Scary Moments with ASR Intervention?

My 360 was a 99, the ASR was not to intrusive. In sport mode I could get the car sideways before it would try and rescue me, maybe the software was more aggresive in the later model years.

Do be careful with ASR off though, the car will really spin the tires!

 

I drive with sports mode at all time. Normal mode has too much body roll in turns and no fun. The tire will spin in straight line acceleration in sports mode (ASR still active) and ASR intervene a bit later in turns.

 

ASR kicks in later in sport mode and allows the car to skid out a little- I was on a back road and throttled out of a tight turn hard on purpose to get a little kick out just this morning- the sport mode lets you do that without allowing "too much"- I would get used to the car in regular mode, then put it in sport mode for the smoother roads and when you're "driving" to get a feel if the car steps out a little with more aggresive throttle- the 360 is AWESOME in this regard- very controled mini-drifts show the incredible balance of the car...I wouldn't turn the ASR all the way off anywhere other than a track however as even in sport it is helping you even if it is so slight you don't notice. I didn't even turn sport on until I had several hundred miles in the 360 under my belt- wanted to get used to the car and it's abilities before pushing it too hard without the extra buffer of non-sport mode.

I agree in certain situations ASR kickes in (bumps while accelerating or what not) when you wouldn't want it, but it usually (though not always) comes off quickly enough after activation and allows some acceleration if not as much as you want given throttle position at that moment.

I don't know what year your M5 is, but the DSC in my 540 (2000 model year) is much slower to turn off after activation vs. the 360. I don't do it much, but when accelerating off the line at full throttle and going from 1st to 2nd there is enough power for DSC to kick in and it's like someone hits the brakes because the power is cut for couple of moments while your foot is floored- it even can come on going from 2 to 3, so if/when I know I want to accelerate hard from 1st I turn off the DSC in the 540 then pop it back on once in 2nd or 3rd- I can only imagine an M5 is worse in this regard given the extra power if its the generation I have (1997-2003).

Summary- I woudn't turn off ASR in the 360 on public roads.

 

Are your tyres OEM size? non oem tyre size changes the sensitivity of ASR and ABS.

 

My ASR kicks in all too often and as NeedforSpeed noted, it can be at a very inconvenient time. My mechanic informs me that because I have aftermarket wheels (19 inch) and tires, my car (202 360) is thinking that I am losing traction when accelerating and wants to activate the ASR. When it does so, I swich off the ASR in order to regain normal acceration. So far, it hasn't caused me to have any control issues but given the above posts, I will definitely be mindful of it.

 

This happened to me twice for the first time yesterday in my 1999 360 (pretty sure both times were in Normal not Sport). The first time was one of those "that's strange" moments when it kicked in on some rather rough pavement. The second time was one of those "oh crap!" moments where I really needed to scoot.

That is the first time I have had it happen to me just driving around on the roads... I did get it to kick in once on the track in Sport mode but it was really doing its job and probably saving me that time.

I have 430 wheels and Hankook tires, not sure what that does to the sensitivity in my case.

 

I'm not sure this applies but I went from an '07 BMW M6 to an '06 F430 and have noticed a big gain in mid-range torque. I always drove my M6 with DSC off, P500 and felt the car to be reliable and predictable. Having gotten used to the 4000lb car (M6) I was comfortable with DSC off and throttle modulation. With the ferrari in Sport (not to mention Race) the back end will come out without much intervention. I'm much more respectful of my exits from a turn now. Lighter car, higher mid-range torque. I find the intervention from the car to be substantially less (or less noticeable) than the M6.

Gordon

 

For the last 3 years my 99 360 has had the ASR display on the dash on an almost continuous basis. In addition the ABS yellow warning is on as well. Sometimes they both go off simultaneously, only to appear again when the car is re started.
I did some web research and found out FNA has recalled "some" 99 360's to replace a defective ABS/ASR module. Unfortunately, my VIN does not entitles my car for such recall, even though it's evident the malfunction is there. Local Ferrari dealer won't help either.

 

interesting subject...
I would turn off the DSC on my M3 ... but for the 360 it is different... i keep it in Sport mode... never felt like the ASR is intervening more than necessary... I wish i could test drive your car , it seems that the ASR is not functionning correctly on your car... specially after reading UOMO post... I suggest to check or compare it yourself to another 360.

 

Can you get reading of your wheel speed sending units? The ASR continuously compare speed of each wheel. I have non-oem size tyre myself, my front 225-40-18 is 2.07% smaller than OEM, my rear 295-35-18 is 1.99% smaller than OEM. Therefore, different between the front and back is 1.08%. This error does not affect my street driving too much, but it does make the car impossible to drive on the track unless I turn off ASR. Also, my ABS becomes very twitchy when one of my tyre pressure are off by a few psi.

 

I too have a 2002 M5 and I always drive with Sport - On and DCS - Off as opposed to non-sport/DCS because the intervention comes on too early for my liking. The Michlen Pilot Sport II's are great wet or dry roads.

For the 2001 360 (stock wheels/Bridgestone Protenza tires) I always have Sport - On and ACS - On. Seems like the right balance for me to have some fun with out the intervention.

Always, drive your comfort zone and be safe...