Anyone got esc on their vehicle?

[Bornfree]

A few years ago when we had the beast from the east, I was driving through a village in my van, the road was covered in hard packed frozen snow when a black range rover sport came towards me completely missed a slight bend in the road and went down a small bank and ended up in a front garden. I stopped and the driver was a woman early 30s she was ok. She said she couldn't understand what happened as it's a 4x4 and should be fine in those conditions. I said all the 4x4 bit does is get you in trouble quicker but I don't think she understood.

 

[maroon]

Had an asc in an old Bmw. Could never kick the wheels out with it turned on. Just slowed the car down on corners. Was easily turned off (but annoyingly lighting the instrument cluster up like a Xmas tree) Button on the center console.

Actually worked well in the snow. It "dur dur dur dur dudded" but it got traction

 

[fizzy]

Some of them get very confused in ice and snow. My Sprinter FWD won't get up my short but steep very icy drive unless I use left foot braking to over ride it. It works great when I do that - made my hospital appointment ok anyway
Freelander 2 was one of the best ever in very slippery icy conditions - hill descent control was a godsend.

 

[m_c]

A few years ago when we had the beast from the east, I was driving through a village in my van, the road was covered in hard packed frozen snow when a black range rover sport came towards me completely missed a slight bend in the road and went down a small bank and ended up in a front garden. I stopped and the driver was a woman early 30s she was ok. She said she couldn't understand what happened as it's a 4x4 and should be fine in those conditions. I said all the 4x4 bit does is get you in trouble quicker but I don't think she understood.

My main memory from the beast from the east, was every road test I done at work, I seemed to pass yet another 4wd Audi on a recovery lorry heading towards Audi that looked like it been through a hedge sideways.
Four wheel drive just means you get more traction to get moving. When you try stopping, it's no better than any other vehicle.

 

[Robotstar5]

My main memory from the beast from the east, was every road test I done at work, I seemed to pass yet another 4wd Audi on a recovery lorry heading towards Audi that looked like it been through a hedge sideways.
Four wheel drive just means you get more traction to get moving. When you try stopping, it's no better than any other vehicle.

When I was in the Land Rover club we used to provide transport for doctors and vets at point to point meetings, one of the vets said I don't need you this year I've bought a Defender, part way through the meeting the flag goes up for a vet at one of the fences and off he goes in his shiny Defender, plenty of acceleration on the wet grass, then he tries to brake, it was quite funny watching him slide 20 or 30 yards past the fence with the wheels locked

 

[MattF]

I personally don't rate all this modern electric rubbish.

Me neither. I think it detracts from your ability to control a vehicle.

 

[Shox Dr]

Me neither. I think it detracts from your ability to control a vehicle.

and therein lays the problem. All these buttons and gizmos. Everyone thinks they are Mika Häkkinen.

 

[Matrixx]

I think the modern devices have saved people from crashes more than they think, I know from driving my ISF (5.0L V8 RWD) that it has kicked in before I had chance to react to lost traction, where as my old Volvo (343 RWD) tried to kill me many times fishtailing wildly on taking a tight corner in the wet.

 

[Tinbasherdan]

Pulled many a flashy Range Rover out of a ditch in snow with a manky old disco. Always the same “ I don’t understand it, it’s got 4x4”

 

[Scalarocco]

“ I don’t understand it...”

That's the problem, right there.

 

[qwakers]

Pulled many a flashy Range Rover out of a ditch in snow with a manky old disco. Always the same “ I don’t understand it, it’s got 4x4”

And **** high speed road tyres...

Had a kia sorento with mud and snow tyres fitted. Had the 4x4 disabled most of the time even in the snow. It drove like it was dry out in the snow (or as much as we get in cornwall)

 

[Nomad]

A lass I worked with bought a very clean Defender. She came into work one winters morning very shaken."I went down a road that had ice on it and the car wouldn't turn or stop - but it has 4WD". No point trying to explain that 2 ton of metal going downhill on ice is the important bit of her explanation not the 4WD bit

I had an old Peugeot 106 1.4 diesel, fitted that with proper "winter" mud & snow tyres and it had no trouble on country roads that were "impassible due to the snow". Fun times

 

[bricol]

and therein lays the problem. All these buttons and gizmos. Everyone thinks they are Mika Häkkinen.

And there's your problem - should have been thinking they were Sandro Munari, Didier Auriol, Juha Kankunan, Hannu Mikkola, Marku Alen . . .

 

[bricol]

Me neither. I think it detracts from your ability to control a vehicle.

Despite me complaining about ESC on my Alfa, I think electronic gizmos save many many more "moments" from becoming more serious - it take some strong mindedness to take your foot off a brake pedal as you slide to the scene of the accident - and time. ABS does it immediately and for as long as you jam the pedal down - and if that means stopping, or being able to steer around the kid that just dashed out between parked cars, then I'll all for them.

For most people, motorised transport is like white goods - a machine to do a job, a necessity to get somewhere - and from the number of posts on here about unseen rusty pipes, sills, unforeseen MOT failures, or expected MOT failures, its the same here. So gizmos to remind them there is something alongside in the other lane (which the taxi driver in a modern car obvious didn't have when he sideswipped my Alfa), or reminds them its more slippy than they expected and cuts the power, or takes over the braking is something to be appreciated - there's enough complaints about being distracted be speed limits, camera vans etc.

Your keen enthusiast quite often finds with all the gizmos switched off he's not quite as good as he thought he was. I'm happy with ABS on my Lancia, very happy with the traction control on my Dodge . . . and with the complete lack of anything too gizmo-ish other than an oil pressure warning light on my Caterham.

 

[Robotstar5]

. . . and with the complete lack of anything too gizmo-ish other than an oil pressure warning light on my Caterham.

The only warning light I have on my old Fergie is a red one that goes out when the dynamo's charging

 

[Matrixx]

A bit off track, but summer tyres lose 50% of their grip below 7 deg C, and winter tyres lose 50% above 7 deg C. On 4WD it's down to the tyres how well they do, in addition to driver skills.

 

[Bobupndown]

@Scalarocco
I would agree - I think the ESC on our little Citigo courtesy car - works better than the ESC on my VW Passat Highline estate car.

Plus there is no button on the little car to turn it off!

I had a new VW Passat estate in 2003, that winter I put it into a corner on a back road much too fast for the frosty conditions, had visions of writing off my lovely new car. The esp kicked in and just steered it back in line without drama. I was seriously impressed, and relieved that day

 

[bricol]

The only warning light I have on my old Fergie is a red one that goes out when the dynamo's charging

Luckily, the other warning light a local enthusiast fitted to the top of his plywood cab on his was a big orange flashing one - to warn all the drivers on the bypass there was tiny vehicle doing a fast jog down the inside lane. How he never got flattened, I don't know.

 

[Robotstar5]

Luckily, the other warning light a local enthusiast fitted to the top of his plywood cab on his was a big orange flashing one - to warn all the drivers on the bypass there was tiny vehicle doing a fast jog down the inside lane. How he never got flattened, I don't know.

I'm going to put provision for one on mine in case I take it on the road.