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Traction control has all sorts of tricks it can use to get you pointed in the right direction. Traction control systems can brake individual wheels to apply ro

Traction control has all sorts of tricks it can use to get you pointed in the right direction. Traction control systems can brake individual wheels to apply rotational torque to counter excessive yaw like when the back tires come loose and the back swings out, the car can induce rotation in the opposite direction to sort things out before they get too dangerous. The other common case is when taking off in a straight line, the car can limit power in excess of what the wheels are capable of putting down. This is usually accomplished with a combination of limiting power and in some cases braking individual wheels as they lose traction to simulate the effects of having a differential. Electric cars do better much in the latter case because of how quickly they can limit power compared to an engine. It’s one of the reasons electric cars dominate 0-60 tests because they can adjust power hundreds of times a second whereas that’s simply not possible with a gas engine.

jpollock 4y ago
The argument was that the addition of a transmission would allow more control in snow. Is that only in situations where there isn't traction control, or where it is disabled? Would traction control be expected to outperform a human on snow? Is the higher weight of an EV going to make it handle poorly anyways?
- davewritescode 4y ago
  A transmission will do nothing for an EV in the snow. The existing traction management is more than sufficient for starting up but slowing down or changing directions in an EV in traction limited situations will likely always be worse than an equivalent gas car just because of excessive weight. Traction control will outperform an above average driver on snow. I've driven lots of fast cars sideways and lived in the Northeast my whole life and I leave the TC system on because while I know how to control a slide on a racetrack, I don't want to do the same on a public road.

jpollock 4y ago

The argument was that the addition of a transmission would allow more control in snow. Is that only in situations where there isn't traction control, or where it is disabled? Would traction control be expected to outperform a human on snow? Is the higher weight of an EV going to make it handle poorly anyways?

davewritescode 4y ago
A transmission will do nothing for an EV in the snow. The existing traction management is more than sufficient for starting up but slowing down or changing directions in an EV in traction limited situations will likely always be worse than an equivalent gas car just because of excessive weight. Traction control will outperform an above average driver on snow. I've driven lots of fast cars sideways and lived in the Northeast my whole life and I leave the TC system on because while I know how to control a slide on a racetrack, I don't want to do the same on a public road.