Limited Slip vs. Traction Control

[Blake D]

I have been looking at several new cars lately and was wondering what is better. Some have the limited slip rear end and some have an open with various names for "traction control". I really like the limited slip b/c it takes place in the rear diff and sounds like it would be stronger. The traction control thing usuall uses the breaks to transfer torque to the nonslip tire so I guess that would work too. Has anybody had both or know which one is better? (ex Off road, ice/snow, rain, etc)

 

[Alec]

There is no substitute for good driving skills.

I myself would prefer a limited slip. However, LS' have drawbacks for the average driver. In front drivers, they make torque steer worse. In rear drivers, they can cause the rear to kick out in slippery conditions with too much throttle. However, if you know how to counter or prevent these, LS' are great.

Traction control is more of a "dummy" device. Various ones modulate brakes, throttle, and computer parameters. They can be intrusive to the enthusiast, and on my car I always switch it off. However, they require less thought on the part of the average driver and can help if you lose control and panic.

An LS isn't really a safety device like traction control, though it does increase traction when a tire slips. Definately better for the 'wheeler than traction control, though the higher end systems such as Mercedes, BMW, VW, etc can almost function as lockers when offroad.

 

[Rick]

Our '04 Mach 1 has limited slip and traction control. The traction control is selectable and is normally on as soon as you start the car.

It's great when you have a lot of torque and a LS rear end. Without it driving the car in the rain is almost like driving on ice. I like it because it lets me drive a little more aggresively in the rain without losing the rear end. If I want to play and lose the rear on purpose, do burnouts, 4 wheel drifts etc.. just flick the switch to turn it off.

 

[Blake D]

I have been surprised to find several "full size" SUVs are going with just the traction control and no limited slip. I figured it would be the other way around.

 

[Alec]

Are modern SUVs driven on the street or offroad?

In an SUV, LS is for low traction performance and traction control is mostly for dumb@sses on the street.

But again, many of the luxo SUVs use a form of traction control to help offroad performance.

 

[jimbo74]

most suvs nowadays are for the road.. thats why they use tc instead of an lsd... an lsd will help the competant driver in an offroad situation, however, onroad they will make an idiot driver lose control--wwelcome most of the suv market buyers....

 

[hsinc]

In general I like traction control (like on my wife's Accord V6) on wet, rainy, slippery roads. However I have found situations in snow, slush, etc where you want to blast on thru a pile of it, that traction control stops you from spinning when you really want to spin. I was driving with traction control on in a rental car in Germany last year, and it was stopping spin so much that I almost couldn't even move forward. Most of the time leave it on. Sometimes it is better to turn it off. Depends on the situation you find yourself in.
I always like limited slip, but it also has limitations. AWD is best way to go for street driving (my opinion)
Harold
99 AWD Mountaineer
92 4x4 Explorer with LS
03 Honda with traction control

 

[Robert]

Limited slip makes it harder for your tires to slip. Traction control regains control once the tires do slip. I've had both, they both have their advantages in completely different situations. My 2WD 4.0L Ranger had a LS. I had to carry 300 lbs. of sand in the bed whenever there was snow on the road or both tires would just sit and spin as soon as I let the clutch out. It was also very easy to fishtail in the rain. When going over rough dirt roads, the limited slip would usually provide enough traction to at least one of the rear tires to keep me moving. My V8 Thunderbird had traction control (with an open differential). In low traction situations on the street (only place I ever drove it) it was much easier to drive aggresively. When rounding a corner and having one tire hit some slush or start to brake free, the brakes would start modulating on the slipping wheel. The car remained stable going around corners without having to lift of the throttle. The only way to tell that it was working was I could hear a "whirring" sound as the traction control kicked in. I have also driven a later model Mustang with traction control and it got me into a scary situation. The Mustang though used cylinder cutoff to reduce the torque to the rear wheels unlike my Thunderbird which relied on the ABS. I was pulling out off of a gravel road with a long line of traffic approaching. The tires spun on the gravel but the car still managed to move forward enough to get out into the way of traffic. Unfortunately as soon as it got into traffic, the traction control cut in (cutting most of the engine power to the wheels) causing the car to just sit there with no power for what seemed like a couple of seconds. A short time later, it took off.

A limited slips advantages are more for offroading or when you are in situations where you don't want to break traction. Traction control has its advantages on the street where it will help your tires regain traction after they have already lost it. The ideal setup would be traction control with a limited slip but it was either one or the other on my '95 T-bird.