I turned mine off yesterday to show off to a friend how the car handles with the SC and I completely forgot it was off when I took off around a corner, lets just say that I am glad that the vdc is not completely shut down even when it's off as I had a handful of steering wheel to get it back in line, but hey it was fun to drift a little for a short time

 

How do you know VDC has kicked in? Is it when the 'Slip' light comes on? TIA.

 

A hand comes from beneath the seat and grabs your nads as a voice comes through the stereo asking you what the FOCK you think you're doing.

It's impressive.

 

In the '03 model a hand comes from under the visor and b*tch slaps you and the voice says "Knock that sh*t off"!!!

 

I seem to be in the minority, but FWIW, I always leave it on. During day-to-day driving on my way to work, with the kids in the car, etc. VDC is a great safety-net. You never know when you are going to need it and the safety benefits of electronic stability control are pretty well documented. Maybe it's because I have a G35x, but it almost never intervenes during regular driving, even on the stock crappy Turanzas.

I only turn it off when I know I'm going to be alone, on empty roads, toying with the limits of the car.

One other place to definitely have it off: The track. I haven't done any track time in my G35x, but in my old 328i it definitely had to be off at the track or it would get in the way of driving smoothly (which is really the key to everything, including survival, at the track).

 

Nothing to gain turning it off in an X.....unfortunately

 

I find it scary if I'm trying to pull out quickly into traffic and it cuts out my acceleration shifting into second. I still haven't turned it off. Maybe I would end up skidding into the far lane instead of just being slow getting in.

 

It's a shame with crappy Turanza tires I couldn't turn of VDC to see what the differences are on my x... I guess I could - but my point is with the POS Turanza's I can't enjoy cornering at higher speeds... my car is slipping all over the place. It really takes a ton of enjoyment out of the car.

 

Does anyone know if the VDC program is adaptive? I.e. will an ECU reset and driving it like it's a rental alter its behavior? People speak often here about how an ECU reset alters the shifting pattern of the AT, but having an 04 6MT, I never really new what benefit an ECU reset would provide.

Having said that; I did an ECU reset to clear the MIL (different issue for another post). I always leave the VDC on; while I was driving somewhat enthusiastically on dry pavement it seemed that the VDC did not come on at all compared to before the ECU reset. I though it was broken. Then I really started driving it hard to satisfy my curiosity, I did a hard launch and finally got the VDC to kick in.

So, I am not real sure if it my mind playing tricks on me, or if it is possible. Just wondering if anyone here had any thoughts or experience with ECU resets and the VDC.

 

So guys...besides "A hand comes from beneath the seatand grabs your nads as a voice comes through the stereo asking you what the FOCK you think you're doing." and "a hand comes from under the visor and b*tch slaps you and the voice says "Knock that sh*t off"!!!" - LOL BTW - how do you know when VDC is engaged? Is there an in-dash indicator that comes on or you just 'feel' it?

 

hahah LOL my '05 model has it too, but it also says "you scared me"

 

I don't turn mine off very often. I like the 'security blanket' it provides.
Without it on, control under full throttle would be compromised and erratic.
C.

 

i tried the ECU reset thing....dont know if it made a difference.maybe i have to drive a bit more...

 

"SLIP" light comes on.

 

Are you guys sure about VDC never really being completely disabled? When I had my '03 6MT, I used to turn off VDC so I could swing the back end of the car around when making a u-turn. I'm not talking about some slight oversteer, I'm talking about power oversteer to the extent of doing donuts. With VDC switched off, the "SLIP" light never came on.

I even had the car fishtailing (really wide) all over the road once when I applied too much throttle during once of these u-turn maneuvers.

VDC was switched off and nothing intervened when I totalled that G35.

I seem to recall Car and Driver magazine saying something about how they appreciated that Infiniti is one of the few manufacturers that allows their stability control to be completely switched off (it may have been in a recent M45 review).