Is traction control and stability control important?

[Noel Salisipan]

I read some articles that other countries are trying to make stability control a standard. The safety ratings doesn't apply here since the dealers stripped the airbags and removed the stability control. Very hard to decide.

Ok naman mga safety features na yan especially in case of emergency at un-avoidable accident. For me, kung hindi naman more than 200k ang difference mas pipiliin ko na yung may airbags, traction, ABS at stability control kesa dun sa wala.

Besides, 200k worth of money doesn't equate to any parts of your body or any other major injury.

[JohnM]

Traction control will help you climb the notoriously slippery-when-wet parking ramps

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wR1SSxpKitE

[oj88]

taken from dunk your biscuit 106 strange scientific facts by Rik Kuiper and Tonie Mudde

Don’t Waste Money on an Airbag
Buying a car? If you care about your safety you will of
course invest in an airbag. And hey, you might as well add
an anti-lock braking system (ABS), to prevent the wheels
slipping during an emergency stop. According to laboratory
evidence these things increase safety dramatically: due to
ABS an accident is less likely, and should something happen
the airbag prevents injury.
But is it really worth the investment? This was the question
asked by Professor of Civil Engineering Fred Mannering of
Purdue University in the USA. Together with other researchers
he analysed the characteristics of drivers driving around the
state of Washington between 1992 and 1996. Did the owners
of cars with airbags or anti-lock brakes have less accidents?
No. And what’s more, their physical injuries turned out to be
just as bad as for those with less ‘safe’ cars. For the researchers
this result did not come as a big surprise. It is often the case
that extra safety measures lead people to take bigger risks.
This is known as the ‘offset hypothesis’: drivers with airbags
or ABS feel safer and so keep less distance, change lanes more
often on the motorway and take more risks at junctions than
when they don’t have the extra features.

Maheshri, V., Mannering, F. L. & Winston, C. ‘An exploration
of the offset hypothesis using disaggregate data: the case
of airbags and antilock brakes’ in Journal of Risk and
Uncertainty 32 (2006), pp. 83–99

I think niky hit it squarely on the head. That study doesn't mean that those safety devices are useless. If having those features somehow gave the driver a false sense of security and he in turn acted on it by pushing the limits of his own and the car's ability, then he's the problem.

[yapoy86]

I think niky hit it squarely on the head. That study doesn't mean that those safety devices are useless. If having those features somehow gave the driver a false sense of security and he in turn acted on it by pushing the limits of his own and the car's ability, then he's the problem.

sabi sa 1st paragraph "laboratory evidence these things increase safety dramatically"

the problem is in the driver "feel safer" with these device and takes more risks..

[GTi]

Hmm~ After going through so many cars in the family in all these years, only one had traction control, and that was the '04 Accord V6. I'd say unless you engage in lots of high precision driving, you wouldn't really feel the need for traction control. Consider the trucks that travel hundreds of kilometers daily and go island hopping on a regular basis. Most of them do not have any sort of electronic aids at all, save for some Japan surplus with front disc brakes, ABS or HSA.

Traction control is usually present on the top of the line models only, and in the case of pickups that will be the 4x4 variant. With 4x4 you will hardly lack any sort of traction under normal circumstances. And then you'd be having ABS/EBD and LSD too... I believe that will be more than you will ever need. In 4x2 variants where the electronic aids are often deleted, ABS and LSD are what you will be looking for.

[Boy Bastos]

Well, in a province near Manila....Some guys spend a lot of money to expensive 4x4 SUVs, mud-all terrain tires, locking hubs, snorkels, etc. They went river-crossing or offroading as a group. They had a hard time tackling some mud since some of them are stuck.

Then an old 4x2 jeepney with passengers and cargoes in its roof, overtook the stuck 4x4 in the river with ease.

4x4 SUV - 3Million
4x2 Jeep - 150K

Smile of the jeepney driver - Priceless

[GTi]

^Which brings us to the most important piece of vehicle equipment needed. Driver skill. No number of technological advancements can best a seasoned driver who knows his vehicle and route best.

[shadow3616931]

Well, in a province near Manila....Some guys spend a lot of money to expensive 4x4 SUVs, mud-all terrain tires, locking hubs, snorkels, etc. They went river-crossing or offroading as a group. They had a hard time tackling some mud since some of them are stuck.

Then an old 4x2 jeepney with passengers and cargoes in its roof, overtook the stuck 4x4 in the river with ease.

4x4 SUV - 3Million
4x2 Jeep - 150K

Smile of the jeepney driver - Priceless

Impossible, 4x4 SUV with lockers and mud tires got stuck and overtaken by 4x2 jeepney? Baka naman nilagyan ng kadena gulong or naka lock differential yung jeepney or baka yung SUV open differential lang.

[glenn_duke]

Impossible, 4x4 SUV with lockers and mud tires got stuck and overtaken by 4x2 jeepney? Baka naman nilagyan ng kadena gulong or naka lock differential yung jeepney or baka yung SUV open differential lang.

Baka naman naka ON yung traction control ng mga 4x4 SUV.

[gsprimetime]

Thanks for the input guys. The only pickup I know with stability control is the mazda bt50. I guess I have no choice. I will have to start test driving the bt50. Anyone know where I can get the best deal?