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    Things to Come: Electronic Stability Control

    The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has mandated that Electronic Stability Control (ESC) systems be progressively phased in as standard equipment on all passenger vehicles with a gross vehicle weight rating of 4,536 kg (10,000 lbs) or less, starting with the 2009 model year. All such vehicles must have the system installed by the 2012 model year. Consequently, for those of us not too familiar with these systems it might benefit us to learn something about their operation.

    Overview
    In its most basic form, ESC uses an electronic sensor to detect the rotation of the car around its vertical axis, also known as yaw. This sensor (called a yaw sensor) can detect whether the car is turning left or right, and how fast it is doing so. The other major input to ESC is a steering angle sensor that senses the degree and direction of the steering lock applied by the driver. The system compares the degree of steering angle with the amount of yaw to determine if the car is turning in the right direction, and at the right rate, to match the steering input.

    If the system detects that the car is not following the path dictated by the steering input, it knows that the car is sliding. If the car is not turning as much as the steering angle sensor indicates it should be, the car must be understeering. If, on the other hand, the car is turning more than the steering angle sensor indicates, it must be oversteering. If either of these conditions is detected, ESC brakes individual wheels and/or reduces engine power to return the car's path to that being requested (via the steering input) by the driver.

    Obviously, an anti-lock braking system (ABS) is also necessary for the operation of ESC. As in the case of ABS, a hydraulic modulator is used to apply the correct braking force to each wheel. However, while ABS only needs to reduce pressure during braking, ESC additionally needs to increase pressure, sometimes to the point of actually stopping wheel rotation, in certain situations. Traction control systems (TCS) are often incorporated into ESC. These have sensors which monitor drive-wheel slip under acceleration and individually brake the slipping wheel, or wheels, and/or reduce engine power until control is regained. Keep in mind, however, ESC acieves a different purpose than either ABS or TCS, alone or in combination. Whereas ABS and TCS ensure straight line stability, ESC maintains stability in turns.

    Currently, many ESC systems have an overide switch to disable its operation, which may be desirable in certain situations such as when using an undersized spare tire which could interfere with sensor input. The sensitivity of the ESC, and how much oversteer or understeer it permits before it intervenes is entirely up to the car manufacturers policies and its engineers. Some makers program the ESC software to allow the car to be near the point of no return before the system intervenes, while others apply brakes and reduce engine power before the driver can detect any sliding at all. Some cars even have switchable levels of ESC where the driver can determine at what point he wants it to intervene.

    Whether or not a more uniform standard will be devised as ESC proceeds to full implementation in 2012 is not known at this point, at least by this writer.

    References
    For a graphic and dramatic view of the overwhelmingly positive benefits of ESC systems, look at the following two videos:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K3m24bjkfg0

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQq-4KYBxsI&NR=1

    For a brief explanatory article on ESC with diagrams, go to:
    http://www.iihs.org/ratings/esc/esc_explained.html

    For a technical analysis and a description of how ESC is implemented in a variety of cars, go to:
    http://www.roadandtrack.com/article....rticle_id=6826

    Happy Motoring!
    Last edited by goldstar; 02-19-2010, 01:06 PM.
    02 DX Millenium Red - The Penultimate Driving Machine
    MP3 Strut Tower Bar kit; Cusco Front Lower Arm Tie Bar
    MSP Springs, Struts, Stabilizer Bars, Trailing Links, #3 Engine Mount
    Kartboy Stabilizer Bar Bushings; Nyloil Shifter Bushings; Red Line MT-90 Gear Oil
    MP3 Shifter, Knob and Aluminum Pedal Set
    Suvlights HD Wiring Harness; Osram Night Breaker H4 Bulbs; Exide Edge AGM Battery
    Summer: 5Zigen FN01R-C 16 x 7" Wheels; Yoko S.drive 205/45-16s
    Winter: Enkei OR52 16 x 7" Wheels; Falken Ziex ZE-912 205/45-16s
    Modified OEM Air Intake; Racing Beat Exhaust System; Techna-Fit SS Clutch Line
    Denso SKJ16CR-L11 Extended Tip Spark Plugs; Magnecor Wires
    Power Slot Front Brake Rotors; Techna-Fit SS Brake Lines; Hawk HPS Pads
    Red Line Synthetic Engine Oil; C/S Aluminum Oil Cap
    Cyberdyne Digital Gauges: Tach; Ambient Air Temp; Voltmeter

    #2
    better be able to turn this crap off or unplug it... yuck
    1992 Ultra Blue Metallic EGT - The 'scort with no name - crap>reliable daily>rallycross prep>stage rally
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    Comment


