488 TC in wet mode - other owner comments

Don't normally drive in "wet" mode but but it was raining last night

Not sure if there is something wrong with my car but but even driving smoothly at 80mph in a straight line the TC kept on cutting in - basically any tyre slip and its cutting the power

I don't remember it doing this on the 458/Aperta

So is it:
1. The Ferrari have made the traction control more intrusive
2. Something is wrong with the car setup
3. Its exactly the same as the 458 and I just have a memory problem

 

Douglas- Each of the modes is more intrusive the further away you get from CST Off. So in the wet mode, you will get the most intrusion and in actual rain you have way less traction. Remember, too, that the torque curves on the 458 and 488 are completely different. The 458's 398 lb-ft is way up at 6000 rpm, while the 488's peak torque of 561 lb-ft is at 3000 rpm. So puttering around in the rain in a 488, you have nearly twice the torque of a 458 at low engine speeds.

What that means, is stability and traction control are going to be way more active in a 488 in slippery conditions than on a 458, which comparitively does not have the torque to pull the fuzz off a dandelion at low rpms.

You might be better off in Sport mode using careful control of your right foot and seeing less intrusion of the SC/TC.

 

I've found the 458 throttle surprisingly difficult to modulate at light openings, so can only imagine how much more difficult the 488 would be if it has the same throttle sensitivity. The sensitivity is less or at least seems less in wet mode, so if you are already having trouble modulating it in wet mode I'd think twice before switching it to sport or race in the rain. It may be your tires are still too new to grip properly. It takes a few hundred miles to wear off the mold release compound, which makes them quite slippery.

 

Is wet mode like Ice mode in a Maserati, where the engine can't rev above 3,000 RPM?

That's an excellent point. In addition, I have found that the Michelin Pilot SS tires are much better than the P Zeros for traction. And last a LOT longer. My Maserati GT weights 4,400 lbs.

 

Interesting, I find with new SP2s it takes a couple hundred miles to get get them to loosen up a bit.. way too sticky brand new.

I only drive in CT-OFF on the street rain, sunny, hot, cold or snow (not that we ever get that). I grew up driving rear wheel cars in the snow before TC was invented and simply can't stand fighting with the car over who is in control of the rear wheels. I've played with my 458 in wet, sport and race in the rain and simply hate it.

Find an open parking lot in the rain to learn how to control the rear wheels.. the car is very stable and communicative.. driven with care, you never need TC in a Ferrari. All the other stability controls remain active and keep you safe.

 

No you can still wind out to redline (in the 458 at least)

 

one more thought

As Taz stated, Wet mode is the most "aggressive" - i.e. at the slightest hint of wheel slip or spin, it will step in. Cruising across a puddle at 80mph, your car is probably hydroplaning slightly, and the differential in wheel speeds is probably telling the car "uh, I think we might be sliding or spinning the wheels".

I've hit a puddle in a race car, on aggressive race rain tires, and it put my car into a nice 720 degree rotation (i.e. code brown). At higher speeds, momentum can be changed from linear (i.e. going straight) to angular (i.e. spinning) with surprisingly little effort.