Traction control

stanley
Unless you're holding out for other options like heated seats or different interior/exterior colors I wouldn't get hung up on TC...especially with the deals that are out there now.
I don't run mine in the snow so I didn't care about the TC. My advise is to buy a winter beater and keep the MM under cover for the winter.
 
Thats another good point, but the dealer I went to said that he could give me a full sized spare even though it comes with a space saver tire as an incentive to buy.
 
As to the question on "W" rated tires...

Mark,

See chart below for speed ratings per your question of "W" rated tires...

Speed Rating - Miles/Hour - Kilometers/Hour - Typical Use
N=87 MPH, 140km/h, Spare Tires
P=93 MPH, 150km/h
Q=99 MPH, 160km/h, Winter, LT Tires Cars
R=106 MPH, 170km/h, LT Tires
S=112 MPH, 180km/h
T=118 MPH, 190km/h
U=124 MPH, 200km/h
H=130 MPH, 210km/h, Sport Sedans
V=149 MPH, 240km/h, Sports
Z=149 MPH, 240km/h and over, Sports Cars
W=168 MPH, 270km/h, Exotic Sport Cars
Y=186 MPH, 300km/h, Exotic Sport Cars

Hope this helps.
 
Not really sure why, if there is a shortage of vehicles with t/c they would send some to Florida. I don't need it or want it, but they should be shipped to states where they would benefit the owners. Go figure.
 
But Florida is a great place for a sunroof and that option became available at the same time traction control became standard.
 
A moonroof is nice anywhere! Thats one option I'm debating on. Still dont know if it will be manual or automatic.
 
I really appreciate everyone's input. No doubt I will be playing this through my head until tomorrow when I can work the dealer over for some more price concessions.

As to the TC, it appears that there are two camps (what a surprise!). I think I'll trade the TC against the price concessions that I am going to try to get.

Interestingly, when I was at the dealer yesterday, he was giving me the "you better hurry up, this is the last one" jive. Now I have found at least four within 45 minutes!! And they say lawyers are bad!?!

I was commenting about the moonroof issue to my girlfriend and said that it would look great on this car. Has anyone got any experience with adding an aftermarket roof?

By the way, the MM I looked at came with the W rated tires and a full size spare. I take this as a plus.
 
In the members picture section there are some photos of after market moon-roofs that look quite nice.
 
I have Trac Control on my 00 Vic. It also has a Detroit TrueTrac (Torsen differential). The TC can only benefit the TrueTrac because of how the torsen differential works.

If I get stuck on a LOT of mud or ice where one tire totally loses traction, I'd normally have to apply the brakes so the differential could apply 2-3 times the torque of the spinning tire to the gripping tire. Of course when its lost all traction, 3 times 0 = 0. but if you apply the brakes, you'd get torque and it can shift that to the gripping wheel. HOWEVER since we do not have 4WD or AWD, we get the nasty weight shifting that occurs with braking on slippery surfaces as well as the fact the front brakes engage.

Here's where TC can theoretically benefit us at under 35 mph. It can apply the brakes to whichever tire that is slipping bad and off we go.

Of course with a Trac-Lok, it uses clutches to lockup the wheels. you can eventually burn out the clutches if you let the TC fight against the LSD.

So for your cases, I would recommend disabling it. Just short the two wires that lead to the TC switch and ignore the light. That's the official method of disabiling the TC on 98-up CVPIs that actually have TC.
:)

But for the Torsen differentials, it can theoretically be totally beneficial in cases of need.

I drove with the TC engaged on ice and snow. It only engaged once or twice - I had crappy Eagle LS tires w/ the Torsen and the car was driving quite fine on the slippery surface. I didn't see why it had to actuate but it did, and I didn't feel it affecting my speed much. I guess the computer saw one wheel was slipping TOO much and applied the ABS for that wheel. This is good for a Torsen becuase there's more torque on that wheel which gets shifted to the gripping wheel ;)

I almost slipped on the same ice myself on foot, but the car rode fine. :)

BTW if you lift the rear of my Vic in the air and rotate the wheels with the shifter in Neutral to test the differential, the Torsen will act like an open differential. I believe on the TRaction-Lok units bind the wheels together so they all rotate in the same vehicle direction (i.e. rotate left rear in the forward direction, right rear rotates in the same forward direction). WIth the Torsen/TrueTrac, it works like an open differential.

