Quote:
Originally Posted by COLVERT
Is traction control and cruise control the same thing ??
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No, as the term suggest, traction control helps to control traction, i.e. if an ABS wheel sensor, senses a wheel spinning faster, compared with the others, the wheel is not gripping the road surface and could lead to steering problems, should this happen then engine power is reduced to prevent spin and regain traction, just like an observant driver when on ice or a slippy surface who would ease off the loud pedal slightly.
An improvement of this is the ESC system that applies the brake to the spinning wheel, again to slow it down and gain traction.
Cruise control on the other hand serves a totally different function which is to simply keep road speed to a specific setting by varying the engine output.
Again, there is an improvement on this which is ACC, adaptive cruise control, this does the same as cruise control, keep your speed at your setting, however, when set, cruise control, if you weren't observant, would let you go ploughing into a slower moving car in front.
ACC by virtue of it's sensors will slow your car to the speed of the one in front, hence keeping a safe distance, if the car in front accelerates into the distance, or turns off the road you are on, it will accelerate to your chosen speed, if the car in front slows even more, it will do the same to maintain a safe distance.
There are even more sophisticated systems that can use GPS to read the road you are travelling on ( not tell you where to go ) and consequently see bends and altitudes, adjusting engine power, speed and with an auto, gear selection, to attain a safe speed around bends, or up and down inclines.
Then there is the TSR system, traffic sign recognition system, present now on many vehicles, that can warn the driver of speed limits, school signs, turn signs and so on, which when integrated with the systems above will provide even more info.
But when they go wrong !