No DSC...

[christy]

Hello everyone. I'm picking up my MCS tomorrow. It has the JCW tuning kit along with other JCW goodies put on aftermarket. Here in Canada you can't order any new MCS with the JCW package. So my choices were very limited. Anyways, my mini won't have DSC. I'm used to having all the safety options on my rear wheel drive vehicles, so I'm abit worried I won't be able to push my mini around too much But our front wheel drive mini's are already easier to handle is it not, compared to rear wheel drive?
Most of you have the DSC option in your mini's?

Thanks in advance.

[faster,Tobias!]

Does your car have the Sport Package? If so it will have the DSC. I do have the DSC, and unless it is raining or icy I leave it off. And you can still push your MINI hard, with or without DSC, and some threads on here would suggest not everyone is a fan of it. I suppose it would come down to how much you appreciate the cars intervention in your driving style. Oh, and welcome to the world of MINI2 !! You are going to love your car....

[frylock]

>>>But our front wheel drive mini's are already easier to handle is it not, compared to rear wheel drive?

I find the MINI is easy to handle compared to other cars. I don't think it's because it's front wheel drive, though. It's more because the car is small with a wide base. Even if you don't get DSC, ASC is standard (I think that's the right acronym--it's another type of electronic stability control). If you're used to rear wheel drive cars, you'll find that the MINI oversteers (fishtails) more often--especially in the winter with certain tires.

[christy]

Thanks for your input Tobias. No my mini does not come with the sport package. It has the JCW tuning kit, rear JCW spoiler, 18" JCW wheels, and a nice JCW steering wheel with 3 little pieces of carbon fibres on the steering wheel. And yes, my favorite, a starter button!! Just like my S2000 I was so disappointed when I walked into mini last week to place an order for a MCS and found out you couldn't order the JCW package. Not only that, the special edition JCS are pretty set up already in packages so you don't have much choice in trim color either. But it does offer 3 year free maintenance. Thats a deal
My salesman did mention that he drives with his DSC off, and when you do auto crossing..everyone drives with their DSC off of course. But its good to know you drive with it off most of the time and the mini does fine. Thanks again. (We don't have a thumbs up icon here in this forum? We need so many more smilies than this!)

[GBMINI]

The MCS will have ASC+T if it doesn't have DSC.
This is "traction control" and does most of the useful things of DSC.

DSC additionally will attempt to brake & correct loss of control if you head into a corner too fast. I've only had it do it once on my MINI and I didn't enjoy the resulting sudden kick.


Did you get the LSD? If not, you'll find ASC+T cutting in from a standing start if you accelerate hard - especially if the ground is slippery or if you are turning while accelerating. In the extreme it will dramatically reduce engine power and leave you almost stopped

[faster,Tobias!]

Quote: Originally Posted by frylock

>>>But our front wheel drive mini's are already easier to handle is it not, compared to rear wheel drive?

I find the MINI is easy to handle compared to other cars. I don't think it's because it's front wheel drive, though. It's more because the car is small with a wide base. Even if you don't get DSC, ASC is standard (I think that's the right acronym--it's another type of electronic stability control). If you're used to rear wheel drive cars, you'll find that the MINI oversteers (fishtails) more often--especially in the winter with certain tires.

frylock, you got it backwards. FWD have a tendency to plow, or understeer, and it is RWD that will oversteer, or fishtail.

[Tonyt3]

Quote: Originally Posted by frylock

>>>If you're used to rear wheel drive cars, you'll find that the MINI oversteers (fishtails) more often--especially in the winter with certain tires.

I think maybe your stuck in reverse and going everywhere backwards... ?

[frylock]

>>frylock, you got it backwards. FWD have a tendency to plow, or understeer, and it is RWD that will oversteer, or fishtail.

Yeah, I guess you're right--understeer is what the experts say. (there's a wikipedia article on this ) Oversteer/understeer--I knew it was one of those.

I think I got them mixed up because I've personally had more problems with oversteer on snowy roads than understeer. If the front wheels have traction, I can usually just accelerate out of it. I've only had my MINI understeer once.

[beken]

Welcome, Christy,

Your car has ASC+T as standard in Canada. It was explained to me by my salesperson that ASC works on the Y axis and DSC works on the X axis. For starting, stopping and general "normal" speed driving, you should be fine. There's actually a whole lot of safety nannies on the MINI's already, such as Corner Braking Control.

If you were on a highway with a strong crosswind and an 18 wheeler blew by you, it might cause your car to sway offline a bit. DSC would provide the necessary braking such that you probably wouldn't even notice. I don't have DSC on my MCS and I went through the same thought process as you. But after owning my car for just over a year now, I decided I didn't need it afterall.

I like GBMini's explanation of this too.

[Vitesse]

Quote: Originally Posted by GBMINI

The MCS will have ASC+T if it doesn't have DSC.
This is "traction control" and does most of the useful things of DSC.

DSC additionally will attempt to brake & correct loss of control if you head into a corner too fast. I've only had it do it once on my MINI and I didn't enjoy the resulting sudden kick.


Did you get the LSD? If not, you'll find ASC+T cutting in from a standing start if you accelerate hard - especially if the ground is slippery or if you are turning while accelerating. In the extreme it will dramatically reduce engine power and leave you almost stopped

Yeah totally agree. DSC does some really weird things, makes you feel you are not in control. First time it cut in, I didn't have a clue what was happening. Didn't spec it on next Mini, as it was just too obtrusive. Have ASC+T now, which while still obtrusive, is nowhere near as unpredictable. The whole car gives me much more confidence.