:iagree:

Your explanation is the bestest! :tup:

Every car I've owned with ESP/VCD/Whatever has achieved it's control of the car by simply cutting engine power during wheel-spin. Which I think is WAY too aggressive and potentially dangerous. For example if I'm turning left across a busy intersection and the car decides to cut the juice it could end up being bad news bears.

The 370z *seems* to do the same thing and it's been my experience that I'm a much better judge of my car's stability than the computer so VDC is the first button I hit after starting the car.

I thought, I read in the manual, that the 370Z, "brakes", I assume by pulsating, the rear wheels when it activates VDC. I could be wrong though, but that's what I recall.

So what actually triggers the VDC into action when you're accelerating? Does it activate when it senses rear wheel slip, or can it activate before the wheels lose traction?

Having asked the question, I'm sort of assuming it's activated by the rear wheels slipping - does anyone actually know?

It's activated when it detects slippage.

Thank you :tiphat:

It can do both. The VDC on our cars can modulate the throttle, and it can also individually pulse all 4 brakes as it sees fit, depending on steering angle, car angle, direction of travel, and the spinning speed of each of the 4 wheels as sensed by the ABS. In straight-line acceleration, it's probably just going to do the throttle thing, but if you loose traction in a corner it's going to use the brakes too.

I'm curious, I don't race cars or been involved in a time attack, i'm just a regular driver. Does VDC is really needed for someone like me(when its dry)?

With respect, 'VDC on' or 'VDC off' isn't really the point - the important thing is how you drive. Even with VDC on, if you drive badly, control of the car can be taken away from you. VDC will not drive the car for you, it will merely try to correct something it perceives to be a problem. This correction may OR MAY NOT be the right thing to do in a given circumstance. Personally, I prefer to be in as much control of the car as possible, so I turn VDC off - then, if something goes wrong, in that split second I know it's my fault and I know it's my job to put it right. The Z is a relatively powerful rear wheel drive vehicle. If you're in control of your throttle pedal you should have no problems, but if you're new to this type of car it is quite easy to 'floor it' at the wrong moment and lose control.

My suggestion to anyone who is new to rear wheel drive is, 'find a bit of private land and 'play' with the limits of the car until you know when the back end starts to break away - then practise controlling it when it does so. ...but be safe & legal.'

Never rely on VDC.

+1.

If you are new to the rear-drive platform or just an average street driver that would like some skills to handle extreme situations then I highly suggest an advanced driving course or auto-cross driving school. Studies have shown that drivers who have completed an advanced driving school or have developed the skills from racing are 10 times less likely to be in an accident. Part of this is the skill to handle an out of control vehicle (and keeping a vehicle in control in tough conditions), but it's also the awareness skills that you develop such as looking ahead, being aware of your surroundings, and avoiding distractions.

I'll give the VDC a little credit, since we're all knocking it here: on unpredictable pavement it actually reacts quicker than I do. I've left it on on some Houston streets that have bad pavement (wavy patches, etc), and the VDC does an excellent job of kicking in when a wheel or two "skips" over those sections. It makes the car drive through it with more stability than it would without VDC, there's less steering or throttle correction involved on my part in reacting to it.

:iagree:

All of the VDC and SRM take away from the driving experience. If you really want to learn how to drive shut it off, go to a driving school, etc.

:iagree::iagree::iagree:

But watch out, dude. People are going to accuse you of being a Luddite! (I've made similar remarks and people have gotten bent out of shape, accusing me of being resistant to technological progress. lol.)