Shopping on line can be easy, simple and save you lots of money. It can also take a lot of your time, frustrate you, and result in unwanted purchases. Now the same can be said for regular high street shopping, but with the vast opportunity presented by the Internet it will pay you to spend a few minutes reading this and understanding how to better optimize your Electronic Stability Control shopping experience:

1. Compare - without doubt the biggest advantage that the Electronic Stability Control offers shoppers today is the ability to compare thousands of Electronic Stability Control at a time. This is a great thing, but not necessarily all the time! Too much can be daunting at times so take advantage of the great comparison sites and where possible let them do the hard work for you.

2. Research - if it has been said it will be on the internet. Ignorance is no longer a justifiable reason for buying the wrong thing. Take the time to research in detail everything that you could possible want to know about

3. Testimonials - don't know anybody that has bought a Electronic Stability Control? Wrong! If the Electronic Stability Control is good the internet will let you know. Use the Internet as a friend and get testimonials before you buy.

4. Questions - Got a question about Electronic Stability Control then search the Forums, FAQ's, Blogs etc. Don't be afraid to ask .....

5. Reputation - Never heard of the company selling Electronic Stability Control? Don't worry, no reason why you should know every company in the world, but you know someone that does! Use the internet to find out what people are saying about Electronic Stability Control and build up a picture of their reputation for sales, returns, customer service, delivery etc.

6. Returns - still worried that even after all of the above your Electronic Stability Control wont be what you want? Check out the returns policy. There is so much competition now that someone, somewhere is bound to offer the terms that you are comfortable with.

7. Feedback - happy with your Electronic Stability Control then let people know, after all you are depending on others people input in your buying decision, so why not give a little back.

8. Security - check for the yellow padlock on the Electronic Stability Control site before you buy, and the s after http:/ /i.e. https:// = a secure site

9. Contact - got a question about Electronic Stability Control, or want to leave a comment then check out the sites contact page. Reputable companies have them and respond.

10. Payment - ready to pay for your Electronic Stability Control, then use your credit card or PayPal! Be aware of companies that don't accept them, there may be genuine reasons but given the huge amount of choice you have when buying online there is no reason at all not to buy via credit card or PayPal.

Electronic Stability Control (ESC) is the generic term for systems designed to improve a car handling, particularly at the limits where the driver might lose control of the vehicle.

Robert Bosch GmbH and Mercedes Benz co-developed the first ESC system called Elektronisches Stabilitätsprogramm (ESP®) that was used by Mercedes-Benz in their flagship Mercedes-Benz S-Class. Mercedes Benz licensed this for use to other car manufacturers at no cost, including BMW with their BMW 7 Series in 1995. ESP first came to general notice when the original Mercedes-Benz A-Class (without ESC) failed the moose test (sudden swerving to avoid an obstacle); since Mercedes-Benz has built their reputation on safety, they did not want to be seen to be marketing unsafe vehicles, so at great expense every A-Class was retrofitted with ESC. Mercedes-Benz also became the first manufacturer to make ESC standard across its model range in 1999, with BMW following suit in 2000.

ESP was introduced to the mass market by Mercedes-Benz/Bosch, Continental Automotive Systems, Delphi (auto parts) and TRW Automotive Holdings, usually under the broader name of Electronic Stability Control, which is the more common term recognized by the Society of Automotive Engineers, although individual car manufacturers use a range of different marketing names (see below).

Operation ESC compares the driver's intended direction in steering and braking inputs, to the vehicle's response, via lateral acceleration, rotation (yaw) and individual wheel speeds. ESC then brakes individual front or rear wheels and/or reduces excess engine power as needed to help correct understeer (plowing) or oversteer (fishtailing). ESC also integrates all-speed traction control, which senses drive-wheel slip under acceleration and individually brakes the slipping wheel or wheels, and/or reduces excess engine power, until control is regained. ESC cannot override a car's physical limits. If a driver pushes the possibilities of the car's chassis and ESC too far, ESC cannot prevent a crash. It is a tool to help the driver maintain control.

