Low tire pressure system failure!

[Navy Lifer]

Tom, that's all well & good, but it didn't (or shouldn't) take TPMS to make Stabilitrak possible, if it's based on a threshold value--the earlier design I described from the 2004 Impala would serve that purpose. It's a simple on or off decision, and Stabilitrak will either work or it won't, depending on whether pressures are at or above minimum. The unfortunate part is that if TPMS "fails" even when pressures are satisfactory, there's no way to override that and still have the "benefits" of Stabilitrak.

I suppose what I'm really saying is that technology has brought about a number really nice features that many newer vehicles--not just PPV--offer. The good in them is only as long as the reliability and durability of the interfacing of systems allows, but even at that, does it mean that the vehicle's performance or the driver's experience will be improved?

Consider how long vehicles were built with much less technologically-advanced features....I'm not taking on Stabilitrak as something to bash (nor do I mean to get off-topic), but, once again, it's something that was mandated to keep vehicles "safe" for the lowest-common-denominator as far as driver capability. Can this same technology be exploited by a skilled driver to provide an advantage over an equivalent driver without the benefits of Stabilitrak? We may "assume" so--but how often will any of us actually operate these cars at the limits where it begins to "help" us drive the car better than could be done without it? In the end, I'm not too concerned if Stabilitrak doesn't work, to be honest. That means I'm in control.

All that and one EMP....better have a bicycle handy, just in case. Steve's bike rack hitch mod is making more sense, looking at it that way!

[storm9c1]

A little off track, but let me jump on my soapbox for a moment:
FWIW, I don't like Stabilitrak. With the exception of ABS, I don't need any other computer intervention. I own 9 cars (all V8 and RWD), and the PPV is the only drive-by-wire car I own. And it's the only car with any type of traction control. I felt I made a significant compromise when I bought it regarding this core principle of mine. I'd prefer to understand the limits of my own car rather than the computer buffering that feedback for me. The feedback is what teaches us to drive, to be defensive and understand the limitations of our automobiles. Eventually later generations of kids that aren't raised with any experience with older muscle cars will eventually become worse and worse drivers until the experience of driving will become obsolete and computers will be transporting us around, either en-mass via people movers or personal people movers. It may take several generations, but this is the way we are going if this keeps up. It's a shame. Anybody with kids out there -- when they are old enough, put them behind the wheel of an older car, in a safe place, and teach them the skills we know. Pass along how to drive a manual transmission. Pass along how the clutch feels. Pass along the concept of threshold braking. Pass along the art of doing slalom and drifting. Allow them to "get loose" with the car. All of this will eventually be lost in newer and newer cars. In my mind, muscle cars don't have "entertainment systems", bluetooth, MP3 players, or any electronic distractions because it takes all of your concentration just to drive them. And that alone is the experience that I am looking for. If air leaks out of one of my tires, I'll know it real quick, I'll feet it, since I am not distracted by everything else that comes in modern cars.......

[Navy Lifer]

You nailed that pretty right....DITTO!

[Tom Slick]

Bottom line.... STABILITRAK UTILIZES TPMS... Don't like all the electronic babysitters either....

Just was explaining why... Not to debate the Ethics of it...

Later,
Tom Slick