Like any other controversial subject where we see people debating about an idea, providing facts and arguments to keep it alive and strong, in the automotive world the controversy of traction poses a crisis of taste for drivers. And when I say drivers I mean the creatures that indulge and enjoy driving, not strictly as a mean of displacement from one location to another, but as a pleasurable sport or activity. Some prefer rear wheel traction, some front wheel traction and others all wheel traction.
Traction is the dynamic button of the car; It’s the “GO!” command that gives it motion. And when I specified that the issue is an issue of taste, what I meant is that drivers that discuss this topic are aware that each type of traction has its own parameters and restrictions. So it’s not a scientific or engineering dilemma given that manufacturers have the entire knowledge about the behavior of each of the three mechanisms.
Front wheel traction is characterized by understeering. This means that when you are cornering on a relatively high velocity you will feel the car’s tendency to move laterally towards the outside of the corner and if it slides you will unmistakably feel that your wheels’ lateral movement is violently causing vibration due to an increased friction surface with the road. Oppositely rear wheel traction (or propulsion) is known by oversteering on corners, of course on relative high speeds and depending on the corner angle. The car in this case will experience a tail slide, something that you can use to impress the ladies or can lead you to crash. However, all wheel drive traction mechanism is somewhere in between but tends a little more towards understeering . This summarizes the natural behavior of these three mechanisms.
And because safety comes first, also because some people are not too interested in drifting and slipping, in 1987 Mercedes-Benz and BMW, presented to the automotive industry the ESC (electronic stability control), an invention that Benz says it saved the lives of 1/3 of the drivers occupying the road networks. Briefly it’s an electromechanical system that measures multiple parameters such as velocity of each wheel, the steering angle and the yaw rate( the yaw is the tendency of the car to rotate around its vertical axis) via sensors and apply automatically partial braking on the wheels. In case of oversteering the outer wheels are manipulated by the system and when understeering governs the opposite wheels become for brief moments the property of your beloved ESC. And by time the system developed to reach control over the power delivered by the engine itself.
Different car manufacturers call their stability systems by various names( ESP for Mercedes-Benz, DSC for BMW, VDC for Nissan…)and the key concept is the same . however the compatibility of the system itself with the engine power and the dimensions of the vehicle is what allows us to point at who is better and who is best.
Buckle up for a tour on a sample of dealers and let us put this matter to the test:
Let us take the notorious models among a sample of elite brands. The Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG for example, well it’s a breath-taker if to those speedy folks who thrive for adrenaline but why did Benz bother installing ESP if it will constantly interfere and pushes the driver to turn it off; then the unimaginable happens, you are now ridding an economical sized car with an engine ready to hit Le Mans 24 series! And when it comes to BMW M3 a competitor of the C63 you will somehow get the same result with the DSC activated but the company had a clever differential solution to restrict the tail kick of the car when the DSC is off, a solution that could be implemented back in the 80s. but clearly Mitsubishi Evo x designers had hit the jackpot by their newly improved ASC that works on the rear wheel torque just perfectly which enable the car to corner smoothly as a ballet dancer, thanks to the full package compatibility.
Well I am a huge fan of Benz and BMW, specifically AMG and Mpower! But my opinion is shared by many other drivers and this problem must be fixed in order to enjoy the shearing passion of driving! Build compatible, after all you are not designing muscle cars… and you will end up with pure charming road speedsters with no need of a button called “Stability OFF”.