Snow chains - they don't work

Last year my neighbour and her son were desperately digging the snow out from under her BMW's front wheels until I went out there with another spade and dug out the rear wheels. He son works in motor racing too :)
 
NathanE said:
T/C usually only works above 5 or 10mph. So not sure where this idea has come from that it is useful for getting the car rolling on snow?
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I have never driven a car with TCS that didnt work below a certain speed.

Remember, it's about killing wheelspin. You could do a burnout with traction control turned ON if you what you said was true!

Jokester said:
How on earth does that work? It would stall the engine on mine if the wheel speed drops below 5mph with the clutch engaged.
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It doesnt kill all power, it reduces power.

Go and try it - drop the clutch at 4000rpm @ 0mph and see what happens. Your TCS will kick in.
 
The TCS/ESP in my car also locks a spinning wheel to allow power to be diverted to the other wheel; which is kinda cool. although theres no substitute for a lockable diff in snow.
 
[TW]Fox;18035051 said:
It doesnt kill all power, it reduces power.

Go and try it - drop the clutch at 4000rpm @ 0mph and see what happens. Your TCS will kick in.
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I know, it reduces power to the point that the wheel speed would only be doing the equivalent of 5mph (1st) or 10mph (2nd), Any less would stall the engine, except if there was some trickery using the clutch.
 
Jokester said:
I know, it reduces power to the point that the wheel speed would only be doing the equivalent of 5mph (1st) or 10mph (2nd), Any less would stall the engine, except if there was some trickery using the clutch.
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Not quite the same as saying it only works above 10mph though is it?

The fact remains that if you are standing still and you accelerate on low adhesion road surface, TCS will function.
 
PMKeates said:
No, but I suspect it should be a pre-requisite of owning a car, considering it will impact how you drive it, the rate of tyre wear, which axle you put the snow socks on etc. :p
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My wife neither knows or cares which wheels are driven on her car and I'd suspect this to be the case for many, many drivers.
 
[TW]Fox;18035124 said:
Not quite the same as saying it only works above 10mph though is it?

The fact remains that if you are standing still and you accelerate on low adhesion road surface, TCS will function.
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Nope, mine will just spin the rear wheels, tyres started to smoke :eek:

Fact remains every car manufacture will use a different system.
 
mjt said:
Can't help but think that the guy filming is the bigger idiot.Instead of watching some poor woman struggle, why not get out and help?
Serves him right that she crashed into his house.
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According to the comment on the video the guy filming is wheelchair bound.

Not everything in life is so black & White ;)
 
Just read the manual for my car... the TCS is only active above 5 mph. Go figure.

TCS is a performance enhancement program (optimum tyre slip coming out of slow or tight corners). Whereas ESP/DSC etc are safety enhancement. I'd guess that's why TCS doesn't much care about what the wheels are doing below a certain speed?

For reference:
http://www.google.co.uk/search?q=traction+control+"active+above"
 
Q5: Is there anything else I should know about?
A5: Nothing to be concerned about, although certain users may wish to note that

you can use them with your vehicle's electronic aids left on, unlike snow chains which should NOT be used with traction control and anti skid devices (e.g. ESP / ASC+T / ASR / ABS).
they are breathable so there's no adverse effect on brake cooling.
it's recommended that users of rear wheel drive cars should also fit a set to the front wheels to provide better directional stability, especially under braking.
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:S
 
NathanE said:
Just read the manual for my car... the TCS is only active above 5 mph. Go figure.

TCS is a performance enhancement program (optimum tyre slip coming out of slow or tight corners). Whereas ESP/DSC etc are safety enhancement. I'd guess that's why TCS doesn't much care about what the wheels are doing below a certain speed?

For reference:
http://www.google.co.uk/search?q=traction+control+"active+above"
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I bet the speed sensor in the box is used for that anyway. So 5mph in first is minimal revs, any wheel spin from launch will see u break 5 mph even if the car isnt moving.
 
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