I was wondering if on the track one should turn off the DSC and traction control or keep one or both of them on? Thanks.

 

Fully disable it. You'll learn more about car control that way.

 

Try it both ways - see what happens and what works for you.

My personal experience is that you can accelerate and "go" much faster with it off.

 

turn dsc AND tcs off? isn't that the same "DSC" button?

 

that same button controls each seperate system, push it once disables the 1st, push and hold for ~5 seconds it fully disables traction AND stability control.

 

On the street - always on

On the track - I always run with it off. Overtime you'll be faster this way.

 

consider it like training wheels, do you still ride a bike with training wheels?

 

I leave it on for the first run till I am familiar with the track layout and when the track is wet. Other than those times it's off.

 

Ah yes - I would like to add that I always leave it on for highway driving! You never know when you might hit a slick spot and need to make an evasive manuever at 80 MPH.

I might turn it off around town when I'm only going about 40. Otherwise it kicks in hard when I make sharp turns on asphault roads.

As for the track - it can be useful, as expo1 pointed out, but it will limit your ability to slide through turns and, instead, will cut the throttle and brake for you which you may not want.

 

If you are new to being on a track, by all means leave it on. Driving at speed on a track is a lot different from hauling *** on the street. you will find that you have a lot to learn and you will make mistakes. DSC will come on and save you. When that happens, analyze why it came on in the first place and drive to avoid that scenario. As you gain experience, it will come on because you are carrying more speed, not necessarily to save you making a mistake. The car dances around more when you are on the traction limits.

I found out something last weekend at the track... With the short press of the DSC button, the system is fully disabled providing you are not braking hard enough for ABS to come on. With the short press, if you are threshold braking or really close to ABS assistance and you get squirrelly, DSC comes back to life. If no ABS is engaged, you are free to spin out. With the 8 sec press, DSC stays off completely even if you stand on the brakes and get sideways. I did not know this even after 9 track event weekends.

There was a good thread in this section called "How is the RX8 on track" where a lot of discussion went on about DSC. There is some erroneous info in that thread with regard to what I just posted including some of what I said in that thread. So, read all these posts with caution and realize that this is the internet where opinions are often treated as facts and unsubstantiated claims are made daily. Above all, experiment and don't take chances.

 

Yep, agree with all the above.

 

i learned to drive on the track in cars without any DSC (or ABS for that matter). im pretty sure the DSC will reduce the risk of wrecking the car while you are learning. at some point you need to turn it off and theres a reason its called the 'crash button'. :P so when you do turn it off, be extra careful.

it is definitely slower once you know how to drive.

james

 

First time on a track with this car this weekend. I kept it on for the first few laps to get used to the track and then I turned it off. You will definately learn more about the car with it off.