Quote:
Originally Posted by SteveC
With respect, there's a huge difference between the heightened awareness and preparedness of a skid pan or race track vs. the typical relaxed or even distracted state when average Joe is driving a normal road. Also HH Frentzen prevents skids for a living so isn't going to freeze or produce large quantities of adrenalin when his car kicks sideways. Comparing HHF on a skid pan with ordinary drivers is like comparing me vs. a trained gymnast on a 4" beam
The point is, the constantly monitoring, fast acting electronics give the average driver HH-like reflexes.
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I agree. My point was that the best drivers are unbelievably good at what they are doing compared to normal drivers. I have also done some work as a skid pan instructor, but I am very far from the level of people like Frentzen.
Quote:
Originally Posted by SteveC
In aquaplaning, what snaps a car sideways are unequal forces applied to the same axle. DSC applies counteracting forces to keep the car straight
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In an aquaplaning situation, it is rather common to lose all grip on all wheels for a moment. According to the laws of Newton, the car will then continue with the velocity it had, and it will also continue to rotate if it was doing that before losing grip. A slight rotation can also occur if one side starts floating a little bit before the other.
The DSC will notice, and go into panic mode, trying to brake individual wheels. When aquaplaning, this doesn't work, so it will try even harder. When the grip comes back, the DSC has probably locked up some wheels completely, which can get the situation further out of hand. It is my opinion that DSC is not helping in an aquaplaning situation.
After this point, it could be too late to save the situation, but now the DSC will work with you, and stop doing harmful things. You still have to do the steering work right as a driver, as the DSC can not help you with that.
Clarkson was probably driving with all systems off, and the throttle wide open. The aquaplaning caused the rear wheels to spin up significantly, and spinning tyres have no directional stability. So the car quickly swapped ends when the front wheels got their grip back.
In his case, any traction control system should have prevented this from happening. Sport+ and DTC allows wheelspin, and would probably not have saved him.