Is traction control option essential in a C2

I have been driving my C2 for about a month and getting to know the car better and better. I am just worried that the back end may do something I dont want it to. Especially since the engine is literally mounted on the rear axle. I dont have the traction control optional extra but I am thinking maybe I should of got one that had. Is traction control retrofittable or is it worth selling the car to find one that has one even! Can anyone elaborate on their experiences or offer any advice.... thanks

Only in adverse roadbed conditions, wet/oily, snow, ice.

Essential? No. I turn it off when I drive my car on the track. I like to do 4 wheel drifts from the inside apex to the outside track out point the full width of the road. PSM doesn't like it, and cuts the power and brakes the wheels otherwise. A good idea? Absolutely. Not a good thing to do 4 wheel drifts in a public road when the full width is full of cars. OTOH, it has not gone on while I do street driving. Retrofit? Not unless you are willing to spend enough money to almost buy another car. Just enjoy the car. Decades of cars have gone without it just fine. The back end shouldn't go out unless you do something stupid and reckless. Better yet, go do DE, where you can learn to actually WANT the back end to go out and control it. Eventually want to , anyway

i do not think that anyone can say it as well as palting has. enjoy your car.

Never had traction control come on in the dry in road driving (fingers crossed) In the wet however I've had a couple of experiences even going fairly straight that lead me to conclude that traction control is important (could be wrong) Once, going at about 60mph in the wet on the motorway, I switched lanes (ok a bit more sharply than I should) and the car did a mini fishtail - nothing happened but it felt that something could have easily happened. Could be aquaplaning I don;t know and maybe traction control systems not of much help there? I did an experiment - going at 60 in the wet in 3rd (on my tip),I floored it while changing lanes (again!) and the traction lights came on - the car did not feel stable. Would it have spun without it? don;t know but wouldn't want to try. my tires are still fairly new. But again, in the dry I've never had such scary moments. Enjoy the car!

It saved me on a windy road once when my rear tires touched a bit of gravel in the middle of the double yellow line. My tail end swung out on to the other side of the road a bit but the traction control kicked in and helped me get it back. Luckily this was upstate NY and there was no oncoming traffic. I patted my dashboard and said good job buddy!!!!

Thanks for your comments. Interesting to hear all these comments. In the wet I dont drive as hard as in the dry so I guess I should be OK.

Vorland, I have an 03 C2 without traction control and don't feel the need, nor desire for it. It handles somewhat like a race car...which is what I wanted. Furthermore, I doubt anybody I know will actually push their PCars to the extreme.

Vorland, I don't have it. Have not had any problems. Very happy with the car. I like to swing out the end and bring it back. As palting said, enjoy that car. When you upgrade to your next one then consider PSM. GT3 does not have it. roy

have a 2000 cab without PSM....read some early articles that were extremely negative on the PSM settings, intrusive etc. Im sure the later models have upgraded software etc..... my suggestion....if this is your first rear-engine-tail-heavy sports car, go to DE or do what I did read vic elford's book "Porsche High-Performance Driving Handbook" as he'll talk about making rear weight biased cars perform....and he does it without PSM. especially read the section on his races in the snow (also without PSM). ....take it out on a dry sunny day for a real hard run, single lane, curves, dead stops, hills, dips, etc (without passengers so you won't hold back)....kick the back out a couple of times or drift around corners on empty roads (just in case). Get used to steering the car with your rear wheels (per vic's description)....a perception that takes a while (the guys that track will know what I mean) ....next chance you get to drive in rainy weather, remember the rear wheel thing and you will keep the nose pointed in the right direction always. In fact, the extra weight on the rear wheels should give you confidence in keeping the power on the road with or without PSM. sounds like autocross training, but PSM is there in case you make a mistake or get lazy. The 996 (and others before it) can be driven very hard and very safely without the gizmos even in wet weather. sounds like you chose the car without PSM because you wanted that intense experience always. I regularly drive in Germany on very wet roads, very fast and I always prefer the rear weight bias when I can get the chance. enjoy! alternatively, I'm selling my Jeep Grand Cherokee (AWD)....beats most honda civics off the line in any weather :0)

Thanks 996 blue and others for your comments. Yes I will read that book and take the 996 for some good runs to get to know the car better. May even try and get onto an airport strip as well. thanks