Thank you BMW DSC!

Status
Not open for further replies.
helpimcrap said:
having a mid 90s escort i have to rely on this too. :p
Click to expand...
:D Is that similar to the mid 90s escort air conditioning?

Even with electronic stability control you, of course, have to adjust your driving for the winter months. It's virtually infallible in the summer due to the very high level where maximum traction sits, but during the winter you have to be going pretty carefully still for it to be able to save you. In virtually all driving scenarios over the winter where you are not intentionally giving it serious stick, it will probably keep you true. In the ones where you are trying things a little more adventurous, you'll be sliding a lot more out of control before the systems can reign it back in!

Skeeter mentions that in his Fiesta it's a noise coming from the front wheels as he understeers.. I personally find it a bit like that too. It does a fantastic job at regaining control, sometimes even braking all four wheels in some form of emergency stop if it thinks you're not going to make it just to reduce any potential impact speed. However, I find oversteer control is where it really shines (maybe that's because I have rear driven wheels?). It's incredibly difficult to get power-oversteer of any kind, and intentional oversteer (from quick steering movements under power) tends to be carefully countered to the point where it's difficult to notice, then eventually ends up as understeer as the front wheels fail to cope.

I think Over Clocker's scenario is one where, despite any of the driver involvement that "normal" driving requires and DSC automates, despite the fact that it stops you drifting around roundabouts Clarkson-style, you go "I'd much rather have DSC than drive in to a hedge". I know I would.
 
Are you meant to press the DSC button once when it has snowed/roads covered in ice? I saw a youtube video of it where it was demonstrated but seems like a bit of a ":/" thing to do when the conditions are so severe.
 
Trifid said:
Are you meant to press the DSC button once when it has snowed/roads covered in ice? I saw a youtube video of it where it was demonstrated but seems like a bit of a ":/" thing to do when the conditions are so severe.
Click to expand...
Yes, by pressing the DSC button once you alter the functionality of the stability control so that it will make driving in very poor conditions easier. It will still be on, but moving off on slippery surfaces etc. will be much less hassle than with it fully on (which can sometimes be impossible!).

That YouTube video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ncE-Vk7egRo

Pressing the DTC button has pretty much the same effect as pressing the DSC button :)
 
Last edited:
So it will still save you when you mess up but allow you to drive in a straight line? Is it automatically put back to normal when the engine is turned off?

Thanks for the quick reply. :)
 
Trifid said:
So it will still save you when you mess up but allow you to drive in a straight line? Is it automatically put back to normal when the engine is turned off?

Thanks for the quick reply. :)
Click to expand...

When you turn the engine off it is automatically put back to normal, yes.

By pressing the button once, as far as I am aware it increases the thresholds for intervention so as to allow greater vehicle movement, and fully engages the ADB. The Automatic Differential Brake is a sort of pseudo-LSD operated by the brakes. Where ADB detects one drive wheel beginning to slip, it will selectively apply the brake to that wheel to divert some of the driving force to the other wheel, which will hopefully have more grip. The result is a reduction in the tendancy for one wheel to beginning spinning and send the whole system in to panic.

I'm also under the impression that the full DSC system will still engage if it thinks you are going in to a terminal spin.
 
Last edited:
Just read this from the E60 manual: "DSC provides optimal stability within the limits defined by the laws of physics."

I'd like to have seen an appendix in the manual for physics laws or something :p



*edit - it goes on to say - "The laws of physics cannot be repealed, even with DSC."

I think they're getting a bit big-headed with this whole thing :D
 
Last edited:
don't you just feel an overwhelming feeling of dissatisfaction though, because your lack of driving skill keeps ending up in the box of tricks having to take over and fix it for you? I know I would.
 
Clarkey said:
don't you just feel an overwhelming feeling of dissatisfaction though, because your lack of driving skill keeps ending up in the box of tricks having to take over and fix it for you? I know I would.
Click to expand...
It's not that simple :p

The box of tricks is always going. It adds driving functions that are not available without it and are completely transparent, such as varying the horizontal brake pressure according to steering angle, to help promote vehicle stability. I don't feel ripped off when this happens. In fact, it makes driving more pleasurable!

The box of tricks is effectively a more capable vehicle controller than you and I. Why feel dissatisfied when it corrects quicker than you can? There's nothing to say that any loss of control couldn't have been remedied by the normal driver, but the computer will detect and begin correcting often before you can even feel something happening. It will often be over-cautious and make corrections that wouldn't really be necessary, and that the vehicle would have just corrected naturally. That's not something to be ashamed of.
 
DSC a very good safety net and is there for good reason, it will save many a tank slapping event or bad driving decision, but it is neither infallible or a miracle worker. Try and defy the laws of physics and you will still bin it, and as I said before in relation to the traction control element of DSC (and as supported in the video above), it is fairly useless in icy or snowy conditions (when combined with RWD) and is best switched off to make progress. Clicking it off removes the traction control element completely as I recall, and there is no Mercedes “we were just kidding, we’re no off really” element either when it comes to the traction control.
 
housemaster said:
Try and defy the laws of physics and you will still bin it, and as I said before in relation to the traction control element of DSC (and as supported in the video above), it is fairly useless in icy or snowy conditions (when combined with RWD) and is best switched off to make progress. Clicking it off removes the traction control element completely as I recall, and there is no Mercedes “we were just kidding, we’re no off really” element either when it comes to the traction control.
Click to expand...

Of course, if you try and defy the laws of physics you will crash - that's clear. However, DSC can allow you to operate within those laws at a much higher level. It's also not useless in icy and snowy conditions - it's fantastic.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j-hHWSQhKuc

Also, clicking DSC off by pressing the button once (pressing and holding is complete disengagement) will leave the traction control on, for definite.
 
PMKeates said:
Of course, if you try and defy the laws of physics you will crash - that's clear. However, DSC can allow you to operate within those laws at a much higher level. It's also not useless in icy and snowy conditions - it's fantastic.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j-hHWSQhKuc

Also, clicking DSC off by pressing the button once (pressing and holding is complete disengagement) will leave the traction control on, for definite.
Click to expand...
That video proves nothing, its a FWD car, very different in the way it deals with such conditions, having all its weight over its driven wheels..

Have you actually driven much in heavy snow on hilly roads in DSC equiped cars? I promise you switching off DSC in such conditions will aid movement much more than leaving it on, I speak from experience not a YouTube video, I have owned 10+ DSC equiped cars as my point of reference...
 
PMKeates said:
Which is generally better than any human can do in any loss of control situation.
Click to expand...

Far, far better not to get into the loss of control situation in the first place, by exercising a good level of car control rather than just hooning about believing DSC is making you invincible.

Or maybe the BMW is so unstable you need DSC to make it driveable...like the Euro fighter :D
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top Bottom