traction control Oldsmobile Cutlass 1998 Owner's Manuals

Cruise Control
With cruise control, you can maintain a speed of about
25 mph (40 lun/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
25 mph (40 km/h).
When you apply your brake, the cruise control shuts off.
e
e
Cruise control can be dangerous where you
can’t drive safely at a steady speed.
So,
don’t use your cruise control on winding
roads or in heavy traffk.
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.
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Remember: Anti-lock doesn’t change the time you neea
to get your foot up to the brake pedal or always decrease
stopping distance.
If you get too close to the vehicle in
front of you, you won’t have time to apply your brakes
if that vehicle suddenly slows or stops. Always leave
enough room up ahead to stop, even though you have
anti-lock brakes.
Using Anti-Lock
Don’t pump the brakes. Just hold the brake pedal down
firmly and let anti-lock work for you. You may feel a
slight brake pedal pulsation
or notice some noise, but
this is normal.
Braking in Emergencies
With anti-lock, you can steer and brake at the same
time. In many emergencies, steering can help you more
than even the very best braking.
Steering
Power Steering
If you lose power steering assist because the engine
stops or the system is not functioning, you can steer but
it will take much more effort.
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 accelerate. Both control systems
- steering and
acceleration
-- have to do their work where the tires meet
the road. Adding the sudden acceleration can demand too
much
of those places. You can lose control.
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Of course, traction is reduced when water, snow, ice, Driving at Night
gravel or other material is on the road. For safety, you’ll
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 could cause the tires to
slide.
You may not realize the surface is slippery until
your vehicle is skidding.
Learn to recognize warning
clues
-- such as enough water, ice or packed snow on
the road to make a “mirrored surface”
-- and slow
down when you have any doubt.
Remember: Any anti-lock brake system
(ABS) helps
avoid only the braking skid.
Night
driving is more dangerous than day driving. One
reason
is that some drivers are likely to be impaired -- by
alcohol
or drugs, with night vision problems, or by fatigue.
4-14
I

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 an
"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. 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.
Using tires of different sizes may also cause
damage to your vehicle. 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 use on your vehicle.
If you use bias-ply tires on your vehicle, the
wheel rim flanges could develop cracks after
many miles of driving.
A tire and/or wheel could
fail suddenly, causing a crash. Use only radial-ply
tires with the wheels
on your vehicle.
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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
grades are molded on the sidewalls of most passenger
car tires. The Uniform Tire Quality Grading system does
not apply to deep tread, winter-type snow tires,
space-saver or temporary use spare tires, tires with
nominal rim diameters of
10 to 12 inches (25 to 30 cm),
or to some limited-production tires.
While the tires available on General Motors passenger cars and light trucks may vary with respect to these
grades, they must also conform to Federal safety
requirements and additional General Motors Tire
Pedomance Criteria (PC) standards.
Treadwear
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
I I
(1 1/2) times as well on the government course as a tire ~
graded 100. The relative performance of tires depends 1
upon the actual conditions of their use, however, and
may depart significantly from the nom due to variations
in driving habits, service practices and differences in
road characteristics and climate. ! i
1
Traction -- A, B, C
The traction grades, fkom highest to lowest, are A, B, and
C, and they represent the tire’s ability to stop on wet
pavement
as measured mder controlled conditions on
specified government test surfaces of asphalt and concrete.
A tire marked C may have poor traction perfomce.
Warning: The traction grade assigned to this tire is based
on braking (straight ahead) traction tests and does not
include cornering (turning) traction.

Temperature ................................. 6-40
Traction
.................................... 6-39
Treadwear
................................... 6-39
Uniform Quality Grading
....................... 6-39
Used Replacement Wheel
...................... 6-41
Wear Indicators
.............................. 6-37
Wheel Replacement
........................... 6-40
When It’s Time
for New ....................... 6-37
TopStrap
..................................... 1-42
Torque. Wheel Nut
......................... 5.29. 6.59
Towing FromtheFront
............................... 4-28
From the Rear
............................... 4-30
Recreational Vehicle
.......................... 4-28
TowingaTrailer
................................ 4-32
Towing Your Vehicle
............................. 5-8
Towing Your Vehicle From the Front
............... 4-28
Towing Your Vehicle From the Rear
................ 4-30
Trailer
Backing Up with
............................. 4-37
Brakes
..................................... 4-36
DrivingonGrades
............................ 4-38
Drivingwitha
............................... 4-36
Following Distance with
....................... 4-37
Hitches
..................................... 4-35
Maintenance When Towing
..................... 4-40
Making TWS
................................ 4-37
ParkingonHills
.............................. 4-39
Passingwitha
............................... 4-37
TorqueLock
................................... 2-25
Safety Chains
................................ 4-36
Tongueweight
............................... 4-34
Total Weight on Tires
.......................... 4-35
Towing
..................................... 4-32
Turn Signals
................................. 4-38
Weight ..................................... 4-34
Automatic
................................... 6-17
Ignition Lock Check
.......................... 7-29
Transmitters. Remote Lock Control
.................. 2-6
Transportation. Courtesy
.......................... 8-6
Trip Odometer
................................. 2-49
Trunk
........................................ 2-10
Release Lockout. Remote
...................... 2-11
Release. Remote
.............................. 2-11
TrUnkLamp
................................... 2-39
TTYUsers
..................................... 8-4
Turn Signal and Lane Change Signals ............... 2-30
Turn Signal On Chime
........................... 2-30
Turn Signal/Multifunction Lever
................... 2-29
Turn Signals When Towing a Trailer
................ 4-38
Underbody Flushing Service
..................... 7-29
Transaxle
Underbody Maintenance
......................... 6-49
Vehicle Control
...................................... 4-6
Damage Warnings
.............................. iv
Dimensions
................................. 6-60
9-11