Stinger Electronic Stability Control System - Beware!

[Ty Davis]

By comparison, notice how the BMW system never really allows the vehicle to exceed the tires available grip. This is my experience with the ABS/Traction Control/Stability Control on my last couple of Bimmers. No matter how hard you drove it, the computers seem to hold the car at peak available Traction. If you hit a slick spot, or accelerated, or cornered, or braked too hard, the computers would kick in. But even when they were actively stabilizing the car, there was never a feeling lost traction or lost momentum. It was effective but not intrusive. That being said, I have noticed that BMW ESC/DSC is very relaxed on controlling understeer. That system waits for you to brake and then uses the Corner Brake Control to rotate the car, eliminating the understeer and causing the car to turn.

Back to the Stinger... There’s certainly room for improvement on the next generation of Stinger, with owners here reporting it’s too intrusive and others finding it very relaxed.

I might may find an empty parking lot and demonstrate just how relaxed mine is at low speed turns at neighborhood/city speeds. The car can literally do a 360 spin with the system on.

 

[Ty Davis]

I'm such a baby driver! I'd never throw my car around like that "for fun". Now, if I knew HOW to do that, I'd probably change my mind. But running over cones would really make me cringe.

Me neither! I don’t track or throw my car around like that. I wouldn’t drive a rental car like that. But I do value this type of test as an indicator of “emergency/accident avoidance” handling, which we may need at any given moment.

Though I don’t drive my car hard, I will take it to it’s traction limits in an empty parking lot to familiarize myself with the way the car behaves. I want/need to know BEFORE an emergency situation arises.

 

[GRStinger]

in my opinion, the AWD Stinger (I assume yours is RWD since you mention spinning the rear) feels "normal" in terms of intrusiveness. I've had situations that have pulled power when I did not want it to. From an enthusiast's perspective, I feel my AWD with TCS off and Stability on is a good compromise for stability while still being able to spin the wheels

Agreed. I also have AWD. For most driving situations, the TC is pretty well tuned. It's less intrusive than other cars with TC that I've owned. In winter driving (plenty of opportunity this year!), it can dump power a bit too much. E.g., pulling from a snowy side-road on to a drier main-road / accelerating with traffic. I often turn TC off and 'feather' the throttle - rather than rely on the TC nanny. BTW - on a snowy, deserted, twisty road with 3-4 inches of new snow - Sport mode with TC-off / SC-on is a blast! So easy to slide the back-end out, steer with the throttle, and still keep the nose between the ditches!

 

[eflyguy]

Very perplexing, indeed. I’ve seen people refer to the system as intrusive. I just assumed those were AWD or non LSD (Limited Slip Differential) models.

I have pushed my '19 AWD hard on streets/mountain roads and in autocross. I even had a discussion with my instructor after an AC run this weekend about how people complain how intrusive the "nanny systems" are. Perhaps I have a unicorn but I have never found them intrusive.

 

[Jonathan]

Car is absolutely tail happy. Wife accelerated on a right turn, on to a service road. I felt like a Mustang leaving a car show.
RIP.

 

[Ty Davis]

Car is absolutely tail happy. Wife accelerated on a right turn, on to a service road. I felt like a Mustang leaving a car show.
RIP.

This is the scenario that caused me to create this thread. If I had a wife or kids driving this car, I would definitely want the stability control to impart a bit more... control.

As enthusiasts, we tend to more prepared and skilled in preventing and controlling slides. But the novice or unsuspecting can surely be caught off guard by (at least some) of these cars.

Do you have a RWD or Awd? LSD or regular diff?

 

[eflyguy]

I don't disagree, but I think this is more a function of the amount of power on-tap, not a deficiency in the TCS..

 

[Ty Davis]

I don't disagree, but I think this is more a function of the amount of power on-tap, not a deficiency in the TCS..

That would be true if we were talking about the ESC off mode.
Yes, then the power would be a factor.
But the whole point of Stability Control is to cut/prevent/lessen excess power and apply select brakes, in order to maintain stability.

