Traction control in snow
#1
02-23-2014, 09:48 PM
Traction control in snow
Is it just me, or is the "snow" setting often a hindrance more than a helper? Was out today in some fairly heavy and deep snow and wasn't impressed at all. Really didn't like how the snow setting restricted my power available no matter what I did with the gas pedal. While I understand why it does that, sometimes you need that burst of wheel spin to clear the treads or gain momentum.
When the snow gets really bad, what do you all do? Do you keep it dialled in to snow and drop it into low range, or set it back to general traction control and go for low range?
Do any of the other traction setting work better in heavy snow? Was 1/2 tempted to try it in the mud setting and see what the effect would be lol.
Cheers
When the snow gets really bad, what do you all do? Do you keep it dialled in to snow and drop it into low range, or set it back to general traction control and go for low range?
Do any of the other traction setting work better in heavy snow? Was 1/2 tempted to try it in the mud setting and see what the effect would be lol.
Cheers
#2
02-26-2014, 12:05 AM
nice little write up on this question here:
https://landroverforums.com/forum/lr...dummies-11127/
A lot of LR4 questions can be answered in the LR3 section as it sees more traffic and they are essentially the same vehicle. Also try the general tech help section.
cheers,
https://landroverforums.com/forum/lr...dummies-11127/
A lot of LR4 questions can be answered in the LR3 section as it sees more traffic and they are essentially the same vehicle. Also try the general tech help section.
cheers,
#3
02-26-2014, 10:52 AM
The Terrain Response for Dummies is a great summary. The TR mode that includes "snow" in the labeling is definitely misleading unless "snow" means hard-packed and icy snow. Definitely not the right mode to plow through deeper snow.
And here are some results from a test Car and Driver did on the LR3.
What Does Terrain Response Do?
Testing the LR3's Terrain Response system.
* February 2005
* BY DAVE VANDERWERP
When you drive a car with anti-lock brakes, you assume the system will function whether the surface beneath you is dry and grippy concrete, icy asphalt, or loose dirt. ABS could be further optimized for each condition by altering its response time and the frequency of brake pulsations, if only the system knew which surface it was operating on. The same goes for traction- and stability-control systems, the locking action of the differentials, the shift schedule of the transmission, and even the throttle response of the engine.
On the LR3, Land Rover has taken a cut at solving this problem with a trick new system called Terrain Response. To use it, you turn a small **** on the center console down between the seats to choose among five usage or surface settings: (1) general mode, for everyday driving, (2) grass/gravel/snow, (3) mud and ruts, (4) sand, (5) rock crawl. For each setting, Terrain Response adjusts the aforementioned components to perform best for each driving condition.
Does Terrain Response work? To find out, we took the LR3 from our Ann Arbor headquarters to the Bosch proving ground in Flat Rock, Michigan. There we performed full-on ABS stops-trying our best to bust the brake pedal from the car - and wide-open throttle launches on the following surfaces: ceramic tiles wetted to simulate ice; and gravel, sand, and asphalt. We tested each setting on each surface, which is to say, on sand we switched the system through all four settings. (We omitted the rock-crawl mode because it is intended for slow, extreme off-road conditions, and none was at hand.)
Simulated Ice
Terrain Response does not have a setting to deal specially with ice, but Bosch replicates the frozen stuff, and we wanted to see how the LR3 would perform on it. To brake successfully on ice, the ABS must react more quickly than it would on asphalt, stop the vehicle, and stop it in a reasonably straight line.
Over the artificial ice, the LR3 performed well in four settings, with vehicular behavior changing little among the modes. And it maintained stability-on the straight-line course-even in off-road modes. In the 25-to-0-mph brake test, the stopping distances varied from 184 to 198 feet as shown below. Those differences aren't terribly significant, and a driver won't notice them without instrumentation.
In acceleration from 0 to 20 mph, however, we found a greater difference on the wet tiles. The grass/ gravel/snow setting employed the traction control to keep the wheels under the tightest control and accelerated the LR3 to 20 mph in 6.0 seconds. The general mode provided more wheelspin than we expected and was 0.2 second slower to 20 mph. The mud-and-ruts and sand modes provided high levels of wheelspin (a good thing if the vehicle were in fact bogged down on those surfaces) and slower 0-to-20-mph times, 7.2 and 6.9 seconds, respectively.
Because the LR3 didn't have enough power to provoke wheelspin on any of the grippier surfaces, taking traction control out of the equation, the acceleration on simulated ice is the only test illustrated here.
Gravel
On any deformable surface - gravel, snow, sand - the best way to stop a vehicle is to lock up the wheels, a tactic that will always outperform the pulsing of anti-lock brakes. Doing so, however, eliminates the ability to steer while braking, which is not so good if there's an obstacle looming ahead. Therefore, Terrain Response alters ABS to allow a greater degree of wheel locking as you select a looser surface, while maintaining steering control.
Sure enough, as we moved the system settings from left to right - from "general" to “sand” - the braking distances on gravel improved accordingly. The distance required to stop from 25 mph dropped from 204 feet in the general mode to 155 feet in sand mode. With the improved stopping capability came a reduction in the ability to steer, but even in sand mode we still had no trouble maintaining directional control.
