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Traction control on a gravel road

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Main Forum' started by qbee42, Oct 23, 2006.

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  1. PA

    PA Member

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(ProwessIntrepid @ Oct 26 2006, 08:54 PM) [snapback]338997[/snapback]</div>
    Good thing you've got a backup camera so you can see where you're going! :)
     
    #21 PA, Oct 26, 2006
  2. efusco

    efusco Moderator Emeritus
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    A long steep gravel road will definately give you grief. I don't think different tires make a lot of difference for gravel road traction, though I do get much less TRAC response on wet/slick pavement.



    To reasure you a little, I'm attaching a picture of my lake house. It's got quite a steep gravel drive. I might spin/sputter a few times going up that drive, but it always goes and I've never had to back up it to get out.

    [​IMG]
     
    #22 efusco, Oct 26, 2006
  3. ProwessIntrepid

    ProwessIntrepid New Member

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(PA @ Oct 26 2006, 09:42 PM) [snapback]339033[/snapback]</div>

    :lol: Thats funny but true I guess. I can always tell my relatives I am backing up the driveway just to show off my camera or maybe that I have to drive in reverse every once in a while to rewind the battery (cause they think that hybrids are like wind up cars or something weird like that)


    efusco, thats a cool house. I would be paranoid about having the car under the house. Probably the same paranoia that makes me not like to walk on bridges. And I am clumsy and while having my morning orange juice I would probably trip over the dog and fall off the side, down the hill. :( Definately a cool house, I am searching for a house now something like that......oh wait....the gravel road, thats right. The specific roads in WV that I always take my new cars on a test run on seems more steep then your driveway. It would be like a few miles of that driveway.

    So is the traction control on the Prius especially troublesome or would all traction systems cause the spinning out problem? I would think that a slow pace in a lower gear would do it, but I don't think the Prius has a lower gear. Or a nice long running start, I can't wait to see what my "Touring" can do on the winding, gravel, and speed limit free back roads of WV.
     
    #23 ProwessIntrepid, Oct 26, 2006
  4. jbarnhart

    jbarnhart New Member

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(efusco @ Oct 26 2006, 06:54 PM) [snapback]339041[/snapback]</div>
    Well, duh! It also comes with a plowhorse you can chain up to the car to get it unstuck!
     
    #24 jbarnhart, Oct 27, 2006
  5. efusco

    efusco Moderator Emeritus
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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(ProwessIntrepid @ Oct 26 2006, 09:57 PM) [snapback]339071[/snapback]</div>
    Thank you, we built that a bit over a year ago...actually started building 2 years ago this month, but didn't move in until July a year ago. If you want the full gory details of the place here's the link to a lot of photos and even the land before and after and architectural blue prints we used....
    http://www.pbase.com/efusco/lake_house_development

    The Prius is far more sensitive than most other cars...just an effort, I think, to protect the PSD from the high torque the electric motors are capable of.
     
    #25 efusco, Oct 27, 2006
  6. qbee42

    qbee42 My other car is a boat

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(efusco @ Oct 27 2006, 02:12 AM) [snapback]339146[/snapback]</div>
    It's too bad they didn't implement a controlled slip mode for the traction control, where wheel rotation speed is controlled instead of foldback limited. As a crude example, I used to drive a Jeep CJ-5 with a V8. That thing could spin the front and rear tires on asphalt - talk about over powered. Even with all that torque, in low traction situations you could shift into low-low gear and let the wheels spin; really more of constant turn than a spin. The wheels were turning faster than the progress over the ground, but they never spun up since the speed was limited. The railroads do the same sort of thing with locomotives on steep inclines: they run controlled slip where the steel wheels are slipping on the steel rails, but at a controlled rate calculated to provide the best traction.

    It's a balance between static and dynamic friction, where peak traction often occurs with just a bit of slip. With all of the computer control, the Prius should be able to do this if Toyota wanted to.

    Just another thought for a small improvement.

    Tom
     
    #26 qbee42, Oct 27, 2006
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