Maybe because I have stock suspension and tires, ESP is not noticable at all in normal (on the road, behaving myself) driving. If I accelerate hard it will modulate the throttle until the vehicle gets traction...it does so fairly smoothly and is expected. If I goose it into a slide around a corner, of course it will cut throttle and apply the brakes if turned on.

I have never had it activate when I did not expect it. I can take a curve at fairly aggressive G and it does not kick on. I have to push the envelop to make it activate. I have found it is set up to activate at the point where I am about to lose traction anyway. Nothing wrong with that unless I want to spin tires or drift, then I just turn it off.

It is not like I cannot drive without it, my other 2 rigs have no ESP (my 84 Ranger with a V-8 has a total of 7" lift with no ABS). I just find that in normal driving within the limits of traction, ESP is not noticable, and it does not hurt to have it in case of an "oh crap" moment.

Also, while my wife avoids driving my vehicles (she has her own) because I stuff HP in all of them and they are beasts, if she ever has to use the Wrangler I feel better knowing the ESP is there. While many on these forums say they have the driving skill to not ever need ESP (and I am not disputing any claims), how many soccer moms (and dads) have bought into the short wheelbase Wrangler who have no clue what to do in a slide? The majority of people, like my wife, will never take their vehicle, find isolated places to "play" and test the limits and learn to recover. They do not slip, slide, and wheel for fun, driving is not entertainment, and a JK is just transportation. Most people jump in, push the "magic" go pedal, and drive from point A to B totally clueless until the unthinkable loss of control happens, in oncoming traffic or near a big oak tree along side the road. It is their first (and perhaps last) time they ever experience sudden loss of traction and or directional control, they panic...

The ESP tries to compensate for those people.

If everyone had to attend a driving school with their newly purchased vehicle, maybe we would not need this stuff. Until then, I am glad that the unknown person on the cell phone coming at me (or my wife!) at 50mph on a slippery road in their new JK "SUV" has ESP enabled, because they likely do not even know what it is or how to turn it off. It is better than nothing.

The main thing I do not like about all this gee-wiz safety/convenience stuff is how stupidly complex it makes the electrical/computer systems in new vehicles to troubleshoot.

 

Why is this becoming a debate over driving skills.

There should be no debate

either put the switch in or don't, do the steering wheel dance or don't. Every Jeep and driver are different. Every suspension system different.

Glad it worked for you guys that installed it, and enjoy your freedom.

 

You should also mention that bypassing the electronic nannies carries the risk of big time warranty issues. Which is why this is not a viable option for many if not most. Inasmuch as there are ways to disable the system without risking ones warranty, I recommend those avenues be pursued.

I switch mine off as soon as a wheel rolls onto dirt... Just by holding the button down for 5 seconds.

 

No complaints. Like the part about applying brakes to a spinning tire while wheeling. Not as effective as a LS or locker, but better than open diffs. I won't disable mine because I want to have that active while wheeling.

 

Depends on where you're at. If you're door deep in mud,the last thing you want is the brakes being applied.

 

Simply flip the switch back to stock before going to the dealer. its a no brainer.

The write up says it near the end.

 

You might be surprised to find out how braking at 1 tire will actually help. A spinning tire that is getting zero traction does you absolutely no good for your forward progress. You are not capable of braking only 1 tire so the puter does it for you. Doesn't matter if you're door deep in mud or whatever, that spinning tire is worthless.

 

With just a bb(shocks and springs) my esp came on all the time. I installed the tereflex adj lca's a few months ago and adjusted the caster. No more esp problems. also need to center your steering wheel.

 

I have to disagree. If you don't have the ability to spin your tires in the mud,the tires don't clean out and they get packed with mud. You lose forward traction and come to a stop.

 

Twice Last year, the stupid thing came on in the snow and drove me into the ditch after a little slip in a turn. It got in the way of the simple little correction the driver should make to correct it. It is hard for me to beleive some software engineer in a qube somewhere can drive my jeep better than me in a simple slide. This is not an over powered sports car. IT IS A JEEP! let me drive it.