DSC, On or Off?

[Rotary Potato]

My car had (about to be changed after wearing right down after my first trackday) some nice mis-matched ditchfinders on ... which cause the car to throw all manner of ABS, DSC and TC warning lights after a few minutes of enthusiastic driving. This appears to disable ALL the electronic driving aids until the car is switched off and switched on again.

I've found that when driving fast and smooth, the difference is imperceptable ... when driving like a hooligan there is more of a difference!

[Stribo]

Off.

[PeteH]

Off.

Yes, but you repair body panels so your vote is void!

[zippyonline]

Off.

Yes, but you repair body panels so your vote is void!

Are you confusing Stribo with Shambo?

[Stribo]

Off.

Yes, but you repair body panels so your vote is void!

I wouldn't know how to repair a body panel. I've found I can get a nice 4 wheel drift with it off, whereas, with it on I can't, that having been said, if it's wet, I leave it on.

[PeteH]

Off.

Yes, but you repair body panels so your vote is void!

Are you confusing Stribo with Shambo?

Ooops!

[TerryH]

The RX8 benefits from a stiff chassis, with compliant suspension (for a sports car), near perfect 50/50 weight distribution, masses of grip and a sophisticated limited-slip diff, all of which means that you can push it really hard before it gets close to losing control.

The DSC is also quite sophisticated in that it doesn't just monitor the wheel sensors, there's also a steering angle sensor and a yaw sensor to monitor lateral acceleration.

This means that the DSC can operate multiple strategies, depending on the situation and the last thing it will do is reduce engine power.

It's primary control is tiny braking actions on individual wheels, to get the car back on "the intended line" - or the direction that it assumes you want to go based on the steering angle.

When new, this system works really well but, in addition to the tyre size and others mods described above, there are a couple of other ways it can been prevented from working properly.

Cheap tyres - these are referred to a "ditch finders" for a reason and no amount of sophisticated DSC is going to beat the laws of physics if there just isn't any grip.

Sticking brakes - this is becoming a more common problem. Sometimes it's the pistons that are sticking but more often it's the caliper slide pins. This means that tiny applications of the brakes either don't happen or when they happen they don't immediately release, the caliper sticking off or on.

It's wasn't uncommon for the rear calipers to stick solid, so the discs aren't being clamped by the pads, just rubbed on one side, as the rear brakes don't see as much action as the front in normal driving. This is now becoming more common for the fronts as well, as cars are becoming older and many are being left standing for longer periods.

All this means that the primary strategy of the DSC either can't work at all or actually makes things worst, and all it's got left is to reduce engine power.

If your DSC seems a little too eager to kill power and you know that your tyres are okay, then the next place to look is the brakes.

[Proactive]

The definition of a clear concise explanation