off. Electrical tape will fix the annoying LED.

just pull the gauge cluster and remove the LED associated with the TC. That's what I did.