[HSLdriver]

I’ve read the ice mode posts with concern in the past and then encountered it (i.e., what felt like a loss of brake boost—but not loss of brakes—during hard braking right after WOT) for the first time.

I’ve always been skeptical of “ice mode” as A.) it made no sense from an engineering perspective (why would one want to lose brake boost just because the tires might slide on the ice—what’s the benefit of this, especially as this is already addressed by ABS?), B.) why isn’t ice mode listed anywhere but blogs (i.e., it’s not in the owner’s manual), C.) why does it happen only to some drivers (e.g., Bill Wise brakes later and harder than any of us but he was able to fly around the ‘Ring with a Camaro), and D.) why would Chevy have such a dangerous mode for use on a car that is sold with a track package (i.e., 1LE) and comes with a High Performance Supplement explaining how to use their car on a racetrack? Ice mode makes no sense. I’ve concluded ice mode does not exist and is simply someone’s fabrication.

But something is happening, at least to some of us.

So what was different in my ice mode encounter? To be sure I get the Race throttle map and everything else off, I normally run Track, then press the “skidding car” button twice, select Race, then hold down the skidding car button for five seconds to turn off traction control. For some reason on one session, I wasn’t able to select “Race” (or any specific track mode) after selecting “Track.” I suspect track junkies encountering ice mode are just selecting Track and are not further specifying which track mode, so only Track is input which is probably just another street mode geared towards non-track rats that like to tell people they drive in track mode as they cruise around town, or are engaged in the challenges presented by “canyon carving,” “spirited driving,” etc. (whatever those are).

But still, that’s “why,” but “what” is happening? When I first read my owner’s manual after getting the car (you did read your manual, right?), I was concerned about the section on “brake assist” and how that might manifest on the track (I won’t bore you with the details, but it is a quick read if you are interested). I suspect selecting just Track with no particular sub-setting tells the car it’s on the street and to maintain all the safety functionality; Track with a specific track PTM selection most likely defeats brake assist (makes sense). I suspect ice mode on track is the brake assist functioning as designed when the car thinks it is on the street (even though PTM is in Track). However, the only thing I know for sure is that I’ve only experienced it in Track-only mode and it went away when I was later able to select one of the sub-modes.

In summary, to avoid ice mode (which doesn’t exist!), select one of the track modes—not just Track, otherwise the car thinks you bought a performance car and drive around in Track mode to cars and coffee while complaining about brake dust. Select Track and then Wet, Dry, Sport 1, Sport 2, or Race and send it!

I know that even if this is correct, some may be deeply invested in the idea of “ice mode” and so not all of us will be accepting (e.g., in the past I tried to help an OP that kept stalling their ZL1 due to its tricky twin-plate clutch by explaining that Chevy addressed that by automating leaving from a stop with engine management logic that prevents a stall if the driver just lets the clutch out without touching the gas pedal at all; instead of “thanks,” the OP then started a new thread asking if there is a tuner that can raise the idle RPM, and when this was unsatisfactorily answered, posted a third thread asking if anyone could recommend a clutch replacement!), but hopefully it will be of use to someone or may generate other ideas. And FYI, I might be way off too! Now if only I could do something about that brake dust.

[DaveC113]

Lol, sorry but your post is seriously misguided and you're conflating ABS with PTM modes. There's just so much wrong with your post I can't address it point by point, but here's a few things to consider:

1st, ice mode is to prevent application of the brakes from spinning the car if ONE SIDE of the car is on ice and the other is not, similarly front to back wheel speed differences. If one side of the car has far different grip levels vs the other, a full brake application WILL spin the car.

2nd, there's also an ABS safety feature that will limit braking in combination with steering angle to prevent spins, this is based on yaw. A combination of lateral g-forces + full brake application WILL spin the car.

3rd, ZL1 1LE cars don't have ice mode afaik, no idea about yaw.

4th, ice mode is programmed into every make of car and is well documented and acknowledged to be REAL by actual engineers that are responsible for brake system design.

[rotis]

5th, ABS engineers don't call it "ice mode", as there is no such thing. They call it "hard pedal". It can be caused by a number of different conditions including split-mu scenarios, speed errors, etc.

It also has nothing to do with PTM.

[snicko]

Originally Posted by HSLdriver

In summary, to avoid ice mode (which doesn’t exist!), select one of the track modes—not just Track, otherwise the car thinks you bought a performance car and drive around in Track mode to cars and coffee while complaining about brake dust. Select Track and then Wet, Dry, Sport 1, Sport 2, or Race and send it!

I disagree with this statement. I'm pretty damn sure I repeatedly ran into this at the track last weekend with the car in PTM Race.

[Scargoes]

another thing, If you select the Mode "track" and then double press the Stability control button, you enter PTM modes, that's your Wet, Dry, Sport 1, Sport 2, and Race. Holding the stability control button down for 5 seconds after that turns all nannies off(no stability or traction control to assist you). You can also enter this mode without going thru the PTM modes first.

As for Hard Pedal(Ice Mode), you can induce it without being in a slide or split Mu surfaces. I have several PDR traces that show ABS activating at the same time the driver reports "ice mode". The cause was left foot braking while still on the accelerator(60% braking and 30% throttle at the same time). Hard Pedal can also be triggered when using too aggressive of a brake pad and a square tire setup and transitioning from throttle to brakes too quickly(not left foot braking).

[snicko]

Originally Posted by Scargoes

Hard Pedal can also be triggered when using too aggressive of a brake pad and a square tire setup and transitioning from throttle to brakes too quickly(not left foot braking).

Yeeep.. pretty sure this is what I'm feeling with a square setup and grabby pads.

*sigh*

[N Camarolina]

Like Dave said, ABS programming and functionality is completely separate from what driving mode you are in (PTM modes and normal road modes. In fact you can't select or alter ABS functionality. It runs in the background.

Since you don't seem to know what each PTM setting does in terms of stability control and traction control, I suggest you read the sticky note about PTM modes in the 1LE section of this forum https://www.camaro6.com/forums/showthread.php?t=496996