Traction Control Settings and Tire Issues
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Joined: Jul 2015
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2018 C43 Sedan
Traction Control Settings and Tire Issues
Could anyone explain what the traction control settings do in real world driving? I am particularly interested in Sport and Off.
Yesterday I took some twisty roads on and was not overly impressed with grip from my ContiPro Contact SSR all seasons. Coming from Pirelli Cinturado P7 all seasons on my C300, the ride is better but car is not quite as planted.
I did have tranction control set to off. I felt like this car had more slide whereas the Pirelli’s were stuck like glue.
I am wondering if the sportier tranction control settings let tires break loose a bit.
I might go with Michelin’s or back to Pirelli when these stock tires go. What do you think?
Yesterday I took some twisty roads on and was not overly impressed with grip from my ContiPro Contact SSR all seasons. Coming from Pirelli Cinturado P7 all seasons on my C300, the ride is better but car is not quite as planted.
I did have tranction control set to off. I felt like this car had more slide whereas the Pirelli’s were stuck like glue.
I am wondering if the sportier tranction control settings let tires break loose a bit.
I might go with Michelin’s or back to Pirelli when these stock tires go. What do you think?
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C43 AMG Coupe
Sounds like you are coming to the correct conclusions.
If you turn ESP off, you are generally saying you are comfortable handling the cars inherent nature to oversteer and understeer with the drivers commands. Basically, do you want to get that race car feel that will allow you to make more accentuated turns with the freedom of knowing you can rip it hard and drift out.
Opinion, pirellis are extreme performance tire and are tops in their class of performance. So in that exact situation they will perform better. If however the c43 is your daily, like many on here, and you intend on doing that, Enjoy getting to know the guy at your tire shop. You will be back every 10k miles or less haha.
If you turn ESP off, you are generally saying you are comfortable handling the cars inherent nature to oversteer and understeer with the drivers commands. Basically, do you want to get that race car feel that will allow you to make more accentuated turns with the freedom of knowing you can rip it hard and drift out.
Opinion, pirellis are extreme performance tire and are tops in their class of performance. So in that exact situation they will perform better. If however the c43 is your daily, like many on here, and you intend on doing that, Enjoy getting to know the guy at your tire shop. You will be back every 10k miles or less haha.
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2018 C43 AMG
Sport traction works well while cornering and won't cut power significantly, it will break the tires loose a bit.
I generally go full traction off when im drag racing.
I use sport traction in the canyons until i get better tires, not too comfortable with the pirelli's p7
I generally go full traction off when im drag racing.
I use sport traction in the canyons until i get better tires, not too comfortable with the pirelli's p7
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2018 C43 Sedan
Last night was the first night I hit any twisties and I had traction control in sport and off. I think I was surprised a bit by the response of the car, not that it was a bad thing, but different from the C300 which was like a caterpillar just gripping the road relentlessly with those Pirelli's. The C43 slid a bit and it was a bit more exciting. The ride quality on the Pirelli's was absolute garbage though. It never really occurred to me to try it with traction control full on. I wonder if that would make car perform more like the old C300 (W205). Not that I want it to, just curious as to what that button is doing.
I am leaning towards a set of Michelin A/S 3s as I think the Continentals are maybe not quite grippy enough. I do want all seasons. In the Midwest we have LONG winters, the car is leased, I don't track it and I really don't want to buy extra wheels to run summer and winter tyres. I'd rather just get the best set of all seasons I can.
I am leaning towards a set of Michelin A/S 3s as I think the Continentals are maybe not quite grippy enough. I do want all seasons. In the Midwest we have LONG winters, the car is leased, I don't track it and I really don't want to buy extra wheels to run summer and winter tyres. I'd rather just get the best set of all seasons I can.
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2018 C43 AMG
Last night was the first night I hit any twisties and I had traction control in sport and off. I think I was surprised a bit by the response of the car, not that it was a bad thing, but different from the C300 which was like a caterpillar just gripping the road relentlessly with those Pirelli's. The C43 slid a bit and it was a bit more exciting. The ride quality on the Pirelli's was absolute garbage though. It never really occurred to me to try it with traction control full on. I wonder if that would make car perform more like the old C300 (W205). Not that I want it to, just curious as to what that button is doing.
I am leaning towards a set of Michelin A/S 3s as I think the Continentals are maybe not quite grippy enough. I do want all seasons. In the Midwest we have LONG winters, the car is leased, I don't track it and I really don't want to buy extra wheels to run summer and winter tyres. I'd rather just get the best set of all seasons I can.
I am leaning towards a set of Michelin A/S 3s as I think the Continentals are maybe not quite grippy enough. I do want all seasons. In the Midwest we have LONG winters, the car is leased, I don't track it and I really don't want to buy extra wheels to run summer and winter tyres. I'd rather just get the best set of all seasons I can.
After some time of research, Apparently the sport handling traction mode allows for more torque to the rear wheels, around 10% more slip im assuming.
Also since the pirelli's aren't great, Traction control still intervenes a bit even with sport handling mode which is annoying. My suggestion would be to get better tires and go full traction off.
Last edited by C43Ayemgee; May 7, 2018 at 11:56 PM.
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From: North East
2017 AMG C43, AWE Touring, BMC Air Filters- 2015 BMW X3 3.5i (JB1 Equipped)
I am not understanding what people are meaning by the Sport Traction, when I hit my button it says Sport Handling Mode and if I hold it down the traction control turns off. So the question is what is Sport handling? When it is engaged the little red shock on the center console button do not light up, as they do when sport handling is engaged in Sport or S+ mode. So what exactly is sport handling?
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2018 C43 Sedan
I am referring to Sport Traction when I say sport handling mode. This is entirely related to the traction control button. So in other words, my understanding is that when you engage Sport + the traction control is still fully operative and you must manually engage the traction control button to put it in sport traction mode, which causes sport to light up. My understanding is this essentially means less interference from the traction control system and more rear wheel drive like behavior. Turning traction control OFF goes even further I guess, but I am not sure what the real difference is. I am not sure I can distinguish between traction control off and sport traction control yet. I guess there is a question as to whether traction off is even more sports car like than sport traction when weather conditions make that safe.
I know that in a BMW, one of the things that Sport + involves is traction control off. They bundle that into Sport +. In the 340i, the salesman would not even let me engage Sport + during a winter test drive for that reason. This was in a XDrive Car. I think the general idea is the less traction control you have, the more traditional rear wheel drive based the car feels.
I do feel that when traction control is in sport, and the mode is sport plus, the car is at its best for spirited driving. I haven't really played with traction control off too much although in Spring and Summer in dry conditions I am not sure there is any need or utility for traction control. I think the traction control is entirely a safety feature but I could be wrong.
I know that in a BMW, one of the things that Sport + involves is traction control off. They bundle that into Sport +. In the 340i, the salesman would not even let me engage Sport + during a winter test drive for that reason. This was in a XDrive Car. I think the general idea is the less traction control you have, the more traditional rear wheel drive based the car feels.
I do feel that when traction control is in sport, and the mode is sport plus, the car is at its best for spirited driving. I haven't really played with traction control off too much although in Spring and Summer in dry conditions I am not sure there is any need or utility for traction control. I think the traction control is entirely a safety feature but I could be wrong.
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