Disable ESP without speed limiter?

[PunkyB]

Hi All,

My sister and her boyfriend want to go to Germany for Oktoberfest and I've always fancied a mild lap of the nurburgring. In the w169 A class there is no button to turn off the traction control or stability control. You can go into the service menu and put it into a dyno testing mode which means you turn off the ESP & traction control but also the abs. However there is then a speed limit of around 70 mph. Would there be any way to get a w169 to disable it's ESP without imposing a speed limiter or loosing the ABS as well?

I should shortly be getting access to das/XENTRY if anything is possible through there?

Otherwise it looks like it's going to be a real slow tour of the ring

 

[markjay]

There has to be a way to switch off ESP... for starting off in the snow.

Check in the standard menus (not the hidden menu).

 

[PunkyB]

There has to be a way to switch off ESP... for starting off in the snow.

Check in the standard menus (not the hidden menu).

Nope, absolutely no physical buttons. No menu items for ESP either only way is through the service menu which then turns off ABS, ESP, TPMS, ASR all together and then imposes a top speed limiter. I'm assuming pulling any fuses would result in the same.

Why they didn't give the W169 any button to turn it off is beyond me. Possibly after the moose test issues on the W168 they were not going to take any chances. I mean they fitted it with selective oil flow dampers for Christ's sake to be REALLY sure moose and elk the world over would be avoided safely. I mean it's no sports car, especially not my A150 but that front mid-engine layout is actually really playful and stable and it has great turn in. I wonder if the A200 Turbo has its ESP forced on at all times....

So unless there's something changeable in DAS/XENTRY I guess it's stuck that way

I guess as it's more of a touring lap as a visitor (with my family in the car) rather than racing trying to get a time etc it might just be as well to leave it on. Might have just been nice to lift off a bit to bring the rear around.