1993 PONTIAC GRAND-PRIX traction control

2 (Second Gear): This position gives
you more power but lower fuel
economy.
You can use 2 on hills. It can
help control your speed as
you go down
steep mountain roads, but then you
would also want to use your brakes off
and on.
NOTICE
Don't drive in 2 (Second Gear) for 1
more than 5 miles (8 km), or at
speeds over
55 mph (88 lun/h), or
you can damage your transaxle.
Use
D (m or D if your vehicle has
Overdrive)
as much as possible.
Don't shift into
2 unless you are
going slower than
65 mph
(105 kdh) , or you can damage
your engine.
Second-Gear Sfatf (omow
Your vehicle may be equipped with a
Second-Gear Start feature. Press 2ND
GEAR START to provide more
traction when
you are starting on ice or
other slippery surfaces. The transaxle
will be in second gear when the vehicle
begins
to move. After starting in second
gear the vehicle will upshift normally.
This feature is only for improved
traction when the road surface is
slippery and is not intended
for
continuous use. Always use NORMAL
for normal road conditions.
61
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Features & Controls
6 Cmke Control (OPTION)
With cruise control, you can maintain a
spesd of about 25 mph (40 Wh] or
more without keeping your foot on the
accelerator. This
can really help on long
trips
.
Cruise control does not work at speeds
‘be1.0~ about
25 mph (40’ Wh).
When you apply your brakes, or the
clutch pedal, the cruise
control shuts
off.
1 CAUTION
I
‘ Cruise control can be
-D dangerous where you can’t
drive safely at
a steady speed. So,
don’t use your cruise control on
winding roads or in heavy traffic.
Cruise control can be dangerous
on slippery roads. On such roads,
fast changes in tire traction can
cause needless wheel
spinning,
and YQU could lose control. Don’t
use cruise control
on slippery
roads.
To Set Cruise Control I
1. Move the cruise control switch to
ON. I
A
CAUTION
If you leave your cruise
control switch
ON when
you’re not using cruise, you might
hit a button and go into cruise
when you don’t want to.
You could
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.
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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.
152
Suppose you’re steering through a
sharp curve. Then you suddenly apply
the brakes. Both control systems-
steering and braking-have to do their
work where the tires meet the road.
Unless you have four-wheel anti-lock
brakes, adding the hard braking can
demand too much at those places. You
can lose control.
The same thing can happen
if you’re
steering through a sharp curve and 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 brake or
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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Your Driving and the Road
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 Pontiac’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.
If 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
a lower gear). Any sudden changes
could cause the tires to slide. You may
not realize the surface
is slippery until
your vehicle is skidding. Learn to
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When It’s Time for New Tires
One way to tell when it’s time for new
tires is to check the treadwear
indicators, which will appear when your
tires have only
2/32 inch (1.6 mm) or
less
of tread remaining.
You need a new tire if:
You can see the indicators at three
You can see cord or fabric showing
The tread or sidewall is cracked, cut
places
around the tire.
through the tire’s rubber.
or snagged deep enough to show cord
or fabric.
The tire has a bump, bulge or split.
The tire has a puncture, cut, or other
damage that can’t
be repaired well
because
of the size or location of the
damage.
Buying New Tires
To find out what kind and size of tires
you need, look at the Tire-Loading
Information 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.
‘1 Mixing tires could cause you
A 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 wheels. It’s all
right to drive with your compact
spare, though. It was developed for
limited use on vour vehicle.
r
257 =a
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Service &.Appearance Care
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.)
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),
€3, 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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