StalbiliTrac

[Texas Jim]

Topic says it all.

Just wondering what you all have experienced with StabiliTrac.

Personally, I think it is fantastic.

I would never buy another car without it.

Lets hear your stories.......

A little background...

I didn't like it when they started adding hitech stuff to cars.

I thought it was bad when they mandated wearing seatbelts.

I wore them almost all time.. (I also did a little racing as a hobby), but I didn't like it when they told me I HAD TO WEAR THEM.

I didn't think ABS brakes or airbags were such a good idea either.

I FOR SURE didn't like the idea of StabiliTrac.

The stupid govt telling me how "I" could drive "MY" car and how a stupid computer could maybe drive better than I could. I KNEW how to drive. I didn't need nannies built into my car.

You may or may not like the StabiliTrac either.... until you have to make some violent maneuvers to avoid an accident.

Then there is the STRONG possibility that it will save your butt in such a way...

(and you may not even realize that it did)

that you will think that it is your great driving ability that saved you and not the sophisticated technology that is built in to our cars.

I know about THAT from experience.

Just as a for instance.....(not that it actually happened TO ME )

You are going down a twisty, lightly traveled, mountain road... enjoying driving a little too fast and taking the corners with a fair amount of G-Force.

You are really enjoying the experience.

Suddenly you come out of a curve... and RIGHT THERE is another one. A REAL SHARP one.

You are going WAY TOO FAST for this next curve and it is a whole lot sharper than the one you just came out of.

This is known as NOT GOOD. :nono:

You KNOW, from years of driving experience, (in ordinary cars without the hitech stuff) that you can never make the curve at the speed you are running.

All you can do is slam on the brakes, drop to the inside of the curve and hope for the best when you slam up against the trees on your left. You have time for a quick thought about hoping the airbags work. At least it is not a curve THE OTHER WAY where you would go off the side of the mountain.

As you enter the curve ... HARD on the brakes... the car starts to slide...

You know you are only two or three seconds from a bad impact...

Suddenly, using input from the accelerometers and the YAW sensors....

the StabiliTrac kicks in...

it adjusts the braking force and the shock absorber firmness to ALL FOUR WHEELS independently of each other...

softens the suspension on the inside...

firms up the suspension on the outside...

whatever it needs to do to help you maintain control.

It feels almost like the HAND OF GOD had came down and held you on the road and avoided an almost SURE CRASH.

I will never own another car that DOES NOT have StabiliTrac.

But thats just me...

YMMV

[BodybyFisher]

It is truely amazing I can only imagine how good it is, as I have never experienced it.

I will say this, and this is OLD compared to what you are experiencing.

I was driving down a local road, two lanes in each direction with my 91 Seville. The 91 had ABS and speed sensitive steering and CCR, I was once told that it was built to compete with the BMW's of the world.

Someone was making a left into my lane, and I was blinded, I could not see them. I was traveling in the center lane closest to the center line and them. As I entered the intersection, my Dad told me to 'ALWAYS COVER THE BRAKE going through an intersection' and I did, the car making a left, popped out in front of me and stopped (thank heavens), I hit my brake, make a hard right, left zig zap move and went by without a hint of trouble at 30 - 35.

It dawned on me that, that was NOT an easy move, I reacted instinctively and the car just reacted without a sweat, the steering firmed up, the suspension seemed to firm up and the pedal pulsed. I was amazed at what had just happened, it seemed to kick in as needed. So I can only imagine what you have experienced from Stabilitrac..... It is quite amazing,,

[Cadillac Jim]

Automatic stability control has been determined from statistical studies to save more lives than seat belts, air bags, and ABS put together. The government has a plan to make it mandatory on all cars sold in the U.S.A.

I didn't like it at first, but when I saw a Car&Driver sports car road test, which included lap times on a road race course, they found that the fastest way around was with Stabilitrak turned on in the Corvette. Back then, I don't think anyone else had it.

[Ranger]

Last winter while snowmobiling in Eagle River Wisc. I decided to try it out on a snow covered back road. Only doing about 30 MPH I started whipping the wheel left and right to try to make her fishtail and put it into a skid. Close to impossible and when I finally broke the rear end loose, she straightened up so fast it was amazing. Truly a great feature.

[JimD]

Most late model Cadillac drivers have a StabiliTrac war story; they just have not recognized what really took place.

Back in '99 or '00, I drove through a rain storm that put a large volume of water in the grooves that heavy trucks wear into the highway surface. Potentially serious hydroplaning conditions in the dark of night.

Before my mind could process the proper response, StabiliTrac sensed the differential wheel speeds and dropped the vehicle speed by reducing the fuel injector pulse width and slowed the vehicle down to the speed where hydroplaning was no longer happening.

Technology at work.