when you hold it for 5ish seconds it turns something on, what exactly is happening here.. ??

i only knew of t/c off and launch control until just now


thanks!

 

It turns off the ECS, or Electronic Stability Control.

 

yup turns off esc and tc

 

gotcha, that pretty much is the same as traction control right?

 

Kind of, ESC corrects the car if it starts to slide in a certain direction

 

Not really. Traction control mostly just limits power to the wheels to keep you from spinning your tires. ESC applies the brakes to keep the car from spinning out of control.

 

ESC off is usually for track only purposes.

 

During a low traction event or "skid", (i.e. high speed turn, wheels start skidding, not chirping but actually sliding a lil) ESC will apply the brake to the outside wheel in order to induce understeer. It was deemed that this is safer. Personally, i find ESC counter-productive as would most other drivers, but for the general populace or those that don't know car control, it makes a good safety add-on.

 

for track I find competitive mode the best, it makes the esc less sensitive

 

for the track, I would especially recomend turning ESC off. ESC can become a serious hazard on a track, causing the car to move in a way not indicated by the driver and not anticipated by other drivers in proximity. ESC was directly responsible for a very serious accident in which I was injured. The circumstances of this accident along with the investigation led to the conclusion that given the conditions, esc was the detrimental factor/cause. Under normal driving situations, it is a benefit, it will put more road under your tires and keep you out of oncoming traffic. Under TRACK situations, turn it off. Not only that but your lap times will improve significantly.

YouTube - Audi TT VS BMW Z4

In this Fifth gear made-for-tv race you can see the difference the system makes on the track.

 

I drive ESC off all the time, only time I don't hold the button down is on really bad downpoors or snow, I like to feel everything the car does, and you can feel the difference after you're used to driving with it off and then drive with it on, the car feels heavy and kinda numbed down

 

thanks for all the input!! now i know exactly what it does

 

I only turn the system off for racing but keep it on the rest of the time. Sometimes on icy or snow covered roads it's actually nice as when you start to understeer in a turn it will tap the rear brakes for you and straighten the ass of the car out.

 

careful with that button it will give your cobalt permission to nom your tires

 

 

Traction Control refers to only the drive wheels... in our case the front wheels. It uses the brakes and/or engine input to keep the tires from spinning.

Electronic Stability Control refers to a functionally separate system that will apply brakes selectively in order to keep the car straight and best tracking in the direction (traction permitting) it thinks you want it to go in.

There are 4 possible modes:

1) Everything on.

2) 1 button push - Traction control off: Allows the front wheels to spin.

3) 2 button pushes - Competitive Mode: Keeps Traction Control off, enables Launch Control, and waters down Electronic Stability System. Front tires are allowed to spin and car allowed to get a bit sideways before the nanny tries to save you.

4) Hold button down for 5 secs - ESC Off: Completely turns off Traction Control and Electronic Stability Control. Front tires are allowed to spin and the car's nanny will no longer try to save you if you're getting sideways.

 

Question...
I leave it on all the time (don't race the car). I rarely see the *TC* light symbol come on..and only when I'm hammering it hard with some spin. Can I assume then that when I'm not seeing the ESC light it's not activated at all?

 

That light can mean different things at different times, so it can be kinda confusing.

If you use the TC/ESC button and the light is solid on then that's just so you remember that you've got one or more nannies turned off.

If it blinks at you while you're being spirited with it, then that means that the nannies are actively doing something. Usually the driver information display will tell you what it is. "Low Traction" means that the Traction Control noticed the front wheels slipping and is attempting to do something about it. "ESC Active" means that the ESC is kicking in to straighten up the car.

It could also come on and blink when there's a problem with one of the systems. The driver information display will also tell you what that is too.

 

if you shut the esc off it reduces torque steer alot