ESC combines anti-lock brakes, traction control and yaw control (yaw is rotation around the vertical axis).

Effectiveness Numerous international studies have confirmed the effectiveness of ESC in helping the driver maintain control of the car, help save lives and reduce the severity of crashes. In the fall of 2004 in the U.S., the National Highway and Traffic Safety Administration confirmed the international studies, releasing results of a field study in the U.S. of ESC effectiveness. NHTSA concluded that ESC reduces crashes by 35%. Additionally, sport utility vehicles with stability control are involved in 67 percent fewer accidents than SUVs without the system. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) later issued its own study that concluded the widespread application of ESC could save 7,000 lives a year. In June 2006, the IIHS updated the results of its 2004 study by stating that up to 10,000 fatal crashes could be avoided annually if all vehicles were equipped with ESC. Now being used by other manufacturers, stability control systems reduce the likelihood of all fatal accidents by 43 percent and fatal single-vehicle crashes by 56 percent, according to another accident study by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS). That makes ESC the greatest safety equipment development since seat belts and air bags, according to some experts. The European New Car Assessment Program (EuroNCAP) "strongly recommends" that people buy cars fitted with stability control. On November 21, 2006 the IIHS announced that 13 of the 2007 vehicles had earned its TOP SAFETY PICK rating---a major new requirement for this top rating is that the vehicle must be equipped with ESC.

Cost According to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration research, Vehicle costs are estimated to be United States dollar368 (in 2005) for anti-lock brakes (ABS) and an additional US$111 for electronic stability control for a total system cost of US$479 per vehicle.

The main additional components of the ESC system in comparison to an Anti-lock braking system system include Yaw Rate/Lateral Acceleration Sensors, a Steering Wheel Sensor, and an upgraded Integrated Control Unit.

Criticism Some people contend (backed up by the theory of risk compensation) that the perception of safety conferred by the ESC will encourage more dangerous driving. The Partnership for Safe Driving is among those concerned that ESC is just the latest example of a long and ultimately unsuccessful campaign, in the U.S. and abroad, to make cars that are capable of compensating for dangerous driving behavior. The Partnership believes that if no corresponding effort is made to deter speeding, aggressive, distracted and drowsy driving, this technology will not live up to its promise and may, in fact, encourage even more dangerous driving behavior. This theory has been mocked since most road users do not understand these systems and hence just drive as they normally would. The theory has also been dismissed by many due to the fact that statistics from manufacturer's such as ESC pioneers, Mercedes Benz, clearly show the decrease in road accidents after the introduction of the technology.

Some driving enthusiasts object to some of the implementations of ESC. They contend that by making it impossible to explore the dynamic behavior of their cars, overzealous ESC systems spoil much of the fun of driving. Consequently, some manufacturers allow drivers to disable ESC systems, and/or use ESC systems that allow greater levels of under or oversteer before it intervenes. Some even provide a setting so the user can choose whether the system will intervene earlier or later stage. Enthusiasts have also begun to modify ESC systems to suit their preferred driving styles.

It has also been argued that ESC is being used as a "catch all" for poorly designed cars, whereby the basic mechanical handling of a car is unstable and ESC is used to compensate for the problem. However, except in the case of low-end economy cars, and the Mercedes A class, this argument is largely without merit, as high-end performance and/or safety oriented brands like BMW, Ferrari, Mercedes, and Volvo were among the first to adopt ESC.

Another point of critique is that in the case of very dangerous drivers, the car will be able to be pushed further (and faster) before the limits of the vehicle and ESC are reached, meaning that should the vehicle become "out of control" this will happen at higher speeds, leading to more severe crashes. Realistically this scenario is not possible under the ESC program because ESC only controls power delivery and braking and does not increase the physical traction limit of the vehicle. Therefore the vehicle cannot be pushed faster through a corner than is otherwise capable by a skilled driver also approaching the traction limit. The implementation of the ESC program will only control a number of variables including braking, throttle opening and/or injector pulse or ignition timing to reduce power to the road thereby preventing a driver from approaching and surpassing the physical traction limits of the vehicle.

