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Davis Self-Learning Traction Control Is For Street/Strip Cars, Too

Davis Self-Learning Traction Control Is For Street/Strip Cars, Too

Our Project True SStreet Chevrolet Camaro has been taking up space in our shop for longer than we intended when we kicked the build off a handful of years ago, but that’s all about to change, as we are just days away from burning rubber with the LS-powered street/strip machine.

Our goal with the 427-inch, Whipple-supercharged machine is to click off a 1/4-mile run in the nines, and get us to and from the track if we need it to. Just because it’s a relatively mild machine, though, doesn’t mean we can’t benefit from the use of traction control. After all, high-performance production cars come right from the factory with it these days, and well…this is a street car.

We’re down to the final nitty gritty details as we wrap up the True SStreet build and head to the racetrack.

Traction control is particularly beneficial for us, as we’ll be racing this car primarily in Southern California, where racetracks are scarce, and the surfaces we do have leave a lot to be desired. Nevermind that in the summer months — like, right now — the tracks are hot and greasy, making matters worse. Of course, we’ll be tuning the engine, the gear ratios, the AFCO front struts, JRi rear shocks, and our 4-link conversion to get us down the track efficiently, but for those moments that we miss the mark a little, Davis Technologies will be there to save our ass.

The Need For Speed

We acquired one of Davis’ TC3-SL units, a self-learning traction control system, to help us manage wheel speed in True SStreet. Davis’ TC3 (this lineup includes the base TC3, the TC3-SL, and TC3-SL Pro) was built from the ground up with speed and accuracy in mind. How fast? It samples driveshaft RPM at a rate of 1,000 times per second. Along with retarding engine timing, the unit can also drop cylinders in severe cases. But its very foundation — what traction control guru Shannon Davis hangs his hat on — is its speed and accuracy.

With our 427 cubic-inch, supercharged LSX dropped between the fenders, we’re on to wiring the car, including the Davis TC3-SL self-learning traction control.

“Step one to building a good traction control system is the speed at which it can measure RPM, so that we can react fast,” Davis says, adding “whether it’s front-wheel speed versus rear-wheel speed, driveshaft speed over a time plot, or driveshaft speed rate-of-change.

“Getting right down to the core of it, there’s a lot of ways to measure RPM, and some aren’t that good,” Davis…

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