Driver Aids Questions

[Felix79]

To start with, I wasn't sure where I should make this post/thread, so please excuse me for putting my query here if it's wrong.

In my Z4MR, if I press the "DSC" (I think that's the name for it), button, does it reduce the amount or level of control the system has over the car, or is it effectively off or on? I've read a few conflicting statements about if the Z4M and say the 3.0i different results if you do press the DSC button? One version allows you to have the system to let you have a bit of slip on the rear, but it will still cut in if you start to lose it too much?

I've never owned a car with electronic driver aids and the only car I've driven with them, was my mums old 2010 Factory JCW Mini and you can't really compare it to my M for obvious reasons. With my Subaru Impreza P1, because it was an AWD car which had also been developed by Prodrive for UK B roads, I didn't need to worry about losing any grip or even bother trying to get the rear to step out.

While I have no desire to play about with the DSC in the current weather with just a fortnights ownership, I would like to know how much I can I rely on the system to step in and keep me on the road? Bar aquaplaning or hitting black ice, is there anything else that could catch me and the system out, causing me to spin out?

I'm slowly starting to get more at ease in the car, as my confidence returns, which is why I don't want to have anything happen that would just wipe out any confidence I've manage to gain.

Not sure I have worded this properly and got my question across right, but it boils down to if the system will stop me from binning it, if I do something stupid or I have a lose of traction due to the road surface.

Cheers,

Felix

 

[gookah]

If I remember rightly there were two settings for off, one is a quick press, and the other is press and hold where two lights come on, That is fully off,

However don't forget these are just aids, and cannot stop it spinning if you expect too much of it..
You can still spin these cars with the traction control on.....
(allegedly )

 

[Felix79]

If I remember rightly there were two settings for off, one is a quick press, and the other is press and hold where two lights come on, That is fully off,

However don't forget these are just aids, and cannot stop it spinning if you expect too much of it..
You can still spin these cars with the traction control on.....
(allegedly )

All 4 of my E30's I had to manage to spin and each time I had been really bloody lucky. It make me respect the throttle, road surface conditions and steering input a boatload more than before.

I will be very honest and say that I'm not going really that fast, as I am finding the increased sense of speed close to overwhelming at times. I've been enjoying a very "cruse" kinda pace, but there have been a few moments where I've wanted to boot it, as it feels like tailgating has gotten worse in and around Oxford.

Since I last owned my own car and was able to drive it regularly in 2015/16 , the roads have changed a great deal with either their layout or the general condition. Which is helping to keep me driving within the speed limit by a big margin for the time being.

 

[gookah]

I got tailgaters quite a few times,
I think they just were mostly petrol heads that wanted to see a car like the Z4m boot it, and were trying to get that response from us.
It is a car that, on occasions, can scare the s*** out of you with the acceleration and noise, especially when its a bit slippy.

 

[Brian4]

As they are rear wheel drive the rear will want to step out more quickly if you boot it mid corner so make sure the car is pointless ting straight before you try hard. DSC is an aid not failsafe

 

[Felix79]

Does the DSC cut power to the wheels when it engages, or will it apply some mild breaking to counteract any side slip?

 

[t-tony]

It cuts the throttle.

Tony.

 

[Brian4]

Does the DSC cut power to the wheels when it engages, or will it apply some mild breaking to counteract any side slip?

Bit of a description of dsc it is from 2009 so relevant to Z4 as the newer DSC is more complicated.

https://www.bmwblog.com/2009/02/06/what-is-and-how-dsc-works/

 

[Redline]

I thought the Z4M had limited slip differential so I don't know how the DSC responds to a boot full.

I'd suggest finding somewhere where its entirely safe to do so and prod it until the DSC cuts in - both in a straight line and also from low speed (as at a junction). It's the latter that you're most likely to see - damp road, lost of road debris reducing grip. Then - You'll have some idea of where it's likely to do so and how far you've got before lights start pinging around the dashboard.

You'll know when the DSC cuts in.

With an LSD and with DSC off you're still going to have lots of power to one wheel if the other gives up. You've then got to drive the car and not the electronics stopping you. It won't be anything like the driven on rails you get with a 4x4 even with one wheel not driving. Keep your foot planted and you may well be quickly going back the way you came (or worse).

I believe the Z4 LSD is a pump operated clutch system in the diff. It reduces the amount a spinning wheel can rotate faster than the one not spinning. I don't if the DSC also engages this clutch