Whats the difference? - TC & ESP

[TonyR999]

Whats the difference between Traction Control (TC) & Electronic Stability Programme (ESP)?, having read my Owners Manual the information is identical for both, including pictorams. I have ordered the ESP switch from Vauxhalls so i am thinking it will do the same job as the TC switch.

Just curious is all

Cheers

[Duncan]

The ESP switch is the same as the TC switch. Vx parts software describes it as ESP switch, but they are one and the same - has the same icon on it and all it does is turn off the TC/ESP - dependant on which system is in the car.

TC simply kills the power to the front wheels if the car detects they are spinning. ESP adds the extra feature of monitoring the front and rear of the car, comparing their respective directions of travel going into a bend with the input received through the steering wheel. If the car starts to slide, corrective braking is applied to all four wheels independently of each other, compensating for the understeer/oversteer and helping you regain control more quickly.

D

[ed taylor]

Traction control stops the wheels from spinning, Electronic sability control, sort of stops the back end from slidding out if you are cornering to fast, there is a thing on the steering called a jaw sensor and it some how knows if the rear wheel are not in line when they should be, if the car is slidding the back end out then the ESP will apply thr brake/brakes to the relivent wheels to help you to keep the car straight. I hope this makes sence to you.

[ed taylor]

Duncan.... you are faster than me on the keyboard................

[Duncan]

[TonyR999]

Cheers for the info, if it dont work on my veccy, at least i'll have a nice button with a light on it, however i tried my car to see if the tc thing work and lo and behold the orange warning light lit up so i am taking it it has tc...oh and the socket is there also behind the blank panel,


Oh and by the way, i had to tell the guy at Vauxhalls what part number for the switch was of which i got from this forum...keep up the excellent work chaps

[Bainie]

ESP is great ... If you came off a dual carriageway at 80ish and didn`t realise you were going that speed, the ESP will square the car up on the corner to the flyover

[CPHB]

Every Vec in Sweden have ESP+ as standard

[Inspektor]

ESP is great ... If you came off a dual carriageway at 80ish and didn`t realise you were going that speed, the ESP will square the car up on the corner to the flyover

Sounds like a brown pants moment?

[stevedee3]

Both systems are designed to maintain the driver's control over the vehicle.

ABS (anti-lock brake system) is designed to stop the wheels locking up while braking, therefore maintaining the driver's control over the steering.

TC (traction control) is designed to prevent wheel slip under acceleration. I believe the original name, ASR (acceleration skid regulation), is probably more meaningful. TC has two strategies

1. It can apply the brakes to a noe or both driven wheels if they're rotating too rapidly
2. If this is not enough to bring the car under control, it can reduce the engine output

Note that the first intervention is via the brakes, since this form of response is faster.

ESP (electronic stability control) is designed to maintain the steering of the car. The yaw rate sensor (jaw?!) measures how fast the car is rotating about its vertical axis. By comparing this to the angle of the steering wheel, the system can determine whether the car is following the course that the driver wanted. If a difference is detected, the system can brake up to three wheels to try to correct an over or understeer condition. As with TC, this can also reduce the engine power if necessary. On auto transmission cars, I think it will also prevent the transmission from changing gears during ESP intervention (makes the car easier to regulate).

I've read somewhere that the ESP disable switch just disables the engine torque reduction, but I think that was in the context of a Mercedes Benz ESP system. I'm not sure whether that applies to Vectras.

Hope this helps.