Acs.. Someone Explain Please

[sm1th]

If I turn ASC on.. then the light is on and it is activated permanently.. which is fine.. however, if I don't turn it on and I start to slip it comes on anyway.. so what is the point of having a switch if it kicks in anyway??

[Q_BMW]

hey dude
i think as far as i can understand u got the concept wrong....when the light is off (orange one) it means ASC is on....so when u put the light on u are turnin off ASC.......the other side is when the light is off which means ASC is on....if you loose traction and the tires slip....then the ASC light blinks indicating to u the the tires are losing traction....
i think i am right........hopefully someone can correct me if i am wrong

Q

[Relevart]

Q is correct.

Blinking ASC light is the warning to the driver, that tires are loosing traction and ASC is doing it's job to keep car stable.

[billB]

Everybody is right. However the switch comes in handy say when you back out of your driveway in winter the car start slipping; then you can press the button (lights on) to cancel the ASC which in turn gives your tires faster spinning power.

Note: When ASC is engaged (light off) it does cut down the power through throttle body to your engine; that is ONLY when you loose traction.
regards
billb

[sm1th]

thanks guys.. that makes sense to me now.. another question though.. is it ok just to leave it off all the time?? and if so.. does anyone just leave it off?? thx

[billB]

sm1th:
I see you just joined the forum so: WELCOME TO OUR forum; and enjoy also you may want to consider Following BMW recommendations on that one; you can find it in the manual.

Note: BMW ASC systems is designed with your safety in mind..why alter it?
regards
billb

[sm1th]

Originally posted by billB@Nov 14 2004, 09:18 PM
sm1th:
I see you just joined the forum so: WELCOME TO OUR forum; and enjoy also you may want to consider Following BMW recommendations on that one; you can find it in the manual.

Note: BMW ASC systems is designed with your safety in mind..why alter it?
regards
billb

[snapback]230958[/snapback]

Good point Bill.. I don't know about you or others.. but I hate ABS and I just drove in the snow for the first time today with the car.. and I didn't like the ASC either.. maybe it is just something I will have to get use to..

[Relevart]

I have only two reasons to turn ASC or DSC off:
In fresh snow or on ice on up hill...
The other reason would be when one is showing off fun of RWD on slippery parking lot.
But I would never ever turn it off on city streets and highway even during rain, unless scuicidal...

[rsn48]

You might find you want to turn off the traction control on a long uphill in the snow or you'll never get to the top. The system keeps re-routing power and reducing it the wheel not spinning and eventually you have no power going up the hill. I took my son up a mountain to a ski hill and he had a blast driving in it with the 330xi, but at one point with all the "traction" control, he had no power left, so we just turned it off for 20 seconds and put it back on and we were good to go for more fun.

[Specialblend96]

When the ASC light is on it's because ASC is off.
When the light is off it means ASC is working.
When the ASC light is blinking it means ASC is working to keep your car from slipping/loosing control.
Although the switch is used for more controlled traction in certain snow conditions there is another important reason for the switch...being able to drive your BMW and be able to slide around turns and drift, like on courses or in autocross. I have a 03' 330ci and it has the newer DCS system, it is also supplemented by ABC (adaptive braking control). So even if the DSC is off, the braking conrtol is on, and ABC on the other hand doesn't let you know when it's working. But...you can turn off both systems by holding down the DSC button for about 5-10 seconds where the DSC and ABC lights will turn on. This puts all the skill with the driver. I say this because it's possible your ASC activates itself because it's not fully off, try holding the button down and seeing if another system light turns on. If another one does, you can put the systems back on by just pressing the button again or when you shut off your car it will reset for the next start. After being used to ASC or DSC in my case, driving in bad rain, etc...without it itsn't really a good idea (unles you re stuck in like deep, snow etc...) but on a nice, dry drivng day it's fun to be able to drive your BMW hard.