Traction Control vs. Stability Control
When buying a new or used vehicle, it’s important to evaluate its safety features. Many vehicles will be outfitted with either traction control or stability control. Knowing the difference can help you determine what you need and what offers you a safer ride out of the road. To learn more about these safety features, visit Apple Chevy Tinley Park!
What is Traction Control?
Traction control is an active safety feature designed to allow vehicles to make optimal use of the accelerative traction from surfaces. Traction control does this by measuring wheelspin and controlling it by using the anti-lock-braking system’s hydraulic solenoids to apply braking pressure. It may also employ the engine’s electronic throttle, fuel, or spark controls to slow the wheel’s spin. If you prefer, you can also turn traction control off generally with a button on your dashboard.
What is Stability Control?
Stability control is a safety feature that combines all of the hardware of traction control and anti-lock brake systems with several new sensors. Some of these sensors include a steering wheel position sensor, which joins the brake and accelerator pedal sensors to inform the system of the driver’s intended path and speed, and the yaw sensor, which measures how much the vehicle is rotating around its vertical axis.
With all of the data from these sensors, the vehicle’s internal computer compares the vehicles’ actual motion with the driver’s intention. When these don’t match, the system applies individual wheel brakes and engine controls, if necessary, to bring the vehicle’s path into alignment with the driver’s intention. This provides more stability to your drive.
Stability Control vs Traction Control
Because they use many of the same functions and have similar goals, stability control and traction control are quite similar. In their basic forms, stability control is a more advanced form of traction control. Stability control involves computer programming, as well as more powerful processors and electric sensors, while traction control does not. Being the less advanced feature, traction control was released earlier than stability control — in 1971. Stability control debuted over twenty years later in 1995.
Visit Apple Chevrolet!
Looking for a Chevy dealer near me? At Apple Chevy, we are happy to serve customers in the Chicagoland area and throughout northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin. We have a talented and experienced team of salespeople who are committed to finding you the best possible deal on a new Chevrolet sedan, truck, or SUV. We also have a terrific team of service technicians to help keep your vehicle on the road for many years to come. Visit us to learn more about traction and stability control or other safety features today!