From what I've seen, and from what I've heard from other Panther owners that installed TrueTracs, these differentials SHOULD have been OE limited slip units and NOT the TRaction-Lok.

Of course the Traction-Lok and Eaton are more durable for high torque and high shock drag racing (clutches burn out instead of helical gear damage), but for auto-xing and street driving, the Torsen is king. :)
 
Charlie, as you know, the only CV/GMs to come from the Factory with the trac-loc are the Marauder with it standard, and the Police Interceptor with it as an option.
It isn't even an option on the others.

Whether trac-loc or truetrac is superior is simply a matter of opinion
 
It's a matter of opinion, but also required uses. For drag racing you'll want a locker, for street strip a clutch or cone type is king while auto-x'ing Torsen is the ****. It's all in what you do.

Colin
 
Todd - thanks for the info on the tire ratings. I can't keep track of that stuff.
 
For high torque drag racing, go with a locker or clutch type LSD such as the Traction-Lok, Powr-Lok, Trak-Loc, or Eaton. Auburn sucks. :) Non-rebuildable clutch LSDs suck.

For auto-x or street, any of the above SANS the locker will run great along with a Torsen differential. However the Torsen is king becuase there are no clutches to rebuild, it just uses helical planetary worm gears with two pinion gears. The only drawback is you don't get 100% lockup. I haven't run into any problems on ice or light snow with crappy Eagle LS tires.

But yes its a matter of opinion. But the Torsen differential is the best bang for the buck LSD for auto-xing and the street. $283 is only about $50 more than a new Ford Traction-Lok.

The 2003 Marauder and the CVPIs only got Traction-Lok (option for the CVPI). If I had to get a new differential (and I did) I would have gone for the TrueTrac just because it was only slightly more expensive and doesnt require rebuilding. With a Traction-Lok, the more burnouts you do the faster you will need to rebuild it. People rebuild it from 12,000 miles to 80,000 miles all depending on their driving style.

Mustangs run anything from Eatons, Auburns, Detroit Lockers, Trac-Lok (although most of them swap to the Locker after their 3rd Traction-Lok), TrueTracs, to Torsen T-2Rs, etc...

The point being, the All-Speed Electronic Traction Control applies ABS only at speeds under 35 mph. Above that, it will affect engine management to reduce torque/horsepower and spark to limit the amount of torque going to the rear wheels.

So for low-traction conditions like driving on mud or something, the trac ctrl will theoretically augment the Torsen differential by applying only the rear brakes in a worst case scenario. Like I said, driving on snow and ice, I only got the Trac Ctrl to come on briefly once or twice.

I was pissed Ford never offered the Traction-Lok as an option for my Vic, but I'm glad they didn't cause I got something better for my application.
 
How many splines do the Marauder axles have?

Torsen makes their T-2s and T-2Rs in 31 spline flavors only for the Ford 8.8"

The T-2R uses both clutches and planetary worm gears for adjustable torque bias performance (add or remove clutches) and better lockup.

The AM General Hummer (not the H2 crap) used to have a Torsen T-1 Differential. THe owner's manual states that if one wheel is in the air or loses total traction, simply apply the brakes to apply torque to that airborne wheel and it would apply 3-5 (different bias ratio) that torque to the gripping wheel.

With traction-lok i think you just go straight in the snow or slightly sideways when you stop (that's what I hear from 400+ hp T-birds and Mustangs) due to the nature of the Traction-Lok differential. But it does provide much better lockup, which is probably why it tends to go straight in the snow.
 
Personally, I recognize the benefits of traction control, but don't want it. And I'm glad my Marauder doesn't have it.

My wife's Windstar had it and it crapped out at less than 60,000 miles. It would have cost $2000 to fix. Traded that puppy in on a van without TC.

I know it's apples and oranges, but still - how much you reckon it would cost to fix TC on Marauder?

Not interested...
 
Traction Control

I picked up my MM on Dec. 19, 2002. I have traction control and a full sized spare. The on/off switch is located in the trunk near the cd disc changer.
 
1badcar......the switch you describe is for turning off the rear air suspension. Traction control switch will be on the dashboard right next to the switch that moves the pedals back and forth.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top