I am looking for someone to verify the operation of the traction control button. When I press it once the notification light on the speedometer is on and also says "traction" on the tachometer. If i hold it down for 2 seconds it then says dynamic stability control is off.

So with just traction control off should you be able to get wheel spin during hard acceleration? I have not really tested it that much but when I have it off I still get the DSC light flashing when the wheels spin during acceleration. Is it simply flashing and not cutting power when it does that?


Lastly, for a first autocross should I run with just traction control off and DSC on, or turn everything off?

 

How much AutoX experience do you have?

I would keep the stuff on in the first couple of runs. It depends what you want to correct after that. Generally, I would turn off DSC next.

 

I have participated in only two autocrosses before through private car clubs. This is my first SCCA event.

If I turn traction control off will I be able to accelerate out of turns and not get the engine cut out like I got with my 2003 MCS, yet still have the DSC on?

When the traction control is off but the light turns on it is just letting you know your getting wheel spin but not cutting power to the wheels?

 

Leave it on for a few runs, then after you learn the course and your line, turn it off for the last 2 or 3 and see how much you improve

 

Turn everything off! You need to learn how the car handles without all the electronic nanny's. What's the worst that could happen in Auto-X if you lose a little control? You hit a cone. Much better than hitting a concrete barrier on a track. Use your ears and the seat of your pants to judge what the car is doing. Not the computer.

 

No, with the first button push, you've only removed the complex stability control to drive in snow / slush.
However the traction control is still active.

Press again and hold the button to remove all dynamic traction control features.

To recap:
* Set at engine switch on: Full assistance, eLSD & DSC.
* Press once (1 second) for DTC - for traction in snow/ice or mud.
* Press and hold (3 seconds) for eLSD [if installed / applicable] only (DSC & DTC off).

- Erik

 

By design, leaving either version on will restrict your acceleration so much that you will not be able to go fast enough to possibly spin the car even if you have tires with miserable grip. With either DSC or DTC left on my car is so hampered that I am able to complete a run without braking once.

Even the rev limiter will kill an autocross run. It shuts the engine off completely and will not allow it to restart for several seconds. I thought I had killed it. You have to live with the ABS (which is good), the rev limiter, and electronic braking to prevent wheel spin. The rest you can turn off as you described.

 

I would recommend that you turn everything off, even if you are brand new to AutoX. AutoX is about learning to control a vehicle at its limits in a safe environment, and you can't do that with the electronic nannies on.

I've accidently run my MCS with the DSC on once or twice and I found the car's behavior to be less predictable with it on than off. I'm used to driving with the DSC off though. At autoX, the car is definitely considerably slower with the DSC on than with it off.

 

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^^^ You cannot turn off the eLSD, no matter what you do (at least on US cars). And it's highly debatable if it makes the car any faster anyway.

 

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The eLSD is always on and can not be turned off.
I have checked both in autoX and in the snow.

 

So the same "DSC Off" button controls both DSC and DTC? How do you know if you have either, or both? I don't *think* I have DTC - no matter how long I hold the "DSC Off" button I'll just get the one "!" for when whatever it is goes off.

I've got a new to me 08 base Cooper with the original window sticker, and the sport package says it gives me Dynamic Stability Control, and under standard features there is ABS, CBC, EBD, TPM, and ASC for all season traction control. I'm assuming ASC is not the same as DTC?

 

I run a Justa with "Press and hold for 3 secs" and did order DTC with the car.

I launch at 3,500 revs and spin the front end for the first ten feet or so, just feathering the throttle until wheelspin stops, and then opening it fully before the quick change to 2nd. It seems to work pretty well, and tires are cheaper than clutches.

On corner exit I've no wheelspin issue, as this is a Justa.

I'd expect the "S" to still require some throttle discipline on corner exit, matching additional throttle to the progressive unwinding of the wheel.

My sense of the system is that it does not cut throttle, which is the most important thing. It may (as advertised) be dragging the brake on the unloaded wheel to reduce wheelspin, but this does not entirely prevent it.

Forgetting to set the Nannys up properly is definitely a run-killer. On the 210 hp STX car I ran previously one of my guest drivers would sometimes have this horrified "what happened" look on their face about 15 fee off the line when the car appeared to die due to the throttle cut that occurs on wheelspin with all systems in their default state.

Cheers,

Charlie