Welcome to the Cadillac V-Series Forums!

Wet mode turns off traction control?

bwblue

Seasoned Member
Joined
Oct 12, 2022
Messages
46
Location
USA
V-Series Cadillac(s)?
2023 CT4-V Blackwing
Forgive me if this is a stupid question; I tried searching the forums and manual but couldn't find anything about this.

When I flipped into "Wet" mode using the steering wheel control, I had both a tire with TC and a line through it and the classic traction control icon with 'off' light up in orange on the dash. Shouldn't Wet mode do the opposite? (i.e. turn on a more proper, if you will, version of traction control...? Am I completely stupid? Very possible.😅)

I've got a 6MT 4BW if it makes any difference. Cheers

Edit: these are the icons I mentioned (page 104-5) https://cdn.dealereprocess.org/cdn/servicemanuals/cadillac/2022-ct4.pdf

Edit edit: Crisis averted. Reading is hard. 🙃
 
Last edited:
It's wet track mode.

Page 264 of the CT4 owner's manual PDF:

PTM (Performance Traction Management) (If Equipped)
PTM controls vehicle performance systems for professional handling on race tracks.
 
It's wet track mode.

Page 264 of the CT4 owner's manual PDF:

PTM (Performance Traction Management) (If Equipped)
PTM controls vehicle performance systems for professional handling on race tracks.


Fuck, I've been using it every time it rains, miracle I haven't put it into a guard rail yet.

I should probably read the manual.
 
It's wet track mode.

Page 264 of the CT4 owner's manual PDF:

PTM (Performance Traction Management) (If Equipped)
PTM controls vehicle performance systems for professional handling on race tracks.
Reading comprehension 12/10 over here :ROFLMAO: I'm going to blame it on lingering effects of general anesthesia (had surgery a few days ago). It's also making me appreciate just how archaic and analog the cars I've driven for the past two decades were. Will see myself out now. Thanks much :)
 
Reading comprehension 12/10 over here :ROFLMAO: I'm going to blame it on lingering effects of general anesthesia (had surgery a few days ago). It's also making me appreciate just how archaic and analog the cars I've driven for the past two decades were. Will see myself out now. Thanks much :)
Yeah, don't believe the Old Lady Fear Club in here. PTM Wet is the best mode to use in the rain, the car is much more stable than with traditional TC on.

An even better setting is using the V-Mode double press for PTM Wet. That allows you to back off the suspension and exhaust settings from full max, which is what happens (i.e. Track Mode) if you just access PTM from the steering wheel directly.
 
Yeah, don't believe the Old Lady Fear Club in here. PTM Wet is the best mode to use in the rain, the car is much more stable than with traditional TC on.

An even better setting is using the V-Mode double press for PTM Wet. That allows you to back off the suspension and exhaust settings from full max, which is what happens (i.e. Track Mode) if you just access PTM from the steering wheel directly.
Agreed. Optimizing traction is optimizing traction, track or not. Also keeps the stability control on in any case.
 
Last edited:
I'm confused (not hard to do 🙂). Are we saying that track/wet mode (with traction control disabled) is better for rainy driving than non track mode with traction control enabled?
 
Interesting, thanks. Curious why Cadillac includes regular TC if wet track mode is better.
 
Last edited:
As I understand it, it could be a very slight reduction in TC and in that case by law they have to light up the no TC. So it will still have TC but it’s been changed from the standard. You’ll still have most of TC but as mentioned, it is a Track mode.
 
The other aspect not yet mentioned is StabiliTrak, which manages slip angle. StabiliTrak is fully on in PTM wet, so it should allow wheel spin while still having the eLSD help maintain alignment. The influence of StabiliTrak is decreased or eliminated in more aggressive PTM modes.
 
fig3a_9a5ab98ea5367defb36d34b50e0a0ad55e8aa99b(1).png
 

Attachments

  • Drive Modes v2.2.jpg
    Drive Modes v2.2.jpg
    168.7 KB · Views: 774
Second that bottom graphic being awesome. We share our driving modes 100% with a Camaro?
 
Second that bottom graphic being awesome. We share our driving modes 100% with a Camaro?
AFAIK...the only difference is in the labeling. The 6thGen and C7 have Wet, Dry, Sport 1, Sport 2 and Race. This version has Wet, Dry, Sport 1, Race 1 and Race 2. But the logic is the same (PTM1-5)

The PTM modes are the same between the Camaro and the C7/C8, so I would guess the Alpha chassis cars are identical.

The eLSD itself is slightly different between the Camaro and the Blackwing. The Caddy eLSD has a different housing and has had the clutch pack altered to assist in the LSD locking up quicker and more smoothly. In the ZL1 and C7, it was very evident when the eLSD 'locked up'.

Savage Geese did a great video...

 
Thanks for the info on this thread (and the other similar one).

This question, for me, was filed under "want to know but too embarrassed to ask"

I'm used to cars with a "one-dimensional" driver setting - i.e. going from Comfort through Sport to Track, where Track would be the only mode to normally disable or significantly degrade traction/stability control to allow a greater degree of slip and more control over the car.

So it was surprising seeing a big warning along the lines of "TRACTION CONTROL OFF" when selecting any of the PTM modes including Wet! Looking in the manual, it says for PTM Wet and Dry, Traction and Yaw control are ENABLED (and enabled but reduced in Sport). So I scratched my head and figured I was doing something stupid and would ask at Spring Mountain.

This thread (and the other one) was pretty enlightening in that PTM just manages wheel spin differently from the regular TC.

I did some further digging on the Corvette Forum and this seems to be a pretty good explanation:
The first important part of PTM is the traction control function. This is the core of PTM... the fundamental change in each mode is the logic and calibration of the traction control.
It will help to understand how the standard TCS system works when not in PTM ... Prior to spinning up the tires, the TCS system doesn’t know much about the road surface conditions. It could be wet, dry, gravel, coarse concrete, smooth asphalt, etc. To determine the surface condition the engine torque is allowed to increase until the wheels start slipping a certain amount
The use of the PTM switch tells the car that it is definitely on dry asphalt (or wet asphalt in in mode 1) and that the driver is prepared for some amount of wheel slip. Since the surface is known the PTM system can make a good approximation of the maximum possible engine torque that will not over-slip the tires based on how hard the car is cornering and how fast it’s going.

Source:
https://www.corvetteforum.com/forum...des-change-parameters-when-in-track-mode.html

That being said I can see why normal TC is a bit safer on the street and PTM really only yields benefit on the track. Below video shows the same corner being taken in each PTM mode

 
Last edited:
So this thread has me wondering if the Snow mode is really for snowy roads or actually for snowy tracks...
 

Win 2 Supercharged Cadillacs!

Win both supercharged Cadillac Vs!

Supporting Vendors

Delaware Cadillac

Exhibitions of Speed

Signature Wheels

Taput Tunning LLC

V-Series Marketplace

Advertise with the Cadillac V-Net!

Torque Shop

Our Partners

Back
Top Bottom