Sand
The Bosch facility has a 300-foot-long sandbox in which we also performed stops from 25 mph. There was a noticeable difference in braking distance in each mode. All except the "sand" setting felt uncomfortable, with the LR3 skating over the top of the sand and feeling as if it were never going to stop. Again, there was a vast difference between the worst-performing mode, mud and ruts (84 feet from 25 mph), and sand (55 feet). If you're going to drive on sand, you'll definitely want to think about your Terrain Response setting.
Asphalt
Asphalt provided the least variability in braking performance among the four settings. A meager three feet separated all runs, with an excellent 130-foot average from 60 mph. Terrain Response didn't spoil the stopping distances by allowing excessive wheel lockup, even in off-road modes.
Although we didn't evaluate the effects of Terrain Response on the LR3's stability-control system, or the changes it makes to the differential and transmission performance, we found enough evidence to convince us that Terrain Response is an excellent approach to adjusting the performance of a machine that is designed to be used on a wide range of surfaces.
And here are some results from a test Car and Driver did on the LR3.
What Does Terrain Response Do?
Testing the LR3's Terrain Response system.
* February 2005
* BY DAVE VANDERWERP
When you drive a car with anti-lock brakes, you assume the system will function whether the surface beneath you is dry and grippy concrete, icy asphalt, or loose dirt. ABS could be further optimized for each condition by altering its response time and the frequency of brake pulsations, if only the system knew which surface it was operating on. The same goes for traction- and stability-control systems, the locking action of the differentials, the shift schedule of the transmission, and even the throttle response of the engine.
On the LR3, Land Rover has taken a cut at solving this problem with a trick new system called Terrain Response. To use it, you turn a small **** on the center console down between the seats to choose among five usage or surface settings: (1) general mode, for everyday driving, (2) grass/gravel/snow, (3) mud and ruts, (4) sand, (5) rock crawl. For each setting, Terrain Response adjusts the aforementioned components to perform best for each driving condition.
Does Terrain Response work? To find out, we took the LR3 from our Ann Arbor headquarters to the Bosch proving ground in Flat Rock, Michigan. There we performed full-on ABS stops-trying our best to bust the brake pedal from the car - and wide-open throttle launches on the following surfaces: ceramic tiles wetted to simulate ice; and gravel, sand, and asphalt. We tested each setting on each surface, which is to say, on sand we switched the system through all four settings. (We omitted the rock-crawl mode because it is intended for slow, extreme off-road conditions, and none was at hand.)
Simulated Ice
Terrain Response does not have a setting to deal specially with ice, but Bosch replicates the frozen stuff, and we wanted to see how the LR3 would perform on it. To brake successfully on ice, the ABS must react more quickly than it would on asphalt, stop the vehicle, and stop it in a reasonably straight line.
Over the artificial ice, the LR3 performed well in four settings, with vehicular behavior changing little among the modes. And it maintained stability-on the straight-line course-even in off-road modes. In the 25-to-0-mph brake test, the stopping distances varied from 184 to 198 feet as shown below. Those differences aren't terribly significant, and a driver won't notice them without instrumentation.
In acceleration from 0 to 20 mph, however, we found a greater difference on the wet tiles. The grass/ gravel/snow setting employed the traction control to keep the wheels under the tightest control and accelerated the LR3 to 20 mph in 6.0 seconds. The general mode provided more wheelspin than we expected and was 0.2 second slower to 20 mph. The mud-and-ruts and sand modes provided high levels of wheelspin (a good thing if the vehicle were in fact bogged down on those surfaces) and slower 0-to-20-mph times, 7.2 and 6.9 seconds, respectively.
Because the LR3 didn't have enough power to provoke wheelspin on any of the grippier surfaces, taking traction control out of the equation, the acceleration on simulated ice is the only test illustrated here.
Gravel
On any deformable surface - gravel, snow, sand - the best way to stop a vehicle is to lock up the wheels, a tactic that will always outperform the pulsing of anti-lock brakes. Doing so, however, eliminates the ability to steer while braking, which is not so good if there's an obstacle looming ahead. Therefore, Terrain Response alters ABS to allow a greater degree of wheel locking as you select a looser surface, while maintaining steering control.
Sure enough, as we moved the system settings from left to right - from "general" to “sand” - the braking distances on gravel improved accordingly. The distance required to stop from 25 mph dropped from 204 feet in the general mode to 155 feet in sand mode. With the improved stopping capability came a reduction in the ability to steer, but even in sand mode we still had no trouble maintaining directional control.
Sand
The Bosch facility has a 300-foot-long sandbox in which we also performed stops from 25 mph. There was a noticeable difference in braking distance in each mode. All except the "sand" setting felt uncomfortable, with the LR3 skating over the top of the sand and feeling as if it were never going to stop. Again, there was a vast difference between the worst-performing mode, mud and ruts (84 feet from 25 mph), and sand (55 feet). If you're going to drive on sand, you'll definitely want to think about your Terrain Response setting.
Asphalt
Asphalt provided the least variability in braking performance among the four settings. A meager three feet separated all runs, with an excellent 130-foot average from 60 mph. Terrain Response didn't spoil the stopping distances by allowing excessive wheel lockup, even in off-road modes.
Although we didn't evaluate the effects of Terrain Response on the LR3's stability-control system, or the changes it makes to the differential and transmission performance, we found enough evidence to convince us that Terrain Response is an excellent approach to adjusting the performance of a machine that is designed to be used on a wide range of surfaces.
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