Traction Control - When to Turn it Off?

Goldie · Apr 17, 2017

I've left my steel wheels on permanently now with the Thunders stacked in the garage. Recently drove over the Molesworth Station road on South Island which was 185km of gravel roads http://www.doc.govt.nz/molesworth - State Highway One is still shut following earthquakes last November. I was glad I had the Good Year all seasons tyres that came with the steel wheels, rather than the Dunlop Sports on the alloys as the grip wasn't great in places.

Traction Control Light was flickering on and off on the hills with the wheels spinning a bit, it's only now looking at the manual that I realise that I should have actually turned it off on the hills to get more grip. Just wondering what others do when on gravel roads, e.g. just leave it on on the flat and turn it off for the hills, turn it off for the duration and turn it back on when on tarmac, or just leave it on.

If I get another California in future, I think I would go for the automatic option to keep both hands on the wheel on twisty and hilly roads, less tiring as well.

Andy

WelshGas · Apr 17, 2017

http://en.volkswagen.com/en/innovat...ical-glossary/antriebsschlupfregelungasr.html

Traction Control is designed to give you traction in just the conditions you mentioned.
The light coming on means it is working as intended.

Goldie · Apr 17, 2017

WelshGas said:
http://en.volkswagen.com/en/innovat...ical-glossary/antriebsschlupfregelungasr.html

Traction Control is designed to give you traction in just the conditions you mentioned.
The light coming on means it is working as intended.

Page 226 of the manual states that TCS should only be switched off when the traction achieved is not sufficient and gives an example of deep snow and loose surfaces and 'rocking' the Cali backwards and forwards to free it from mud.

Road was mainly crushed rock and hills a bit slippery in places. It coped okay, but wish I had tried it on and off now to see the difference having read the manual again.

Andy

Strong · Apr 17, 2017

As Welsh Gss. You have cited a perfect example of the TCS doing its job and providing you enough traction to maintain progress. As the manual states, you should only have switched it off if you'd actually got both drive wheels stuck and were going nowhere. Sounds like you did a great job: top driving.

Loz · Apr 17, 2017

One of the issues with our traction control is that one of the things it does is take away your throttle and back off the power to reduce the spinning, together with applying some braking to the spinning wheel.

In certain circumstances you also need to keep up momentum and this powerloss is detrimental .
Climbing a very steep gravel hill you need to keep momentum otherwise the weigh of the vehicle overcomes the traction of the tyres so in this circumstance you would allow the wheels to spin a bit as you keep forward motion they will grip again and help you finish your climb as stopping and trying to roll back can be tricky.
2 other instances that come to mind from my experience are deep soft sand and deep mud.

DM · Apr 17, 2017

Useful thread. Most of us just leave everything on default. It's good to know when to switch it off as well.

DM · Apr 17, 2017

PS. Very jealous of your travel options in NZ. We toured most of NZ in a beat up VW polo about 20 years ago. It broke down every 2 or 3 days but there was always somebody on hand to help us out. I don't think we ever had to revert to a breakdown service.

Goldie · Apr 18, 2017

DM said:
PS. Very jealous of your travel options in NZ. We toured most of NZ in a beat up VW polo about 20 years ago. It broke down every 2 or 3 days but there was always somebody on hand to help us out. I don't think we ever had to revert to a breakdown service.

Thanks. Cali is great for new Zealand, although quite small and modest compared to most Kiwi campers which range from converted buses to latest European models. Diesel is cheap here and there is a Road Usage Charge of about 6c per km, so there is not the same cost penalty as UK for high fuel consumption. Notwithstanding that, just seen that you can get a Beach in UK with 4 Motion now, that would be ideal for me out here. The Ocean costs £72k out in NZ!

Andy

kave · Apr 18, 2017

As others said, traction control works perfect in most cases, except when you need to spin the wheels, ie deep sand or maybe snow. Snow is where I have most experience with and I don't think spinning wheels help at all.

phillme · Apr 18, 2017

Goldie ... where did u hear that u can get a Beach 4motion in the uk ?

Goldie · Apr 18, 2017

phillme said:
Goldie ... where did u hear that u can get a Beach 4motion in the uk ?

Found this yesterday. https://www.volkswagen-vans.co.uk/range/camper-vans-t6/california-beach/specification

If you scroll down to Engine section it has 7 Speed DSG and 4 Motion as options on the 150.

Andy.

HugoFar · Apr 19, 2017

Goldie said:
I've left my steel wheels on permanently now with the Thunders stacked in the garage. Recently drove over the Molesworth Station road on South Island which was 185km of gravel roads http://www.doc.govt.nz/molesworth - State Highway One is still shut following earthquakes last November. I was glad I had the Good Year all seasons tyres that came with the steel wheels, rather than the Dunlop Sports on the alloys as the grip wasn't great in places.

Traction Control Light was flickering on and off on the hills with the wheels spinning a bit, it's only now looking at the manual that I realise that I should have actually turned it off on the hills to get more grip. Just wondering what others do when on gravel roads, e.g. just leave it on on the flat and turn it off for the hills, turn it off for the duration and turn it back on when on tarmac, or just leave it on.

If I get another California in future, I think I would go for the automatic option to keep both hands on the wheel on twisty and hilly roads, less tiring as well.

AndyView attachment 20709 View attachment 20710

Hi Goldie

Good to hear traction control was working for you and great photos. Road looks in good condition. The Rainbow Station Road is next door to the Molesworth Road,is a bit shorter and requires a few creek crossings. Spectacular scenery too. We've been thinking of a drive through some time next summer. I've cycled through a few times but never driven the Cali through yet. How was the ground clearance for you? BTW, back in 2015 I asked VWNZ about ordering a MY16 VW Cali Beach 4Motion,and after quite a few months they made up a spec list (none previously existed for a NZ Cali Beach) and it came out with only one model possible; 400Nm 132kW BiTDi 4motion DSG + NZD$110,000.00. / GBP 60,415. We didn't order one,and that is still the spec list for NZ,although I believe you,Goldie may still have the only Beach in NZ.

Goldie · Apr 22, 2017

Hi Hugo,

Ground clearance was good and road was in reasonable condition. I'd be a bit more confident with a 4 Motion though especially if it had been raining. Road closed on Easter Monday until end of October now though.

Went via Nelson on the way to Christchurch. We spent a night in Cable Bay and one at a NZMCA Park Over Property in Motueka. I really like the NZMCA camping app as it lists all the sites and ranks them. Are you a NZMCA member?

For anyone coming to NZ I would recommend the 'Camping NZ' app from Rankers, it's free on Android and you can download all the maps to use it offline.

Andy

aled james · Apr 23, 2017

Goldie, I didn't think that the 150 could be ordered as a 4 motion. If this is the case then I'd certainly order one as my next vehicle.

Goldie · Apr 23, 2017

aled james said:
Goldie, I didn't think that the 150 could be ordered as a 4 motion. If this is the case then I'd certainly order one as my next vehicle.

I expect it's yet another mistake, but we can keep our fingers crossed...
https://www.volkswagen-vans.co.uk/range/camper-vans-t6/california-beach/specification
If you scroll down to Engine section it has 7 Speed DSG and 4 Motion as options on the 150.

Andy