ASC Stability Control?

[abcxyz]

Hi, I was driving earlier today and decided to floor it around a corner in 2nd gear for fun. I have a '98 328is. I had turned off the ASC and the car fishtailed back and forth and the tires squeeled. Didn't think it would fishtail as much as it did.

If I had the ASC on, would the car have fishtailed, or does it decrease the power the the wheels to prevent it from fishtailing?

Also, does what I did fishtailing ruin the car or alignment in any way?

[Manolito]

On a '98, there is a second throttle above the throttle that your gas pedal is attached to. Among the things that the ASC would have done in that situation would have been to close that second throttle to reduce power to the rear wheels if they were both spinning.

When I first bought an e36 with ASC, I doubted that I would like it and I assumed that I would eventually disable it. I was wrong. The ASC on an e36 works really well, and the ASC on my e46 works even better. The car's reflexes are WAY faster than mine. The car is correcting before I even perceive a problem.

Fishtailing should have no discernible adverse impact on your alignment, but your suspension bushings don't last forever. 13-year-old bushings are more likely to split and crumble than new bushings, and abusing them can only accelerate their degradation. On the other hand, you bought this car because of the way it handles, might as well get what you paid for.

[abcxyz]

Originally Posted by Manolito

On a '98, there is a second throttle above the throttle that your gas pedal is attached to. Among the things that the ASC would have done in that situation would have been to close that second throttle to reduce power to the rear wheels if they were both spinning.

When I first bought an e36 with ASC, I doubted that I would like it and I assumed that I would eventually disable it. I was wrong. The ASC on an e36 works really well, and the ASC on my e46 works even better. The car's reflexes are WAY faster than mine. The car is correcting before I even perceive a problem.

Fishtailing should have no discernible adverse impact on your alignment, but your suspension bushings don't last forever. 13-year-old bushings are more likely to split and crumble than new bushings, and abusing them can only accelerate their degradation. On the other hand, you bought this car because of the way it handles, might as well get what you paid for.

Thanks for the reply Manolito! My friend who is a car enthusiast also mentioned there's not really any damage caused by doing that and stated that it sounds like I have a healthy engine.