1993 OLDSMOBILE SILHOUETTE traction control

Features & Controls
76
Cruise Control (Cant.) I TO Set Cruise Control
drive safely at a steady speed.
So, don’t use your cruise control
on winding roads or in heavy
traffic.
Cruise control can be dangerow
on slippery roads. On such
roads, fast changes
in tire
traction can cause needless wheel spinning, and you could la
I IA
control. Don’t use cruise con
on slippery roads If you leave your
cruise
control switch
ON
you’re not using cruise, you might
hit a button and
go into cruise ;:$3
when you don’t want to. You could$g
be startled and even lose control
Keep the cruise control switch
OFF until you want to use it
2. Get up to the speed you want.
I
3. Push in the SET button at the end of
4. Take your foot off the accelerator
the lever and release
it.
pedal.
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Your Driving and the Road
Steering Tips-Driving on Curves
It’s important to take curves at a
reasonable speed.
A lot of the “driver lost control’’
accidents mentioned on the news happen
on curves. Here’s why:
Experienced driver or beginner, each of
us is subject to the same laws of physics
when driving
on curves. The traction of
the tires against the road surface makes
it possible for the vehicle to change its
path when you turn the front wheels.
If
there’s no traction, inertia will keep the
vehicle going in the same direction.
If
you’ve ever tried to steer a vehicle on
wet ice, you’ll understand this.
The traction you can get in a curve
depends
on the condition of your tires
and the road surface, the angle at which the curve
is banked, and your
speed.
While you’re in a curve, speed is the
one factor you can control.
Suppose you’re steering through a sharp
curve. Then
you suddenly accelerate.
Those two control systems-steering
and acceleration-can overwhelm those
places where
the tires meet the road and
make you lose control.
What should you do if this ever
happens? Let up on the accelerator
pedal, steer the vehicle the way you
want it to go, and slow down.
Speed limit signs near curves warn that
you should adjust your speed. Of
course, the posted speeds are based on
good weather and road conditions.
Under less favorable conditions you’ll
want to go slower. If you need to
reduce your speed as you
approach a curve, do it before you enter
the curve, while your front wheels are
straight ahead.
Try to adjust your speed
so you can
“drive” through
the curve. Maintain a
reasonable, steady speed. Wait to
accelerate until you are out of the curve,
and then accelerate gently into the
straightaway.
When you drive into a curve at night,
it’s harder to see the road ahead
of you
because it bends away from the straight
beams of your lights. This is one good
reason
to drive slower.
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Loss of Control
Let’s review what driving experts say
about what happens when the
three
control systems (brakes, steering and
acceleration) don’t have enough friction
where the tires meet the road to do what
the driver has asked.
In any emergency, don’t give up. Keep
trying
to steer and constantly seek an
escape route or area of less danger.
Skidding
In a skid, a driver can lose control of
the vehicle. Defensive drivers avoid
most skids by taking reasonable care
suited to existing conditions, and
by not
“overdriving” those conditions. But
skids are always possible.
The three types of skids correspond to
your Oldsmobile’s
three control systems.
In the braking skid your wheels aren’t
rolling.
In the steering or cornering
skid, too much speed or steering in a
curve causes tires to slip and lose
cornering force. And
in the acceleration
skid too much throttle causes the driving
wheels to spin.
A cornering skid and an acceleration
skid are best handled by easing your
foot
off the accelerator pedal. If your
vehicle
starts to slide (as when you turn
a corner on a wet, snow- or ice-covered road), ease your
foot
off the accelerator
pedal as soon as you feel the vehicle
start to slide. Quickly steer the way you
want the vehicle to go.
E you start
steering quickly enough, your vehicle
will straighten out. As it does, straighten
the front wheels.
Of course, traction is reduced when
water, snow, ice, gravel, or other
material is on the road. For safety, you’ll
want to slow down and adjust your
driving to these conditions.
It is
important to slow down
on slippery
surfaces because stopping distance will
be longer and vehicle control more
limited.
While driving
on a surface with reduced
traction,
try your best to avoid sudden
steering, acceleration,
or braking
(including engine braking by shifting to
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Sewice & Appearance Care
250
Buying New Tires
To find out what kind and size of tires
you need, look at the Certification/Tire
label. The tires installed on your vehicle
when it was new had a Tire Performance
Criteria Specification (TPC Spec)
number
on each tire’s sidewall. When
you get new tires, get ones with that
same
TPC Spec number. That way, your
vehicle will continue to have tires that
are designed to give proper endurance,
handling, speed rating, traction, ride
and other things during normal service
on your vehicle.
If your tires have an all-
season tread design, the TPC number
will be followed by a
“MS” (for mud
and snow).
If
you ever replace your tires with those
not having a
TPC Spec number, make
sure they are the same size, load range,
speed rating and construction type (bias,
bias-belted or radial)
as your original
tires. Mixing tires could
cause
you
to lose control while driving.
If you mix tires of different sizes
or types (radial and bias-belted
tires), the vehicle may not handle
properly, and you could have a
crash. Be sure to use the same size
and type tires on all four wheels.
It’s all right
to drive with your
compact spare, though.
It was
developed for use on your vehicle.
Uniform Tire Quality
Grading
The following information relates to the
system developed by the United States
National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration which grades tires by
treadwear, traction and temperature
performance. (This applies only to
vehicles sold
in the United States.)
u
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Treadwear
The treadwear grade is a comparative
rating based on the wear rate of the tire
when tested under controlled conditions
on a specified government test course.
For example, a tire graded
150 would
wear one and a half
(1%) times as well
on the government course as a tire
graded
100. The relative performance of
tires depends upon the actual conditions
of their use, however, and may depart
significantly from the norm due to
variations in driving habits, service
practices and differences in road
characteristics and climate.
Traction-A, B, C
The traction grades, from highest to
lowest are:
A, B, and C. They represent
the tire’s ability to stop on wet pavement
as measured under controlled conditions
on specified government test surfaces of
asphalt and concrete.
A tire marked C
may have poor traction performance.
Warning: The traction grade assigned
to this tire
is based on braking (straight-
ahead) traction tests and does not
include cornering (turning) traction.
Temperature-A, B, C
The temperature grades are A (the
highest),
B, and C, representing the
tire’s resistance to the generation of heat
and its ability to dissipate heat when
tested under controlled conditions
on a
specified indoor laboratory test wheel.
Sustained high temperature can cause
the material
of the tire to degenerate and
reduce tire life, and excessive
temperature can lead to sudden tire
failure. The grade
C corresponds to a
level
of performance which all
passenger car tires must meet under the
Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard
No. 109. Grades B and A represent
higher levels
of performance on the
laboratory test wheel than the minimum
required by law.
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