In the event that the vehicle is out of Wheel alignment, has dissimilar sized left/right tires fitted, or has a tire with low enough air pressure to affect the steering wheel angle, the yaw rate sensor would conflict with the steering wheel sensor. If this were the case, the vehicle's Engine Control Unit may interpret the driver's actions as trying to turn the vehicle, rather than compensation for a mechanical problem. However, ECU programmers are familiar with this type of issue, and use cross-correlation between sensors to identify problems.

Overall, ESC systems have resulted in a marked drop in accident rates, overriding most arguments against its implementation.

Perhaps the harshest criticism of ESC systems has been the reluctance by some manufacturers to fit it as standard across all of their models. Specifically, some manufacturers have restricted its fitment to higher specification model variants as a means of encouraging buyers to purchase them, at greater cost. Given the effectiveness of ESC in reducing crashes and saving lives, some safety advocates have accused manufacturers who have offered ESC on their models in this way of cynical marketing.

Design and selection of components The ESC-system uses several sensors in order to determine the state the driver wants the vehicle to be in (driver demand). Other sensors indicate the actual state of the vehicle (vehicle response). The control-algorithm compares both states and decides, when necessary, to adjust the dynamic state of the vehicle.

The sensors used for ESC have to send data at all time in order to detect possible defects as soon as possible. They have to be resistant to possible forms of interference (rain, holes in the road, etc.). Most important sensors are :

ESC uses an hydraulic modulator to assure that each wheel receives the correct brake force. A similar modulator is used in w:ABS. ABS needs to reduce pressure during braking, only. ESP additionally needs to increase pressure in certain situations.

The heart of the ESC-system is the w:Electronic_control_unit. The diverse control techniques are embedded in it. Often, the same w:Electronic_control_unit is used for diverse systems at the same time (w:ABS, w:Traction control, climate control, etc.).The input signals are sent through the input-circuit to the digital controller. The wanted vehicle state is determined based on the steering wheel angle, its gradient and the wheel speed. Simultaneously, the yaw sensor measures the actual state. The controller computes the needed brake or acceleration force for each wheel and directs via the driver circuits the valves of the hydraulic modulator.Via a w:Controller Area Network the w:Electronic_control_unit is connected with other systems (w:ABS, etc.) in order to avoid giving contradictory commands.

Product names Vehicle manufacturers use electronic stability control systems under different marketing names:

System Manufacturers ESC system manufacturers include:

Future Electronic Stability Control forms the foundation for new advances on vehicle equipment that will save additional lives and give the driver still more control over the vehicle. The computing power of ESC facilitates the networking of active and passive safety systems on the car, creating the opportunity to address still more causes of crashes.

The market for this system is growing at a very robust rate, especially in European countries such as Sweden and Germany. Despite criticism, it is expected that the ESC system will be installed in most vehicles post 2015 in most countries in Europe and also in Japan.

In the US, the NHTSA has recently mandated that ESC be included on every new vehicle by the model year 2012 (September, 2011). The auto industry has widely supported the mandate.

See also

References and External links

Electronic Stability Control (ESC) is the generic term for systems designed to improve a car handling, particularly at the limits where the driver might lose control of the vehicle.

Robert Bosch GmbH and Mercedes Benz co-developed the first ESC system called Elektronisches Stabilitätsprogramm (ESP®) that was used by Mercedes-Benz in their flagship Mercedes-Benz S-Class. Mercedes Benz licensed this for use to other car manufacturers at no cost, including BMW with their BMW 7 Series in 1995. ESP first came to general notice when the original Mercedes-Benz A-Class (without ESC) failed the moose test (sudden swerving to avoid an obstacle); since Mercedes-Benz has built their reputation on safety, they did not want to be seen to be marketing unsafe vehicles, so at great expense every A-Class was retrofitted with ESC. Mercedes-Benz also became the first manufacturer to make ESC standard across its model range in 1999, with BMW following suit in 2000.

