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Comment by kerryfalk | Hacker News Reader

C63's default to comfort mode. They don't introduce any lag in comfort modes, they simply select a higher gear than what would be ideal and up-shift at lower RPMs (1,800RPM in a C63).

Source: I own a C63 and my startup procedure includes completely turning off traction control and putting the transmission into S+ every time I get in the car.

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You shouldn't disable traction control for safety purposes. Don't put your life and the lives of others on the road at risk.

No one is at risk. Most people should not disable the nannies. ;)

Stability control is there for a reason. People over estimate their driving abilities. No need to put unnecessary risk for everyone.

You're right.

I will not be changing my behavior. ;)

Wonder if you'd still think the same if someone who is doing the same as you ends up crashing into your car because they think they're too good and disable the stability control systems.

HN Is a lot more combative with posters making broad assumptions than I remember.

In that hypothetical situation I might wish that they had taken some high performance driving courses from me or my colleagues/friends. And spent time behind the wheel of cars at the limit, as I have, so that they had better skills to potentially avoid the accident they caused (with or without ESC).

ESC doesn't save people from bad driving, it masks some of their errors.

There is nothing wrong with disabling traction control. Please don't use the ESC in your car as a crutch. It won't save you.

Even if you did take driving courses, the roads are for transportation, and are to be used with as many safety features as possible. Stability control is another thing to add to the list of safety behavior. Disabling it on public roads is even careless behavior. Yes, it does not save from bad driving, but it plays a very big role in mitigating or preventing certain accidents, which even the best human drivers are not able to react in time.

Sorry, you're misinformed on what ESC and traction control do, it seems, and the rhetoric makes for a difficult conversation.

I didn't take them, I taught them.

We call the driver aids "nannies" in motorsports because they fix some driver errors. They limit control and input. They don't react for the driver. Interesting fact: A driver can out-brake ABS. The vast majority of motorsports competitors do regularly.

I'm not sure why I'm engaging in this, I should probably have more coffee... :)

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