Question from potential buyer re: traction / stability control


J

jaxgt

GT Owner
Mark IV Lifetime
Jul 12, 2006
2,817
I am seriously considering buying a 2005/6 GT, and have considered several other exotic cars (Z06, Porsche, Viper). My question that I'm hoping to get some opinions about pertains to the lack of traction and stability control on the GT. I wonder if not having these features will make such a powerful car much more risky to drive? Having read through much of the forum, I see mention of several 'wrecked' GTs. I have no intentions of taking it to the track, and am not a wild driver, but want to make sure that cruising at 90-100 mph won't get me into trouble.

A recent report I heard on NPR about cars in general said that traction and stability control will likely save more lives than air bags.

Thanks for the advice !
 
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jaxgt said:
....... but want to make sure that cruising at 90-100 mph won't get me into trouble.
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Only if the troopers catch ya!!:biggrin

The car handles very well, and if you are somewhat sane in your driving habits you should be quite OK with out any of those 'modern conveniences'.

Personally I really would not worry about it.

Know your limits as well as those of the machine & all is well.
 
I almost always turn off traction control on any car Im driving. My 360 Modena would drive me crazy when the ASR would come on.

I mean mostly the system applies brakes and/or lifts off the gas for you under any tire slip condition. So in reality if you are willing to lift off the gas and/or apply the brake during hard cornering or acceleration then you should be ok, it is really a system for dummy drivers who dont want to keep the power under control and just want to keep there foot in it during a hard turn/cornering/tire slip acceleration.

It does not take a professional driver to keep a car under control, it takes a smart one. :thumbsup
 
I'm no pro either but aside from the occasional fishtail taking off (which can be a lot of fun) I have had no traction issues.
 
Best advice I got from this site:

-Practice driving....this aint like no other car:
-parking,
-backing up
-clutch take off
....before any serious driving: no kidding plenty of folks have brokern rear diffuser, airdam lip, burnt clutch, started in 3rd gear, etc.

-Practice driving even in your driveway or backing up
-making left turns
-merging left
-A pillar rake angle and left blind spot are huge
-first gear is slightly off-center to left; NOT straight HH pattern
-Usually the truck Deilvery guys do a 5 min tutorial
-Give like a $50-100 top too...why not after dropping $175k


.....after your used to its like driving a mustang GT
 
Traction Control

If a decision to purchase or not to purchase a high performance car is based on the inclusion of traction control and/or similar devices etc. I would simply not buy such a car. There are lots of other "gee, look at me cars" that have such features.
 
First, no traction control except your right foot.
Second, all those accidents do indicate something
Third, driving at 100 or 150 didn't caus the accidents
Fourth, IMO the problem is people who accelerate quickly in first or second with cold tires. Once the rear end starts going just hang on.
Fifth, I have spoken with 2 owners who crashed their cars and it was accelerating too hard for the conditions.

So you decide if you want to launch the car with cold tires on cold pavement we may read about your crash in the news. But if you use common sense we won't read about your accident.

Also air temps under 70 mean watch out as tires and pavement are too cold.

Dave
 
My previous car was a C6 vette, Z51 package. I could more easily bring the rear around (with full stability and traction control "on") than I could in my GT without those features. My recent track experience confirmed this...the vette needed those features, but the GT did not...just a little common sense and a smooth throttle foot. I think the fact that it is a mid-engine car with more of a rear weight distribution may also suggest better control properties...other more experienced drivers may have other insights.
 
Nothing like pulling out in front of traffic and stepping on it to have your throttle cut and brakes applied. Lots of fun. Now on a dirt road, or in snow or rain, it actually makes sense. Mustang has it but so far haven't really noticed it like my truck which has almost killed me several times....and saved me a few times too though.
 
I regularly cruise the interstates at 95-100 with no problem (ha, leaving Detroit with the Chicago boys). Now that it's getting cooler, pay attention to barondw's advice. I've found the car drives quite nicely at 80 in the rain (it seems to be a rain magnet for me - I thought it was the Texas guy's fault). If you go back and review the pictures on this forum about the wrecked cars, they were almost all on two lane roads and smashed in front dead center by some post or pole. My mantra has been to hit the gas only in a straight line.
 
Go find a parking lot at a big mall without concrete parking stops and learn about your car.

Some initial things to practice would be hard accleration from a dig through first and second. Also practice turning left and right while maintaing 40 MPH or so and see what happens when you stay in the gas, lift off the gas, apply the brakes.
 
This car feels planted to the ground like no other car I have had the opportunity to drive. For me, one of the great draws of the car is the lack of driving aids. You end up paying for the technology, and then you just turn it off. The car is one of the most simple cars out there, and that makes me a fan. People that crash them have no respect for the power. It's the typical male ego that makes us all think we can handle a powerful car. It's pure physics that proves that many of us can't. It's not a Camry, you can't just mash the pedal.
 
