Electronic Stability Control (ESC), is an electronic system on your vehicle that helps stop spin-outs and roll-overs in extreme maneuvering situations, which can prevent crashes and potentially save lives. Most vehicle crashes that happen as a result of loss of control of the vehicle are due to the vehicle being driven beyond its traction limits such as in over or under-steer situations or driving too fast for conditions. ESC monitors these conditions and will reduce engine speed and apply one of the individual wheel brakes when the vehicle is rolling or leaning too far, or when the tires are beginning to lose traction, in order to bring the vehicle back under control. Beginning in 2005, the US government mandated that a certain percentage of new vehicles were required to have ESC. This percentage increases every year, until in 2012 all new vehicles are required to have ESC. This should help tremendously with the occurrence and survivability of these types of crashes, especially in SUVs, which are much more prone to roll-over crashes than cars.
ESC differs from anti-lock braking (ABS), or traction control in that it not only monitors the same conditions as these systems, but in addition utilizes a yaw rate sensor and also a steering angle sensor sometimes, allowing it to monitor the speed of every tire, the intended engine speed, the lean and roll of the vehicle on its axis, the intended steering direction and when any tire is losing traction. Based on the inputs from these sensors, the ESC computer system can make corrections to address these situations and help to bring the vehicle back under control.
Maintaining your vehicle becomes even more critical in an ESC-equipped vehicle, since the ESC system depends heavily on all related systems being in good working order to be able to properly sense dangerous situations and then correct them. The tires need to be able to grip the road and the vehicle suspension needs to be functioning properly. You can trust KYB shocks and struts to fit and perform the same as OE, with additional design improvements to compensate for the age of your vehicle, as well as wear and tear, in order to return your vehicle to like-new performance . Allow KYB to return your vehicle to better than new performance so that your ESC system can properly protect you in any emergency situation.
