Please leave the VDC on whenever you're around other cars. Driving your car to the limit is cool. Finding out where your grip threshold is when I'm driving my brand new shiny car in the other lane is NOT cool, and I'll make sure you know about it if we both live.

If there's a stretch of road you like (and it's clear), I would strongly recommend that you get in the habit of turning the VDC off when you hit that part of the road, rather than getting in the habit of turning it off when you get in the car. What alot of people learned this winter is that Michelin Pilots hate cold weather even more than had been expected. Some people with the VDC Off habit learned that lesson even harder. Even if there isn't rain or snow, those tires will still slide around on dry pavement if it's extremely cold out and they haven't warmed up yet. Alot of people smart enough to be more cautious in wet conditions didn't think of that other possibility. You don't really need VDC On when you're expecting to slip. You need it when you're relaxed and not expecting it. That's why turning it off and on situationally is a better habit. If you find that you like that, you may want to follow one of the VDC Off Button relocation DIYs to make it even easier.

Finally, since your car doesn't have LSD, turning off VDC means you're pretty much flying without a net. I wouldn't do that except for straight line acceleration.

-Jack
Obsidian '03 G35 Sports Coupe
Titanium '03 MX-5 Shinsen #532

 

Gee JDMan...what's with the lecture? I would not be asking the question, if I did not at least have an ounce of resposibility. I do have some track experience and have not even turned VDC off. I just want to know what you think rear-drivers do before VDC was a somewhat standard feature?

By the way, my G is in storage for the winter and I insisted on 17" with all seasons, in spite of my gal's encouragement to get the 18". I've been diligently putting on Michelin Alpins and Blizaks on my 2 other cars that see snow.......................

 

Here's a test. In a large parking lot, turn wheels hard to left, and stomp on the gas. The car will begin to spin out, but VDC will correct and car will correct and proceed in a straight line. Now in the same large parking lot. Turn VDC off, wheels hard to the left, and stomp on gas. The car will do a 360 before you've had a deap breath. This will give you an idea of how good the VDC works. I have driven with it off when I wanted to get a bit aggressive. I normally do not drive like this, so VDC stays on. Another way to test it is from a start at a light. With VDC on, rear tires light up and car takes off. With VDC on, tire hesitates then pulls away smoother. Just depends on what you are in the mood and what you can risk.

(in Atlanta)

Asphalt don't play

 

Wow, what a topic.

Fortunately for me, I learned to drive on a brand new (at the time) 1987 Mustang GT 5 speed. Now THAT is a car that could easily get you into trouble, due to its combination of RWD/high torque/light rear end. And this was BEFORE such things as stability control were even around.

Maybe everyone should actually learn proper car control without having to rely on electronic stability controls.

Think about it-- if you like to race (auto-x, road course or even dragstrip stuff), then you MUST turn off the VDC and learn how to handle your car. And learning these types of skills only make you a better driver on the street.

No VDC for me.

 

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Finally, since your car doesn't have LSD, turning off VDC means you're pretty much flying without a net.

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Actually, a car without a limited slip differential would tend to get into LESS trouble than one with LSD, in terms of car control. Everyone knows that with both rear tires sharing the traction, it's easier to "swap ends" than if the car had an open differential (where only one wheel was getting power)

 

I prefer cautious driving with vdc off, but with oem 17s and rsa tires, the grip catches in a scary way; definitely want to try vdc when I get better hi performance tires.

I can feel the swerving motions setting in, but it feels uneven, so countersteering safely is essentially a crapshoot; unless I get access to a newly paved lot that won't have cops driving by! I hope new tires will improve the driing with vdc OFF.

When vdc is on, and it engages in cornering, the car kind of becomes impotent due to the brakes being applied. This is far more annoying than most traction control systems I've used, tho most of my experience is with AWD turbo cars, Audis, and FWD VR6s.

 

Well did a search on Limited slip and have been going through some of the topics on it. Lately I've been driving and I'm noticing that I get a shaking/jerking type motion of the car and I see the car either was losing power or something was really wrong. I've got an 05 auto sport package and I haven't turned anything off. But I notice (normally when I put it in the manumatice mode) that if I punced on turns and started shifting that the car would lose power and start jerking alot and finally I noticed the slip light coming on and going off quickly.

Personally I feel this is not how I thought the limited slip would perform. Also from the replies in this thread it seems like if I turn off the VDC switch I can pretty much gurantee myself an accident because then the car becomes uncontrollable. I would like to think this isn't the case and that some skill can be applied to maintain control of the car..........

 

This is one of the reasons I dislike seeing the "leave it on" replies. Seldomly are they qualified with "if you're inexperienced or clueless when it comes to physics".

Like Hitman, I learned car dynamics at an early age, with a vehicle prone to breaking the rear loose. I didn't even have ABS, much less some sort of traction control or all-encompassing VDC system. So yes, I'll say that there is simply no replacement for experience, good judgement and moderation. Relying on VDC to correct bad driver inputs never results in a better driver.

On that note, I will agree that 'if you're inexperienced or clueless when it comes to physics and good judgemet', do the rest of the world a favor and keep the VDC on while driving on the streets. But, at the same time, I strongly urge you to find a safe place to learn vehicle dynamics without the VDC engaged. If you leave the VDC on all the time and never see the slip light come on, then get out of here and go really drive your G for once.

And phenom, that sounds like the VDC working, not just the LSD. It can be an unsettling thing when it throws off your line out of a corner.

 

Our VDC is a very good system.....and tends to be very intrusive.
Unless you have the experince to control your vehicle, and you are on a track, the VDC should be left on.
You've read many a sad story of members learning the hard way. The choice is yours.

From what I've experienced with my G's, the conditions and symptoms you describe is the VDC doing its job.

C.

 

One time I forgot I had the VDC off when I was making a U-Turn and gave it too much gas as I turned. I almost spun out. And I scared the hell out of some people walking down the street with all the tire noise. I try to be more careful now.

 

I turn my VDC off almost everytime I get into my car. It seems to have a little more pep to the drive when off. And when you try to get on it from a stop it seems to slow you down when the tires are supposed to chirp.

 

I will admit that I keep the VDC on in my wife's Pathfinder...

...But that's not a good-handling sports car either.

 

I keep the VDC on...assuming the engineers are smarter than I.

 

...........

 

HAHHAA...Jason, thats great.


I always keep it off. In fact, I have a module (KP Technologies) that keeps it off even after I shut the car down. Of course, those of us in the FI world have to have it "OFF".

Part of the fun is learning how to control our cars. I'm not saying to learn in rush hour traffic on I-95. But....on empty roads or empty parking lots, learn away. It's better to learn there than when you losing control somewhere else. Just my $.02