Traction Control / ESP etc?

[kalniel]

but at least 2 teams I know of have a very effective way of getting "effective EBD" without actually having a device change the brake force distribution. These same 2 teams also have a very good way of getting around the "no adjusting of the spoilers in the race" rules aswell

No, I'm not telling who they are as 2 of my friends jobs might be at risk if I do.

Oh of course it's not possible to work out which those two teams are based on the race stats for things like top speed at all.. oh no..

[5lab]

I contacted VW and they said it (ESP) couldn't be fitted to my car, however I also asked if cruise control could be fitted to my car, and they said no... even though there are other people that do fit (official vw) cruise control afterwards. I think I'll leave it, and would prefer to spend the money getting my car tuned, and then get cruise control

heh, same as my mondie. the diesel couldnt have traction control or cruise, but the petrols could (and mostly had it as standard).

i've been looking at aftermarket cruise for a while - anyone got any suggestions? afaik its more tricky because you can't use a vacume off the engine to 'pull' the throttle cable in

[joshwa]

heh, same as my mondie. the diesel couldnt have traction control or cruise, but the petrols could (and mostly had it as standard).

i've been looking at aftermarket cruise for a while - anyone got any suggestions? afaik its more tricky because you can't use a vacume off the engine to 'pull' the throttle cable in

Perhaps these people might be able to help
http://www.conrad-anderson.co.uk/cru...ols-models.htm
apparently they fitted one to a Ford KA

[Neo_VR]

For VW group cars its easy... more or less get the cruise control stalk installed and then enable it with VAGcom.. i have it retro-fitted to my fabia..

AwesomeGTI in manchester will fit it to any VW group car for around 150 squids.. but if you feel confident to be able to take the steering wheel and airbag off without it blowing up in yer face, you can do it yourself for the cost of the stalk from VAGparts or a dealer..

Regarding traction control.. its nice to have.. especially on my scrabblewaggon - it doesnt stop the wheels spinning, but it will stop the engine hitting the limiter when they do spin... but i never really need TCS as ive learnt not to stick the boot in in the first 2 gears

ESP could potentially be lifesaving.. but if you start to trigger ESP in normal driving conditions, then you must be driving like a tool... i know someone who leaves ESP enabled on trackdays.. because he can drive so smoothly it never needs to cut in. (yet can still push 911's round a track in his octavia diesel)

At the end of the day these electronic systems are only really useful in potential emergency situations (same goes for ABS) and should not be relied upon in day to day driving..

[Butcher]

Is cruise control really worth bothering with after-market? I can;t think of many instances of being able to drive at one speed for long enough to make it worth it (unless you like to do 55 behind HGVs on a motorway).

[Neo_VR]

I find it useful... not all the time but its handy when driving on the mway off-peak, thru roadworks, or if i really cant be arsed to drive fast... my car seems happiest cruising around 90-100.. and speed tends to creep up if im not payin attention

[Butcher]

Yeah I've done the look away from the speedo for a bit suddenly you're doing 100 thing a few times. Think I drive at peak times too much to make use of cruise myself though.

[Neo_VR]

Yeah I've done the look away from the speedo for a bit suddenly you're doing 100 thing a few times. Think I drive at peak times too much to make use of cruise myself though.

Yep.. i never use it on my usual day to day journeys... but im travelling to leeds alot these days.. after 7pm its quite quiet

[SilentDeath]

The problem is that in that example, the car is sliding. All ESP would do is correct the slide, no matter how well set up.

EBD on the other hand most certainly does help with lap times. It is banned in formula 1, but at least 2 teams I know of have a very effective way of getting "effective EBD" without actually having a device change the brake force distribution. These same 2 teams also have a very good way of getting around the "no adjusting of the spoilers in the race" rules aswell

No, I'm not telling who they are as 2 of my friends jobs might be at risk if I do.

Personally I would like manual control over the rear brakes (being a fwd car, front for the rwd cars) and if done in a race it should definatly need to be manual - esp is cheating.
If it was manual, the manual control would need to be in addition to the pedal brake, not independant pedals for each.
Buttons on steering wheel would be best place for it imo.

It corrects the slide, and the sliding is the reson you dont take corners faster. It gives you more control at higher speeds.

[5lab]

not quite. the absolute fastest it is possible to take a corner is *just* before you start to slide. for a novice driver, who's not so aware of the limits, yeah it could be a benefit, but the top drivers are able to keep it very near the limit for an hour, so it'd be of no benefit. its also very difficult to design a system that comes in usefully easy, but doesnt cut in too soon..

my dads car has cruise, and i find it very useful - most of my journeys are long distance, off-peak hours - say brighton to exeter or newquay at 9 at night. i found it really makes the journey more relaxing as you don't have to worry about your speed and throttle position - which i think uses a lot more of your subconcious than you realise.. unfortunatey when i was buying my car, the only thing in its class which was a diesel with cruise was a very high end vectra, which wasn't big enough for my needs..

my next car will have adaptive cc. bliss