With as much lift-throttle and power oversteer that exists in the sedan, I leave mine on all the time except when I'm feeling frisky. Statistics show that stability control systems and single biggest improvement in vehicle safety since the safety belt. Yes, they can deaden the driving experience and really aren't benefical in a track situation (unless you have a progressive VDC with multiple settings like in the C6 Vette), but when you're on a public road and a deer jumps out in front of you and dodge it and put a tire in loose gravel, chances are it's going to save you regardless of how good of a driver you are. I owned a modded 94 Z28 for about 3 years and also spent a lot of time behind the wheels of numerous 5.0 and 4.6 Mustangs. I consider myself pretty good with handling a RWD in most situations, but if I've got a system that can help me gain further control on public roads, I'm going to use it. I've lost track of how many people on this site have wrecked their cars because they choose to drive without stability control. Granted the VDC isn't a save-all system, but more often than not it can save you or at least make the crash more liveable.



As for messing with button, I've done it on my G35 and it doesn't turn off the VDC. It's still on even though the light is off. If you really want to disengage the VDC and traction control, pull the center console off and unplug the yaw sensor.

 

What happens if you start pulling fuses? I suppose a lot of light go up on the dash though?

I'd like to know VDC and traction control are irritating.

 

No, you're smart.

 

Oddly, I've never put myself in a situation where I'd 'fly into a guard rail' with or without VDC.

 

ive actually taken my cars on isolated roads + parking lots and turned VDC off to learn to control it esp... when coming out of a turn it loves to fishtail... i know how to control it quite well so i turn it off most of the time.

 

how did anyone ever survive driving higher powered vehicles before VDC and traction control ever existed ??

the Mustang I drove before my G was fully built to 708 RWHP and had no traction control whatsoever and it would get sideways at 70 MPH on dry pavement w/o using the clutch. It was a blast to drive and I never lost control of it once.

I understand the safety reasons for it sure, and some people probably are better off driving with it on all the time but we'd all be safer if every car was equipped with a anti-moron button.


that being said...unless it's raining I usually turn mine off first thing. Why else buy a higher performing vehicle ?

 

The VDC works great at the power range the car was made for. When you increase the power a lot like I have the VDC becomes a pain. It kicks in whenever the tires start to spin which happens by accident to me a lot. I have the KP module that keeps the VDC setting in memory so I don't have to turn it off all the time. That way if anyone else who doesn't know my car well drives it I can turn it back on. Also, I live in Phoenix so the bad weather isn't an issue.

 

My modded 94 Z28 didn't have it and neither did my friend's 90 LX notch or 95 GT. The Z28 was damn easy to control during oversteer assuming you didn't hit a bump in the mid-corner. The Mustang's on the otherhand were absolute POS' when it came to at the limit handling. A super crap rear end suspension design as well as the front, led to bind situations. Control the rear end was completely hit or miss. Depending the surface, you could control it and other times you were at it's mercy and it did whatever it wanted regardless of your input.

Yes, we managed without stability control years ago, but I would not buy car without it now. It is by far the most important safety advance since the seat belt, potentially even better as stats are showing. Every gearhead seems to think they're a better driver than these systems, but the reality is 99% are not and you cannot account for all the obstacles on a public road. The systems do deaden driving fun, but for the most part they're going to save your *** on the street. Take note of just how many on this site and my350z ran without VDC only to crash during some hamfisted manuever or driving on a road they we're familiar with. I consider myself a pretty decent driver and can more than handle induced oversteer with this car, but I have little faith in myself in completely controlling the car on a dark wet road where a deer jumps out in front of me.

The G35 is set up very aggressively. Without VDC, it is very tail-happy under numerous situations. I have a very hard time believing a lot of people on this site know how to control a car, especially since for many, this is the most powerful car they've ever owned.

 

I had a lot of traction-control-less experience driving a 4.6L Mustang GT for many years... compared to that car, the G is extremely easy to control, even with VDC off.

That having been said, why would you permanently want to disable VDC? It's definitely important to have on in the rain and other inclement weather (but obviously NOT if you're stuck in the snow). It takes TWO SECONDS to hit the button to turn it off - is it really worth never having it rather then "wasting" two seconds? You're spending a lot more time trying to figure out how to turn it off permanently!

For the record, I hate VDC 99% of the time, and almost always have it off if it is dry weather above freezing. Fortunately Infiniti has improved VDC and on an '07 Sedan I drove it was far less obtrusive than in my '04 coupe. Unlike in my car where it will cut the throttle, causing me to bog down and look like I don't know how to drive, in the '07 it simply prevented wheel spin just enough to keep the car accelerating in a straight line.

The '04 VDC sucks - I can't even corner hard, downshift hard, or throw it into 2nd hard without it engaging, cutting out the throttle, and applying the brakes. If you know how to drive a RWD near its limits in dry conditions, you are probably OK without it. If not, leave it on.

 

I usually keep mine on unless im going to do some donuts or power slide a corner. It likes to fish tail really easy and even though im good at handling it in a slide its not good if its an unexpected skid that will put you into oncoming traffic. keep it on

 

Ever since I about got hit because of VDC I've kept mine off.

I pulled out to turn left at an intersection with plenty of time. However, I hit a bit of gravel and my rear wheels spun a bit. Well, VDC kicked in and killed my throttle. I had enough momentum to get me rolling in to the intersection but not enough throttle to get through it. I sat there, helplessly, and watched the oncoming car come closer and closer until VDC finally turned off and I had control of the car again. Luckily, there was plenty of room to get out in front of the oncoming car, had he been a bit closer he would of most likely hit me.

Sometimes a little wheel spin is better then no throttle control at all.

 

I'm glad you didn't get hit... I'm also glad you feel this way, too. I've often wondered what would happen if VDC killed my throttle when trying to merge or turn quickly in traffic. It's because of a story like yours that I leave mine off in any driving conditions that would otherwise be completely safe to make such maneuvers.

 

kinda wondered about that myself, but I'm sure some will say the car accelerates faster when not spinning the tires ?? Bald tires w VDC on = very slow acceleration lol

 

true

oh and yeah my friends LS1 camaro had much better suspension for traction than my GT Stang

what else does the VDC do other than keep you from spinning the tires ?? that's the only reason I turn it off.