footjoy.....it sounds from your post that DTC and DSC affect the MINI's suspension??...I thouught they were strictly relating to how the car deals with traction issues? (mine is an '04 MC with DSC which I need to shut off when starting up a hill in snowy conditions)

 

You are correct, no way that system of nanny's affects ride quality.

 

Agreed.

DTC vs. DSC doesn't change ride characteristics, and it doesn't change how fast you can take high-speed corners (unless you're *spinning* one of your front tires, which is unlikely).

The systems essentially affect the way the car transfers power between the two front wheels when one loses traction... most commonly during low-speed corners where the weight is shifted off the inside tire or in other low-traction situations like acceleration from a stop, inclement weather, etc.

I realize this thread is a little old, but I didn't want people being mislead into thinking that ordering DTC is going to result in worse handling than a car without any DTC (w/ ELSD) or LSD.

 

Not that this has anything to do with Minis..(or maybe it will..I dont have LSD with my mini).. with my old Chevelle with a 411 Posi... posi traction ment both wheels will spin in the same direction at the same time... but with limited slip, if you turn one wheel in one direction the other would go the opposite direction...(you could see this when when jacked up off the ground).

 

I'm not sure about the DTC, but my 2008 has the DSC. We have had a couple of snow storms already, and my Mini handled the snow great with the DSC left turned on. Whenever I felt the car wanting to slip and slide, it stopped me from doing something stupid and kept the car under control. Granted, the snow we had was only about 8 inches (first storm), and the second storm was that wet, freezing mucky stuff that was only about 6 inches, but the car did great in it. I would have felt safer in my big 4x4 over the Mini, but I actually felt safer in the Mini than in my wife's big FWD 4-door sedan. BTW - I do not have the LSD.

 

Sorry to bring this back from the dead, but the above post is incorrect.

Posi-traction and limited slip are one in the same.

If you jack up the rear of a RWD vehicle and turn one wheel in one direction and the other spins the opposite way, then you have an "open" differential, not a LSD or Posi-traction rear. If they both spin the same direction, then you have a LSD or Posi-traction differential.

/rant off

 

What's the consensus on DTC now, having been available for a few model years?

Worth the $250? Or not needed? Would this be of more use on an S than a Justa?

 

LSD: if you are on the gas and one of the front wheels starts slipping because of loss of traction then w/o LSD that wheel will just spin, w/ LSD that wheel will stop spinning and power goes to the other wheel.