Hello all:

I'm new to the site.

Took delivery of an 08 MCS last week, and my husband is now a widow! Just about to drive off the lot when the dealer noticed a gouge on the driver's side door , and so my brand new Chilli-red was off to the body shop. I got one day of driving delight last Monday, and since then have been doing the next best thing to driving the MCS - lurking here, reading and gawking. I want my MINI!!!!

So, in my lonely, sans-MCS hours, one of the questions I've been musing is this: if you had to order only one, which would it be LSD, or DSC? I opted for only one of these two options, but I realize I didn't know enough before making my decision. So, now I'm wondering if I made an expensive boo-boo...

Am I really going to notice not having LSD? I'm just a freeway driver, and probably a bit of a chicken when it comes to cornering. I've driven a stick all my life, and I tend to drive a bit too fast, (and, when it comes to corners, you know the moves - brake before cornering, drive on through, but still not that fast). I imagine that what would seem like "pushing it" for me would be pretty tame for you all. I'm just a newbie, coming off driving a pick-up truck! Sooo...without LSD, what am I missing?

Besides, I'm in Southern Cali - what corners? the freeway on-ramp??? What slick roads? It never rains!

Thanks,

Surly
08 MCS Chilli Red, Premium, Convenience, DCS, Chrome Interior/Exterior, Piano Black, White Turn Signals, White Bonnet Stripes...

 

DSC was the right move. Safety first.

 

Yeah, if you're not prone to spinning the tires at all LSD probably won't be of much use. DSC is a safety item, somewhat better (they say) than ASC which is standard. It also prevents the car from rolling backward on a hill when you take off the brake and start to engage the clutch. The agressive drivers all want LSD but you may not use it.

 

Will the LSD help reigh in torque steer when accelerating hard - or does it only really help if you are, as you say, spinning the tires? Thanks!

 

Thanks

 

DCS helps to prevent rolling backwards when starting on a hill? I leave my DSC on all the time, well almost, and I will roll back as normal when starting on a hill

edited: oops, my bad....I'm a '04 and hill assist is not on r50 I think

 

Hill start assist is a life saver - or rather, a bumper saver for the idiots behind you. And DSC is an, um, butt-saver, too. There have been many more times that DSC has intervened than I've taken advantage of the LSD. Of course, that's crappy roads and drivers in Michigan. But I'd still go for DSC over LSD if I only had the $$ for one.

 

DSC to keep your wife from really becoming a widow.

You will miss LSD when you try to turn left in front of oncoming traffic. As you go over the oil slick left by the 1957 hot pink convertible Cadillac, the ASC (traction control) it will cut the engine, and increase your heart-rate. So, don't try to beat them, wait until they go by.

I grew up in West Los Angeles so I know about that rain that never happens (like that storm that is there now) and how poorly So. Cal drivers handle it. DSC will serve you well in those conditions. LSD would help you accelerate in those conditions, but it wont help you avoid the insane person in the SUV who thinks four wheel drive allows them to safely drive in the rain at twice the speed limit.

 

No. It may even increase torque steer since it allows the car to put more power to the ground. Full throttle in the lower gears, on an LSD equipped MCS, is pretty significant. Makes it all the more exciting.

 

The Hill Assist in DSC only works if you have the clutch in and the brake pedal depressed. Then when you take your foot off the brake and move it to the gas pedal, it delays the release of the brakes for a second or so.

I find it useful in traffic, but when starting out up a steep steep hill (such as my long switchback driveway) I prefer the e-brake handle start. I've had decades of practice with it and make a smoother start than with Hill Assist. Perhaps if I had decades of practice with Hill Assist...

 

The LSD was the right call for me. Yep I spent my money on LSD. Lots of folks love DSC & feel it's a great safety feature. I'm happy not to have it & they're happy they do.

If you just street drive your car you will get along just fine without the LSD. I track my MINI & that made the decision for me.

I don't have DSC on my car & can't understand how I haven't crashed & burned yet. I also can't understand how cars with it do crash.

Here we go again.

 

i wonder what ppl did before the invention of DSC..... especially in a FWD car. I would get the LSD and drive within your limits on the street.

 

That's what I was going to say!

 

+ 1

 

LSD is meant to be performance, DSC is safety. If you dont even plan on turning the traction control you'll never be driving the car to the point where the LSD is useful. The traction control will stop a drive wheel from spinning by using the brakes, but the LSD will lock and torque bias. Majority of mini owners will not need the LSD, if you did you would know you need it.

 

sorry i assumed all mini owners would autocross

 

Front wheel drive? DSC was designed for RWD to begin with, FWD is much safer. Oversteer is only going to happen through the steering wheel unlike the steering wheel and throttle on RWD.

 

yes thats' why i made that comment, while i understand the value of DSC, it seems a bit overkill in a FWD car with under 200 hp.....

 

That's not completely correct. FWD cars like the MINI can be put into oversteer by lifting the throttle in a turn. In a RWD car oversteer can be induced by either adding or taking away throttle.

As for safety or performance, why is no one talking about the safety aspects of an LSD? In rain, snow, and ice, putting power down with two tires is better than just one.

 

They crashed and burned.

 

In the right conditions a FWD can oversteer with the throttle also. It requires a sharp lift off the gas to unload the rear wheels in a corner. It doesn't happen much, but under the right or wrong conditions it can & does. Understeer is considered safer by many people especially car manufacturers. Personally I don't consider it any safer. It's really up to the driver which is safer.

 

Not true, I & many like me are still here Robin.

 

oh sorry i didn't understand. Yeah, I don't feel DSC would be useful for many people, but if you have never taken a defensive driving or accident avoidance (or autocross) type class i could see it being a good idea. plenty of people will still like it.

 

or flipped and walked away! check my gallery

 

no need to be sorry fellow chili red owner