ESP at the track.

[SteveR]

Do you think it slows you down much or at all? If so, do you prefer to disable ASR or to completely disable ESP? (Harrison, I will put you down for "all off")

In my S4, I felt it's system cut power too much on exit and that I could safely drive the car with the ASR off. ESP off was not an option for me, but I doubt I would have tried that anyway.

I have 3 full track days under my belt in my S4, and two days in an R8 at Infineon, so I am still fairly inexperienced. To start I will definitely keep everything on, but may try turning ASR off later if I feel comfortable. I'm assuming the R8 system is less intrusive than the B6 S4 system, so maybe I would be perfectly happy keeping everything on?

[kthacher]

What is ASR? I have one button called "ESP off"

At the track yesterday, I had one corner where I thought the system slowed me down a bit - maybe. However, I went out on the track after it started raining a bit. I had previously spent 2 days at the same track, in pretty much 100% wet conditions. I was very confident about wet track performance.

Well I hit one spot on the track that was especially treacherous yesterday, and I never saw it coming. The back end started swinging out and maybe hit 20 degrees off center before I could even think about reacting. By that time ESP kicked in and corrected. I was thanking my lucky stars that it was not off. Maybe I could have corrected, but then again maybe not. If not, I had a serious spin coming. I don't know for sure what I did to start the process, which makes it scarier. I suspect I applied power too soon after coming out of a turn, without the car having settled properly.

I would need to have a lot more experience, and maybe even expert teaching on recovery techniques before I would ever think about shutting it off. I find the system quite non-intrusive, but then again I am a track newbie - 3 days.

[KfabR8]

The ESP button also controls the ASR programming. If you'll watch the display when you push the fun button (ESP button), it says ASR OFF and then ESP OFF (if I recall that correctly)

ASR is the Anti-Slip Regulation. It keeps you from being able to light up the tires (burn out) or slide the car in corners. It will limit power to a wheel that wants to spin.

ESP is the Electronic Stability Program - it is more of an active setup that will brake a wheel independently of the others to stabilize the car and reduce the chance of the car sliding or becoming out of control. Even with the ESP button pushed (turned off), there is a threshold that can be passed where the ESP says "I'm taking over anyhow."

If you hold down the ESP button for more than 3 seconds, it completely turns off the stability and anti-slip programming. You're on your own now and the car won't help you recover from the dreaded "Oh sh*t" moment.

Check pages 164 & 165 of the manual (at least in the North America 08 manual)

[harrison]

As I mentioned previously-My esp was stuck on OFF .Traction controll stuck on off pos. as well. Mag ride symbol was stuck on also .But the ride seemed softer than mag. Dealer at first thought it was a Mass Airflow Sensor issue. They removed the sprint booster and problem has thus far corrected itself. Had the little booster unit on there for quite some time , too. Car was running stronger than ever when I dropped her off at the dealers. A new dealer for me...McKenna Audi in Norwalk,Ca.

[SteveR]

From the reviews I have read, both the ASR and ESP sound fairly unintrusive in the R8. I don't remember ever feeling it kick in, even during the autocross stuff, when I was at Infineon. However, the other day I gave it maybe 1/2 - 3/4 throttle in a (city street) turn under dry conditions and the system cut the power very noticably. I hate the feeling of hitting a corner just right at the track, only to have the engine cut on exit just because I'm sliding a little. On the other hand, I can do a lot more damage with the throttle in the R8 than I could with the S4, so I appreciate any thoughts from the veterans. kthacher is about where I am experience wise, so based on his words I am hesitant to even turn off ASR.

[stevez]

I find ASR way too intrusive on the track, but haven't been brave enough to turn the lot off yet. ASR just cuts way too much power on the exit of bends.

[Bodhii]

I find ASR way too intrusive on the track,...

Agree 100%. I would say get at least 3 full days of tracking the R8 with good instructors before ever turning this system off. Then go slow and learn the car's new limits gradually. At first, try dropping down a group level at the HPDE, and get your instructor to go with you some more. This way you will not have the extra pressure of other drivers on track pushing you to drive too fast as you learn the R8 without ASR. But turning off the ASR system really does open up the greatness of the R8 on a track, and lets you explore your abilities as a driver.

With the bigger power of the R8 supercharger, the ASR system is like a huge butterfly net that reaches out and completely grabs the car on exiting almost every corner. No fun indeed.

However, I always keep the ASR on when doing normal street driving.