1997 PONTIAC FIREBIRD traction control

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. Both control systems -- steering and
acceleration
-- have to do their work where the tires meet
the road. Unless you have traction control and the system
is on, adding the sudden acceleration can demand too
much of
those places. You can lose control.
What should you do if this ever happens? Ease 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.
Steering in Emergencies
There are times when steering can be more effective
than braking. For example, you come over a hill and
find a truck stopped in your lane, or a car suddenly pulls
out from nowhere, or a child darts out from between
parked cars and stops right in front of you. You can
avoid these problems by braking
-- if you can stop
in time. But sometimes you can’t; there isn’t
room.
That’s the time for evasive action -- steering around
the problem.
Your Pontiac can perform very well in emergencies like
these. First apply your brakes. (See “Braking in
Emergencies” earlier in this section.)
It is better to
remove as much speed as you can from a possible
collision. Then steer around the problem,
to the left
or right depending on the space available.
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Check your mirrors, glance over your shoulder, and
start your left lane change signal before moving out
of the right lane to pass. When you are far enough
ahead
of the passed vehicle to see its front in your
inside mirror, activate your right lane change signal
and move back into the right lane. (Remember that
your right outside mirror is convex. The vehicle
you
just passed may seem to be farther away from you
than it really is.)
0 Try not to pass more than one vehicle at a time on
two-lane roads. Reconsider before passing the
next vehicle.
0 Don’t overtake a slowly moving vehicle too rapidly.
Even though the brake lamps
are not flashing, it may
be slowing down or starting to turn.
0 If you’re being passed, make it easy for the
following driver to get ahead
of you. Perhaps you
can ease a little to
the right.
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
is best handled by easing your foot off
the accelerator pedal.
If
you have the traction control system, remember: It
helps avoid only the acceleration skid.
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If you do not have traction control, or if the system is
off, then an acceleration skid is also best handled by
easing your foot off the accelerator pedal.
If your vehicle starts to slide, ease your foot off the
accelerator pedal and quickly steer the way you want the
vehicle to go. If you start steering quickly enough, your
vehicle may straighten out. Always be ready for a
second skid
if it occurs.
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 recognize warning
clues
-- such as enough water, ice or packed snow on
the road to make a “mirrored surface” -- and slow down
when you have any doubt.
Remember: Any anti-lock brake system
(ABS) helps
avoid only the braking skid.
Driving at Night
I
.A
Night driving is more dangerous than day driving.
One reason is that some drivers are likely
to be
impaired -- by alcohol or drugs, with night vision
problems, or by fatigue.
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What’s the worst time for this? “Wet ice.” Very cold
snow or ice can be slick and hard to drive on. But wet
ice can be even more trouble because it may offer the
least traction of all. You can get wet ice when it’s about
freezing
(32” F; 0” C) and freezing rain begins to fall.
Try
to avoid driving on wet ice until salt and sand crews
can get there.
Whatever the condition
-- smooth ice, packed, blowing
or loose snow
-- drive with caution,
If you have traction control, keep the system on. It will
improve your ability to accelerate when driving on a
slippery road. Even though your vehicle has a traction
control system, you’ll want to slow down and adjust
your driving to
the road conditions. See “Traction
Control System” in the Index,
If you don’t have the traction control system, accelerate
gently. Try not
to break the fragile traction. If you
accelerate too fast, the drive wheels will spin and polish
the surface under the tires even more. Your
anti-lock brakes improve your vehicle’s stability
when you make a hard stop on
a slippery road. Even
though you have the anti-lock braking system, you’ll
want to begin stopping sooner than you would on dry
pavement. See “Anti-Lock” in the Index.
Allow greater following distance on any
Watch for slippery spots. The road might be fine
until you hit a spot that’s covered with ice. On an
otherwise clear road, ice patches may appear in
shaded areas where the sun can’t reach: around
clumps
of trees, behind buildings or under bridges.
