How to drift a car with ESP on

Electronic stability program (ESP), also known as stability control, provides an important safety net in everyday driving but generally doesn’t allow sideways fun. Unless you get creative, that is.

In this video, Team O’Neil’s rally school demonstrates how to levitate a car with ESP on. This is something you can mainly do through driving technique, though with ESP and traction control cranked backwards as much as possible, and on loose ground.

Some cars have ways to turn off ESP, or at least make it less annoying. Whether it’s using a different drive mode or simply hitting the “off” button, disabling what you can is the first step. Even if the car indicates that the ESP is turned off, it may still be active to some degree, but leaving more leeway before intervening.

For this demonstration, Tim O’Neil used an all-wheel-drive Ford Explorer police car with selectable drive modes. In this case, the instructor recommends using the “Mud/Ruts” mode as it often disables traction control. Many SUVs today have a similar mode, so keep that in mind if you want to drift for your daily life.

When you’re on your way and find a decent place to drift, turn hard and fast. Sudden application of steering can essentially trick the ESP. At least in this decade-old Ford system, the steering angle sensor registers large amounts of steering input, while the yaw sensor indicates little actual turning. So the system will try to make the vehicle turn more by braking one wheel, creating less spin.

Once you start coasting, avoid steering backwards to keep this effect going. If things go wrong, you can always counter steer to bring back the ESP. That’s the advantage of trying to drive it rather than permanently disabling it, which is what Tim O’Neil does for his rally cars.

Another option is the pendulum technique that driving schools suggest to cancel understeer. Quick left and right rudder inputs can create enough momentum to loosen up the rear, but you need enough room to do the back-and-forth slalom it needs.

However, it’s important to remember that these are general tips. ESP setup varies between manufacturers and vehicles, and vehicle behavior can vary based on a number of factors, from weight and center of gravity to tires and power delivery. So a little experimentation may be required.