ASR traction control, will it save you?

Simple answer is no. No technology will help when you have crossed the line. However it will help you out of the most basic situations and make you get away with some obvious mistakes. Asr in 360 in normal mode is cutting power to much and to early, in sports mode it´s better.

If you make a big enough mistake you will spin.

 

Agreed. The laws of physics trump electronics every time.

 

No kidding? I didn't know that sport did much of anything for me since I have a manual.
I can feel the suspension firm up a tiny bit, but otherwise didn't know what else it claimed to do. Good to know it changes the charactistics of the ASR.

 

This is a friend of mine at a track, he make a mistake in Sport mode and spins in about 100mph.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i8KFGMACrlM

 

Wow... that could have ended very badly.

On my F430, I used Sport mode (as opposed to Race mode) when I tracked my car and I could feel the electronics doing their job to keep my front-end pointed forward.

 

Big time changes!

The 360 [dunno about the 430] is more or less impossible to drive on the track in "normal" mode [IMHO]. "Sport" mode is *way* less "intrusive", but will still ultimately slow you down. However, I've got to confess I never turn it off completely.....

Cheers,
Ian

 

Haha,I would blame those damn windmills for the spinout.

 

I never use any of those things, in fact they are disconnected in any car my shop can find a way to do it in. I do not do it because I think I am a great driver, I do it because when I learned to drive, there was no such thing and I do like the feeling of not have full control of my car. Whenever I buy a new car I take over to a communter parking lot ( I have been using the same lot for years it is long and wide River Road in Lafayette Hill for you PA folks), and I let the car loose. Since there is no track near me I have to make my own, I ever bring some cones with me. I learn how the car responds and how to keep it in line. When I bought the Gallardo, I could not wait to turn it into rwd, awd really does destroy the feel of a sports car.

 

Accelerate to early to hard out of a turn, you can´t loose it in sports mode unless you have cold tyres or it´s wet.

 

Imo that is not a very good thing to do . At a track it does make sense, in traffic it´s dangerous. Think of leaked oil, frost you can´t see or the combo of cold tyres and cold rain. A little to heavy on the right foot and you spin into a pole... No matter skill.

 

True, which is why I own a range rover, and a 7 series for those days.

 

In the 612, it will save you if you floor it in the middle of a corner. I did a track day last year and spent much of the time exploring the limits of the traction control-- good stuff to do on the track.

 

Well...since you mentioned Lime Rock, I spun my CS at West Bend (in the spot just after that hill you were referring to - tricky corner at high enough speeds). Tires were warm, but I had just filled up with fuel after running the previous session low. It changed the weight transfer characteristics and I over-corrected for the "slide". No damage, but a bit of drama. I cannot be certain (as I do experiment) , but I do not believe I disabled the ASR with the CS as it was the least obtrusive sysem I have experienced. I have run LR with a 575 (horribly intrusive so I disabled it) and in my GT3RS (you can't fully turn it off, but it is lenient as well. So, I would be in the camp that ASR cannot save you from a bad enough mistake. It can help some as long as you don't find it too unnerving and it throws your concentration off.

YMMV

M

 

I was just at Limerock two days ago with my CS. I drove it in Race mode with ASR on. I never felt the ASR intrude at all.
In my 360 F1 I needed to turn ASR off, but in the CS in Race mode this is really not neccesary.

 

360 ASR is too intrusive and cuts in way too early if you drive anywhere near the limit of the car at track. And it won't save you if you drive beyond the limit of the car such as going into the corner too fast, or lifting on throttle abruptly mid corner. It's only good for limiting power to rear wheels if you're silly with the throttle too early and too aggressively on exit of corner.

360 Challenge race car ASR is slightly less intrusive than a road going 360, but still sucks big time. In racing most experienced drivers always switch off ASR even in the rain. On 430 Challenge the ASR is hugely improved and is actually pretty good, but still not as fast as with it off.

With that said, it's wise to leave the ASR on unless you know what you are doing.

 

I thought when in "Race" mode in a CS the ASR is automatically disabled??

I know when i start my CS in Race mode the ASR lights up on the dash with a line thru it indicating deactivated?

 

Can´t be. You have normal mode, race mode and CST off.

 

what is CST compared to ASR?

 

Sorry meant ASR.

 

+1

Learn more about your car on race track, not on public road

 

I thak that back...
I was at NJMP this weekend and the ASR was quite intrusive there. sometimes cutting the engine, sometimes actually applying the brakes I think as the "Brake" light flashed on. I actually had to checkand make sure the parking brake wasn't on. I ended up just turning ASR off. that's my new track mode.