DailyDriver2k5

I say i drive with the "training wheels" off mostly 90% of the time. The other time its usually on , like in the city or on rainy days. I just love the feeling of going around corners and steping out the back with the throttle , or pushing the car hard on a long sweeper curve to the point of loss of adhesion , simply put i love driving! After coming from a highly modified Twin Turbo Z and a modified '99 GT stang that was slightly modified that didn't have traction control, your forced to learn the limits of these cars and respect the power that these cars put out. I learned to drive from two well known SCCA memebers that use to work with me when i had my 86 turbo Z. I would always spin out , and never had the confidence behind the wheel of my turbo Z , so i asked them to teach me how to drive a RWD properly and confidently 7 years ago. The rest was history.......

I think driving the DSC/TCS is a great thing for novice drivers or drivers who never drove a RWD before and who wants to keep his or her car in its limits. For those with a little more wheel time and understanding of how to drive a RWD, will fully benifit from driving with the DSC/TCS a.k.a traing wheels off.LOL

I appreciate that Mazda added the on and off feature for the DSC/TCS, i know some manufactures don't add this feature , further watering down the "driving experience".

Animagix

i agree. sometimes I forget to turn it off but I usually do when it's dry.

strokercharged95gt

I drive with it off because these shitty toyo T1-R have such a soft sidewall that under moderate cornering the DSC system thinks the car is going into a spin cause the rear brakes to intermitently go off, which pisses me off. My previous DD was a mustang with 3x the torque and 3x the horsepower and it had no TCS or DSC and I never spun it out, even in the rain.

expo1

DSC will one day be on all cars because it has been the most effective safety device added to cars in the last 10 plus years LINK
This board has many threads of people getting into accidents because for some unknown reason they turned off the DSC on the street. With all the distractions in and outside of your car saying, “ I am an excellent driver, I don’t need DSC ” is just foolish thinking. Driving on the track is a different story. US drivers by in large don’t even check their tire pressure (Gov. mandated TPMS LINK )How can you expect drivers to take the time to learn how to drive their cars under extreme conditions? Having driving my 8 at track speeds with & without DSC your not missing much driving on the street with DSC.

Animagix

i get 3-5 more miles to the tank with DSC off.

Glyphon

on the street, dsc stays on. there have been several threads by people with lots of track time, and have had other RWD cars before that lost control and wreck when leaving it on would have likely prevented the accident.

tracks are a more controlled enviornment than the street is, so it is absolutely fine to turn dsc off when on the track, but streets are very much a not controlled environment, where just about anything can happen at any moment. there's no sense in risking the safety of other people just to feed my machismo.

and the "other cars don't have dsc" arguement is weak and retarded. cars used to only come with a lap belt. why don't they anymore? because a seatbelt system that has a shoulder harness and lap belt is much safer. same thing with ABS and SRS. 99% off the time, your aren't going to need these safety systems, but that 1% of the time those systems can make a huge difference in the injuries that are sustained, or even prevent the accident from happening in the first place.

gt005

Mine DSC/TCS is always off, I like it when the rear slide even on my mustang is always off, because on the rain it's more fun, on dry road is better the only problem I have the rx-8 it's my rear jump. what do you install to correct this problem.

expo1

A new Driver

DailyDriver2k5

I don't think turning off the driving aids would feed your machismo, it more about knowing your car and your cars limitations. Of course high speed driving through congested streets with cars and pedestrians is a no-no,with or without driving aids on. I am talking about if your on your favorite open road or winding road in the backwoods somewhere having pure driving pleasure with your RWD car.

And your right, the track is much more of a controlled enviorement compared to the streets. But remeber this , cars don't kill people stupid people who drive cars do.

HCTR154

I noticed the same thing. I get almost 21 mpg with it off and have no idea why!

Tirminyl

I have turned it off a couple of times. I wish you could turn them back on without restarting the car. It feels as though the car drives better with them off.

NoTears316

When I'm running from the cops, it's important for me to have that stuff turned off. (end sarcasm)

esuvee

OK, let's end this mileage discussion. There is NO PHYSICAL way that DSC can effect your mileage. I am intimately familiar with the code in the Mazda DSC module (take a look at the 'occupation' field in my profile before you argue that I'm full of BS) and there is no function of that module which could effect mileage. If you exceed the traction limits and we request a torque reduction from the engine it is done with the electronic throttle which can ONLY reduce the throttle position. That's it, that's all, that's the whole story. We sense a loss of traction or excessive yaw and we reduce the throttle blade angle and apply the appropriate brake pressure to correct the yaw. Further, when we apply brake pressure we have already closed the throttle so you are not working against the brakes.

Any experiments you may have done MUST have other variables affecting your mileage because there is absolutely no physical or electrical link between DSC and increased gas consumption. The system really isn't that complicated so it's not like there's some aspect that isn't being considered. It truly is as presented above, IF spinning tires THEN reduce throttle angle. IF still sideways THEN put on appropriate brake.

Also, even if you imagined some way that DSC could increase your fuel usage while it's active (really, it can't...seriously) it is ONLY active when you are spinning wheels or sliding sideways, NEVER any other time.

Sorry to be so harsh but it's frustrating to know FOR SURE what's going on here and continually have claims made that are contrary. I have a lot of respect for the 'Myth busters' style of trying to understand complex systems but take my word for it, there is no possible way it can happen in this situation.

Thanks for listening to my rant,

Alex

Raptor2k

o_O nice first post mayun

esuvee

Sorry, I only post on forums when I have a meaningful technical contribution, I've been around here a while. I guess DSC is pretty much the only thing I know about so there you go. Take it for what it's worth to you.

Alex

Raptor2k

Np, I appreciated the post. Automobile knowledge is one of the reasons why I enjoy the forums

Glyphon

definately a good post explaining how the DSC works. This has been explained previously (i think), but the myth of improved fuel economy/power with DSC off still persists, like a cold you just can't get over. as soon as you think its all gone, boom, it pops right back up again.

kmg1186

HAHA! liars!!

CyprusRX8

I think the reason why some people might get better mileage without the DSC is that when we drive with this assist off, we drive more cautiously so this could be the reason why we get better fuel economy.

cleoent

realdeal

There is increased power with it off. People have gotten better 1/4 mile times.

expo1

NO NO NO, doing the 7 second DSC button push doesn't increase power !!

What it will do at a drag strip is allow you to light up your rear tires. Now if you have drag slicks and do the clutch drop just right you will get a better start with DSC / TCS off than with it on. That's it.

Glyphon

wrong. try again.

the reason better 1/4 times at the drag is for the reason expo said and DSC/TSC doesn't kick in and CUT power on the shift (if they bark the tires). The computer CUTS the power to stop the wheel spin. There is no extra power produced anywhere from turning it off.

realdeal

Oh, my bad. I meant the long button push.