Is it possible to fully disable traction and stability control?

[Turbowned]

Hey guys,

I ventured out into the lovely snowstorm we're having up here in Boston, and naturally turned ESC off the moment I left the garage. I've noticed however that it's never completely off; that I hear ABS or something working behind the scenes from time to time. Is there a way to completely disable the system, either by doing some sort of trick (other than pulling the ABS fuse) or through VAGcom?

The car did very well on the 40 mile round trip in snow; I only had to stop a couple times to de-ice the windshield wipers (wish we had a wiper de-icer like Subarus have). If I stay up north any longer I might opt for skinnier wheels/tires and a better suspension setup to help improve weight transition; the weight of the car is a lot more noticeable when driving in low traction situations.

[nubcake]

I might be wrong, but I think that the ESP button does the trick for me. At least I've gone waaaaay sideways with it in "off" state. :)
If you're absolutely sure it doesn't work - try pulling ESP fuses, there are a few (2 or 3).

[kruat]

If the ESP system is anything like the one on B5 S4s, then no, I don't think you can completely disabled it, even by removing fuse or turning it off.

[lswing]

You'll always have the Torsen center dif keeping you in control, even when sideways.

[4everRS]

Traction control uses the abs system. When the esp button is pushed, I believe there is a solenoid valve the restricts the abs from being applied to the spinning wheel. So the abs system is still active as it is needed for braking. You still hear, and maybe feel the vibration of the abs unit, but it isn't doing anything at the wheels.

[Bigglezworth]

You can turn off the Electronic Stability Program/Control yes. This cannot be done on all Audi's, but on the RS6 your dash button does turn it off. So as to not confuse everyone, ESC/ESP addresses skidding and when it's turned 'off', it does NOT also turn the ABS off. Anti-Braking System is a full time safety feature that cannot be turned off - period. ABS is linked to the performance and operation of the ESC/ESP just like throttle by wire is. What that means is that when the car starts to skid or lose traction, the ECU will automatically control spin at all four wheels by introducing different levels of brake pressure for each wheel while also introducing throttle control. With the ESC/ESP turned off, you remove the feature to control independent braking, but the ABS still functions like it does on all cars that don't have thet ESC/ESP feature.

[Turbowned]

So if ESC OFF is pressed, ABS works even if I'm not pressing the brake, in other words? When I'm accelerating on snow sometimes, I can hear ticking like the ABS system is functioning even though ESC is off.

[lswing]

What kind of ticking? I had esc off and was joyriding around in snow and ice last year, plenty out of control. But under hard braking abs still comes on.