Vehicle Dynamic Control
 

This is my first time in a car with over 200 horsepower and a manual transmission.
So I would like for someone to shed light on my novice driving skills...

The other day I was on the highway and it was raining lightly, then stopped.
It was one of those days where I felt like testing the cars power and decided to drive "abnormally".

I was going full throttle and shifting, then switched lanes.. all of a sudden my steering wheel does this jerking motion twice, as if it wanted to turn or go another direction. My VDC light flashed.
I couldnt tell if my rear was sliding or fishtailing, I was distracted by my steering wheel. I noticed I could have almost lost control of the car?
But my question is, does driving with VDC off help the vehicle handle more freely and cause less sliding or fishtailing, or the opposite?

I havent tried pushing my car with the VDC off until I feel more comfortable in my driving ability.

Thanks for any and all input.

Leave it on. The rear will get loose much more with it off. Go to an auto X to really push it with it off.

I was thinking if I relived that moment with my jerky steering wheel and such, with VDC off, that I wouldnt have experienced the jerking wheel?
But maybe I would have slid onto another lane and do a 360? IDK. It wasnt that bad, but it was weird.

With it off, it is very likely you would have spun. If you're going to experiment with it off, don't do it on the road. If you can't/won't AutoX it, at the least go to an empty parking lot without obstacles.

...and wait for a day with no moisture on the pavement. You will lose control with VDC off.

cough....cough... BS!.......cough....cough. I do trackdays with it off. What has caught me offguard is having the car apply a rear brake when the car is sliding a little in mid-turn. :eek:

There's a big difference between someone who does track days and someone with their first 300+hp rwd manual sports car. ;)

the first mistake is doing full throttle in the wet on a car you're not familiar with.
keep the VDC on and drive the car more to get acquainted.

if you're going to be doing a lot of wet driving, get appropriate tires for it.
sounds like you're hydroplaning due to abrupt throttle/steering inputs.

I've never felt the jerking before, but I do know what it's like when the rear steps out. You can definitely feel the car turning from behind you. There is also a good chance that the throttle will cut if you don't catch it soon enough. For me, it's much more distracting than anything going on with the wheel.

I leave VDC on pretty much all the time. Florida is always wet and these cars love to spin their tires when the road is damp. VDC has saved my *** a few times. IMO, only turn it off if you are racing on a dry track.

Never leave VDC off on the street
Drive safe

Welllll, LOL I was thinking on what tick64 said, and not taken in on what the OP's skill level is. Sorry. ;)

Welcome Bad Boy.....Thank goodness that you found all the sincere and helpful
fellow 370Z forum members here to help you. Please make sure that you
come back to post on the 370Z forum so that we all know you came away
with some learned and very important advice today....GL

:hello:

TCS &/or VDC systems stays "On"; the only times to turn it off, I would say, is to purposely loose traction & do a quick spin burnout during test & tune or drift. I lost at-least .1 & 1-2 mph with it "Off" during my passes, my tires just didn't hook. My best times have been with TCS "On" & it includes in speed as well. You would probably need unholy skill or drag tires, in order to turn traction off & do better than with TCS "On". TCS/VDC is consistent for sport driving & is needed. You can turn it off, but you are going to need tires, or a major drop in tire pressure to compensate. The best track times with Z's are "On" & the Z will be consistently faster, which translates to staying in the race & finishing the race. Don't crash out.

I read somewhere that a magazine tester turned it off & scored .2 faster, but he probably rolled it out; I don't even mess with it off as passes require launching, not rolling. Maybe someone else might have more insight. Drive safe.

It gets squirrely in the wet really quick without the VDC. Steering input is sharp, wheelbase is short, and a little bit of clutch when under power will break the back end loose in a hurry. This isn't necessarily a good combo if you're new to manual, RWD, decent power, or all of the above.

I like to drive without VDC, but only when it's totally dry. And for the winter I just bought a Jeep.:eekdance:

meh, i was driving my G in the snow with LM60's with VDC turned off all winter unless i was over an icy bridge. VDC can go home.