finding the signal in an industry filled with noise
There’s a saying among those who take driving seriously that makes a lot of sense once the laughter dies down: “The most important nut is the one behind the wheel.”
It makes even more sense when you have a look around this site…
The problem stems from the fact that – like too many ‘all wheel drive’ cars, the Mazdaspeed 6 sends all of its power to the front wheels 99% of the time. You can read more on why this essentially ruins the car’s handling here.
If you haven’t watched this legendary promotional video of the RUF Yellowbird, you’re in for a treat…
We have very little patience for a car that understeers, if only because we prefer the car tighten its line with a lift of the throttle immediately (not a few seconds later, once it has scrubbed off speed).
Then it struck us – oversteer is what we grew up trying to invoke. (Is it any wonder the kid in us all relishes in the thrill of a four wheel drift?)
Jouralists often critcize Mercedes Benz and Lexus models that don’t allow the driver to completely defeat the traction and stability control systems, forgetting that not everyone drives professionally and/or on a test track. We suggest leaving such systems on when driving on the street; drive smoothly enough and the computer will think you’re still in control.
That said…
For 2003+ Mercedes:
With key in position 1, press trip odometer reset button 3 times. Go through screens til ‘ESP Dynometer Test’ is displayed. Set to ‘ON’. Start car. This mode is not meant for use when driving so will deactivate ESP and ABS.
For the ‘06 Lexus IS:
Start the car with the parking brake on, press brake twice and hold. Activate parking brake twice. Repeat sequence till light activates on dash. (You have 30 seconds). Everythng but ABS will be deactivated til the next time you start the car.
source: digg.com
UPDATE: Automobile magazine has since tried the Lexus defeat procedure on their long-term GS - click here for a video…
related post: 1
Every time we drive a Acura RL we’re stunned at the effect Honda’s SH-AWD has. Coast through a corner and the chassis feels a bit remote and nose heavy. But like an WRX, this car is meant to be driven. Hard. As with most high performance AWD cars you have to be dedicated and get on the power early, trusting that the system will sort things out. But unlike most AWD cars doing so will not result in terminal understeer – the system can shunt nearly all of the engine’s power to the outside rear wheel, rotating the car into a turn by overdriving it like a tank’s outside track. The only other car that can pull this trick: the Ferrari F430 thanks to its ‘E-Diff’.
Sadly, every review we’ve seen of the car save one has chastised the RL for having too much understeer. What these irresponsibly clueless scribes are failing to take into account is their own inability to extract the car’s potential. Every car requires a certain technique to make it come alive, and like the E46 M3 (also accused of understeering by the meek) you simply need to squeeze the loud pedal when you’re tempted to release it to make move to neutraility and beyond. (Today’s high horsepower rear drive cars need larger tires in the rear than in the front and you have to route a lot of power through them while cornering to overcome the inerent understeer of having more available grip in the rear than the front. In the RL’s case you’re overcoming the transverse front engine layouts inherent nose-heaviness).
Go ahead – stomp on it and feel what only we and 4car’s John Simister seem to have picked up on. (Simister is incorrect in stating the system can send 100% to the outside rear – the maximum is limited by design to 70%).
We never thought we’d say it but the Acura RL is the car we’d chose if we were going to be timed on an unfamiliar road. It may not walk with the stiff kneed swagger of the M45, 5 series, A6 etc., but it handles far beyond what its ride quality suggests. We can’t wait to see what the system does to the upcoming RD-X small SUV from Acura.
Bravo Honda. Now please give us the shorter gearing of the European market car. (Rev matched downshifts when in manumatic mode and a factory A-Spec chassis option wouldn’t hurt either).
NOTE: Newer readers may have missed this link from an earlier post now in our archive).
UPDATE: Another of the few that ‘gets it’ – MPH’s Eddie Alterman – adds:
the car never feelslike a front-driver, with the inevitable tugging on the steering wheel. Yet it’s no rear-drive tire smoker, either.
The car just feels perfectly set up for every corner, shifting its weight predictably through turns. Its driving experience is so tight and direct that it sometimes seems as if the two rear seats aren’t there.
UPDATE 2: Edmunds also favors the RL among AWD luxury sedans (ahead of the quietly revised 5 series and the rorty M35x):
all-wheel drive isn’t just about blizzards and black ice. Adding all-wheel drive to front-wheel-drive platforms, like those under the Acura RL and Audi A6, also gives the car more balanced handling… Not only did the RL post the fastest speed through the slalom course, it was the easiest car to drive through it. Keep your foot in the gas, point it in the right direction and the computer does the rest. In the other cars, all-wheel drive is almost an afterthought. In the Acura, it’s as important to its performance as the engine.
UPDATE 3: We forgot to mention an option worth considering that is not listed in the brochure, the A-Spec kit.
The RL A-SPEC package enhances the already crisp handling and aggressive styling with a track-tuned suspension package that lowers the car by approximately 3/4 inch, 18-inch alloy wheels equipped with Michelin Pilot Sport [A/S] tires, an underbody kit, and a deck lid spoiler. The RL A-SPEC kit will be priced at approximately $5,500 plus dealer installation and covered under a factory warranty. [source: Acura Press release]
(We’d opt only for the suspension package, tuned by the same man who worked with Aryton Senna to dial in the suspension of the NSX - the wheels and tires detract more from ride quality and foul weather traction than they contribute to handling).
When buying two new tires, most people – mechanics included – still believe that you should put the best two on front.
They’re wrong.
Testing done by Michelin found that the best two tires should always be placed on the rear regardless of whether you have front, rear or all-wheel drive.
Click here, then on ‘Watch a short video to learn more’ for proof.
(Also read this if you drive a car or truck with all-wheel or four-wheel drive…)
For some, taming the rear-engined 911s inherent dynamic snafus is part of the satisfaction of owning a Porsche – it’s a car that rewards a driver who respects its requests and is aware of its every step. The Boxster has long been considered technically superior (as its engine sits between the wheels rather than hanging out near the rear bumper) but some such as the editors at evo (and now 4Car ) think there’s something less satisfying about having a car that is idiot-proof.
the Boxster should now be thought of as the derivative and the compromised car… The only criticism we would think of levelling at the way it goes down a road is that, if anything, it is almost too good. For most people this could only be seen as a positive thing: but for those few Porsche die-hards who believe that reward is proportional to investment, it certainly lacks the unique challenge to skilled drivers laid down by the 911 and, ultimately, is perhaps less thrilling as a result.
