ESP on car?

datostar

Check the car manual about switching it off. It can be switched off on Renaults when stationary (which is recommended for snow and ice) but switches itself back on if a speed of 20mph is reached.

Richard53

Ebe_Scrooge wrote: »

I experienced this a couple of years ago, in really bad ice & snow. Car is stationary, you attempt to move off - using, as you say, high gear, very gentle right foot, all the "correct things" to do. But the moment any power goes to the wheel it starts to spin, so the TC cuts power to that wheel. Result - you go nowhere. Switch off the TC, try again ( being very gentle ) - OK, the wheels spin, but you do begin to inch forward, and once you've got a bit of momentum, you're sorted. I assume this is precisely why there is a switch to turn it off.

Which just shows there are no right answers! I would agree that if you are really stuck, then trying everything, including turning off driving 'aids', is what you have to do.

My reply was to DUTR, who said that wheelspin was 'required' in snow. Maybe he meant something closer to what you said here, but there are too many people (certainly round here in the winter) who believe that if a snow-bound car isn't moving the best thing to do is to spin the driven wheel at maximum revs until the snow realises who is boss. It don't work.

You mention momentum, and that is very important. Sometimes a bit of forward-and-reverse to rock the car out of a rut is the only way to get going.

Ebe_Scrooge

Richard53 wrote: »

Which just shows there are no right answers! I would agree that if you are really stuck, then trying everything, including turning off driving 'aids', is what you have to do.

My reply was to DUTR, who said that wheelspin was 'required' in snow. Maybe he meant something closer to what you said here, but there are too many people (certainly round here in the winter) who believe that if a snow-bound car isn't moving the best thing to do is to spin the driven wheel at maximum revs until the snow realises who is boss. It don't work.

You mention momentum, and that is very important. Sometimes a bit of forward-and-reverse to rock the car out of a rut is the only way to get going.

Agreed. I've always been "interested" in driving, and have been on several courses purely for the enjoyment - including a session on a skid-pan, which was great fun ! So I guess I'm fairly confident driving in most conditions, but as you rightly say, there are a lot of people who don't know the little tips 'n' tricks for driving in snow, ice etc.

mrmot

The original question was about ESP, so why are people giving advice and recounting experiences of traction control?, it's as almost as if they don't know the difference.

Richard53

Ebe_Scrooge wrote: »

Agreed. I've always been "interested" in driving, and have been on several courses purely for the enjoyment - including a session on a skid-pan, which was great fun ! So I guess I'm fairly confident driving in most conditions, but as you rightly say, there are a lot of people who don't know the little tips 'n' tricks for driving in snow, ice etc.

Same here, interested long before I ever got behind a wheel (or a set of handlebars). I lived for a long time in East Yorkshire, where snow in winter, and lots of it, was a regular feature. If you didn't learn to cope with it, you didn't get to work. I now work in West Wales, and a lot of our employees are fairly young. When we had all the snow in 2010, many of them called in sick, 'unable' to get to work. We worked out that, given the generally mild climate here, someone under 30 years old may never have driven in snow in his or her life. No wonder they all panicked.

goonarmy

Esp is also useful in "moose test" situations. Dont know how just that it is.