trackday's esp on or off

[Nickbrs182]

esp on or off, what do you guys choose on track

 

[Lagerlout]

I'm no track dayer, but I think I can speak for nearly all of the people on here who are on this one....

OFF!!

I turn it off when I'm blatting down a dry road in the summer time. Can only imagine it's a hindrance on track.

 

[Chris1.4RT]

I'm no racing driver but out interest, why would you turn it off?

I'd have thought it's there to stop wheelspinning? And wheelspinning's a bad thing isn't it?

I guess there must be some advantage to turning it off but you can enlighten me...

 

[Lagerlout]

When your 'trying hard' on a track or road in the Clio they get a little bit out of shape sometimes. Nothing you can't control yourself with a few subtle inputs. But the ESP kills everything.

Slows down the engine, brakes the wheels and tries to straighten you up, when in actual fact you make want to be a little on edge.

 

[Martin]

A touch of wheelspin will actually make the car quicker than the esp cutting all power imo

 

[recaro182]

when the ESP kicks in the engine looses almost all power, and usually its quite controllable, especially on a track, so a definate OFF for me! The only time mines on is in the wet even on the roads, if you spin up off the line the engine just dies and the sh*tron paxo you were trying to beat sales passed!

 

[Nickbrs182]

esp on will apply brakes when needed and stop wheel spin and scrub of speed, but i suggest that if people doing first trackday then leave it switched on till confident
its totally different putting the car through its paces on track then off.
track s where is best and safest

 

[TheCake]

on track - off
on road - on

 

[seb]

off for me also

 

[Nik]

On track, with the ESP on the car is noticably sluggish pulling out of corners. You can just get the power down earlier with it switched off, when it's turned on the ESP trys to hold you back a little to keep traction.

 

[Chris1.4RT]

Hmm ok, everyday's a school day.

 

[Rich]

Not done any track days, but when I did some runs at Prescott Hillclimb, it killed the car out of the bends, next runs were so much better with it turned off.

 

[kully]

aint got it to turn off .........lol

off ?????????

 

[Fred@BTM]

keep it OFF, otherwise you'll die

 

[fmp_]

yup, deffo turn that rubbish off when out on track!

 

[Day]

Useful in the wet sometimes.

Encourages lazy driving if on all the time

 

[Englebert]

Ultimately it takes away power so for a decent driver, and on a FWD especially, it has to be turned off! The only kind of stability system worth having is on say a Mitsubishi Lancer which actually applys power to wheels with more grip to give.

 

[rory182]

on track - off
on road - on

same

 

[Tyson-182]

^^ Same here too..

Tyson.

 

[tomdbomb61_djtj]

silly question, but how do you switch it on /off in the 182?

 

[Tyson-182]

silly question, but how do you switch it on /off in the 182?

Its the switch next to the cruise control switch. Lower right of the steering wheel.

If you switch it off you get the orange ESP/traction light appear on your display. I believe this is also linked to the traction control too?

Tyson.

 

[Lee]

I kept it on for a change recently when I did Donington. Not once did it intervene. I was three wheeling round corners and driving as hard as I normally do on track. If it had been cutting in I'd have probably turned it off as usual, but there's really no need. If you drive smoothly it just lets you get on with it.

 

[blink172]

Little switch next to the cruise control, Tom.

 

[TheCake]

Its the switch next to the cruise control switch. Lower right of the steering wheel.

If you switch it off you get the orange ESP/traction light appear on your display. I believe this is also linked to the traction control too?

Tyson.

ESP = Electronic Stabilitization Program

So ESP is a form of Traction Control mate

 

[blink172]

Depends, I would always start with it off. You build up speed and confidence without it correcting you, if you switched it off half way through the day you risk getting caught out somewhere that before the ESP was helping out.

Learn as you mean to go on.

 

[Panthro]

Just to possibly clear up confusion, ESP does not apply the breaks automatically. It merely limits the amount of power being fed to the wheels when slippage is detected, and you would definitely have it switched off on a track day to get the max out of the car.
When he drives cars with ESP, The Stig on TG always does his laps with ESP switched off.

