I am REALLY bored right now, so I have been thinking about how to add a rudimentary traction control system to an older car with a carburetor. What I came up with is basically a system that checks wheel speeds front vs rear, with a differential compensator built in for turning. If it detects an excessive difference from front to rear, it would pull ignition timing out until it lessens, or until it bottoms the predetermined range of adjustment. It would have a mathematical slew rate matrix that varied by RPMs and wheel spin. HOW to do it, I don't know yet. I do know a UK company called Racelogic already sells a similar system, but at $1,000+ it is not cheap. I am also contemplating an ABS add on using Caprice parts, as I already plan on the tall spindle swap anyways, so I might as well pull the parts from an ABS equipped donor car and have the option to add it later. Using the same donor's back brakes would allow the use of the master cylinder from that car as well, and keep the hydraulic volumes right. Plus, it also adds the other 2 wheel sensors. Again there, I can't figure out if the extra weight of a B body would make it less or more responsive in a G body application. If it is less aggressive, that would be good as it would only really save your *ss in an impending disaster when you would normally panic and lock the brakes (older ABS systems are notorious for over-compensating). If more aggressive, you could loose brake performance instead of improving it. Then again, could a module off a lighter car ( like a Lumina) from the same era be used to run it instead of the B body unit?
Anyhow, this is basically just a fun brainstorming question for all the engineer wanna-be's (like me) , and electronics whizzes on the board to mull over, and not really as much a question of practicality. If it could be done realistically, so much the better as it would help add some modern safety features to our aging cars without destroying their intrinsic character.
Anyhow, this is basically just a fun brainstorming question for all the engineer wanna-be's (like me) , and electronics whizzes on the board to mull over, and not really as much a question of practicality. If it could be done realistically, so much the better as it would help add some modern safety features to our aging cars without destroying their intrinsic character.
