Traction Issues

It has been raining almost everyday here in Kuala Lumpur, and with all the ongoing roadworks around the city centre its certainly isn't very pleasant to drive around with all the stop and go, bumper to bumper traffic.

Some of you already might have know that the current NCP93 Toyota Vios is equipped with an electronic throttle or better known as the drive by wire system (or fly by wire), which I agree it is actually a very good design for fuel efficiency and other neat stuffs like anti-lag and traction control.

Most will probably agree with me that the drive by wire system in our car is certainly not the smartest, and the comments I often hear are "dumb", "laggy" and "slow" etc.

And hence there are after market electronic throttle tuning products like BRM21 HAC and Pivot 3 Drive Throttle Controller.

Because the opening of the throttle plate doesn't correspond directly with your pedal position, with all the rain going on I'm actually getting wheel spins from time to time during traffic light take offs and its getting really annoying.

Couple of times the car next to me actually thought that I was trying provoke him in to a traffic light challenge and he starts spinning his wheels as well. This is the time where some sort of traction control will be really appreciated.

The sad part is that the JDM Toyota Vios doesn't come equipped with traction control unlike the USDM or European Yaris whereby traction control and vehicle stability control is offered be it standard or optional.

Also if you were to plug in an OBD2 scanner and you'll discover that our cars are actually equipped with speed sensors on all 4 wheels, and from there you will be able to monitor all the individual wheel speed.

Yes, no doubt I love the kind of torque the car is producing now but power is really nothing if you can't transfer them properly to the wheels and control it.

So I'm pondering now perhaps its time to ditch the car and get myself a proper sports car with a full time 4 wheel drive system like the Evo or Subie?

Yes most probably, but before doing so I will still continue to complete all the current pending mods that are lined up on hand.


Sigh, don't think the current 205/45 profile tires has sufficient grip
*depressed*

20 comments:

julian said...

hehehe your rims too light :P

Mugil said...

maybe u have a heavy right foot?

Chew Soon said...

haha, hello there guys!

i don't think the weight of the rims have anything to do with it julian??

ok bro mugil, regarding the heavy foot. i need to explain.

sometimes the drive by wire throttle can be a pain in the ass, because it doesn't respond according to the depth of your pedal when you floor it.

so sometimes when i see the car aint moving i'll floor it more, and the car suddenly jumps forward. but thats in dry road, when it rains the wheel spins a bit.

sad eh with the electronic throttle? :D

julian said...

hahaha mine just a humuor =P
heavier rims can reduce your torque =P

btw malaysian tar road arent at international standard, so not entirely your rubber fault if it cant hold onto the road hehe.....

Mugil said...

i have a waja cps as a daily driver, so I understand what you mean. But I think you can get used to it after a while, but you dont keep increasing the power la, then always a learning curve!

anyway, think of it as a benefit rather than an issue esp since you are not in a drag race or in the circuit.

or time for your manual tranny upgrade with a nice 1.5way LSD, might solve ur problem!-

Chew Soon said...

haha julian, when your turbo kit goes in you'll understand how i feel.

bro mugil, i was at gt auto yesterday and i saw your putra! its really awesome! love the carbon fiber touches made to the car and the ohlin shockers as well!

and ohh..the ITBs they are yummy!

Mugil said...

thanks bro, there were more before, but had a break in 2 years ago, my full cf bonnet and side mirrors were stolen amongst other things.

Chew Soon said...

ah geez, am so sorry to hear that man. those fellas who steals are really low life bastards.

karma is a bitch, i hope they get theirs.

Firdaus Asri said...

Should you have manual box, traction won't be much of an issue as I'm having ~178hp and 253nm (on wheels) on 205/45/16 tyres as well.

Chew Soon said...

woah bro firdaus, nice car u got there!

yeah i guess swapping over to manual is the only way :(

Firdaus Asri said...

Chang,

Mine not as heavily moded as you bro. Oh yes, get the Federal RSR :)

Chew Soon said...

wah 180 wheels with 25 kg-m torque not heavy modded ha?

u betul-betul kuat racun lah bro, i know the federal tires are damn sweet!

just wanna ask your help, u kenal any good shops that has a manual tranny ah?

gt auto told me better to get a manual or else im going to destroy the auto very soon la :(

Firdaus Asri said...

Bro,

Honestly, my mod only consist of some reflash and petty things. Unlike you and Mugil, your mods and most importantly effort poured into, are just way out of my league.

Thomas/Toby is right about the auto tranny won't last with the amount of torque you now have. But then I can't help you on this one as I myself has shallow knowledge about Toyota. Import one from Thailand might be one option for you.

Mugil said...

firdaus,

178whp - woweee.... and 253 Nm at the wheels!! No wonder it was spinning its outer wheel thru the turns!!! :)

even after so much mods, mine is no where to that figure la fren!

Chew Soon,

Nice to bump into you the other at GT. yes you will need a manual gearbox sooner rather than later. Go to Thailand, have some fun and bring a gearbox back :) Or better yet, drive there and get the conversion done there itself...:)

Chew Soon said...

yeah man its nice to bump in to you, damn your car looks cool! and mr pocong's GTI has 253Nm of torque at wheels, jesus christ.....

i love your idea about going to thailand....mmmmmmmmm

Firdaus Asri said...

Mugil/Chang,

But the driver is not up to it yet lar hahaha

The car needs better cooling through cheap & chearful front mounted intercoolers and new dump valve to keep performance consistent...

hamzah said...

Wow bro!

I respect la you and your car.

Damn, theres not many vios turbo on the road you know.

I think, yours is the only one ive seen lately and i got a shock. hehe.

Bro, no need to sell this car and get an evo or subaru, just use this car la.

Let it be a sleeper car.hehe.

Bro i wanna ask u, how much did u spend to add the turbo and all those engine stuff?

Do you mind sharing the price with me? Or you can msg me? hehe

Im just driving honda city only.

But so far ive never seen any city turbo OTR also..

Chew Soon said...

ah haha, thanks for your compliment bro but there are too many monsters out there who can come and eat my car alive just that we don't know only.

are you interested in getting a turbo kit for your city? it'll be great to have a city turbo running around town aint it!

my MSN is changchewsoon@hotmail.com, please feel free to add me and you can ask me anything you want yah! :)

Eu Jin said...

I have not seen a forced induction Honda City too. :P

JohnRMay said...

Wow I was expecting to see the new Vios not this whatever you call it but its not the real Toyota Vios