ESP was introduced to the mass market by Mercedes-Benz/Bosch, Continental Automotive Systems, Delphi (auto parts) and TRW Automotive Holdings, usually under the broader name of Electronic Stability Control, which is the more common term recognized by the Society of Automotive Engineers, although individual car manufacturers use a range of different marketing names (see below).

Operation ESC compares the driver's intended direction in steering and braking inputs, to the vehicle's response, via lateral acceleration, rotation (yaw) and individual wheel speeds. ESC then brakes individual front or rear wheels and/or reduces excess engine power as needed to help correct understeer (plowing) or oversteer (fishtailing). ESC also integrates all-speed traction control, which senses drive-wheel slip under acceleration and individually brakes the slipping wheel or wheels, and/or reduces excess engine power, until control is regained. ESC cannot override a car's physical limits. If a driver pushes the possibilities of the car's chassis and ESC too far, ESC cannot prevent a crash. It is a tool to help the driver maintain control.

ESC combines anti-lock brakes, traction control and yaw control (yaw is rotation around the vertical axis).

Effectiveness Numerous international studies have confirmed the effectiveness of ESC in helping the driver maintain control of the car, help save lives and reduce the severity of crashes. In the fall of 2004 in the U.S., the National Highway and Traffic Safety Administration confirmed the international studies, releasing results of a field study in the U.S. of ESC effectiveness. NHTSA concluded that ESC reduces crashes by 35%. Additionally, sport utility vehicles with stability control are involved in 67 percent fewer accidents than SUVs without the system. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) later issued its own study that concluded the widespread application of ESC could save 7,000 lives a year. In June 2006, the IIHS updated the results of its 2004 study by stating that up to 10,000 fatal crashes could be avoided annually if all vehicles were equipped with ESC. Now being used by other manufacturers, stability control systems reduce the likelihood of all fatal accidents by 43 percent and fatal single-vehicle crashes by 56 percent, according to another accident study by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS). That makes ESC the greatest safety equipment development since seat belts and air bags, according to some experts. The European New Car Assessment Program (EuroNCAP) "strongly recommends" that people buy cars fitted with stability control. On November 21, 2006 the IIHS announced that 13 of the 2007 vehicles had earned its TOP SAFETY PICK rating---a major new requirement for this top rating is that the vehicle must be equipped with ESC.

Cost According to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration research, Vehicle costs are estimated to be United States dollar368 (in 2005) for anti-lock brakes (ABS) and an additional US$111 for electronic stability control for a total system cost of US$479 per vehicle.

The main additional components of the ESC system in comparison to an Anti-lock braking system system include Yaw Rate/Lateral Acceleration Sensors, a Steering Wheel Sensor, and an upgraded Integrated Control Unit.

Criticism Some people contend (backed up by the theory of risk compensation) that the perception of safety conferred by the ESC will encourage more dangerous driving. The Partnership for Safe Driving is among those concerned that ESC is just the latest example of a long and ultimately unsuccessful campaign, in the U.S. and abroad, to make cars that are capable of compensating for dangerous driving behavior. The Partnership believes that if no corresponding effort is made to deter speeding, aggressive, distracted and drowsy driving, this technology will not live up to its promise and may, in fact, encourage even more dangerous driving behavior. This theory has been mocked since most road users do not understand these systems and hence just drive as they normally would. The theory has also been dismissed by many due to the fact that statistics from manufacturer's such as ESC pioneers, Mercedes Benz, clearly show the decrease in road accidents after the introduction of the technology.

Some driving enthusiasts object to some of the implementations of ESC. They contend that by making it impossible to explore the dynamic behavior of their cars, overzealous ESC systems spoil much of the fun of driving. Consequently, some manufacturers allow drivers to disable ESC systems, and/or use ESC systems that allow greater levels of under or oversteer before it intervenes. Some even provide a setting so the user can choose whether the system will intervene earlier or later stage. Enthusiasts have also begun to modify ESC systems to suit their preferred driving styles.

