Hi All,

Okay, it's raining today so thought, lets go out, and test this ESP option I've had fitted to the Fabia. The only thing is, I don't know how it's activated :confused:

When I press the button on the center console the orange light comes on the dash (car skidding symbol) - does this means it's on or I've turned it off?

In both modes, if I throw it into a corner is really feels similiar how the car tracks round but maybe I'm not pushing it hard enough? I assume this feature cuts the power so I can smoothly go round any bend without fear of loosing the line?

Comment appreciated...

The skiddy car light on the dash means you've turned the ESP off........ It is switched on as standard and you turn it off when you press the button.

Only had my car for a couple of days so not had chance to look into it much as yet.

Cheers

Dave.

ESP isnt just traction control, it will apply the brakes if need be to keep you on the road (but there are limits, it cant defy physics) it should be on your owners handbook.

...it should be on your owners handbook.

Yes, there is a very good explanation of how it works on pages 157 and 158 of the Fabia Owner's Manual.

Thank you Denis

Okay, cheers, just want to make sure it works, since it's an extra I've had to wait months for:rolleyes: Not that I don't trust the dealer or anything like that:O

I work for a dealer, do you trust me?

Wasn't ESP demonstrated by IIRC top gear a while back in a Jag on ice, ESP off car skidded out when driven through a cone course and with ESP on it went round like it was on rails.

Trust me - it has a big impact when you need it

I tried it out in NL on a BIG & empty car park when there was snow/ice.

With it on, I could basically stupidly steer like a madman, point whereever I wanted to end up & plant my foot flat on the floor. ESP kept engine power down, and pretty much 'yanked' the car into the right direction. With it off I just spent a great deal of time sliding & wheel spinning.

In a more 'normal' situation it's handy for when you go round a long sweeping bend at some pace, and there is a patch of standing water/snow/ice. Without ESP you'd probably loose it for a bit, and have to work hard to catch the car back up. With it on, the ESP light will flash like crazy and you'll just keep steering towards where you want to go. Grip and laws of Newton permitting it will then get you there

Bad impact of ESP is that if you go for it and get a bit of wheelspin whilst driving off it will still cut power a fair bit, takes a while for it to realise you've got grip again. ASR is the cheaper version which cuts power even more & more annoyingly IMHO - and that 'just' cuts power, it doesnt try to keep you pointed in the right direction

I work for a dealer, do you trust me?

sure, I trust a fella who works for Skoda who drives a Nissan:D.

jokes aside, I've had some grief off other manufacturers dealerships in the past so find it difficult to trust again.

Maybe Skoda ca turn my judgement

sure' date=' I trust a fella who works for Skoda who drives a Nissan:D.

[/quote']

Not for long (and I have had three Skodas). Also work for mainly VW now

If the light is on, ESP is off. I have it on mine and boy does it corner:thumbup:

If the light is on, ESP is off. I have it on mine and boy does it corner:thumbup:

it's not a performance option you know....it's a safety option. or were you taking the pith?

I have ESP and have "played" a little doing various low speed maneuvers in the Winter months on deserted roads. You don't notice the ESP activating (except the dash light flashing) as the power is not cut, the car just drives in the direction where you are steering it! I'm sure this will become part of the standard equipment on vehicles in years to come. I believe it works by applying the brake to individual wheels in order to maintain stability and direction, clever stuff.

You should see the programming on the new octavia stuff that not only controls the brakes it also contols the PAS. Makes it very difficult to steer in the wrong direction in the event of a slide.

in the wet drive on a very large open carpark at about 30 and turn the steering as far and quick in either direction as possible with it on and off. very clever thing is ESP.

in my octavia i could do this and all it would do is carry along the road without even the slightest notion of crashing

don't do it on busy public roads though

Apologies if someone has posted this before (I did search but can never get vBulletin search to work for me). :(

What Car are currently campaigning for ESP to be a standard fit on new cars, and they've got an interesting video here showing various readers driving a course with and without ESP.

I was quite impressed..

I was impressed with a demo of ESP at around 130 mph in an Octy 2 vRS on the Bedford Autodrome, yee ha.

http://www.euroncap.com/content/safety_ratings/recommendation.php

a couple of good videos. Rather impressive. That's why I got it in mine. On a roundabout with it on, I can floor the throttle and the car just hauls itself round in circles as fast as it safely can, while you get a proper stink of turanza.

ESP is great, but those drivers in the videos don't look very competent. Oversell?

I have recently discovered this formula.

ESP + Jabba Rear ARB + Toyo Proxes t1-r's + 312's = Safe Car

ESP is great, but those drivers in the videos don't look very competent. Oversell?

i don't think so myself, ESP really is an amazing thing

It is fair enough what esp does and if was not so expensive i would have chosen it as an option however prefering the bright sprint yellow paint which costs £300 over it.

The tests are pretty conclusive about the benefits of ESP and how well it works but they only show a car with it turned on and one with it turned off. Nowhere have I seen anybody comparing a car with ESP compared to one with standard traction control.

WW_VRS tested it on the fabia and it is brilliant it works but what surely needs to be tested to prove the extra safety of ESP over the standard ASR is to compare an esp fitted car to a car with asr turned on as when esp is turned off it makes it worse than a car with asr so by no means is fully concusive over the extra expense.

I would volunteer but dont have car yet, maybe 2 people (one with esp and one without) close to eachother should get together (Private land of course) and try it out. Would be good to see esp benchmarked in this way rather than how it has been so far.

If any of that makes sense lol

Carl

ASR would have made zero difference in the tests shown in that video as the car was suffering with lift-off oversteer and no amount of traction control will ever stop that.

ASR and ESP are totally different things, ASR is a basic system which tries to eliminat or reduce wheel spin, ESP helps keep the car going in the direction you are trying to go. they are not comparable really in my opinion

Indeed - ASR = in case of the Fabia vRS in particular a poor attempt at stopping wheelspin which really only works in 2nd/3rd and higher, in the wet.

You will get wheelspin in 1st, 2nd and 3rd (with remap) in the wet with ESP and/or ASR enabled if you overdo it as the ASR only reduces power a bit.

If you hit a puddle of water whilst going round a bend at a reasonable pace (not talking 70 round a bend you can do at 40 mph here), ASR would not even get involved. ESP on the other hand would probably get you round without too much fuss - sure you'd notice the hit of puddle but it tends to pull the car round where you're pointing.

The real convincing thing for me though is that it doesn't interfere unless it's needed. A bit like ABS, it's a feature that sits dorment but is actively monitoring all the time. Does it make the car safer if you drive in good conditions like you 'ought to' on the public road? Nope. Does it make the car safer during unexpected or surprise conditions/happenings like a car spinning out in front of you? Absolutely yes.

Worth the money? For me, yes, for someone else, maybe no - that's a choice