Sometimes the surface of a curve
or an overpass may
remain
icy when the surrounding roads are clear. If
you see a patch of ice ahead of you, brake before you
are on it.
Try not to brake while you’re actually on
the ice, and avoid sudden steering maneuvers.
slippery
road.

Compact Spare Tire
Although the compact spare tire was fully inflated when
your vehicle was new, it can lose air after a time. Check
the inflation pressure regularly. It should be
60 psi
(420 kPa).
After installing the compact spare on your vehicle, YOU
should stop as soon as possible and make sure your
spare tire is correctly inflated. The compact spare is
made to perform well at speeds
up to 65 mph
(105 km/h) for distances up to 3,000 miles (5 000 km),
so you can finish your trip and have your full-size tire
repaired or replaced where you want. (When the
compact spare
is used on the rear axle, see Notice
below.) Of course, it’s best to replace your spare with a
full-size tire as soon as you can. Your spare will last
longer and be in good shape in case you need it again. When the compact
spare is on the rear axle, the optional
traction control system will cycle and limit acceleration
for about the first 15 seconds of driving after each
engine start.
NOTICE:
If the compact spare is used as a rear tire, do not
drive faster than
50 mph (SO km/h). Damage to
the rear axle may occur
if the compact spare is
driven faster than 50 mph
(80 kmh).
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NOTICE:
b
Spinning your wheels can destroy parts of your
vehicle as well
as the tires. If you spin the wheels
too
fast while shifting your transmission back
and forth, you can destroy your transmission.
For information about using tire chains on your vehicle,
see “Tire Chains” in the Index.
Rocking Your Vehicle To Get It Out
First, turn your steering wheel left and right. That will
clear the area around your front wheels.
If your vehicle
has traction control, you should turn the system off. (See
“Traction Control System”
in the Index.) Then shift
back and forth between
REVERSE (R) and a forward
gear
(or with a manual transmission, between FIRST (I)
I or SECOND (2) and REVERSE (R)), spinning the
wheels
as little as possible. Release the accelerator pedal
while you shift, and press lightly on the accelerator
pedal when the transmission is
in gear. If that doesn’t
get you out after
a few tries, you may need to be towed
out. If you do need to be towed out, see “Towing Your
Vehicle’’ in the Index.
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Mixing tires could cause you to lose control while
driving.
If you mix tires of dif€erent sizes or types
(radi,al
and bias-belted tires), the vehicle may not
handle properly, and
you could have a crash.
Using tires of different sizes may also cause
damage to
your vehicle. 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 use 0n 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.) The
grades are molded
on the sidewalls of most passenger car
tires. The Uniform Tire Quality Grading system
does not apply
to deep tread, winter-type snow tires,
space-saver or temporary
use spare tires, tires with
nominal rim diameters
of 10 to 12 inches (25 to 30 cm),
or to some lirnited-pro'duction tires.
While the tires available
on General Motors passenger
cars and light trucks may vary with respect to these
grades, they must also conform to Federal safety
requirements and additional General Motors Tire
performance Criteria
(TPC) standards.
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 1/2) times as well on the gov'esnrnent 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.
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Traction -- A, B, C
The traction grades, from highest to lowest, are A, B,
and C, and 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 (straightahead) 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.
Warning: The temperature grade for this tire
is
established for a tire that is properly inflated and
not overloaded. Excessive speed, underinflation,
or
excessive loading, either separately or in combination,
can cause heat buildup and possible tire failure.
Wheel Alignment and Tire Balance
The wheels on your vehicle were aligned and balanced
carefully at the factory to give you the longest tire life
and best overall performance.
Scheduled wheel alignment and wheel balancing are
not needed. However, if you notice unusual tire wear or
your vehicle pulling one way or the other, the alignment
may need to be reset. If
you notice your vehicle
vibrating when driving on a smooth road, your wheels
may need to be rebalanced.