I had ASR on the Octy and I have ESP on the TT and I honestly can't tell the difference, both can be intrusive occasionally and neither will keep the car going the way it's pointing when you're really going for it. I have less tail-slide in the TT and can pull away much faster in the wet but I think that's down to the 4wd rather than the ESP. Don't get me wrong it's definitely worth having these systems, I'm just not convinced the ESP is any better than the ASR.

Greg.

Drive a FWD car with and without ESP and you'll see the difference. ASR is just traction control, ESP is a whole lot more capable than that.

Its hardly fair to try and compare ASR and ESP when one is on a FWD car and the other on a quattro 4x4.

I had ASR on the Octy and I have ESP on the TT and I honestly can't tell the difference, both can be intrusive occasionally and neither will keep the car going the way it's pointing when you're really going for it. I have less tail-slide in the TT and can pull away much faster in the wet but I think that's down to the 4wd rather than the ESP. Don't get me wrong it's definitely worth having these systems, I'm just not convinced the ESP is any better than the ASR.

Did you know the original TT's didn't have ESP as standard but due to the number of accidents people had there was a factory recall which included retro fit ESP (at a massive cost to Audi) and the rear spoiler.

Why have a safety device that you can turn off? Applicable to ASR on mine and ESP on Jane's.

Mad.Bit gimmicky.If it was serious you wouldn't have that button to fiddle with.

Why have a safety device that you can turn off? Applicable to ASR on mine and ESP on Jane's.

Mad.Bit gimmicky.If it was serious you wouldn't have that button to fiddle with.

Can you turn your headlights off? Can you drive without your seatbelt on?

There's certain situations where you don't want safety devices to be active as they are not required or even a hinderance.

e.g. carrying a rear facing baby seat in the front passenger seat you want to be able to switch off the airbag. When carrying out a reversing manouvre you may not want to wear your seatbelt. When driving in snow you may find it easier with ASR off as a little wheelspin in an FWD car allows the tyres to dig in.

I understand the airbag point.I understand the only time people ever turn ASR/ESP off was a track day situation so they have the' feel 'of the car.I would say most if not all drivers ignore it all together and most would not know about the point re snow/wheelspin/ASR (I didn't!).

Didn't really get to grips of being told the quattro system on my Audi would be better 'off' in snow although I think someone on here explained.

Interestingly,is there any car maker that doesn't give you the option to disengage it?

IIRC some Mercs allow you to turn some, but not all, of the electronic aids off.

I understand the airbag point.I understand the only time people ever turn ASR/ESP off was a track day situation so they have the' feel 'of the car.I would say most if not all drivers ignore it all together and most would not know about the point re snow/wheelspin/ASR (I didn't!).

Didn't really get to grips of being told the quattro system on my Audi would be better 'off' in snow although I think someone on here explained.

Interestingly' date='is there any car maker that doesn't give you the option to disengage it?[/quote']

I remember it couldn't be switched off in the Toyota Corolla T-Sport a friend had a test drive in.

The point about switching off ASR in the snow should be in your manual.

Didn't really get to grips of being told the quattro system on my Audi would be better 'off' in snow although I think someone on here explained.

surely no matter what the 4wd would be better in snow than FWD or RWD :confused:

ESP + FWD + snow + 14% hill = forget all you've ever learnt about turning into and away from slides.

I turn car slews, I counter, but ESP is already having a go so I get a dbl counter, so I counter as now is ESP...ok I see how this is working as I zig zag down the slope...just point the wheels straight and let the gizmo do the whizmo.

I have it and like it...very handy for roundabouts with spillages on or lift off in a bend and general stability of control...that said I do turn it off and not just on track. Sometimes I want the the car to misbehave.

Although it's never totally off apparantly, they leave a certain facotr in place for the nutters to discover...

