s3ollie Posted July 5, 2006 Report Share Posted July 5, 2006 while pulling away from a junction today gave it a bit of stick and i got quite a lot of wheels spin. my car is a 1999 s3 210bhp and as i understand it, it has traction control? am i right? so this should stop wheel spin right? My mate with a TT say he's always getting his traction light in the dash on when we go for a drive following one another, but i never do as far as i can tell, driving the same pace! all lights go out from the dash on start up so i assume all is ok as it runs self checks. do you get spin on your s3? does it sound like mines fooked? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimbob_S3 Posted July 5, 2006 Report Share Posted July 5, 2006 My S3 traction control light used to come on frequently when all 4 tyres were really low, sometimes even at 30 mph. With a new set of tyres it only comes on if I really drive it hard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil84afc Posted July 6, 2006 Report Share Posted July 6, 2006 Had you accidentally turned your ESP off? If you turn it off, i.e. the little yellow triangle stays illumianted, you'll get four wheel wheelspin... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brabus Posted July 6, 2006 Report Share Posted July 6, 2006 does your model have ESP? My old S3, also from 1999 didn't have it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil84afc Posted July 6, 2006 Report Share Posted July 6, 2006 Didn't all S3's have ESP? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mollox Posted July 6, 2006 Report Share Posted July 6, 2006 Nope, it was an option on earlier models I believe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sidicks Posted July 6, 2006 Report Share Posted July 6, 2006 [ QUOTE ] Nope, it was an option on earlier models I believe [/ QUOTE ] Wasn't even an option on my '99 version. Are you sure your car is still 4WD?? My S3 had a fuse blow - left me in 2WD only - which came as a bit of a shock when I put my foot down on a wet roundabout and understeered towards the kerb!! Sidicks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richie_b Posted July 6, 2006 Report Share Posted July 6, 2006 mines a 02, with ESP, and with ESP most defintely on i used to get plenty of front wheel spin even at very low speeds - reason, seriously bald tyres! New tyres, no spin whatsoever, infact did a 0-60 test the other night with my mate from standing start. Floored it and it sort of just seemed to sit thier not moving, then the grip kicked in and we were off.. no spin at all.. and a 6.7 time, which i was quite pleased with for a non chipped S on a first attempt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
graemep Posted July 6, 2006 Report Share Posted July 6, 2006 [ QUOTE ] mines a 02, with ESP, and with ESP most defintely on i used to get plenty of front wheel spin even at very low speeds - reason, seriously bald tyres! New tyres, no spin whatsoever, infact did a 0-60 test the other night with my mate from standing start. Floored it and it sort of just seemed to sit thier not moving, then the grip kicked in and we were off.. no spin at all.. and a 6.7 time, which i was quite pleased with for a non chipped S on a first attempt [/ QUOTE ] same experience here..worn tyres/low grip surface other option though is a blown Haldex controller - but you would expect a warning light - mine the ESP warning came on, and stayed on, first time it was called for. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
s3ollie Posted July 6, 2006 Author Report Share Posted July 6, 2006 im not sure if it has esp i thought so (cant turn it on and off, no switch on dash) but if it was an option it may not have it. tyre need chagings soon on the front but not for a while so dont think its that. how do i check if it has it or not also how do i check the haldex? ran vagcom a while ago and nothing can up to do with any of this cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Posted July 6, 2006 Report Share Posted July 6, 2006 I think if you got ESP you should have a switch, whether the earlier ones were like this i dont know. To test Haldex, easiest way is see how the car copes with a few brisk acceleration runs on a straight quiet road. before you start hook the handbrake up one notch, just enough to bring on the handbrake light, but not the brakes. then go for a drive. Haldex disengages on braking, so this should fool it into disconnecting 4x4. on brisk acceleration, my car (remapped)will torque spin and wheel spin like an absolute pig, trying to put power down on the road through two front wheels. so if the car is massively different in its response, its a good indicator haldex is working fine. if its much the same as usual, you could be in 2wd. <font color="red"> All at your own risk of course. This is not by anyway an official test procedure, just a simple and quick way to prove either way. I do not advise you use this method for anything more than a brief test should you decide to. </font> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
s3ollie Posted July 6, 2006 Author Report Share Posted July 6, 2006 would the haldex fault not show on vagcom? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Posted July 6, 2006 Report Share Posted July 6, 2006 In a perfect world yes, but i guess with mechanical components is always possible something might get missed. Having never had a faulty haldex, its hard so say. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
s3ollie Posted July 6, 2006 Author Report Share Posted July 6, 2006 looking on the haldex site it says that the front wheels have to have a rotational difference of 15 degress before it engages the rear wheels. so some wheels spin will be there first surley. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Posted July 6, 2006 Report Share Posted July 6, 2006 with ESP its hardly noticable. 15 degrees across an 18" alloy is next to nothing. The only time i have ever felt slip, is on compacted snow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
s3ollie Posted July 6, 2006 Author Report Share Posted July 6, 2006 just checked and mine dosent have esp just epc (electronic power control). Doh! will this account for wheels spin? it just tried the handbrake method and to be honest its difficult to tell any difference. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Posted July 6, 2006 Report Share Posted July 6, 2006 My car will have epc and and esp, so no idea. If your car is standard it may not be so noticable, bear in mind mine is running crica 275bhp and 290 lbft torque going on previous rolling road results. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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