Omega Owners Forum
Chat Area => General Car Chat => Topic started by: Osprey on 09 June 2011, 01:50:44
-
Turning right sedately at a cross-roads on a green right turn filter, I notice there is a motorbike undertaking the opposing traffic queue fast enough that he will most likely shoot his red light and hit my passenger side. Too late to brake, so I put the foot down hoping to clear the junction quickly.
Revs rise, TC flashes, no acceleration. Ease off the juice, can I have my car back please? Nope, not until TC is good and finished, and it will write me a letter to tell me when that eventually happens.
Bike did run the light but, fortunately, managed to swerve behind me – only just though.
Is all TC like this, or is it just Omegas?
>:(
-
Sadly yes. >:(
When I worked at TNT, I usually drove a 7.5t box van but sometimes would have to go out in a lwb Sprinter. My depot had 4 of these, 2 with ESP/TC, and 2 without. My round was a rural one between Oxted/Lingfield and Smallfield, which meant several crossings of the A22 at one of many crossroads with limited visibility. I would wait for a gap and the just boot it across the junction. ::)
The vans without ESP/TC would lose traction instantly, so pulling away quickly went: 1st2nd3rd traction, and you'd clear the other side as you were changing into fourth. You knew this would happen so just went through the gears until the back end gripped. :P
The vans with ESP/TC were basically dangerous. foot down in 1st and it would start to move, then just as you get to the middle of the road, it would work out that the wheels were trying to slip, so it would kill the power just as you change into 2nd. 9 times out of 10, this would leave you stalled in the middle of the road. >:(
Never had an issue with the TC on either of my Omegas, even with cheap tyres. :-/ Having said that, I although I drive it quite hard, it might not be in quite the same league of mechanical unsympathy as TB. Getting the light to flash requires some serious provocation, easier on wet roads perhaps. :-/