High horsepower BMW, Mercedes, and Audi’s, are so tame to drive because the ESC cuts excess power so smoothly, efficiently, and effectively. The Stinger does have a lot of torque, but understand that Stability Control can scale back power output as needed, almost instantly (if programmed to do so).

 

[GRStinger]

Perhaps my favorite video review of the Stinger before I bought the car was 'Petroped' (guy from the UK - funny accent and drives on the wrong side of the road, but hey ). URL - below. His impressions were much the same as mine after I drove it. And, he had good comments about the drive-ability, but having to have "your wits about you" especially in Sport mode. Very salient to this discussion. (I just spun it up again, see starting about 12:20).

 

[MerlintheMad]

Perhaps my favorite video review of the Stinger before I bought the car was 'Petroped' (guy from the UK - funny accent and drives on the wrong side of the road, but hey ). URL - below. His impressions were much the same as mine after I drove it. And, he had good comments about the drive-ability, but having to have "your wits about you" especially in Sport mode. Very salient to this discussion. (I just spun it up again, see starting about 12:20).

16:53 "It's a competent car, they're well made, ,they're well put together; there's no rattles and stuff in here, it feels really solid..." Obviously he got a good one, a competent one; otherwise the review would have taken on an entirely different tone. Thankfully, "noisy" Stingers in the rare minority among reviewers.

 

[Kazz]

I never thought of ESC as stopping the car from being tail happy.

 

[RUFFSTUFF]

Why are we creating a generation of drivers that can't without ESC?

 

[nhcowboy28]

Warning Will Robinson. Danger. Danger.

 

[Ty Davis]

I never thought of ESC as stopping the car from being tail happy.

ESC keeps the car from oversteering by reducing power and/or apply various brakes. This has the effect of keeping the tail inline and preventing slides. So, yes. ESC can make a car less tailhappy.

 

[Doel]

My past cars with traction control had a light on the dash that would come on whenever you lost traction with TC on. Does the Stinger have that? It was raining the other day and I was alone on a nice stretch so I did a test. 2nd gear, full throttle, TC on, I spun the wheels all the way to redline, nothing ever intervened and no lights came on in the dash. I will say the tail kicked a bit but I never felt like I was out of control.

 

[Schpok]

So ESC is there sometimes but you can't say when it kicks in, even if you drive the same Corner 5 times. My experiance.

for the record I'm 24.
First time it kicked out on me, I was accelerating in the corner leading on to the Autobahn. Yes I was way to early on the gas and yes it was wet. I expected my car to do a downshift before it takes off.. well it didn't. I saved it quite good imo but I never turned the wheel that quickly ever in my life.

lately I had a discussion with one of my frindes about ESC. His 2010 MB E350 cut's all the power immediately. I wanted to Show hin my car doesn't do anything. so I floored it (in comfort mode) at 10kmh turned the wheel and did a comlete 180° across all 4 lanes. ESC kicked in when I countersteered .

the only time ESC is on Point, is when one wheels loses contact to the street for a split second

 

[Schpok]

My past cars with traction control had a light on the dash that would come on whenever you lost traction with TC on. Does the Stinger have that? It was raining the other day and I was alone on a nice stretch so I did a test. 2nd gear, full throttle, TC on, I spun the wheels all the way to redline, nothing ever intervened and no lights came on in the dash. I will say the tail kicked a bit but I never felt like I was out of control.

yes of course it does it is right next to the right indicator light, togther with the tracton off Symbol. so if you turn ESC off manually you will see it

 

[Doel]

yes of course it does it is right next to the right indicator light, togther with the tracton off Symbol. so if you turn ESC off manually you will see it

I have that light as well, but it only comes on when I turn traction control off. Are you saying your light turns on when you lose traction with traction control still on?

 

[Schpok]

jap, I'm not 100% sure but I think the light blinks as long as ESC does something

 

[MerlintheMad]

I've seen my traction control indicator flash on when the tires get a bit squirrely. It hasn't happened very often. But that's because I don't drive that way very often.