Amazing DSC -> saved my car twice
 

Has anyone else had an experience where the DSC kicked in and saved them? Let me preface this by saying that my RX-8 is both the first stick and first rwd car I've owned. I made the decision when purchasing the car back in July that getting DSC would be a good safety idea. Acctualy I am kind of annoyed that Mazda would make DSC, which is essentialy a software upgrade (I belive it uses the ABS sensors) an extra cost option, especialy when it is basicly a safty feature. Long story short, I'm very glad I made that choice as it has saved me on two seperate occasions.

The first was on a strange road behind where I work that has been undergoing construction. The road there is fairly narrow and dug up in places (metal plates etc). One part is an uphill curving bend. As I was driving up this bend and looking forward a ways to where they had closed down 1/2 of the road and were doing one lane controled access, I failed to notice that they had dug a new trench (bout 2 ft wide) accross the road and filled it with gravel. When my back wheels hit the gravel, the throtle from going up the hill caused them to slip and the car suddenly swung to the right (towards a fence and barrier). But almost as rapidly as the jerk away from straight the car suddenly corrected itself and ended up facing exactly forward again. A quick glance down at the dash reveiled that DSC had kicked in and compensated. I've never had a car equiped with such a system, but I was very impressed with the effect. It had flawlessly compensated for the problem before I had a chance to react. While obviously this is a case of driver error, as I definitly should have been off the throtle and going very slow over the gravel, it was nice to have a well designed safty net.

I've had one other "incedent" where DSC kicked in and save me. I was exiting a parking lot and turning right onto a road that goes down a hill. It had rained hard that day so the road was still very wet and covered with leaves. Also I hadn't gotten my seat fully moved far enough back from the previous driver. The result was too much throtle on the turn out and the back started to slide out. This had the potential of being very bad due to the wet conditions and the fact that this was a one lane road with cars all along the left side. But once more the DSC kicked in almost immediatly and stopped the slide, even on the wet pavement. Once again, this was definatly driver error, but yet again I was very happy to have the DSC, and was impressed with its abilities.

I definatly know that depending on DSC is a BAD idea. Both of these cases I concider to be learning sittuations as I'm figuring out how to properly drive a powerfull rwd car. However, I am extremely thankfull that the car is forgiving enough that even if I make a few mistakes durring the learning process that it will help out in order to try and avoid a trips to the body shop.

Has anyone else had experience with the DSC in their RX-8 or other cars, or am I the only driver that is inexperienced enough to need this kind of electronic crutch? It has helped me enough in the last 3-4 months that I would concider it just as essential as airbags, ABS, or other safty features when purchasing cars in the future.

Thanks,
David Holmer

i usually turn DSC off every chance i get.

DSC saved me last weekend when I went ripping into a Taco Bell entrance and saw too late the blacktop road was now dust and gravel at the entrance. I thought I was in for a big slide sideways but DSC kicked in immediately and eliminated the slide. What a great car!

I've had it come on a couple times on wet pavement and was impressed with how unobtrusive it was. It was kind of like a protective hand came down and very quickly set the car right and then released it.

I'm impressed with the system, too.

Mine helped me yesterday morning, when, on my way to work in the rain, I was at a steep uphill stoplight waiting to turn left. Some ninny got up on my tail, and being the paranoid driver that I am, I was afraid I'd roll back(though I've never rolled backwards in this car, EVER) and hit them when the light went green, so I hit the gas harder than needed when it did turn. The back end started to slip out to the right at the Mercedes next to me, but the DSC jumped in and straightened her out. Felt stupid, but very grateful to Mazda.

Re: Amazing DSC -> saved my car twice
 

While it does use existing sensors, it also uses extra hardware. The DSC unit, while integrated to the ABS block, uses extra pumps and stuff(*) that's not on an ABS-only car.

(*) Technical term :)

ive had it come on, but ive never actually had it "save" me, meaning that ive never felt out of control of the vehicle. if i were to drive more aggresively, however, im sure it would save me if needed
________
Gamestop gift card

Saved me tonight. I installed the Borla today. Later that night I went out to the store for some brew and perishables. I stopped at the shopping center exit, eased into first, then accelerated full bore. Tires slipped a little in first, dropped it into second as the street curved to the right, back end kicked out something fierce, DSC kicked in and straighted everything out. First time the car did much more then a chirp in second with the DSC on. The Borla is nice :D .

i had the dsc Turned off, and when i slammed the breaks..... I felt a quick stop with no slide. I think a lot of it would be because of the 50/50 weight distribution maybe ?!?!

even with the Dynamic Stability Control "off" (which it never really is), you've still got your Anti-Lock Brakes... but yup, the firm setup of the car and well distributed mass does help too.

