So I conducted a few very unscientific experiments this morning with the TCS.

 

It has always been apparent that a hard start from standstill (or a slightly less hard start in the wet!) has the traction control kicking straight in with lots of spin/grip/spin/grip from the tyres along with the odd bit of axle tramp.

 

Attempting the same sort of starts today, on roads which have been patchy damp/dry seems to suggest that with the traction control off, I get a far quicker, far smoother, far less dramatic launch off the line than with it on and indeed, it feels like there is very little wheel slip going on at all.

 

I can only assume that there must still be some significant wheelspin going on as I launch and that with the TCS off I am being less "safe" and controlled in my acceleration (and considerably shortening the life of my tyres!) but it seems odd that the traction kicks in quite so aggressively in situations where my limited testing suggests it could just leave things alone!

 

Thoughts?

Have you tried using launch control.

on the diesel i found that it makes take offs very quick, and is done by selecting sport mode , turn off traction control foot on brake pedal,  hold the revs at 2,500 (may be different for the petrol) then lift off of the brakes then once moving right foot can be floored.

Have you tried using launch control.

on the diesel i found that it makes take offs very quick, and is done by selecting sport mode , turn off traction control foot on brake pedal,  hold the revs at 2,500 (may be different for the petrol) then lift off of the brakes then once moving right foot can be floored.

 

I haven't yet - sounded like a good way to shorten the life of my DSG! From memory, the manual says to floor the accelerator with the TSI...not sure that would work out too well either?

 

I guess I was more curious as to how much unnecessary hand-holding the TCS did when the car seems to move very well with it off

I'm not sure but I think the yellow traction light flashes if the system is taking any action, and if fitted the electronic diff lock (XDL?), obviously when fitted it tries to stop a single wheel spinning.

I wonder if it's this equalisation of traction that you are seeing

Edited 25 May, 201610 yr by SurreyJohn

I used to do

So I conducted a few very unscientific experiments this morning with the TCS.

 

It has always been apparent that a hard start from standstill (or a slightly less hard start in the wet!) has the traction control kicking straight in with lots of spin/grip/spin/grip from the tyres along with the odd bit of axle tramp.

 

Attempting the same sort of starts today, on roads which have been patchy damp/dry seems to suggest that with the traction control off, I get a far quicker, far smoother, far less dramatic launch off the line than with it on and indeed, it feels like there is very little wheel slip going on at all.

 

I can only assume that there must still be some significant wheelspin going on as I launch and that with the TCS off I am being less "safe" and controlled in my acceleration (and considerably shortening the life of my tyres!) but it seems odd that the traction kicks in quite so aggressively in situations where my limited testing suggests it could just leave things alone!

 

Thoughts?

I used to do this on my old mk5 gti - the TC was so agressive that it cut the power to avoid spin/tramp just when you needed it, e.g. joining a moving line of traffic on a t junction. Much safer to switch the system off momentarily, give it the beans pulling out, use your right foot to moderate the power a bit to give you the best traction (some spin isnt going to kill you) then put the tc back on again afterwards.

Generally with the xds cars this is less of a problem as they brake the spinning when rather than cut power, but you're right you can often get that tramping effect.

The "Electro-mechanical front locking differential" that the 230 has makes this even better, but you can still sometimes get that tramping effect . On cars where i've had stiffer dampers, bushes it's really reduced this effect, but in reality there is always going to be a limit to what the electronics can do - my unscientific experiments on the 230 lead me to believe that the fastest way off the line is with the TC on and just bring the power in progressively.

Think of the TCS as like ABS for the gas pedal. ABS is not designed to shorten your braking distance, rather, it is there to help you maintain stability and steering control. TCS has the same purpose, to help you maintain steering effectiveness and stability while applying power, not to maximise acceleration.

It can't be over aggressive, the TCS only detects wheel spin from the ABS sensors. If you get wheel spin from launch, that's down to driver skills, or lack of. The other main limiting factor is the car is front wheel drive, with treaded tyres. Even an F1 car is slower off the mark with full wets.

With TCS active the car will often accelerate slower than with TCS turned off, especially when only one wheel loses traction. For TCS to work it has to brake the slipping wheel beyond the point where traction is restored. This results in a braking affect which restricts acceleration of the gripping wheel (one wheel is braking whilst the other is trying to accelerate). With TCS off, the slipping wheel will continues to pull (albeit with reduced traction), and the gripping wheel will accelerate without restriction caused by any braking affect. Skoda's TCS is quite aggressive and can lead to a lot of "thunking" as the ABS kick-in. TCS is most beneficial when both wheels have lost traction.

Edited 25 May, 201610 yr by Orville

The ASR 'OFF', and ESC 'Sport' on the vRS is terrible.  Not being able to use the throttle pedal to drive through or control the wheel spin before the car thinks its a good idea to just cut the power doesn't make for a nice drive.  So I had a fiddle with the ABS coding and I have a new mode which suits my style of driving, and the increased power and traction I have through bushes, engine mounts and a man diff (read mechanical not electronic):