Traction Control Update

[ViperGMC]

I have received quite a few inquires about how the Racelogic traction control has been working since I installed it about a month ago. I reported back that I really liked the unit and everything was fine. It really allows you to step on the accelerator with confidence.

Then the night before I was going to the track the car died. Turns out something overloaded my ignition system, knocking out the 1-6 ignition coil and the 1-6 driver in the PCM. I replaced both and sent the TC unit back to Racelogic to see if that was the culprit. They said the unit was fine and sent it back to me. I installed it back in and everything is working fine. I have not had the problem come back?????? I have tried to replicate the conditions of the night the problem occurred but so far, no problems. The one thing that I did just before the problem, was wash the car and could very easily have shot high pressure water down the louvers in the hood. Since the control unit is just below the lovers, water might have gotten into the TC unit. I siliconed up the box this time to make sure no water gets in. There was no water damage to the unit but I thought, what would it hurt.

I am at a loss for what happened. The Racelogic guys have been great, have responded quickly on everything and have been there right with me as we tried to understand the problem. They sent me a replacement unit while mine was in transit between the UK and back. The traction control system works great, I hate that I had this problem and have not been able to pin point the cause. I do not like leaving it hanging out there and making it seem like the TC caused the problem. I do not want to discourage folks from buying the unit because it’s a great asset to the car and I love it. On the other hand, I can not say that I have had no problems at all.

I am a very capable mechanic and have done all the work on the car myself including diagnosing/replacing the coil and PCM. I am not one that depends on vendors for answers and always do my homework on the best course of action, so I have not been BS’ed by Racelogic and they have not tried to shift the blame on me or the car.

Anyway, I am not going to worry about it any more, I’m just going to enjoy the TC and the incredible rush of driving the car. I do recommend the product and will continue encourage Viper owners give it serous consideration.

 

[Y2K5SRT]

Excellent feedback and be sure to keep us posted if it does happen to reoccur. Now about that track outing - have you had a chance to test it under race conditions yet? Curious as to how it will impact the 1/4 mile times...

 

[jeremy@matrix]

I have received quite a few inquires about how the Racelogic traction control has been working since I installed it about a month ago. I reported back that I really liked the unit and everything was fine. It really allows you to step on the accelerator with confidence.

Then the night before I was going to the track the car died. Turns out something overloaded my ignition system, knocking out the 1-6 ignition coil and the 1-6 driver in the PCM. I replaced both and sent the TC unit back to Racelogic to see if that was the culprit. They said the unit was fine and sent it back to me. I installed it back in and everything is working fine. I have not had the problem come back?????? I have tried to replicate the conditions of the night the problem occurred but so far, no problems. The one thing that I did just before the problem, was wash the car and could very easily have shot high pressure water down the louvers in the hood. Since the control unit is just below the lovers, water might have gotten into the TC unit. I siliconed up the box this time to make sure no water gets in. There was no water damage to the unit but I thought, what would it hurt.

I am at a loss for what happened. The Racelogic guys have been great, have responded quickly on everything and have been there right with me as we tried to understand the problem. They sent me a replacement unit while mine was in transit between the UK and back. The traction control system works great, I hate that I had this problem and have not been able to pin point the cause. I do not like leaving it hanging out there and making it seem like the TC caused the problem. I do not want to discourage folks from buying the unit because it’s a great asset to the car and I love it. On the other hand, I can not say that I have had no problems at all.

I am a very capable mechanic and have done all the work on the car myself including diagnosing/replacing the coil and PCM. I am not one that depends on vendors for answers and always do my homework on the best course of action, so I have not been BS’ed by Racelogic and they have not tried to shift the blame on me or the car.

Anyway, I am not going to worry about it any more, I’m just going to enjoy the TC and the incredible rush of driving the car. I do recommend the product and will continue encourage Viper owners give it serous consideration.

Thanks for keeping everyone up to date in regards to your Racelogic Traction Control experiences GMC. We're ecstatic that the RLTC has enhanced your driving experience so greatly. Please let us know if we can do anything else for you.

Best regards,
Jeremy

 

[SilverViper03]

Hi ViperGMC

How did you find out the issue was ``something overloaded my ignition system, knocking out the 1-6 ignition coil and the 1-6 driver in the PCM`` you replaced both, is it easy? Expensive?

Thank you for your valuable information and it’s good that Jeremy gave you great support.

