A-TRAC Videos (Active Traction Control in Action)

A-TRAC is available on 4x4 Off-Road model trucks only. If a picture is worth 1000 words then a video is worth at least as much. Toyota states that with A-TRAC, Off-road drivability is equivalent to having the center differential locked and a limited-slip differential on both front and rear axles.

Here are some videos I made to demonstrate real world A-TRAC in action.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7o9dppiLwwo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ObKUnfubEpk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PIMTl5EIz2k

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VOo5KAW3UaA

A-TRAC engaging with more throttle.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pz7mAXNsoQM

In this last video it takes a bit for A-TRAC to engage and I think you can even hear it (even though my truck is creaking like a mofo)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cF1WDuLJd4Q

This video is not mine but is of a 2010 4runner at Moab. (It's very good)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rMvtTKzVy2M&feature=player_embedded

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U1MOEZYAv5Q

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8la3t22W88E&feature=player_embedded

Here is a very good video of A-TRAC in action as well. If you listen very carefully you can hear the solenoids increasing hydraulic pressure to the passenger side front wheel at 21 seconds into the video, very near the end. I know because I have heard it before on my truck. (In my opening post video #5 @ 12 seconds)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GVZLQp3s0EE&feature=related

Same video as above but in slow motion

http://www.youtube.

Here is a link to Toyota's website with some animations and two videos of A-TRAC in action on the FJ Cruiser.

http://www.toyota.com/fjcruiser/demos/active-traction-control.html

If you have some A-TRAC videos to share, post them up!

 

I'm not getting the vid link but I'm at work and I have a lot of stuff filtered.
Subbed for later.

 

pimp!

 

Nice...I have an 09 TRD Off Road. Plan on going on the beach a lot this summer. Should I leave the A Track on? Or just turn it on when I need it?

 

I leave mine on pretty much all of the time. Typically in sand, people recommend 4hi though. ATRAC only works in 4lo.

 

x2

 

Nice vids!! This makes me wish I got an off-road rather than a sport...:/ they don't sell DCLB's in off-road though

 

I do occasionally turn mine off though. We have a lot of sand stone around here. Just look in my gallery. If I can crawl up stuff, ATRAC rocks.

Sometimes you can't though. Take going up a two foot ledge for example. You can crawl your front tires up but the back tires usually don't cooperate. You need to speed up with your back tires about a foot away from the ledge and "bump" up. ATRAC can occasionally act funny on this maneuver and sometimes it seems better with locker alone. That is the one and only bad thing I can say about ATRAC. Overall, it is a wonderful system.

 

Lets see some A-Trac vids in sloppy muddy ruts where there is no solid traction.

 

I avoid straight mud like the plague but I've used it in varying degrees and depths of snow, ice, slush, and mud. It works well. However, in those conditions I'm typically in 4hi though which disables ATRAC.

 

ATRAC can actually hinder you somewhat in mud.. better off there to leave it off and keep on the skinny pedal....

 

I am sorry but I don't have any. The same day I filmed those videos I did mange to go through a rather large mud hole. I don't recall if A-TRAC engaged or not. But still A-TRAC itself can't create traction, it will merely find which wheel has the best traction and send torque to it.

And there are caveats to each traction system. This thread was made to demonstrate A-TRAC. It was not meant to become a debate for lockers vs A-TRAC.

For the A-TRAC or Locker debate go here: http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/off-roading-trails/61707-trac-locker.html

 

In some ways and situations ATRAC has an advantage (doesn't affect steering) and in some ways lockers have an advantage (pure, raw traction). They both have disadvantages as well. Depending on a driver's needs, one system may be better than the other. Strangely, some people seem threatened by ATRAC and I have no idea why. People that have never even been in a vehicle such equipped try to tear it apart. It's a good, not perfect, traction system. There's the debate in a nutshell. Not much else needs to be said.

Now back to the videos.

 

i have wheeled many times with ATRAC equipped FJC's and can testify that it works! it does wonders in high traction situations such as rocks and what not..... the thing to remember in slick mud is wheel speed is your friend thus ATRAC is not idea at that point as it applies the brakes to certain wheels at different times... and besides that in mud all the tires will be spinning anyways.

neverless... great videos demonstrating how it works!!

 

Hi Mike,

The TRAC syatem in H4 will likely be all you need to motor through sand... Soon after getting my 2010, I went to the beach south of San Felipe in Mexico's Baja California with deep, coarse sand... very easy to get stuck in unless tires are deflated to 15 psi (in my '05 and '01 Tacomas). The 2010 drove right over it at 32 psi... amazing!

For a test, I put the system into the VSC OFF MODE (open differentials), and very soon stuck the truck in 4WD. In the past, I would deflate the tires (...more) to get out... This time, I put it in L4 with A-TRAC ON (and for good measure, locked the rear too)... and drove the truck out of being stuck on the beach... put it back in H4, with TRAC back on, and continued to drive.





So here is my recommendation when you get to the beach...

Put it in H4 and just drive (TRAC ON)... Because there are many kinds of sand and even the same sand acts differently in summer than winter (humidity), you may have an issue... If you get stuck, put the transfer case into L4 (remember you must be in Neutral, not Park to get into L4)... and push the A-TRAC switch (if you haven't before). Once the A-TRAC switch is pushed, then EVERY time you go into L4, the A-TRAC will automatically be on... as it should be... L4 should be the place for maximum traction, afterall.

The RR Locker is there for emergencies, but it may never be needed now that we have A-TRAC. I am seeking conditions where A-TRAC won't work and I will need the RR Locker. I used the locker many times on my previous 2 Tacomas, so I am a fan... but A-TRAC in new, and great.

IF the A-TRAC and RR Locker don't keep you moving, then go back to the old way of sand driving/ getting unstuck... and deflate all 4 tires... 15 PSI usually is enough, but 10 PSI works better if needed! Just be sure to refill them once you are out of the sand!

 

Here is an FJ Cruiser, trying to get stuck in sugar-sand, going uphill, with tires at 32 psi... A-TRAC gives true 4 wheel drive as can be seen, and doesn't allow the FJ to get stuck:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_VHxslTiQug&feature=player_embedded

Here is more on A-TRAC and the other 9 drive modes we have: http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/te...uto-lsd-explained-easy-understand-i-hope.html

 

Got home where I could see the vids, Crom. Nice work!

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EMXghBOUMMY

 

I endorse them in SWB