Asphalt Test at Hickory Motor Speedway
(This Test was done with older TMS-5500-SL, The new CT Series is much faster and even better)
How Does it Work on Circle Tracks?
Spinning the tires not only makes the car harder to drive, but also causes higher tire temps and excessive tire wear. Lifting off the throttle or counter steering to correct for this 5% mistake, not only upsets the rhythm, it slows the car down!
Typically, if a driver makes a 5% mistake with the throttle, he/she has to correct 20-25% to fix it. But if the tire slip is detected within one cylinder worth of crank rotation, as the Davis Technologies systems do, then a small reduction in power can reduce or stop the tire slip.
Non Self-Learning Traction Control
The Non Self-Learning systems, such as our CT-1, periodically compare the rate of acceleration of the crankshaft to an Adjustable Fixed Rate (AFR), known as Threshold. If the Engine RPM rate of change is in excess of that Threshold, then a correction is made; therefore, reducing the slip. The comparison is made every cylinder (1/4 of a turn of the crankshaft).
Basically, this Patented system looks for spikes in RPM that are caused by wheel slip. If these spikes are large enough, then a correction is made, reducing the slip. By adjusting the Threshold, the driver can tune the system to the desired “feel”.
Self-Learning Traction Control
Self-Learning systems, such as our CT2-SL, CT3-SL, CT4-SL and CT5-SL series, compare the rate of acceleration of the crankshaft to a calculated threshold value that is constantly updated based on the average of the previous measurements.
This update occurs on every crankshaft revolution. So, if the last 1/4 of a turn of the crankshaft (one cylinder) is faster than the average of the last full revolution (4 cylinders), then a slip is detected.
Through this very advanced Patented process, the system constantly accounts for track conditions, tire condition, even driving style to constantly update the internal settings.
These settings are updated as many as 200 times a second to keep the unit calibrated to exactly the right settings regardless of changing conditions.
Basically, the systems learn the average rate of acceleration of the crankshaft, and if there is a sudden spike in RPM above that rate, then a correction is made.
This allows the system to adjust to the Correct settings even if one corner has more grip than another or even one groove to another. The user does have an adjustment referred to as “Mode” that sets the overall sensitivity of the system to make a correction based on the extent of the tire slip. By adjusting the Mode, the driver can tune the system to the desired “feel”.