Chevrolet Camaro Z/28’s “Flying Car Mode” explained

Chevrolet Camaro Flying Car Mode

First it was the “Smokey Burnout Control” from BMW for their new M3 and M4. Now, we have the “Flying Car Mode” from Chevrolet. Yes, the new 2014 Chevrolet Camaro Z/28 will come with such a button for going airborne.

You see, when attacking a track like the Nürburgring Nordschleife, a fast car will be no doubt get airborne a few times. When the car loses contact with the tarmac, the driven wheels will spin up, causing the traction control system to bounce into action to slow things down. As it lands, the torque to those wheels would have been reduced by a substantial amount, causing the car to slow down.

To overcome the problem, Chevrolet’s engineers developing the Z/28 came up with a solution to trick the traction control in order to get faster laps.

Chevrolet Camaro Z-28

The “flying car” logic in the Camaro Z/28’s Performance Traction Management system integrates the chassis mode selection, Traction Control and Active Handling Systems, each tuned specifically for optimal track performance and consistency. Created for track use only, it can be activated by the driver by pressing a button on the centre console.

“The unique logic in the system uses the ride-height sensors to determine the reduction in force on the tyres that’s unique to track driving and allows the car to continue with uninterrupted momentum and, ultimately, a better lap time,” explains Bill Wise, the Camaro Z/28 vehicle performance engineer.

According to its maker, the “Flying Car Mode” cuts up to 5 seconds off the Camaro Z/28’s Nürburgring lap time.

Click play in the video below to see how it works.

 

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