You can turn it off partially. If you wanna smoke 'em you can.

Gsedanman--in Silverstone Coupe clothing.

 

is it noticeably different with the vdc off? i've never actually tried that yet.

'03 G35 Sedan: ivory/aero body/sport/sunroof
Warning: Objects in mirror are FASTER than they appear

 

Hey smcallis: from what I've read, and experienced (with my Sedan) turning off the VDC partially but not totally disables the system, to allow some wheel slippage when you get stuck in mud, snow, ice, etc.,
otherwise you'd never get out of any of that. right... So..: by the same thinking you're gonna be able to break the tires loose on dry pavement too. I don't make a habit of it but I could break the wheels loose fairly easily with my SEDAN. I never smoked them or went nuts but I seem to remember a movie clip on this Forum by someone who put on quite a 'show'......Search back for 'Smokey Burnouts' or maybe someone can remember who that was. I believe it was a new Coupe just as they came out -- Oct? Nov? whatever.
I haven't broken in the Coupe yet so not sure on that yet.
Interestingly I've read that in Japan the VDC system and the Traction Control system can be controlled separately. Not sure which cars. Anyone???
As to what happens exactly when you diable the VDC-- I can't say. This kind of info is in short supply. Looks to me that ppl outside of Japan aren't told too much some of these things. (check out : Tech. Forum>> "Performance question"
about our A/T issues.
It seems everyone gets different results when they experiment with things like this. To my mind you have to try this yourself (carefully) to see how it works for you.
But check out that video clip----it speaks volumes----
If memory serves, someone was talking about an article they read in some car mag. that apparently took out fuse for the VDC circuit, or was it T/C circuit not sure...but as I remember they were able to do smokey burnouts at will. They pointed out that diabling these systems could be dangerous and I don't condone doing it.
Interesting stuff and nobody seems to know very much at all, to this point ( including me). What I think is most inportant is that these systems are good and shouldn't be tampered with for abvious reasons. Your life & Your warranty-- be careful...
........Later..........

Gsedanman--in Silverstone Coupe clothing.

 

To get to the vid, click on Photo Gallery (under Navigation on the top left) and then click on Videos at the bottom. Glad it's not my car, but very cool!

Drive safe, have fun, kick butt when necessary
'03 Emerald Mist
Premium/Sport/Xenon

 

Thanks Tre5, I knew I'd seen it somewhere.
Hell of way to break a car in huh?LOL
Gsedanman--in Silverstone Coupe clothing.<P ID="edit"><FONT class="small"><EM>Edited by gsedanman on 01/13/03 05:49 PM.</EM></FONT></P>

 

Have a look at the video mentioned by 'Tre5' above.

Gsedanman--in Silverstone Coupe clothing.

 

I think that turning off the VDC turns off the yaw ( stability) control. The traction control stays on which affects the rear tire turn rate differential. Not sure, but that's the way it seems to make the car behave on slippery streets.

 

According to the manual, there's the Vehicle Dynamic Control (stability/yaw control), Traction Control, Brake Limited Slip Differential (LSD), and ABS. Turning off the VDC turns off stability and traction controls, and leaves Brake LSD and ABS on.

The Brake LSD functions when a single drive wheel is slipping, it brakes the slipping wheel to distribute power to the other wheel. So, you can spin both tires equally, but you can't spin just one.

2003.5 G35 Sedan Desert Platinum/Graphite Premium/Sport/Aero/Nav/Winter

 

ryoken:
I couldn't find this info in the manual. Which manual and what page?
Also isn't the 'brake LSD' the same as what Infiniti calls 'traction control' ? If not, what does the traction control do exactly?

 

I don't have the manual in front of me at the moment, but I was looking at it when I wrote that last post. It's in chapter 6 (5?), under Vehicle Dynamic Control. There are about 3 pages on it, and it mentions the Brake LSD operation. Now that I think about it, traction control is probably very similar. The manual seemed to give me the hint that they were different, but didn't go into details. It's a rather poor manual.

On another note, I've seen references in this forum to fully disabling the VDC by holding the button for about 20 seconds. You push the button, hold it, the VDC Off light comes on, and about 15-20 seconds later, the VDC Off light turns back off. Then, no amount of pushing or holding the VDC button turns the light back on until you shut off the engine. Anybody have any knowledge of what kind of state this puts the car into? I've just hit 400 mi, and won't be trying anything until the breakin period is over.

2003.5 G35 Sedan Desert Platinum/Graphite Premium/Sport/Aero/Nav/Winter

 

I've tried it and it does nothing but the same thing as pushing the VDC button once. I guess there has to be some reason for the VDC to work like that. I have recently taken my G out of grandpa mode (disconnected the battery for 12 hours to clear the previously learned driving method). I will let ya'll know if this make a difference.

Limited Edition Twilight Blue / Premium / Graphite / Xenons

 

From what I understand the only way to completely disable the VDC is to remove the brake light fuse....do this at your own risk however....I assume no liability what so ever.

Red/Canadian

 

Don't you need the brake light? Man, the things you have to sacrifice for performance.

Limited Edition Twilight Blue / Premium / Graphite / Xenons