The traction control system on the 2001 M5 that I drive is extremely intrusive. It is also a pain to constantly have to de-activate. I wish that it was a switch that worked in reverse, i.e. that you press it to turn it on. Then, in rain, or poor surface conditions, I could choose to use it.

The M5 has a lot of technology. Great when it works, but expensive when it breaks down.

I think the purity of the GT was attractive to me. It's also good to have a healthy respect for a powerful vehicle. I plan to take my time to get to know her, and also have fun when appropriate.

Great advice here. Practice is key. Thanks for asking a good question and thanks for the great responses.
 
It sounds like you have had some nice cars, but the GT is like very few other cars out there. The handling characteristics are phenomenal.

It really sank in a few days after I bought it. I was nervous because the car just "felt" so different from the Corvettes and Porsches. An Audi A8 (not much of a race car) wanted to push me a little bit by blowing past me at about 110mph. I downshifted and engaged him. Before I passed him we entered a lazy turn (at 110mph). I notice that his car rolled strongly out of the turn... then I noticed that mine wasn't rolling.... at all... I wasn't even tilting my head. The GT could have easily been doing 160 - 170 mph in that turn.

Then I took it to the track. It was "Intro to Road Racing Class." The instructor had a race modified Z06. We would blow through some HARD turns at 120. I watch the back of his car slide around (He was doing this intentionally), but I could not get the GT to let go. The idea was to go fast enough to brake free. I ended up drafting the instructor so close that I nearly over heated the car (they called it dirty air). In short, the GT can out drive me.
 
As is usually the case - the car is nearly always faster than the driver.
 
Fubar said:
It sounds like you have had some nice cars, but the GT is like very few other cars out there. The handling characteristics are phenomenal.

It really sank in a few days after I bought it. I was nervous because the car just "felt" so different from the Corvettes and Porsches. An Audi A8 (not much of a race car) wanted to push me a little bit by blowing past me at about 110mph. I downshifted and engaged him. Before I passed him we entered a lazy turn (at 110mph). I notice that his car rolled strongly out of the turn... then I noticed that mine wasn't rolling.... at all... I wasn't even tilting my head. The GT could have easily been doing 160 - 170 mph in that turn.

Then I took it to the track. It was "Intro to Road Racing Class." The instructor had a race modified Z06. We would blow through some HARD turns at 120. I watch the back of his car slide around (He was doing this intentionally), but I could not get the GT to let go. The idea was to go fast enough to brake free. I ended up drafting the instructor so close that I nearly over heated the car (they called it dirty air). In short, the GT can out drive me.
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Were you at Bob Bondourant's school?

I have gone for hot laps with the instructors in their Mustangs and "WOW" is all I can say. I thought I could drive untill I rode with them. They can do things with a car that I never thought could be possably done.
 
PL510*Jeff said:
As is usually the case - the car is nearly always faster than the driver.
Click to expand...

Ding ding ding. No offense to anyone who has had a serious accident in their GT, because even the best wreck their cars sometimes, but you have to really be pushing it in one of these. As long as you respect the car as being more capable than you, know that high power and low temps/bad surfaces don't mix, and generally don't operate with reckless abandon you'll be all good.

The thing is, once you cross the point of no return, you'd better no what you are doing or the bite can be very nasty. If I had an asphalt lake or $100 million dollars I'd be more willing to test that myself. More than one experienced driver I know has been bitten by the car because they simply aren't used to the way a car with this weight distribution reacts. I've watched Gene Martindale beat one of these at a track and it hammers home just how capable the car is and how I'm not even on the same continent as the car skill wise.

There are no electronannies in this car for a reason. It's a pure race car in the same way the Viper is. I'm thankful it has none because, quite frankly, it keeps me honest. I just constantly remind myself the car is more vehicle than I am driver. I bought the car to drive it, not for it to drive me.:biggrin
 
Dave, I thought you said you were an economist, not a philosopher.
 
Dont forget to practice getting in and out of the car. My head got knocked nearly every time I got out of a GT.
 
This car will comfortably cruise at 130 - 150 for hours (I've done it) - hardly ticking over really. So 90-100 is well within it's comfort zone.

I think we can all be lulled into a false sense of security by electronic aids and, when they're not available, we understandably feel anxious. However stability and traction control are not really needed - as mentioned elswhere, you just have to remember that you've got 550bhp under your right foot and 500lbs of torque. That's more than 'normal'! So you can't just mash the throttle and hope everything will be OK - it won't. Simply drive it with respect for all that power and all will be well....
 
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