Just droped off the MCS to have a Quaife and Clutchmasters stage 3 w/lightened flywheel installed and on the drive home I was pondering this question/
When adding a LDS such as the Quaife do you need the DCS for traction or is this redundant?
I guess I am not up to speed as to everything that the DCS does other than traction and brakeing, but what is everyone else doing with this setup.

 

Anyone

 

The ASC+T controlls traction such as too much wheel spin. On cars that also have the optional DSC (on top of the ASC+T) you have stability control which does interesting things with the brakes to keep you under control when cornering.

Basically DSC is a safety feature that you should always have on when driving on the streets (autocross and the track are a different story). ASC+T you usually want on except when you need to accelerate fast (like a left turn from a stop sign when there isn't much break in the traffic). Unfortunatly, if you have DSC you can only turn of ASC+T off by turning off DSC too, so I turn it back on again as soon as possible.

In my (admittedly not very expert) opinion, no LSD, factory LSD or Quaife LSD doesn't really change anything above. LSD's ability to transfer power to whichever front wheel still has traction lowers the chances of spinning the wheels but does not change when you would turn ASC+T (and DSC) off or leave them on.

 

that's a quandary.

i've the quaife, but NOT the DSC. i can assure you however that the quaife is unnecessary (read useless) unless i switch off ASC - the traction control kicks in pretty quickly and will kill the drive, not caring if one wheel or two is slipping.

if i'm pulling out briskly and entering the flow of traffic the ASC can really hurt my timing pretty badly so I always leave it off. of course it kills an autocross run on launch!

the quandary is the potential loss of the yaw detection and skid control added by the DSC, which i reckon must be pretty handy.

my guess is that if you took the trouble to put the quaife in, you are probably headed for enough car control practice to make the DSC optional - perhaps except for 2nd drivers?

 

o.k....here is another variation. i have DCS and factory LSD. (quaiffe to be added later) on the street, i normally leave the DSC on. if i have to turn into heavy traffic (where i might need to accelerate quickly), i switch it off. when in intervenes, it cuts power abruptly and can lead to some wide-eyed moments. on the track, i switch it off. i have run w/ it on and it doesn't interfere too badly on most tracks. however, when trail braking (which i don't do often) or in a perfect 4-wheel drift on a fast sweeper, the unwanted addition of brake pressure is nasty! i will assume that you haven't added the quaiffe and lightened flywheel to be a fast grocery getter. if in doubt, start with it on while running a 8/10's and slowly get up to speed. find out where and when the computer thinks that it is a better driver than you. either turn it off or leave it on after you know what it wants to do.....good luck, greg

 

That’s a couple of interesting opinions!
I live in North Ga. about 1hr from the GAP, I usually make between 30-50 mountain runs each year.
My previous car was(gave to my son minus go fast goodies) 92 Miata with an SC, Air to air IC, KYB AGX, large sways, big brakes, and way too much stuff to name.
True the car was over 200whp, but the car was purposely built for handling or racing through the mountains, I have never “tracked” either car but have ran several BMWCCA events or high speed driving schools.
My idea for the MSC was about the same, handling, with a touch of extra power, which actually got out of hand with the Miata.
Anyway, I never had an LSD in the Miata and I guess I didn’t really miss it and learned to drive it without it.
I wonder if I could have had a MCS without DCS would that have changed my ownership experience.
I tend to be a threshold braker as that is what I learned in the Miata, maybe a good excuse to take some more schools.
This is going to be a challenge as I think that I am going to have to re-learn to drive the car w/o DCS.

 

Through in a couple of photos of Miata in gallery if anyone was courious.

 

In real life the traction control should not intrude as abruptly with the LSD. That being said, it will still come on as noted. The best course of action would be to leave the DSC on for the other benefits and learn to modulate the throttle at start. While under power the traction control really shouldn't intrude unless you really floor it coming out of a fairly slow corner with more HP than a stock MCS has.

One other thing to consider is getting a custom tune from RMW, or similiar tuner, that has the capability of greatly decreasing the sensitivity of the traction control

 

One other thing to consider is getting a custom tune from RMW, or similiar tuner, that has the capability of greatly decreasing the sensitivity of the traction control[/quote]

As of yet, The only mods are DDMWorks 15% pulley,air box and Invidia exhaust.
After the clutch and LSD Dave at DDM is going to tune as he is closer to me than RMW, so that might be one of the things tweked.

 

As long as he has the capabilities of adjusting the traction control ...........

 

Jan sold me the Dif and clutch kit.
I wonder if he would like to visit the East coast for a day or two for a working vacation?

 

DSC with the quaife is worthless, if you have enuff power it just wears out your brakes...i suggest turning it off and leaving it there...

 

and the debate continues........................DSC will only intrude if you are "out of control"/over-understeering. And the traction control should not be a factor if you have the lsd as the limit of traction is greatly increased.

 

At the track - DSC Off

On the street - I leave it on.

Alan

 

it is increased, however so has the power....hehe in my application....dsc bad...very bad...

 

Recently installed Quaife LSD and Clutch Master Stage 4 with flywheel. Tested the car out 3 days ago at the autoX track. Somehow the DSC light lite up when the car reach over 105mph. I couldn't even turn it back on until I restarted the car. It happened all 4 sessions. Anyway know why is that?

 

I always have DSC off. I find that when approaching the limit handling wise the DSC programming does not correlate with maximizing traction and cornering angle. If you have decent talent behind the wheel, DSC is only good in in-climate weather. No more.
Its absolutely horrible when going on a spirited drive or tracking of any variety.

 

Since it started raining DSC has almost gotten me into two accidents because it used the brakes to 'stop' wheel spin. Honestly its horrible unless you are ham fisted and lead footed.

 

There's just too much data to show that the systems saves lives, lots of lives.

Matt

 

Lives of people who dont know what a supercharger is or what it does....ABS is the only electronic device that I have found to really help me. This isnt the new M3 with 7+ levels of DSC intervention. The MINI DSC is designed for people who have no idea how to drive. Or people with solid rear axles...lol

 

Ive got a Quaife in my car and I leave DSC off all of the time unless its raining or snowing. I just dont like DSC deciding when it should come on by itself

 

Is it normal that DSC will turn off by itself when u go over certain speed?

 

Wheel speed sensor dirty?

Jeremy

 

I've got factory LSD and Traction Control. The Traction Control is enough to get you killed when you need to accelerate (like entering traffic while turning), even after having it desensitized with an ECU tune.

Mine is automatically turned Off except when conditions are wet or icy, when I turn it On, courtesy of Ian's MINI Circuit, which (optionally) shuts Off Traction control or DSC when you start the car.