 

[Tyson-182]

Is is better to have ESP/Traction off, when doing 0-60 or 1/4 mile sprints?

Tyson.

 

[blink172]

On if your no good at controlling your right foot.

And TC/ESP are 2 different things. If your close to loosing the rear end, im sure it does brake to bring it back under control.

 

[Panthro]

Is is better to have ESP/Traction off, when doing 0-60 or 1/4 mile sprints?

Tyson.

I would say off, as you have a greater control of the car and you have the option of applying as much power as necessary. The ESP will completely kill the power when you are doing fast launches. The main reason why ESP is there, is to keep the car under control in normal driving conditions.

 

[Munday]

I had it switched off at Santa Pod (after Zorba told me too lol). When I did the Donington Park Trackday I had it switched on and it didnt really do much apart from when it cut in on the chicane before the start/finish straight.

 

[Panthro]

On if your no good at controlling your right foot.

And TC/ESP are 2 different things. If your close to loosing the rear end, im sure it does brake to bring it back under control.

TC & ESP/stability control are two different things. here is my very brief description that probably wont make any sense!!

Traction control, stability control and ABS are all very similar. It is down to the types of sensors used.

ABS and TC work on a front to back axis of the car. i.e. detecting slippage when moving forward, or detecting loss of traction when braking. The sensors for ABS apply braking force in the event of locking the wheels, and the sensors for TC limit the amount of throttle being sent to the engine so that there is no excess power being sent through to the wheels.

ESP works on the side to side (yaw) axis of the car. This is the type of system that will control the car in the event of side skidding or losing the back end. It will apply braking force to certain wheels in order to gain back stability.

Im not sure if the RS's have stability control as well as traction control.

 

[blink172]

They are equipped with Both (Unless its a 172cup and you get neither).

 

[Andy]

keep it OFF, otherwise you'll die

That's what I was about to say. For commuting I keep it on, as soon as it's open roads that I know it gets switched off. Definitely more of a driving experience when it's off, more predictable strangely.

 

[recaro182]

ESP kills the engine when the wheels start to slip and unless your right foot resembles something you build houses out of you dont need it on when doing track days! Like Andy182Cup i keep mine off almost all the time unless its wet and im commuting, i much prefer the rawness of not having it there, and i do feel it kicks in even on the roads, so not sure how some of you guys say it doesnt :S

Panthro talks sense

 

[Swervin_Mervin]

ESP is gaf at all times.

 

[Guy]

kept switching mine off round cadwell.

just as i was abut to power out of a corner it would just cut power..

 

[MarkCup]

^^^ definitely

If it's not activating...you're not driving hard enough or anywhere near the cars limits.

 

[DaveLiquid182]

TC & ESP/stability control are two different things. here is my very brief description that probably wont make any sense!!

Traction control, stability control and ABS are all very similar. It is down to the types of sensors used.

ABS and TC work on a front to back axis of the car. i.e. detecting slippage when moving forward, or detecting loss of traction when braking. The sensors for ABS apply braking force in the event of locking the wheels, and the sensors for TC limit the amount of throttle being sent to the engine so that there is no excess power being sent through to the wheels.

ESP works on the side to side (yaw) axis of the car. This is the type of system that will control the car in the event of side skidding or losing the back end. It will apply braking force to certain wheels in order to gain back stability.

Im not sure if the RS's have stability control as well as traction control.

ABS actually releases braking force when the sensor detects a wheel locking.

Dave

 

[ant]

not got it - so erm, off!!

 

[Donz144]

I kept it on for a change recently when I did Donington. Not once did it intervene. I was three wheeling round corners and driving as hard as I normally do on track. If it had been cutting in I'd have probably turned it off as usual, but there's really no need. If you drive smoothly it just lets you get on with it.

EXACTLY!! TC comes off when you want to have FUN, not necessarily to drive faster. The difference is minimal if you are driving 'correctly'