      #3
      My MS3 has this. In the winter time it's nice to save you from being stupid and sliding all over the place. If you hammer it and it starts to slip in straight line or in corners, you can feel the brakes being applied to help "stabilize you". It's scary when it first happens, but you kinda get used to it. It can be turned off via traction button.
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      Comment


        #4
        i'm curious how it would respond when faced with a downhill corner on ice/snow
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        Comment


          #5
          chrysler has used ESC for a number of years now... its pretty sucky actually.

          at least chryslers systems you cannot fully disable. Like on the srt8 charger for instance, you can press the button and it "turns off" but is still very much so on, chrysler uses their brakes for traction control (whic is integrated into the ESC system) which I much prefer to fuel cut as your always maintaining power. the ESC off gives you just a little more tire roasting fun but still OBVIOUSLY holding the car back

          there is a second stage where you press and hold the button for like 10 seconds and it "actually turns off" and chimes to let you know. but again its still not actually off, I dont believe it uses the brakes any more but it uses the transmission shift points, for instance you press and hold the button to turn it off just before you launch. you stomp on the gas light up the tires all the way through first... or so you would hope... it lets you go just long enough to think your going to have fun but before you know it it kicks up to 2nd gear before your high enough in the rpms to keep going and it bogs down and hooks up... BORING!

          I do agree with the concept, the cars now a days are making more power, chrysler is comming out with their own direct injected v6 (from fiat) that creates just over 300 ponies, gm has their direct injected v6 making 350 ponies. plus they are getting larger and heavier, so the go faster and are more likely to slide through a corner due to weight. Then put a spoiled 16yr old behind the wheel whom thinks his new challanger means he is a drifting king race car driver, I prefer there be something that helps to hold it back and in control. it takes away fun for those whom can handle it but for every one person whom can handle it there are a dozen that got the car to look cool that cannot, much like the only ford raptor I have seen around, with some old guy driving it, and he lives in these absolutely ghetto apartments behind my dealership.
          Last edited by FazdaBoy4ever; 02-19-2010, 03:23 PM.
          There are no stupid questions, just stupid people.

          Comment


            #6
            The MS3 I can turn off ESC and keep TC on, or turn both of them off by holding the button and clutch in while turning the car on in 1st gear. TC is annoying, but I'd like to keep ESC on with TC off which is not an option .

            Comment


              #7
              all the electronics in the world won't save your ass when you have a rookie behind the wheel.. over 80% of accidents are caused by driver error or lack of experience. personally i dislike the newer cars or trucks with all the fancy gadgets to try to save your ass when things get ugly.. driver skill is the key ...

              Comment


                #8
                Originally posted by tireboy View Post
                all the electronics in the world won't save your ass when you have a rookie behind the wheel.. over 80% of accidents are caused by driver error or lack of experience. personally i dislike the newer cars or trucks with all the fancy gadgets to try to save your ass when things get ugly.. driver skill is the key ...
                There's a lot of truth in what you say but under the current laws governing the acquisition of driving licenses, in the US anyway, very little skill or proficiency is needed to obtain one. When my son took his driving test in NJ a few years ago I thought it was a joke. The test venue was a set of roads in a field accessed by a road off the main highway. All he had to do was drive around and show the inspector that he could keep the car in a straight line in his lane, stop and go when he was told to, and demonstrate a decent level of parallel parking ability. Only one car at a time was on the test course and no driving on public roads in traffic was required. The test took all of 5-minutes and he passed without the inspector ever knowing if he could handle real-world, complex driving situations. This was a standard, typical NJ driving test. No wonder so many new drivers are incompetent and oftentimes dangerous on the roads.

                There's another factor. Most drivers in the US are not car enthusiasts and treat their vehicles as simply another appliance. Therefore, they want to put as little thought into its operation as possible. We, on the other hand, are much more likely to want to develop a high degree of skill in our driving and at least some degree of technical proficiency about our vehicles. Thus, we're much more likely to understand some of the physics involved in vehicle dynamics compared with the average driver. But we're in the minority.

                Additionally, we live in an ever-evolving nanny state in which, since the authorities will never mandate more stringent licensing requirements as driving becomes more and more an expected 'right' rather than a privilege and toughening up standards would probably ensure that some individuals would never obtain a license, the trend is to protect the idiots (as that's how I believe the self-styled elitists who run our government view us) from themselves by reducing risk as much as possible to a minimum.

