Here's an article on how Stabilitrak works.
http://www.acarplace.com/brands/gm/gadgets.html
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Stabilitrak
We appreciate the help of Stabilitrak, which mostly eliminated the squealing tires that can bring the attention of the law, while keeping the rear end of cars with powerful engines where they should be - in the rear. Indeed, the difference between Camaros with and without Stabilitrak was fairly extreme, with the electronic application of traction control and suspension travel making the difference between a composed, predictable, incredibly fast car and one which seemed to always want to make sudden, unexpected U-turns when the gas was stomped.
GM writes: "StabiliTrak 2.0, an improved version of the most advanced integrated stability control system in the world... includes side-slip rate control and active steering effort compensation. Introduced on three performance-oriented Cadillac models in the 1997 model year, StabiliTrak provides an important safety advance by helping the driver maintain control during emergency or evasive maneuvers. StabiliTrak works by comparing the driver’s intentions (indicated by steering wheel position) with how the vehicle is responding. Three key sensors keep the ABS and traction control computer informed: one reads steering wheel angle, another reports the vehicle’s lateral acceleration and the third measures yaw rate (rotational velocity about a vertical axis through the car’s center of gravity). Information is also gathered from vehicle speed.
"If the vehicle’s dynamic response does not agree with the direction the driver is steering, StabiliTrak goes to work by selectively applying the individual front brakes to help keep the car on the intended course. If the car is slipping wide of the desired path in a turn, applying the inside brake helps the vehicle turn tighter. In case of diminished traction at the rear causing the tail of the car to drift wide, activating the outside-front brake gently nudges the car back in line. StabiliTrak is automatic and requires no additional driver action. In most cases, the driver probably won’t even notice the helping hand from this technically sophisticated system....Unlike stability control systems from other manufacturers, Cadillac’s system maintains the driver’s ability to apply throttle in StabiliTrak maneuvers."
We generally found Stabilitrak to be, well, an incredibly useful system, in dry, wet, or snowy conditions.
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And GM's version:
http://www.gm.com/company/gmability/...abilitrak.html