Guessing the answer is probably no.

But could ESP be retrofitted, is it already on the ecu and just needs the relevant button/wiring fitting?

Cheers

Had a bit of a low speed play on tiny frosted B-roads on the way from work this evening. I had the ESP light flashing like a good 'un It appears to be quite effective as I could tell the difference when I switched it off. Yank the handbrake on, or accelerate hard, and the car seems to stabilise and remain steerable and controlable. Switch it off and you are all over the shop, desparately trying not to fall off the road. It gives me some confidence if I happen to encounter diffculties at higher speeds. I've never needed it before, but am pleased I waited that extra 2 weeks to have it fitted as an option. I reckon it's

Guessing the answer is probably no.

But could ESP be retrofitted' date=' is it already on the ecu and just needs the relevant button/wiring fitting?

Cheers[/quote']

In a word 'no'

To give you an example as part of a early recall on the Audi TT (after a German nutbag crashed one on a test track) all cars not equipped with ESP were sent back to Germany to have ESP retro fitted, at a cost of around

Ah well not to worry, I have little understanding of how esp works (mechanical etc) so i presumed it was just an ecu jobbie

To get ESP to fire.. you must really be driving like a tool.. and aint in proper control of your car. IIRC Jon was flying round anglsey circuit with ESP on as it didnt get used

To get ESP to fire.. you must really be driving like a tool.. and aint in proper control of your car. IIRC Jon was flying round anglsey circuit with ESP on as it didnt get used

er................no, the other day my esp sprung into life because an idiot dived infront of me and i had to brake extremely hard in bad conditions. esp came into play and i was driving sensibly

Do you think in the event of a tyre blow out at high speed - ESP and all the electronic gubbins with ABS etc would make things a little more controllable?

I'll never forget seeing Top Gear where they had in car footage of a police car spinning after a tyre blowout at speed.

Also showed Tiff spinning when first a front then a rear tyre were blown out with a controlled detonation. (Though I wondered if the explosion contributed at all?)

I had two blowouts simultaneously.. ESP went nuts and kept the car straight...

Driving hard enough for ESP to be coming into play every corner is asking for trouble, but having it there in case of emergencies, or provoking it and cornering tighter than you could without, is an asset.

To get ESP to fire.. you must really be driving like a tool.. and aint in proper control of your car. IIRC Jon was flying round anglsey circuit with ESP on as it didnt get used

No I don't think this is quite right, I could intentionally get ESP to fire when doing just 5 or 10 miles per hour on an icy road. I found it quite effective at stabilising the car if it started to skid or lose traction. Although it's no excuse to drive like a tool, ESP should assist you in maintaining proper control of the car in the event of unforeseen circumstances - it's a safety feature, that's why I bought it.

It is possible to drive beyond the limits of grip but not beyond the limit of control... in this situation ESP will fire so can be annoying... so I turn it off if driving "enthusiastically".

Please note this with reference to oversteer not understeer, so may not hold true for FWD cars.

Do you think in the event of a tyre blow out at high speed - ESP and all the electronic gubbins with ABS etc would make things a little more controllable?

No, who said that?

I had two blowouts simultaneously.. ESP went nuts and kept the car straight...

As I said.. it does...

In the Rover 100 I don't usually have problems with power-related lack of grip. But I still would love to have had ABS. Yeah ok, you don't NEED the function of ABS if you are driving with a great deal of gap in front of you... But let's face it - this is not the reality as someone will pull into that gap...

Not much joy having to try to beat a modern, ABS'd car in a rubbish grip car.

ESP can really help you if you have to swerve around something in an emergency. I am not a race driver. But I've had people pull out in front of me (barely) and had to swerve at high speeds. Fine in the dry. But in the wet ESP may just help save your bacon.

Ideally (and I'd say, normally) you should not need it and I would never want to depend on it during even 'brisker' driving moments. ESP will only do the best it can with the mechanical grip your car has to offer at that point in time, but it will allow you to focus on steering around the trouble.

I see it as an extended ABS system, additional safety, no more, no less