traction control CHEVROLET LUMINA 1993 1.G Owners Manual

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine Cruise Control (OPTION)
With cruise control, you can maintain a
speed of about 25 mph
(40 km/h) or
more without keeping your foot on the
accelerator.
This can really help on long
trips.
Cruise control does not work
at speeds
below about 25 mph
(40 lun/h).
When you apply your brakes, or the
clutch pedal, the cruise control shuts
Off.
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CAUTION
A dangerous where you can’t
Cruise control can be
drive safely at
a steady speed. So,
don’t use your cruise control on
winding roads or in heavy traffic.
Cruise control can be dangerous
on slippery roads. On such roads,
fast changes in tire traction can
cause needless wheel spinning,
and
you could lose control. Don’t
use cruise control on slippery
roads.
To Set Cruise Control
I. Move the cruise control switch
ON.
to
CAUTION
A If you leave your cruise
- control switch ON when
you’re not using cruise, you might
hit
a button and go into cruise
when you don’t want to.
You could
be startled and even lose control.
Keep the cruise control switch
OFF
until you want to use it.
2. Get up to the speed you want.

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine Your Driving and the Road
Steering Tips-Driving on Curves
It’s important to take curves at a
reasonable speed.
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 apply
the brakes. Both control systems-
steering and braking-have to do their
work where the tires meet the road.
Unless you have four-wheel anti-lock
brakes, adding the hard braking can
demand too much at those places. You
can lose control.
The same thing can happen if you’re
steering through a sharp curve and you
suddenly accelerate. Those two control
systems-steering and acceleration-
can overwhelm those places where the
tires meet the road and make you lose
control.
What should you do if this ever
happens? Let up
on the brake or
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.
When you drive into a curve
at night,
it’s harder to see the road ahead of you
because it bends away from the straight
beams of your lights. This is one good
reason to drive slower.
132

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine Your Driving and the Road
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.
136
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 Chevrolet’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 and an acceleration
skid are best handled by easing your
foot
off the accelerator pedal. If your
vehicle starts to slide (as when you turn
a corner on a wet, snow- or ice-covered road),
ease your foot
off the accelerator
pedal as soon as you feel the vehicle
start to slide. Quickly steer the way you
want the vehicle to go. If you start
steering quickly enough, your vehicle
will straighten out.
As it does, straighten
the front wheels.
Of course, traction is reduced when
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water, snow, ice, gravel, or other
material is on the road. For safety, you’ll
I I
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

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine Servi - - & f -- MI -- 3arance Care
When It’s Time for New Tires
One way to tell when it’s time for new
tires is to check the treadwear
indicators, which will appear when your
tires have only
2/32 inch (1.6 mm) or less
of tread remaining.
You need a new tire if:
You can see the indicators at three
You can see cord or fabric showing
The tread or sidewall is cracked, cut
places around
the tire.
through the tire’s rubber.
or snagged deep enough to show cord
or fabric.
The tire has a bump, bulge or split.
The tire has a puncture, cut, or other
damage that can’t be repaired well
because of the size or location of the
damage.
Buying New Tires
To find out what kind and size of tires
you need, look at the Tire-Loading
Information label. The tires installed on
your vehicle when it was new had a Tire
Performance Criteria Specification
(TPC Spec) number on each tire’s
sidewall. When you get new tires, get
ones with that same TPC Spec number.
That way, your vehicle will continue to
have tires that are designed to give
proper endurance, handling, speed
rating, traction, ride and other things
during normal service on your vehicle.
If your tires have an all-season tread
design, the TPC number will be
followed by a
“MS” (for mud and
snow). If
you ever replace your tires with those
not having a TPC Spec number, make sure they are the same size, load range,
speed rating and construction type (bias, bias-belted or radial) as your
original tires.
I CAUTION I
Mixing tires could cause you
to lose control while driving.
If you mix tires of different sizes or
types (radial and bias-belted tires)
,
the vehicle may not handle
properly, and you could have a crash. 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
limited use
on your vehicle.

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine 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 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%)
times as well on the government course
as a tire graded
100. The relative
performance
of tires depends upon the
Treadwear
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.
Traction-A, B, C
The traction grades, from highest to
lowest are: A,
B, and C. 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 (straight-
ahead) 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.