Has VDC made you a worse Z driver?

butdamnbrian

so this thread was burning in my mind yesterday, and prompted me to do a bit of experimentation. (no, i didn't get wet, dog..)

i've had my car for about 3 weeks, and until yesterday hadn't turned off vdc at all. so yesterday, i stopped by a large empty parking lot, turned off vdc and... well, you guys know where this is going.

i got sideways a decent amount, and i learned a lot about the car. i can say it was a humbling experience to find out just how easy it is to initiate a slide with throttle input. typing it makes it sound rational, but actually doing it... pretty intense and visceral, man. i wouldn't want that to happen accidentally on city streets or freeway entrances.

i don't think i'd say vdc makes for a worse driver, but my experience leads me to believe that vdc makes for an ill-informed driver. having vdc on until now has hidden/masked many characteristics of the car (and probably also saved my *** without my even knowing it). i will need to spend time with it off in order to learn how to best drive the new z, but i think i'm going to save the trial and error for safe conditions. i just don't have enough rwd experience yet (my old volvo wagon doesn't count, i think).

with that said, i'm lookin' fwd to getting sideways again! oO

Zsteve

that goes for any car youve never driven before. IMO its not difference than having a better suspension, or similar techo advances

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Mike

thats why you should take every new car to at least one autocross, really feel what its like at the limit, in a low risk environment.

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butdamnbrian

def. on the to-do list, right after #3: get clear bra!

true, but you can't turn a suspension on or off... though some can be dialed, i guess. i think the point of this thread is to question whether drivers lose out by keeping vdc on or off..

nismolife

I started the thread because I suspected I had become reliant on my vdc kicking in to save me. I wondered if the presence of vdc has allowed me to unlearn good habits of throttle control, car control & feedback. Has the presence of the safety net even allowed me to tend to be more reckless and disrespectful of the power my Z has?

The vdc was not much of a problem in my 07 350z, but with my Nismo it comes on all the time - usually in a corner, often when starting out from a stop, and yes - accelerating more aggressively, however not necessarily driving like an ***. If the road surface is a little wet, I'll even see the slip light come on with a hard shift into 3rd gear.

So, after swapping ends in the Nismo and bending some rear suspension, yeah I'll be more respectful. Admittedly the road conditions were very slick and I should have recognized that and changed my driving style, I can't help wondering if I was thinking, "The vdc will save me..."

Except this time the vdc was turned off of course.

shadow2k

Of course you have unlearned certain things when you don't use those skills every day. Just like you would with anything else.

For example, take SRM. If you constantly heel and toe and leave SRM off, you're going to get very good a h&t shifting. If you leave SRM on for a month, and then turn it off one day, you'll have to get used to driving with it off again. You lose the muscle memory, the familiarity...the feel for doing it on your own.

VDC on vs VDC off is almost like two different cars. Constantly driving with it on, and then turning it off one day is like stepping into a new car you're unfamiliar with. What makes it dangerous is that you think you know the car, but you've completely altered a major part of how it handles. My opinion is that this is exactly why people keep crashing with VDC off.

VDC off, by itself, is not dangerous. The false sense of security it has given people is why it is. You've been driving a fairly high hp RWD car around that handles like a dream. Well, sorry, but turning VDC off brings you back to reality...the reality that RWD sports cars don't really drive themselves. You have to be respectful of their power, and know how to handle them.

Nitex

^^^ couldn't agree more

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nismolife

Great point Shadow - now add some wet pavement and you get a big surprise. So if you turn off vdc, then carefully learn your "new" car, and drive like you have an egg between your foot & gas pedal!