# Can electronic stability control outperform me?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-electronic-stability-control-outperform-me/661681>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [June 23, 2013, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-electronic-stability-control-outperform-me/661681 "2013-06-23T03:08:52Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![md2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@md2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md2000)\
**Post date:** [June 24, 2013, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-electronic-stability-control-outperform-me/661681/21 "2013-06-24T21:56:44Z")

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My simple tractin control story:

I bought a brand new 2000 BMW 323i in the spring, so I never really figured out what the traction control would do. It reduced power to one or both rear wheels if it sensed a loss of traction, rather than let the wheel spin.

So after the first messy slippery snow of the season, I turned into my driveway. Halfway up the small rise, the car simply stopped dead. I pushed on the accelerator, but it sat there, no response from the engine. So I turned off traction control, and it immediately slid backward down the hill.

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**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\
**Post date:** [June 24, 2013, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-electronic-stability-control-outperform-me/661681/22 "2013-06-24T22:18:20Z")

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> [@md2000](#):
>
> My simple tractin control story:
> 
> I bought a brand new 2000 BMW 323i in the spring, so I never really figured out what the traction control would do. It reduced power to one or both rear wheels if it sensed a loss of traction, rather than let the wheel spin.
> 
> So after the first messy slippery snow of the season, I turned into my driveway. Halfway up the small rise, the car simply stopped dead. I pushed on the accelerator, but it sat there, no response from the engine. So I turned off traction control, and it immediately slid backward down the hill.

the take-away from that little event should have been “don’t drive on summer tires in the winter.”

ask me how I learned that lesson…

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