It has also been argued that ESC is being used as a "catch all" for poorly designed cars, whereby the basic mechanical handling of a car is unstable and ESC is used to compensate for the problem. However, except in the case of low-end economy cars, and the Mercedes A class, this argument is largely without merit, as high-end performance and/or safety oriented brands like BMW, Ferrari, Mercedes, and Volvo were among the first to adopt ESC.

Another point of critique is that in the case of very dangerous drivers, the car will be able to be pushed further (and faster) before the limits of the vehicle and ESC are reached, meaning that should the vehicle become "out of control" this will happen at higher speeds, leading to more severe crashes. Realistically this scenario is not possible under the ESC program because ESC only controls power delivery and braking and does not increase the physical traction limit of the vehicle. Therefore the vehicle cannot be pushed faster through a corner than is otherwise capable by a skilled driver also approaching the traction limit. The implementation of the ESC program will only control a number of variables including braking, throttle opening and/or injector pulse or ignition timing to reduce power to the road thereby preventing a driver from approaching and surpassing the physical traction limits of the vehicle.

In the event that the vehicle is out of Wheel alignment, has dissimilar sized left/right tires fitted, or has a tire with low enough air pressure to affect the steering wheel angle, the yaw rate sensor would conflict with the steering wheel sensor. If this were the case, the vehicle's Engine Control Unit may interpret the driver's actions as trying to turn the vehicle, rather than compensation for a mechanical problem. However, ECU programmers are familiar with this type of issue, and use cross-correlation between sensors to identify problems.

Overall, ESC systems have resulted in a marked drop in accident rates, overriding most arguments against its implementation.

Perhaps the harshest criticism of ESC systems has been the reluctance by some manufacturers to fit it as standard across all of their models. Specifically, some manufacturers have restricted its fitment to higher specification model variants as a means of encouraging buyers to purchase them, at greater cost. Given the effectiveness of ESC in reducing crashes and saving lives, some safety advocates have accused manufacturers who have offered ESC on their models in this way of cynical marketing.

Design and selection of components The ESC-system uses several sensors in order to determine the state the driver wants the vehicle to be in (driver demand). Other sensors indicate the actual state of the vehicle (vehicle response). The control-algorithm compares both states and decides, when necessary, to adjust the dynamic state of the vehicle.

The sensors used for ESC have to send data at all time in order to detect possible defects as soon as possible. They have to be resistant to possible forms of interference (rain, holes in the road, etc.). Most important sensors are :

ESC uses an hydraulic modulator to assure that each wheel receives the correct brake force. A similar modulator is used in w:ABS. ABS needs to reduce pressure during braking, only. ESP additionally needs to increase pressure in certain situations.

The heart of the ESC-system is the w:Electronic_control_unit. The diverse control techniques are embedded in it. Often, the same w:Electronic_control_unit is used for diverse systems at the same time (w:ABS, w:Traction control, climate control, etc.).The input signals are sent through the input-circuit to the digital controller. The wanted vehicle state is determined based on the steering wheel angle, its gradient and the wheel speed. Simultaneously, the yaw sensor measures the actual state. The controller computes the needed brake or acceleration force for each wheel and directs via the driver circuits the valves of the hydraulic modulator.Via a w:Controller Area Network the w:Electronic_control_unit is connected with other systems (w:ABS, etc.) in order to avoid giving contradictory commands.

Product names Vehicle manufacturers use electronic stability control systems under different marketing names:

System Manufacturers ESC system manufacturers include:

Future Electronic Stability Control forms the foundation for new advances on vehicle equipment that will save additional lives and give the driver still more control over the vehicle. The computing power of ESC facilitates the networking of active and passive safety systems on the car, creating the opportunity to address still more causes of crashes.

The market for this system is growing at a very robust rate, especially in European countries such as Sweden and Germany. Despite criticism, it is expected that the ESC system will be installed in most vehicles post 2015 in most countries in Europe and also in Japan.

In the US, the NHTSA has recently mandated that ESC be included on every new vehicle by the model year 2012 (September, 2011). The auto industry has widely supported the mandate.

See also

References and External links



 

Electronic Stability Control



 
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