Car and Driver - USA (2020-04)

39

Stability Control

It’s quite a nice thing when your car’s trip computer

gives you accurate information. It’s even nicer when

your engine runs smoothly and reliably. But of all the

things computing power has brought to the automo-

bile in the last couple decades, few have had as pos-

VaVcRN[RßRPaN`RYRPa_\[VP`aNOVYVafP\[a_\Y2@0

2@0 P\Z]_V`R` cN_V\b` `R[`\_`±S\_ dURRY

speed, lateral acceleration, yaw rate, steering-wheel

N[TYRN[Q_NaR±NYY\SdUVPUSRRQV[S\a\aUR\[O\N_Q

computer to help your car recognize when it has

“gone out of control,” in the parlance of people who

Q\[μaYVXRa\Q_VcRPN_`6Z]\_aN[aYf2@0PN[NY`\

URY]_RZRQfaUV`P\[QVaV\[±aUR\ba\SP\[a_\Y

part, not the part about people who don’t like driv-

ing. Its greatest impact has been to reduce fatalities.

;5A@.R`aVZNaR`aUNaORadRR[N[Q!2@0

`NcRQ!YVcR`AUR`f`aRZ`ORPNZRZN[QNa\_fS\_

NYYYVTUa]N``R[TR_cRUVPYR`S\_aURZ\QRYfRN_

2cR[aURP_b`aVR`aPb_ZbQTR\[P\bYQ[μaN_TbR

about mothers and brothers not dying. But it’s not

Wb`aaURYVcR``NcRQ3\_R[aUb`VN`a`2@0UN`ORR[

a boon. Yes, since its introduction at the end of the

aUPR[ab_f2@0UN`ORR[QR_V`VcRYf_RSR__RQa\N`

a “nanny” by the hairiest-chested drivers, but it’s

time to put that idea to bed. Because the other posi-

aVcRRßRPa\S2@0V`aUNaaUR`R`f`aRZ`UNcRNYY\dRQ

for the existence of more fun cars and for us to have

more fun in them.

.`XN[fNR_VNYV`a'D\_XV[T

with a net has certain psycho-

Y\TVPNY OR[R¼a` 2@0 NYY\d`

you to explore a vehicle’s lim-

Va`\[NPY\`RQP\b_`RdVaUN

]_\SR``V\[NYQ_VcR_\SP\b_`R

in a way you wouldn’t other-

dV`R.[QaUR]R_PR[aNTR\SN

performance car’s envelope

that you’re able to comfor tably

exploit has a directly propor-

tional relationship with the joy

of driving. Only reckless driv-

R_`aRZ]aaURd_NaU\SN¼_`a

gen Dodge Viper on the road.

The safety net has a similarly positive impact on

PN_ZNXR_`DRμ_R[\a`NfV[TPN_ZNXR_`dVYY]_\QbPR

a tail-happy sports car because they know there’s a

`f`aRZa\ZNXRb]S\_Va/ba2@0NYY\d`aURZ`\ZR

latitude to tune a performance car to handle more

neutrally than it once might have. Honda, for exam-

]YRP\[¼_Z`aUNaaUR0VcVPAf]R?d\bYQ[\aUNcR

been as neutral-handling a machine were it not for

aUR]_R`R[PR\S2@06[aUR]_R2@0QNf`5\[QN

would have felt obliged to dial in a bit more under-

`aRR_.[Q[\O\QfYVXR`b[QR_`aRR_—Daniel Pund

DEMOCRATIZING THE HOLE SHOT

Using your own two feet to balance an
engine’s torque with the traction available
at the tires will always be deeply satisfying.
Which is to say: It’s fun as hell to perform the
perfect hole shot and rip from fully stopped
to real fast in a blink or three. But properly
launching a car without electronic assistance
takes great skill. And even then, the very best
drivers are still only human.
Whether or not technology is as artful in
practice as our own efforts, launch-control
systems have unquestionably helped us get off
the line quickest in far fewer attempts than we
could have on our own. Consider Porsche: Its
PDK dual-clutch automatics feature the crown
jewel of launch control. Starting with the 2010
model, launch control took the 911 Turbo from
a mid-three-second car to a sub-three-second
car. The C 8 Corvette Stingray just joined the
sub-three-second club, too, and it wouldn’t
have gotten there without launch control—
although moving the engine certainly helped.
We often associate launch control with
dual-clutch transmissions, but the technology
was born in racing and trickled into production
cars with single-clutch automated manuals.
Ferrari, Lamborghini, and BMW made excellent
use of it starting in the early 2 000s. Launch
control isn’t just reserved for six-figure cars.
The Audi RS 3 can match the 6 0-mph time of a
pre-launch-control 911 Turbo. Even the people’s
sport commuter, the VW Golf GTI, gets this
tech when you opt for the autobox.
Sure, occasionally a driver’s footwork can
match or better the results of silicon proces-
sors and hydraulic actuators. And we lament
the managed decline of manual transmissions
as a byproduct of progress. But when it comes
to launch-control technology and how effec-
tively it can help propel most modern per-
formance vehicles from a dead dig, it’s hard
to argue with the results of a little computer
assistance. —Mike Sutton

Launch Control

AN EXTREMELY STABLE GENIUS

“STABILITY-

CONTROL SYSTEMS

HAVE ALLOWED

FOR THE EXISTENCE

OF MORE FUN CARS

AND FOR US TO

HAVE MORE

FUN IN THEM.”