Faster with VCD off?

spearfish25 · 04-17-2009, 05:27 PM

Yep, I've had similar 'saves' in my Audi A4. I swerved off the highway as I was about to miss an offramp and hit gravel on the shoulder. The tail started to spin out despite quattro, and the stability control saved my a$$. I'm working under the assumption that the 370Z VDC works as well as the Audi system. I surely would have wrecked the car if I didn't have the slip protection enabled.

If the car is fishtailing with VDC on, I'd argue you didn't have a prayer with it off. Since it cuts power and modulates the brakes on all four wheels, it would have to malfunction to make the situation worse.

wstar · 04-17-2009, 05:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by spearfish25

If the car is fishtailing with VDC on, I'd argue you didn't have a prayer with it off. Since it cuts power and modulates the brakes on all four wheels, it would have to malfunction to make the situation worse.

One situation (I don't know if that's what was being referenced) where it can make things worse is where you know what's going on and you're trying to push through a slide to get out of the way of whatever, and the VDC will opt for stability and cut your throttle and/or tap your brakes and prevent what you're trying to accomplish.

spearfish25 · 04-17-2009, 05:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wstar

One situation (I don't know if that's what was being referenced) where it can make things worse is where you know what's going on and you're trying to push through a slide to get out of the way of whatever, and the VDC will opt for stability and cut your throttle and/or tap your brakes and prevent what you're trying to accomplish.

This is true. I drove an Audi RS4 on a wet racetrack and was continuously annoyed when the skid protection would stop me from applying throttle to slide gracefully out of a turn. However, during daily driving I'd imagine VDC would do a much better job of controlling an inadvertent skid than I would.

rackley · 04-18-2009, 08:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wstar

One situation (I don't know if that's what was being referenced) where it can make things worse is where you know what's going on and you're trying to push through a slide to get out of the way of whatever, and the VDC will opt for stability and cut your throttle and/or tap your brakes and prevent what you're trying to accomplish.

Like an aggressive merge into tight traffic - something I do multiple times every day during rush hour.

04-17-2009, 05:27 PM	#1 (permalink)
spearfish25 A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Naples, FL Posts: 4,117 Drives: to work Rep Power: 1858	Yep, I've had similar 'saves' in my Audi A4. I swerved off the highway as I was about to miss an offramp and hit gravel on the shoulder. The tail started to spin out despite quattro, and the stability control saved my a$$. I'm working under the assumption that the 370Z VDC works as well as the Audi system. I surely would have wrecked the car if I didn't have the slip protection enabled. If the car is fishtailing with VDC on, I'd argue you didn't have a prayer with it off. Since it cuts power and modulates the brakes on all four wheels, it would have to malfunction to make the situation worse.