rally

Based upon the way I like to drive in snow the S6 was virtually undrivable with the ESP on.
Once it was turned off the car was a just what I had hoped it would be.

The other day while taking my favorite interstate on-ramp the RS6 caused my heart to skip a beat. With ESP on, I attempted to accelerate at my usual clip around a fairly sharp uphill DAMP corner.
The car went straight towards the outside of the corner with the wheel cranked hard right. I had to bring the car to nearly a stop before it would accept the command to turn right. The ESP had taken away my ability to use the power of AWD and make the car turn.

I tried the same thing with the ESP off and the car tracked perfectly. Retarding power or braking a certain corner of the car is a bad idea IMO. I'm a firm believer that more power gives control to a skilled driver in an emergency situation.

I plan on driving with the ESP off from now on.

RS6.com

It's the 85.000 USD button

TheBrit

Personally, I only switch it off when I'm having a really focussed drive, most of the time there's too many distractions going on in my head so I tend to aim for rapid and smooth progress.

But sometimes, you just gotta grab the RS 6 by the scruff of the neck and give it a good hiding, and that's an ESP-off event.

From experience, the RS 6's ESP is later acting than other Audis, and the car is given more leeway to misbehave before being reeled in, but IMHO that sometimes means the intervention has to be heavier-handed because it's been left later.

JP4

with and without ESP on with cold track tires. ESP saved my a?? the first time. The second time on exactly the same corner on the first half lap of a session with track tires that were quite cold the rear end started coming around with ABSOLUTELY no warning at all and not enough track to recover. I ended up in the grass with no damage other than a full dose of humility. The intervention that the ESP initiated the first time it happened was quite late in the process and VERY aggressive. It's quite un-nerving to be trying to turn in one direction and the car insisting you go the other direction but it did keep the car on the track in this case. I obviously have a lot of learning to do with the beast but I'm enjoying every minute of it. And the track is exactly the place to be sorting it all out.

rally....I think you should reconsider your "conclusion" at least under certain conditions.

rally

and render the car useless for control with the throttle until I lift off. I will probably switch ESP off when I'm feeling antsy. I don't trust the car with ESP on in an emergency situation anymore.

So much for AWD if it's not available when you need it.

rally

I must have total control over the power. If the throttle goes dead when I need the power most the car is useless to me. With ESP off I can live with the inconvienence of the DBW characteristics.
I need power to rotate the car into the position it needs to be. No power=no control IMO.

Obviously I'm not trying to speak for everyone.

Dr.Aronis

This topic is something Audi should take note of. If there is any truth to it, perhaps they can adjust the behavior of the ESP.

I have to agree overall. I drove an A6 4.2 for two winters before getting my RS 6. I turned off the ESP on the A6 more than once to feel the difference, and there is. It is true that to use the real capability of the full-time all-wheel drive, you need to use engine power to help pull around a corner. It is also true that with all-wheel drive or even four-wheel drive, when you start to skid, adding more power can actually straighten out the car!

But for most driving, I think the ESP (traction control by a different name) helps you more than it hurts.

I have been driving the RS 6 with the ESP off on the snow to get a feel for it. But still getting a feel for the car to drive very hard on the snow.

TheBrit

without it intervening, if you're quick enough to get the car back into shape before it steps in. The best way to unsettle it seems ot be a brief stab on the brakes through a sharp corner (I know it's a bit of a silly thing to do, but I like to experiment).

Perhaps your ESP is overzealous for some reason? Dodgy ABS sensor reading from one of the wheels? Does ABS seem a bit trigger happy as well?

Don't you have some rallying experience, IIRC (it would make sense of your screenname anyway)? That's probably why you're better placed to drive without ESP and still stay on the tarmac. The rest of us are just untrained monkeys with loud cars...

lemieux@curbside

i agree with u too . i like it that way also.

rally

The ABS has not reared it's ugly head yet.
I'm going to play around with it since my foray into ESP land has been quite minimal. I don't think there is anything wrong with the ESP as it does not come on in normal driving or at least spirited driving in the dry.

I do have alot of rally/racing experience and I'm trained to use the throttle in reacting to emergency situations. It frustrates me that I can't make the car perform like I want it too without having to disable the electronics.

Once the car started heading towards the outside of the corner I should have been able to apply power and bring the *** end around to get it pointed in the right direction. I tried and got nothing but dead throttle pedal and a car sliding towards the edge of the road.

I tried a similiar maneuver with ESP off and the car tracked right through the corner under power with short bursts of individual wheelspin. Just what I expected and wanted. AWD at it's best.

I'm going to do more research on ESP and make a decision at that point whether or not it should be switched on in normal driving.