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ESC off mode

21K views 37 replies 12 participants last post by  Foxy 
#1 ·
Just wondering if anyone else has tried this, and what their experience was? I ran it this way for about a month, after I had put about 1000 miles on.
I ran it this way for about 800 miles, I have since put ESC back on.
 
#2 · (Edited)
I have not. But I gather from this [use of the words 'put ESC back on' opposed to 'let ESC stay on'] , the setting sticks. [?] I just assumed it cleared out after every restart. That's pretty great, if jumping to that conclusion is correct.
 
#3 ·
I've run with it off a handful of times. There is a noticeable difference in the Haldex programming when getting out of a corner on the throttle. You can feel the rear of the car pushing the front. I also noticed that i can get deeper into corners with the ESC off. It's almost like the car is keeping you from going too fast, or getting too close to the limit, when the ESC is on. Shifts at higher RPMs are also quicker. First autocross should be in February, so i'll be able to test the limits more at that time. First track day should be sometime in the spring. It does reset to ESC on every time the car is turned on though. Is there a way to make it stay off?
 
#4 ·
Good question, the first time I did it it stayed on, then it didn't after that, I had to reset it. I like it in ESC off mode, shifts are quicker, as you mentioned, the car "feels" faster.
 
#5 ·
From my experiences with ESC off...
1. Traction control is disabled ( wheels are able to burnout on wet/snow)
I know because it was snowy and i gassed it and the car didn't cut power but rather peeled out until I let off the gas. :)
2. Stability control interference is reduced and activated only when significant stability is lost (aka you can do little drifts and slips, but anything significant and the DSC will kick in to help correct the movement and steer the car using the brakes into the direction that the steering wheel is pointed)

But yes, in this car the Haldex becomes more rear biased and you can feel it when turning and accelerating out of an apex..
I feel that ESC Off is akin to "Full out Polestar mode :p "
 
#10 ·
There is no difference in shifting wile ESC is OFF, see our manual.
There is more power on the rear wheels, and because of that, the car feels more agile while turning.
Drifting on slippery underground is very simple and there is nearly no traction while trying to accelerate even straight ahead.
I tried a view things on a test ground, when I still had the Pilot Super Sport on the car, the underground feels like snow, this is done by a special paint and fllowing water.
Wile trying to start on a 9% steep hill, all 4 wheels are spinning and there is nearly no acceleration, doesn't matter in S or D.
ESC ON makes it easy, to start at the same place and like conditions.
 
#11 ·
Maybe it just "feels" quicker because revs will hold a little longer and there's a little more force shifting. It does not really matter, it is fun.
 
#12 ·
The primary reason I posted this was to see if anyone else had the transmission fail to up shift in ESC off in Sport mode. Under full throttle in S with ESC disabled the car will fail to up shift under certain conditions, it will quickly go into the red, then you have to manually shift with a paddle, unless you want to bury it into the red. I have traded many e-mails with Polestar about this, they have replicated this problem, they know it can happen and wanted me to time how long it stayed in the red before it up shifted. I said no, I am not experimenting with my car, as soon as it hits the red I will manually shift when this happens. Then they advised me to take it to the dealer if I felt there was something wrong with the transmission, what is the dealer going to do? There is nothing "wrong" with the transmission, it simply does not bounce off the rev limiter and up shift in S with ESC off under full throttle in certain conditions.
 
#13 ·
I'm with you on this one. Regardless, it has to go to the dealer.

I have not had this happen, however, I have not run aggressively in S with ESC off without being in manual mode. I prefer manual in S. But I do agree that is a programming problem.
 
#14 ·
After cleaning 01 up after the rains this week I experimented with the ESC. I selected ESC in the my car menu and it was always was on. Deselected ESC and it all ways off. I have been running with it off from the second or third day I had the car. I will more than likely run ESC the first rain of the season.
 
#24 ·
Yea, checking the 'off box' equals ESC Off. A bit confusing as it's turning on a negative.
 
#27 ·
Ya, that is the truth; even with my car from 1998.

I guess the difference is my other cars all have a dedicated button to deactivate traction control. Something about having to traverse a menu, plus the addition of the words associated with the selection, makes it seem more 'confusing' than when pressing the dedicated button devoted to the action of disabling traction ctrl.

I know it is -not- different, or more confusing ... but it just seems so because you are left questioning yourself about what you are doing, in and effort to make sure you read the option correctly.

... at least that's what it was for me the 1st one or two times. ...after that, I didn't even think about it.
 
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