Traction Control Kicks in After Gear Change
 

Hi guys,

Looking for advice on a problem that is beginning to ruin my 370 experience

Whenever I downshift to one of the lower 3 gears, 3rd to 2nd for example, the traction control kicks in when I step on the gas and I'm left with no power for a split second until the 'slip' light goes off.

This happens even when it is bone dry on the roads and it is making me concerned about nipping out quickly at junctions or changing down to overtake quickly.

Could this be down to my shoddy clutch control or does it sound like a fault that I should be consulting my dealer about? I tried a quick test earlier and waited a good couple of seconds between changing gears and stepping on the gas and it still happened and I think that rules out my dodgy footwork.

This is particularly frustrating as I had no such problems with my old rx8 when I could throw it into any gear at any speed and get access to the power instantly.

Any advice would be much appreciated

Cheers

Steven

Well if you have the VDC on and your taking a fast turn while givin it gas the VDC will interupt the power output which is what its suppost to do if I am not mistaken. NOW if you have the VDC OFF and try it now thats a different story, just be careful when taking fast turns with it off cuz many people have learned the hardway...

7AT or 6MT? are you rev matching..? could be dropping to many gears and not rev matching causing the tires to lock up a little bit..

what kind of tires are you running?

Ok, just to provide a bit more info on this in response to the questions so far:

- It's a manual transmission
- I'm currently running brand new Vredestein Ultrac Sessanta tyres (although this still happpened when I was running the stock Bridgestones)
- SynchroRev is on
- I'm not detecting any wheelspin at all. I get some if I try to pull off too quick in first but this feels different. I'd rather not drive around with VDC off and it's not something that happened at all with my old rx8, although I appreciate I now have more power under the hood.

Any more thoughts based on the above?

Mine does this too. It honestly feels like the clutch slipping when it happens. But I don't think that can be possible on a car with only 3k miles.

The VDC kicks in and the wheels ARE NOT slipping. Hasn't happened in awhile but then I haven't beat on it in awhile. I also use synchro rev. This happens when shifting a single gear.

I'm glad to hear that i'm not the only one.

Is this something I should be raising with my dealership? I had a problem with the gearbox and, not knowing much about the mechanics of a car, i attributed it to that. However, the gearbox was replaced under warranty and the problem still exists.

Gauge - Is this something you have spoken to your dealer about?

Its normal. The VDC in this car blows! it is way to intrusive. Its ok for daily driving, but it must be turned off to experience the true performance of the Z IMHO. I wouldnt turn it off when driving around other traffic though. Be very careful.

Vredestein Ultrac Sessanta wow, that's a mouthful. lol

get some pilot supersports.

It's very sensitive, but mine usually kicks in while quickly taking off and making a turn (maybe slightly more if turning right.), rather than during straight acceleration. I'm guessing the car is trying to keep me from ending up like the Lamborghini guy.

When I'm cornering, when it's wet or slick or when I get wheelspin if setting off too quick, I expect the VDC to kick in.

Putting the foot down in second in a straight line shortly after changing gear, I don't expect VDC to kick in.

I occassionally turn it off when its safe to but I do expect to be able to put the foot down in a straight line and accelerate smoothly when it's bone dry and there's no wheel spin.

Whats the point in the SynchroRev system if there's no power to be had after changing gears. If my gear changes in my old rx8 where sloppy I'd get shift shock and it would kick in and I expect this. I'm now driving a car where shift shock has been almost eliminated by a very clever rev matching system and I can't put my foot down?

i think you need to get use to the car.

i have no issue mashing the gas into 2nd gear at WOT. no slipping no VDC (since i turn it off).
and let's not compare to a rx8. those things dont have much power. it reminded me of a prelude.

buy better tires

It's nothing to do with the tyres, there's no wheelspin and no loss of traction.

The Vred's are infinitely better than the piss poor stock Potenzas

I'm happy to accept that my technique might need tweaking but I feel that the VDC is way too sensitive