abwc

Test this and see what you find:

1. Sport Mode ON

2. Wind-out gears 1, 2, and 3, shifting patiently, with a pause between gears that is long enough to allow the RPMs to fall into the sweetspot of the next gear

3. Sport Mode OFF

4. Wind-out gears 1, 2, and 3, shifting patiently, with a pause between gears that is long enough to allow the RPMs to fall into the sweetspot of the next gear

5. Do you notice a difference in the length of the pause required between gears, in conditions #2 and #4 ?

6. If you have a valved Milltek cat-back system, are you able to compare this to a friend with the factory exhaust ?

7. If you have downpipes, too, are you able to compare this to a friend with the factory exhaust, and <gasp> another friend who has the cat-back Milltek ?

RS4SPKS

Yes, with S button on, must keep foot on throttle / speed shift, with S button off, lift slightly...

McGyver

I never have and never will drive with Sport Mode off. . .

abwc

That's what started this thread... I <gasp> FORGOT to turn on Sport Mode and DROVE THAT WAY FOR OVER 100 MILES !

At first I thought it was altitude, but when I then noticed that Sport was off, I knew that must have been it.

McGyver

you didn't attempt to impress anyone with a throttle punch/exhaust note. . . I forgot once as well. I need a checklist: Sport Mode On, ESP Off, V-1 on, oil temp 160+, etc...

abwc

In my case: SNOW = ESP OFF; DRY = ESP ON

McGyver

That is, you would prefer to have the stability control working ("on") during the snow. When you actually push the ESP button and illuminate the icon, the ESP is actually "off." So, we're probably saying the same thing.

I sure don't miss those winters (I grew up in a Chicago suburb). Be safe!

abwc

I like to keep my skills sharp, both for the fun of it and for the safety of it; in an emergency situation you HAVE to know what the car will do.

So in the Winter, whenever the thresholds of traction are reduced, that's an opportunity to practice car control at the limit, without having to resort to huge forces and speeds.

I find absolutely zero pleasure and zero help from ESP in the snow. I know enough about where the limit is to keep from getting into the kind of trouble only ESP could get you out of.

But even then, I'm not sure my brain works the ESP needs it to in order to be truly effective. ESP helps people get out of trouble by making it possible to do the impossible: massive steering inputs that would otherwise upset the car are forgiven, inapropriate throttle applications are forgiven, and unwise braking applications are forgiven. My brain is trained to just KNOW that these maneuvers are impossible, so in a truly desperate situation on slippy road, I'm not sure my brain would allow me to break the 'rules' and take advantage of ESP.

Which brings up a great point: in an emergency situation, you HAVE to know what the car will do, and in the case of ESP, that means knowing what will happen if you break all the rules and just react like an untrained driver.

I have not done enough of this.

Although they are fewer in number and lower in probability, there ARE situations where a pro is going to benefit from ESP's help.

In the dry, however, forces are much greater and things can happen much faster, with less time to predict and react, so unless I am on a racetrack, ESP stays alert and watching.

McGyver

Good points.