[Lee821974]

Ok, so I'm about to place an order for my 3rd 5008 and I have just found out that you cant have Grip Control (GC) and the new "Black Pack" together?!?! Bit stupid really but obviously to do with the wheels.
I added the GC on my 1st 5008GT and I think I switched it on once in a year and that was due to some snow we had.
Its was also fitted to the replacement GT I currently have and I don't think I've even touched the dial in just since the car was new, just over a year.
So I'm now thinking is it really worth it and just got for the NightVsion option instead of the GC and also the BlackPack option.

Living here in the south of England and only 50 miles from the heart of London we just don't get that bad weather.

Some thoughts on this would be much appreciated.

 

[Tee - Comkotes]

Ok, so I'm about to place an order for my 3rd 5008 and I have just found out that you cant have Grip Control (GC) and the new "Black Pack" together?!?! Bit stupid really but obviously to do with the wheels.
I added the GC on my 1st 5008GT and I think I switched it on once in a year and that was due to some snow we had.
Its was also fitted to the replacement GT I currently have and I don't think I've even touched the dial in just since the car was new, just over a year.
So I'm now thinking is it really worth it and just got for the NightVsion option instead of the GC and also the BlackPack option.

Living here in the south of England and only 50 miles from the heart of London we just don't get that bad weather.

Some thoughts on this would be much appreciated.

Well when its ice and snow (deep or not) it can be best to switch off traction control so that you can actually move off. I do thousands of miles a year in lorries & cars whilst some of that is the most dreadful weathers over in Europe. As grip control is electronic and not actually a limited slip diff I think having the car jabbing at the brakes to prevent wheelspin is a mindfield when in thick ice. I've felt much more comfortable doing 140mph down the autobahns in thick ice and terrible snow with esp off than I would with it in. The worse problems can often come from braking if the car has no limited slip diff in bad weather conditions. It really is best from my personal point of view in deep snow or thick ice to always assume when braking from a speed its quite likely at 15mph or 10mph the car will begin to slide as they tyre loses traction. Ive quite easily slid 30 metres before at just 15mph pumping at the brakes. Other times I have only found when accelerating in snow full traction occured at 70mph.

When its deep snow here in the UK and you drive early morning the roads can still be so icy that 15-20mph is the safest speed to go even on the motorway, all depends where they have gritted and who already driven the route and has crushed salt grit so to begin breaking up the ice under the snow.

 

[Lee821974]

Thanks for your reply, very informative. So I take it you're saying no to the Grip Control? 😂

 

[mudlogger]

So I'm now thinking is it really worth it

generally I think grip control is really good. I live on the west coast of Norway, and we have perhaps 10-20 days per year with ice/snow/"slush" on our local roads. some of the roads in our neighborhood have fairly steep inclines, and on multiple occasions I have experienced getting up, when other cars in front have to back down. a good feeling.
grip control is how traction control should have been implemented in the first place. traditional traction control only slows down the spinning wheel, resulting in loss of motor power. grip control keeps the power, but slows the spinning wheel down, which effectively redistributes power to the other wheel. so it works well. but if you only need it once per year ... its another question. in your case I guess the only consequence of skipping it, is that you have to be a tad more careful with where you go, e.g. avoid muddy fields and icy roads, but it wont be a big difference because grip control isnt close to 4wd, its only slightly better than 2wd. I suspect using the right tyres is much more important than grip control alone.