 

[ViperGMC]

I plugged up an OBD and it told me there was a fault in the primary/secondary ignition system, so I started pulling plug wires off one by one to see which cylinders were not firing. 1 & 6 were not, then studied the diagrams. I put a meter on the coil posts I found a short across 1-6. Ah ha, changed out the coil pack ($125 about 2 hours) but that did not solve the problem. The only thing left in the circuit was the driver in the PCM. I put a meter on the 1 & 6 ignition lead and found no signal. Replaced the PCM, 2 screws easy – ($350 about 1 hour) and that fixed it. Never did figure out what caused it but, it’s fixed. The hardest part was finding a PCM and getting it overnighted so I could make it to track day at Barber speedway. Anyway, the system works great and I get incredible launches and can really be aggressive through the gears.

At Barber I was toying with the Ferraris and Porsches down the straight-aways. I would let them come up even and then open the throttle and blow by. They were much better drivers than me and I did not feel comfortable taking the corners as fast as them, so I backed off before the corners, but man it was fun on the straights.

 

[LynnS]

Thanks Again ViperGMC:

Your insights and postings have been very informative. My Racelogic Traction Control has been ordered and is in-transit! Now if I can just get it installed.......

Lynn

 

[jeremy@matrix]

I plugged up an OBD and it told me there was a fault in the primary/secondary ignition system, so I started pulling plug wires off one by one to see which cylinders were not firing. 1 & 6 were not, then studied the diagrams. I put a meter on the coil posts I found a short across 1-6. Ah ha, changed out the coil pack ($125 about 2 hours) but that did not solve the problem. The only thing left in the circuit was the driver in the PCM. I put a meter on the 1 & 6 ignition lead and found no signal. Replaced the PCM, 2 screws easy – ($350 about 1 hour) and that fixed it. Never did figure out what caused it but, it’s fixed. The hardest part was finding a PCM and getting it overnighted so I could make it to track day at Barber speedway. Anyway, the system works great and I get incredible launches and can really be aggressive through the gears.

At Barber I was toying with the Ferraris and Porsches down the straight-aways. I would let them come up even and then open the throttle and blow by. They were much better drivers than me and I did not feel comfortable taking the corners as fast as them, so I backed off before the corners, but man it was fun on the straights.

Hey GMC,

Haha, that is awesome. Sounds like the cat-and-mouse game was a blast.
Glad the system worked so well!!

Best,
Jeremy

 

[jeremy@matrix]

Thanks Again ViperGMC:

Your insights and postings have been very informative. My Racelogic Traction Control has been ordered and is in-transit! Now if I can just get it installed.......

Lynn

Indeed they have. to ViperGMC.

I'm excited for you to experience the system Lynn.

 

[Greg 99ACR Red and Silver]

What many of us (on the sidelines) want to see are same day/same driver quarter mile times with the system off and at different settings, preferably with street tires.

 

[ViperGMC]

I can almost answer that question. The times are the same.

The almost part is that I don’t really have a convenient place to do ¼ miles so, I pretty much stick to 0-60 mph. The TC does not improve my times, it does make them more consistent however. I average about .20 faster with the TC on, but my best TC/off is the same as my best TC/on. I did not write down all my times, just the fastest (I’m not that fanatic about it) so I will para-number here. My best time for both was 3.41, 3.43 easily within the margin of accuracy for the G-Tech device, so I call it the same. But out of 10 runs with TC/on I got 6 under 4 seconds and with TC/off I only got 3 under 4 seconds. Every time I go out my times get better with the TC on or off.

For me (I can only speak for me) the TC allowed me to be a little more sloppy. If I am right on, I am right on and the TC does nothing, but I am not right on all the time, in fact I am not right on near as much as I would like to be, so the TC helps me out. The same holds true, for a road course. If I set the turn up just right and brake at the right time and hit the apex, then nailed the gas just the right amount, I would not use the TC at all. If I missed one or more of those elements and got behind trying to adjust, my throttle application was way off. I was taught to always be driving ahead of where you are, but unfortunately I sometimes get behind where I am and in the rush to catch up I make mistakes and that’s where the TC kicks in and keeps me accelerating but not spinning out.

So the TC is an aid when my timing is off, and better drivers would call on the TC less, but even the best drivers are not perfect. Is it cheating?? probably no more than having 800HP on a street car. The great thing is that you have a choice whether you want to install it or not, turn it on or not.

 

[Greg 99ACR Red and Silver]

Thanks very much for the feedback.

Many of us would like our traction limited cars to have an electronic solution to improve lousy 60 foot and quarter miles times.
If you do get to a drag strip, you may find out your time to distance numbers may improve even though your time to speed numbers are close. For example: A car does 120 mph Quarters with both slicks and street tires, but the ETs can be quite different.