                Consequently, we're stuck with mandated ESC and let's just hope that it never reaches the point where we can't turn it off.

                In the muscle-car era when the government was talking about banning high horsepower cars in the future, for both safety and emission control reasons, many high performance car drivers rode around with bumper stickers saying, "Don't ban high performance cars, ban low performance drivers." Although self-serving, there was obviously much sense in that sentiment as most of us would probably agree.

                However, when all is said and done, I believe ESC will save lives and that's an undeniable fact.

                Happy Motoring!
                Last edited by goldstar; 02-21-2010, 07:58 AM.
                02 DX Millenium Red - The Penultimate Driving Machine
                MP3 Strut Tower Bar kit; Cusco Front Lower Arm Tie Bar
                MSP Springs, Struts, Stabilizer Bars, Trailing Links, #3 Engine Mount
                Kartboy Stabilizer Bar Bushings; Nyloil Shifter Bushings; Red Line MT-90 Gear Oil
                MP3 Shifter, Knob and Aluminum Pedal Set
                Suvlights HD Wiring Harness; Osram Night Breaker H4 Bulbs; Exide Edge AGM Battery
                Summer: 5Zigen FN01R-C 16 x 7" Wheels; Yoko S.drive 205/45-16s
                Winter: Enkei OR52 16 x 7" Wheels; Falken Ziex ZE-912 205/45-16s
                Modified OEM Air Intake; Racing Beat Exhaust System; Techna-Fit SS Clutch Line
                Denso SKJ16CR-L11 Extended Tip Spark Plugs; Magnecor Wires
                Power Slot Front Brake Rotors; Techna-Fit SS Brake Lines; Hawk HPS Pads
                Red Line Synthetic Engine Oil; C/S Aluminum Oil Cap
                Cyberdyne Digital Gauges: Tach; Ambient Air Temp; Voltmeter

                Comment


                  #9
                  traction control is funny to explain to peolpe that bring new cars to us. most dont even know they hit the button, just that thier car shakes when they hit the gas and all the dash lights flash....lol... my buddy got a new saturn aura and thaught he broke it the second day....lol...
                  92 protege lx-

                  94 protege lx-

                  95 escort gt-ms2e/ms2extra pre3.3alpha5 gslender v2.8-e85-vj23@12lbs----dead--

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                  Comment


                    #10
                    well goldstar i have to agree with you on that one. the funny thing is that most drivers can't even change a tire.. or even control a car when things get ugly.british columbia has some of the strictest standards when it comes to getting a licence. but everyday people are dying on the roads due to lack of knowledge or experience behind the wheel . even with the most advanced cars on the road today... go figure..

                    Comment


                      #11
                      Selected 2010 Mazda Vehicles with ESC

                      Mazda refers to ESC as Dynamic Stability Control (DSC) and it's packaged together with its Traction Control System (TCS).

                      Mazda3 4-Door
                      Not available on the lowest two sedan trim lines (i SV; i Sport)
                      Standard on the i Touring; s Sport; s Grand Sport

                      Mazda3 5-Door
                      Standard on both models: Sport; Grand Touring

                      Mazdaspeed3
                      Standard

                      MX-5 Miata
                      Optional on some models

                      Reference:
                      Mazda USA website

                      Happy Motoring!
                      02 DX Millenium Red - The Penultimate Driving Machine
                      MP3 Strut Tower Bar kit; Cusco Front Lower Arm Tie Bar
                      MSP Springs, Struts, Stabilizer Bars, Trailing Links, #3 Engine Mount
                      Kartboy Stabilizer Bar Bushings; Nyloil Shifter Bushings; Red Line MT-90 Gear Oil
                      MP3 Shifter, Knob and Aluminum Pedal Set
                      Suvlights HD Wiring Harness; Osram Night Breaker H4 Bulbs; Exide Edge AGM Battery
                      Summer: 5Zigen FN01R-C 16 x 7" Wheels; Yoko S.drive 205/45-16s
                      Winter: Enkei OR52 16 x 7" Wheels; Falken Ziex ZE-912 205/45-16s
                      Modified OEM Air Intake; Racing Beat Exhaust System; Techna-Fit SS Clutch Line
                      Denso SKJ16CR-L11 Extended Tip Spark Plugs; Magnecor Wires
                      Power Slot Front Brake Rotors; Techna-Fit SS Brake Lines; Hawk HPS Pads
                      Red Line Synthetic Engine Oil; C/S Aluminum Oil Cap
                      Cyberdyne Digital Gauges: Tach; Ambient Air Temp; Voltmeter

                      Comment

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