If you want to get some practice being able to drive in harsh conditions w/ the back end sliding around, go to an autox on a day that it's raining...:D

Going sb b4 Long Beach, CA on 405 b4 the 7, you can take the 7 nb (Pacific Ave) exit as a bypass back 2 the 405 sb. I took this at 85 mph in the rt lane and encountered a bunch of traffic trying to merge from the rt offramp to the lt nb 7 onramp. I had to make a SEVERE lt crank to avoid. Although I was prepare to go 20 degrees sideways, as I've experienced under similar conditions in my RX-7s, in the 8 I could feel the DSC drop in and keep me straight. Nice touch!! (Btw, I now stay to the left to get around a

My motto now is:

o Driving under well familiar conditions: DSC/TCS completely off
o Wet weather - all defaults left alone
o Unfamiliar roads or circumstances at high speed - DSC on

However, I understand that when DSC/TCS are deisabled, you need a full stop to reengage. Is that true for DSC when you only turn that off? Won't be driving again till tonight, so will have to check.

As long as the DSC is just toggled off (not disabled by a long press), it will come back on if the ABS kicks in.

Cheers
---Dave

I used to hard-kill my DSC every time I got into the car. After reading some of canzoomer's and others' posts, I stopped hard-killing it, and just toggling it off every time. I guess I fell out of the habit somewhat, and the other day the DSC was on as I left my house at 05:45 a.m.

From a divided major road, on the right there is a one-way, 2-lane road that cuts the "corner" between two perpendicular major roads. Every day I apex onto that road and WOT 1/8 mile down that road. On this particular morning there was a patch of dew right on my line that normally is NOT there. I hit that dew at 40 mph or so, and the car wanted to careen into the trees. The DSC kicked in, and the car only wiggled a little as it kept straight down the road. That almost gave me a heart attack.

As the RX8's DSC is only set up to kick in after a potentially serious loss of control has started, so you can still have a bit of fun before it gets you out of triuble - unlike many others makers electronic nannies that are very invasive upon even mildly spirited driving.

For that reason I'd leave the DSC on all during normal driving conditions and only turn it off on the track, or for roads you know very well, where there is no moisture, dirt or obsticles that could catch you out big time.

Saying that I'm not a big fan of electronic drivers aids, as they do make you complacent. Learn the limits of the car with DSC off somewhere safe such as a track, and then drive within those limits not expecting the electronics to save you. Otherwise if you come to rely on it, and keep pushing further, you'll find at some point it cant work miracles and you'll be going at a fatal speed by then.

Cheers
---Dave

Yes!! Don't get complacent and expect the DSC to save you. The DSC is fantastic, but if you keep pushing the limits of the car and get used to DSC saving, after time you get more brave and may start pushing the limits of the DSC, until the DSC can't save you. When that happens, you'll be going MUCH faster than the speed that pushes the limits of the car without DSC.

What I do is leave DSC on unless I'm going to drive spirited (taking sharp turns fast). Besides learning the limits of the car itself taking the sharp turns, it is also much easier to break the rear wheels loose when desired with the DSC off.

damn...now i wish i had it

Actually, speaking from personal experience after playing around with DSC on, off and disabled during a very wet practice autocross, I can fairly confidently say that a single press ("DSC OFF" lit) simply raises the threshold at which the DSC cuts in. I was able to feel it working even without hitting the ABS, but only by throwing the car around at "silly" attitudes. Under normal driving conditions it would have been effectively "off," because you would normally only experience those sort of maneuvers in an emergency situation.

I can say that when you just tap the button and turn it off, the DSC does NOT engage before you hit the brakes. I made a left turn and ended up facing the direction I was just coming from yesterday morning (just a LITTLE embarrassing)... Should have left the DSC on. Thankfully no one was near me (otherwise I wouldn't have hit it that hard going into 2nd).

My understanding is the DSC will engage again if the ABS kicks in, not just normal use of the brakes.

correct, druck. Upon activation of the ABS...anyone done any autocross runs with DSC on? I'd be curious to compare. I did all mine 2 weekends ago with DSC hard-killed.

Well, again, all I can tell you is that my experience differs. Yes, I've done many autocross runs with the DSC off but not totally disabled. I've hit the ABS many times but I have never had the DSC re-engage itself.

IMHO, "it'll re-engage if you hit the ABS" is an urban legend.

Autocar in the UK reported something similar. They talked about initially not being able to fully disable the DSC. Then they said they eventually figured out how to do it (I assume they meant a long press of the DSC button but they didn't say) and they were then able to get lots of oversteer (they were on a track).

I think the fact that there are two levels of DSC disabling is effectively an undocumented feature, so it's not be surprising if there is some confusion as to precisely how it works, because this behaviour doesn't "officially" exist. Is the bit about ABS re-enabling DSC actually in the manual?

It's certainly not in the PDF version available online. I do seem to recall reading that "DSC OFF" disabled it "except for emergency situations" in the printed version that came with my car, but since I no longer have it, I can't verify that.

As far as I know, Mazda has never officially stated that hitting the ABS will re-engage the DSC. I believe that was originally an offhand comment or supposition that has become ingrained in RX-8 lore, but if someone can prove me wrong by citing an official source then I'll gladly retract. :)

I beleive it was canzoomer who had the wiring and electrical guide that mentioned that the instructions stated that either hitting the DSC button or holding it in did the same thing where DSC is off and pretty much stays off until you turn it on or restart the car (if you held the button in). ABS does not get disabled in either mode. I'll look for the post if you really want me to, but it shouldnt be too hard to find.