I'm curious if anyone knows if Saturns have an "open differential? By open differential I mean during normal driving in good road conditions is just the right front wheel delivering driving force to the road surface?

I know my '98 SW2's Traction Control/ABS throttles me back if I spin a wheel. But does it also transfer driving force to the other wheel? My other Saturn ('97 SL2) does not have TC/ABS and during a recent snow storm it seemed like I was sliding all over.

I'm just curious which wheels/how many are normaly propelling me.

Posi or limited slip it is not

When I bought my 2002 LW200 the salesman told me about the TRAC button on the dash. He said that there is a positive differential and if I push the button the light goes out and it is a negative differental. The only time to switch to negative is if I'm stuck in snow and trying to rock the car back and forth.

All I really know is with good tires I've had no trouble in snow. And if I push the button the light goes out.

Wrong ............. read the little book that came with the car thats in the glove boxEdited by: sw2cam

Wow. That guy fed you a huge line of garbage. Did he try to sell you the Brooklyn Bridge at the same time?

When the light is on, the traction control system is active. You will want it on whenever you're driving in slippery conditions.

The traction control system has nothing to do with and doesnt control the differential at all.

Copied and pasted from the Factory Service Manual:

The traction control system (TCS) compares front wheel speeds to rear wheel speeds to determine if drive wheel loose traction. The TCS activates when drive wheel speed exceeds speed of non-drive wheels by a calibrated value. This allows the driver to maintain acceleration and directional stability while accelerating on low traction surfaces. The TCS limits wheel slip during acceleration when one or more of the drive wheels lose traction. The brake switch must be off for TCS to operate.

During a TCS event, the PCM controls wheel slip using a combination of spark timing retard, transmission upshift (automatic only) and fuel injector reduction. The PCM will disable TCS if:

--The driver depresses the TRAC switch.
--The ABS control module indicates wheel speed errors.
--There is loss of serial data between ABS control module and PCM.
--Certain PCM codes are set.