Where I live I don't have to pay for utilities. Does that mean I should leave the water running 24/7? I find myself wondering if you think the traction control would be hurting anything if you were to leave it on. It is a bad idea to turn it off if you don't know how to drive. Then again, it's a bad idea to drive at high speeds if you don't know how to drive. In fact, if you actually don't know how to drive, please get off the road. As far as hurting the car; no, leaving it off is not going to do anything to the car (except the tires you apparently don't care about). Now if you drive around like an asshole to the point that free tires actually makes the difference in this decision, I'd say you're probably hurting your car to the tune of blown struts, warped brake rotors, and, if applicable, a very smelly clutch. However, having the traction control off isn't bad for your GTI.