I'm a new member to the forum & had a question for anyone who has encountered the same frustration. I own a Black 6speed 04 coupe with slate/ceder interior. Love the car very much. My only complaint is the engine management (esp/traction control). I have experienced a couple of situations, during normal driving conditions, where I've pulled out & needed to go in a hurry & the car pulls back the power; leaving me in a sticky place. I know you can disarm the system. Even with the esp off the car still will not give full power.

My question is.........has anybody found a way to completely disable the system. ie chipping; pulling fuses; anything??????????

I've read some of you have autocrossed; have you found a way around this pesky system????????

Your feedback is appreciated

 

I autocross mine at least twice a month. It's been chipped, but is an automatic, and I have no problem when I turn the ESP off. You're very right about not having full control when it's on. It will only let you have what it thinks you can handle. But, when I turn it off.... I've smoked the tires and even spun the car out in a complete 360! I don't think the chip had anything to do with the ESP though and I have no idea if the ESP works differently with the manual tranny. Maybe one of our Tech.s can shead some light......

 

Just press the Traction control off ...

When this is off ive been able to brake torque... spin donuts... slightly american drift (more likely a strong power slide because the lack of a strong E-brake) ... I have 0 problems with my engine giving me full potential when these feature is turned off

 

It sounds like both of you have autos. I've turned the system off & when I launch (dump clutch) around 2900 to 3300 rpm the light, which is already on, starts to flicker and the motor falls on its face. Very disapointing.

 

Someone with a 6 speed needs to respond to this..... But, it sure seems to me that there may be something wrong with your car. I'm pretty sure someone would have already brought this to light if it was a problem with all 6 speeds....

 

Thats what I'm hoping.

Anyone with a 6speed please respond? looking for Apples to Apples

 

I've had no problems with my 6-speed. I turn the traction control off everytime just after I start the car (now a habit), and it will boot in any gear at any revs. Not had any noticable problems with the XF deciding not to put the power down.

Have done just under 4000 miles since April.

Any other 6-speed owners care to comment?

 

fellow 6-speed here...2 days ago leaving the park from softball practice, i pulled out and and dumped the clutch at about 3000 rpm (ESP off) and didn't at all experience the ESP kicking in. it sounds like maybe something wrong...or maybe the motor cut out if you redlined it?

 

WMichales And BobaFettm u guys have the aut stick just like me, heres the ? I usually turn the Traction Off, but if i was to say cut the wheeel going hard into a turn or romp on the gas sometime the traction light flicks on and off and it defintly feels like the traction kicks in. DOes ures do that. Also i tried to romp on the gas to burn out and it didnt work.

 

Same here, I race my X-fire at Willow Springs & Button Willow Receways and always turn it off and have no problems... The car has a built-in REV limiter which cuts the engine slightly over red-line (6200). I have inquired to all CHIP TECHS if they can eliminate the limiter and they have all said no.

Perhaps your rev limiter is srcrewed-up or the tach is not right and showing you 3500 rpm when you're actually at 6000+

 

Nice pics goat by the way. I have to admit I've not tried without the ESP on yet. Car has only done 1,400 miles so wearing the engine in first before really thrashing it.

 

ESP off and you can happily drift the car with no problems.

I have pulled fuse 17&18 and this disables it completely with no other faults evident

 

FerrariVdub I've seen the same light... but i've never felt it kick in while I have it turned off... I thought someone responded to this before saying this was a protocol that showed if you had ESP on ... it would be going off like mad right now! ... cuz im with WM that I've spun the car in 360s on wet pavement for like 7x loops... and I've never felt it kick in

 

thanks saldous...finally remembered to take pics after i spent 3 hours washing and detailing!

 

Just like Boba said above.... I have seen the light flicker with the ESP off and I'm losing traction, but I've never felt the system try to take away power or control wheel speed. The only time I actually turn the ESP off is when I'm autocrossing or when I want to make sure I'm getting max performance. For normal driving I leave it on.

As far as just "romp on the gas to burn out"..... You need to turn the ESP off and torque/power brake it to about 2,200 - 2,400 rpm. Then jump off the brakes and "romp" the throttle. You'll get the rear wheels spinning. I think the Conti tires will break lose a little easier than the Michelins.

 

"The ESP warning light, located in the instrument cluster, starts to flash as soon as the tires lose traction and the wheels begin to spin."

"With the ESP system switched off, the engine torque reduction feature is cancelled."

"ESP always operates under braking, even with the switch in the OFF position. If one drive wheel loses traction and begins to spin, the brake is applied by the ESP system until the wheel regains sufficient traction." (emphasis added)

and...

"Avoid spinning one drive wheel. This may cause serious damage to the drive train and is not covered by the DaimlerChrysler warranty."

So, I guess if you intentionally want to damage your $30k+ car, and void your warranty, you pull the fuses as suggested and spin away.... :cry:

 

That just pi55e5 me off ! I never suggested pulling the fuses, all I said was I had done it, with no side effects.

If others want to then they can, I NEVER suggested that they do !

 

Not my intention to "pi55" you off dude. Chill. You said:
Now, somebody that is not car savvy could very easily read that and do it and not understand the implication of what they're doing. I'm (in)famous for posting opposing viewpoints to what others posts here as being not a problem/issue/fault for them. BUT, most of the time those people who post things like that are more experienced where it comes to cars, whereas the novice owner could come along and read it and say "hey, I can do that too"...

 

This is because the tires are getting traction; the engine doesn't have enough power to keep them spinning. With the RPM's at 3300, the tires need to spin at about 15+/- MPH. What is happening is your tires are getting traction before the car is actually reaching 15+/- MPH and since the car is only moving at say 5MPH something has gotta give. The tires either gotta keep spinning, or the engine has to slow down to match the speed of the tires. Once an engine is forced to slow down, it loses its momentum. Since the crossfire's tires are so sticky, typically the engine is forced to match the speed of your tires. Hense the engine bogging down. The crossfire simply does not have enough power to do a burnout with those sticky wide rear tires (on most pavements).

For the best launches, do not dump the clutch, ride the clutch until the car reaches the corresponding speed for the RPM's. I'm not saying you need to ride the clutch like a 16 year old learning to drive stick, but rather around 1 second. It will take some practice. This is probably not the best thing on the clutch, but it is how you get the best launches in the manual.

 

My 6 speed doesn't have fuse 17 and 18....