At the end of the day, 4x4 makes a difference by making the most out of available traction, it's no good when there is no traction

I think the ESP on most cars steps in a little anyway if necessary even if turned off. It just isn't anywhere near as effective or early to respond if turned off. I read a review on the mk V Golf GTI when it came out. The guy who test drove the car turned off ESP then ironically got into a nasty slide. The ESP actually turned itself back on and he reckoned he'd have been into the oncoming traffic if it hadn't.

I reckon something similar probably saved Tiff's bacon in that Porsche too.

depends on the car, some will turn off completely, i.e. like in the leon tiff drove on the last fifth gear, and some wont, like on the lambo jason drove, (same program I think!) and it really annoyed him....

Greg.

Drive a FWD car with and without ESP and you'll see the difference. ASR is just traction control' date=' ESP is a whole lot more capable than that.

Its hardly fair to try and compare ASR and ESP when one is on a FWD car and the other on a quattro 4x4.[/quote']

I know it's hard to make the comparison but like I say I can't really tell the difference, i.e. even with the added bonus of quattro 4x4 and ESP over ASR the TT doesn't stick much better than the vRS did.

If the road is even slightly damp and I go to take off anyway quickly' date=' the ESP will kick in for a second or so in 1st and 2nd gear. Also 3rd if it's really wet.

This wouldn't happen in the equivalent petrol car. [/quote']

I think that's the traction control kicking in not the ESP, and yes when it's wet and you're going hard in a vRS you can lose traction in 3rd too !

Did you know the original TT's didn't have ESP as standard but due to the number of accidents people had there was a factory recall which included retro fit ESP (at a massive cost to Audi) and the rear spoiler.

I know that lots of pre 2002 TTs were recalled because they were so easy to lose control in, but I thought Audi changed the suspension and fitted the spoiler, I didn't realise ESP was part of the upgrade. In fact, I'm going to check that out.

Quite comical really.When I have taken Janes car(with ESP) out for a spin in the recent frosty/wet conditions the car is all over the shop.Wheelspins in 1,2 and 3 (ok,maybe I hammer it).

Maybe it is the tyres/Fabia generally but I feel safer in my Octavia with just ASR.Don't feel confidence inspired I must say.

I know that lots of pre 2002 TTs were recalled because they were so easy to lose control in, but I thought Audi changed the suspension and fitted the spoiler, I didn't realise ESP was part of the upgrade. In fact, I'm going to check that out.

AFAIK the recall for ESP and rear spoiler was pre-2000 cars after a German car journalist was killed whilst driving a TT. Lots of info on the recall can be found here: http://www.tt-forum.co.uk

Forgot to say before, to carry out the ESP recall affected cars had to return to the factory in Germany which as you'll imagine won't have been a cheap exercise.

I think that's the traction control kicking in not the ESP, and yes when it's wet and you're going hard in a vRS you can lose traction in 3rd too !

I'm sure about it just being traction control TBH. I've had traction control in other cars and it usually seems to cut the power whereas that doesn't really happen in my car. It comes in as the wheels start to spin but there seems to be no let up in the power fed to the wheels as they grapple for grip. Hard to explain but definately different and very effective. I like it.

I believe you about the vRS but I didn't consider it to be an 'equivalent Petrol car'. I suppose when you think about it the 2 cars are pretty close but with different characteristics.

I stand corrected.

Does ESP affect you modding your car afterwards - is there anything it doesn't agree with it aftermarket?

Theoretcially the ESP will be set for your car so changing wheels/brakes and even tyres would affect the ESP's ability to save you.

Theoretcially the ESP will be set for your car so changing wheels/brakes and even tyres would affect the ESP's ability to save you.

:eek: GULP!!

Will remember that - thanks for the advice.

Anyone else had any experience?

don't be silly phil.

esp works by rotational speeds of wheels, braking forces, steering angle, pitch yaw etc etc.

no mods will ever effect esp and it should carry on working no matter what.

greg try driving your car with just ASR in boot it then rapidly lift off on a wet round about, then do the same in the car with ESP and watch the difference:)

But I would have thought ESP would be calibrated to know the effects of it's actions before it does anything?

Or is it not that clever?

Are we talking ESP1 or 2 here?