my 09' MCS manual has DSC and LSD. who here drives with the DSC off and is there any added benefit. Better performance? Thanks

 

DSC is a safety feature that is designed to help if you spin out. It attempts to get the MINI going in the same direction as the drive wheels are going when the car is sliding. It does this by braking individual wheels that the computer calculates will rotate the car back into the right direction. Since it can control individual brakes, and can make the calculations in a fraction of a second, it can do what we cannot. So, best to leave it on, unless you are on a track or AutoX course.

The downside of DSC is that ASC is linked to it. ASC is a traction control system that will cut engine power when a drive wheel starts to spin. To turn ASC off, you have to turn DSC off.

 

thanks Robin for the explanation

 

just something to add. i keep mine on all the time. when i was driving in the recent pa snowstorms i had to climb a really bad hill that a few cars got stuck on. At first when i went up the asc would cut my spinning wheels and after 5 seconds it realized i got some progress with the spinning wheels it let the car spin all the way up the hill. i didn't think it would do that.

 

no white stuff way down here in south louisiana. thats why i was wondering if the DSC function was robbing me of any performance. Thanks

 

I had the same problem where the ASC would cut all power to the wheels and wouldnt let me go up the hill. I had to turn my DSC off to make it up. Now if I see a hill coming I turn it off right away.

 

It really depends on how much risk you are willing to except. I personally only do it when no one is around in an area with no houses and people with good turns. You can tell the difference.

 

I leave it on to save my butt if necessary. I've only turned it off when its got in the way, that's only been a few times on particularly enthusiastic track days.

 

Power understeer can be a major problem with DSC off.

 

Ever since I bought my MCS I've noticed an inordinate amount of torque steer when I accelerate hard with the wheel turned even a little bit. However when I autocrossed with the DSC off, there's almost no torque steer to speak of. I finally figured out that the DSC and LSD are fighting. Accelerating hard with the wheel turned, the LSD turns the outside wheel faster than the inside wheel, but if it loses traction at all, the DSC tries to transfer torque to the drive wheel with traction (the inside wheel). This goes back and forth once or twice before it pulls itself together.

 

yeah that's what i was expecting to happen but it didn't all i know was i was sawing the wheel left and right to get some traction and it was spinning..i don't wanna test that out again

 

I don't own an LSD but I find the DSC very hard to predict in hard driving. The corrections can be often times harder to battle than any loss in traction. I think it nannies way too much for my tastes. If there were a lower level sensitivity option, I think I'd be much more likely to leave it on.

 

Be smooth in your inputs and DSC will not intrude as much.

 

If you turn everything off, then it is just like any other car that does not have this type of traction control... probably still safe enough to drive in public.

I drive mine with the DTC turned off (short button push) about half the time, it does allow a little more wheel spin and better throttle response. I rarely hold the button down long enough to deactivate everything, but that does make it even more fun and allows the tail to slide out around corners a little better.

 

You do have the option to push the DTC button, or even hold it down for a few seconds to reduce the intrusions even more. You have to ignore the silly triangle warnings, but it does make it more what it should be.

I've had my MCS for almost a year, and I too still find it the most difficult car (out of about 30 owned) to predict throttle input on takeoff. I don't know if it is the turbo or the computer, but I find it aggravating. I can see why a lot of people toast the clutches... especially if they do not have much MT experience.

 

Thus the hard driving comment. Motoring about my commute, I leave it on since it will only help in the case of emergency. When I am slamming on the gas in the hills, I don't like the nannying. I don't like to correct the correction.

 

I don't have DTC... just DSC which I have to press for quite a while thus don't bother as I mentioned earlier.

The throttle is way easier than my WRX... there was so little lo end that just a bit shy and you risk stalling out. The clutch was impossible too (microscopic and inconsistent friction point) so it made for adventures even on the way to get some milk.

 

I see, I was thinking all of the MCS's came with the DTC. I like the fact I can adjust the DTC. It does make the car work better in the snow, too, when turned off to the first level. I turn it off all the way when I'm wringing the car out on the backroads... much more fun with some spinning and sliding.

 

Mine is off all the time. So far, in 5 years, there is nothing the car has done that I havent been able to correct. My car has a 19mm sway bar set so that the car rotates at its midpoint, so understeer is not a problem.

I find the DSC almost useless in the snow. If Im stuck, it wont allow the wheels to spin to get me out.