ESP button.

I was wondering about this, am i correct in thinking that with the ESP button ON (light on the dash board) it puts more power to the front wheels? When the ESP is off (no light on dash) its less power.. also is this called traction control? I was reading another thread and got confuzed! I have never had a car with such buttons before hand haha!
 
Yep traction control
If one wheel spins the power transferred to one that's not
 
it doesnt change the power output of the engine.

it just controls the loss of traction. It doesnt transfer any power, thats what a limited slip differential does.

It closes the throttle slightly until traction is regained.
 
esp - electronic stabiltiy programme - works in extremes to stop you from spinning - does this by braking individual wheels to control the car

as said traction control stops excessive wheel spin - like from a standing start or exiting a tight corner - does it by reducing throttle opening/fuelling/spark

197 also has "understeer" control as well which is iirc bit like esp/tc combined...
 
It's not that intrusive on the Clio anyway really.

Easiest way to feel what it does is to launch the car with the TC/ESP on and then launch it with the ESP off. With it turned on, the car may feel likes it's bogged down for a second before shooting off, this is the TC/ESP retarding the throttle to prevent wheelspin. With it turned off, you don't get this bogging but you will get more wheelspin and if you manage it correctly you can get a much more aggressive launch.

Like Foxspeed has said, the one really clever thing ESP does is brake wheels individually to regain grip/bearing if it senses that you're in a spin or about to go into a spin. No human in the world can brake the wheels on a car individually. It's a very clever system. I wouldn't recomend pushing the car to the point of feeling it in that way unless you've got a lot of space to play in. :smiley:
 
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I was going to add don't bother turning it off. Not on the road anyway. It's hardly intrusive and if you're getting it flashing up often then i'd suggest you're driving too fast or not particually smoothly (for the road!)

It's a VERY good safety feature.
 
I always turn it off every time I get in the car. I was informed that in the event of a big off it would still cut in.

I guess I'm an old fashioned driver, I dont like the car deciding when to cut traction, thats what my finely honed right foot is for.
 
I turn it off too! Helps if you try to pull away quick from an exit or roundabout as it doesn't bog down :smile:

The clio barely spins a wheel in the dry or wet unless you drive it too hard in the rain so I always have mine off don't want it getting in the way lol.
 
I always turn it off every time I get in the car. I was informed that in the event of a big off it would still cut in.

I guess I'm an old fashioned driver, I dont like the car deciding when to cut traction, thats what my finely honed right foot is for.

Yea it does I tried it just out of query the other day but you can turn it off full think I held it down for a good while lol
 
I'm sure it doesn't cut back in if you switch it off!

I agree it's nice to have FULL control, but if it comes to the point of having to take some proper avoiding action, specially in the wet i'd rather have it on than off.
 
The Clio has 3 systems iirc, ABS, Traction Control and Stability Control, turning the button off does not affect the ABS or turn off the Stability control fully.

The ABS will always kick in if you need to brake and take avoiding action and if your ever in a situation where you need to rely on the stability control your pretty screwed anyway.
 
I could feel all the electronics doing their stuff at mallory the other week, coming out of the devils elbow it was doing it the most.

Did'nt feel intrusive but it works faster than i can react so i leave it on, it was also helping around gerrards, one of the longest corners in the UK (trackwise) and several times i felt i could have gone around the outside of the car in front, it definatly made me faster than most things around that one. *

*Sorry if i sound like A2ON there. :rofl:
 
The Clio has 3 systems iirc, ABS, Traction Control and Stability Control, turning the button off does not affect the ABS or turn off the Stability control fully.

The ABS will always kick in if you need to brake and take avoiding action and if your ever in a situation where you need to rely on the stability control your pretty screwed anyway.

abs cannot be turned off - unless you pull the fuse

all the systems use the wheel speed sensors for data gathering - esp uses the steering wheel angle sensor and a iirc yaw sensor to calculate when to "catch" a "bad moment"....

an emergency lane change or swerve round an object is the main reason for esp and its abilty to catch the "tank slapper" - unless you have the reflexes of a cat it should be left on...
 
esp from the book -

This system helps to keep control of
the vehicle in critical driving situations
(avoiding an obstacle, loss of grip when
cornering, etc.) and works in conjunction

with the understeer control system.

Operating principle
A sensor in the steering wheel detects
the direction selected by the driver.
Other sensors throughout the vehicle
measure the actual direction.
The system compares the direction selected
by the driver and the actual direction
of the vehicle and corrects this
as necessary by applying the brakes
selectively and/or acting on the engine

power.

When the function begins to operate,


warning light
A flashes to warn you.
If the warning light comes on accompanied
by the message “ASR/ESP deactivated”
when the engine is started,
slowly turn the steering wheel from lock
to lock to reinitialise the system.
Depending on the vehicle, under
sudden deceleration when ESP is activated,
the hazard warning lights may
come on automatically.

Understeer control
This system optimises the action of the
ESP in the case of pronounced understeering

(loss of front axle road holding).

Disabling the function​
The function is deactivated by pressing
switch​
1; warning light A will come on to
warn you that the system has been deactivated.
This will also deactivate traction
control, and the message “ASR/
ESP deactivated” will be displayed on
the instrument panel. Refer to the information
on “Traction control” in the following

pages.

 
traction control (asr) from the book -

This system helps to limit wheelspin
of the drive wheels and to control the​
vehicle when pulling away or accelerating.

Operating principle​
Using the wheel sensors, the system
measures and compares the speed of
the drive wheels at all times and slows
down their over-rotation.
If a wheel is starting to slip, the system
brakes automatically until the drive supplied
becomes compatible with the level​
of grip under the wheel again.

The system also adjusts the engine
speed to the grip available under the
wheels, independently of the pressure
exerted on the accelerator pedal.
When the function begins to operate,​
warning light
A flashes to warn you.

Disabling the function​
In some situations (driving on very wet
ground: snow, mud, etc. or driving with
snow chains fitted), the system may
reduce the engine output to limit wheelspin.
If this is not required, it is possible
to deactivate the function by pressing
switch​
1.
The message “ASR/ESP deactivated”
appears on the instrument panel to warn

you, together with warning light
A.

Disabling the function also disables the
ESP function.
Correct this as soon as possible by
pressing switch​
1 again.
The ASR traction control is automatically
reactivated when the vehicle ignition

is switched on.


 
I've only felt the ESP kick in once, that was in my 197 on a wet island and it went a bit sideways, the car corrected it nicely, felt super controlled and gave me confidence, not only in the car's abilities, but in the effectiveness of ESP. Not that keen on TC, I think it cuts in a bit too much sometimes, but both the Clio and my Mazda seem to have the set up right, it allows a little, before backing the throttle off and applying the brakes.