Is DSC really necessary?

[coopercrazy]

How necessary is the DSC on a Mini,(or any other front wheel drive car for that matter)? I currently own a 2000 BMW 323i and it comes standard w/ DSC. All this electronic device seems to do is stop the rear wheels from spinning in slippery or skidding conditions. This comes in hand during the rain and snow, but it takes the fun out of driving hard in good conditions. Many a times I shut it off to have some driving fun! And to me this seems to be the point of having the MINI... Driving Fun! And on top of it, front wheel drive is much better in the rain / snow than rear wheel drive. I believe DSC is geared toward the "typical" non-enthusiast U.S. BMW owner(in this case). Any opinions from some of you who have the car with / without the DSC option or from anyone else?

[zoooooom]

I have a cooper without it cos i did'nt want it.
Done 5000 miles now in dry,wet and snow and dont regret not getting it.
But I have never had it so I wont Miss it will I.

I think it would take out the FUN factor

[Mr T]

Mine will be one of the first batch with DSC later this month, so will be able to tell you then.

[ELISEBOY]

i have ordered it but u can turn it on or off so i dont see the problem
there are times when its handy but i agree that the mini should be fun to drive so i intend to switch it off and have some!!!

[Jazzy Jase]

I am going to order it for my S.

It will be really handy in slippery conditions and if I want to drive fast without worrying about losing it.

When I want to have some fun I will switch it off.

I think on the BMW that switching it off leaves the traction-control on. If you hold down the button for a few seconds it then turns off the TC. Will this be the same on the MINI?

[coopercrazy]

Maybe I should delete this post. With the pricing of the MINI now revealed, who cares? It is almost too inexpensive not to take it...

[Garry]

What does DSC cost?

Is it only available for the Cooper S?

[Amberthecat]

I agree with the fun factor people. If you're in the mood to hustle you'll turn it off for extra thrills. If you're driving sensibly you won't need it anyway !

ASC+T however is useful, this will kick in at a much lower level and worth having. (pulling out of side road in wet conditons etc. etc.)

[LMB]

I don't get what DSC is

Now the Mini comes with Conering Brake Control (CBC) as standard. What is the difference?

And what is Electronic Braking Distribution (EBD)?

LMB

[Amberthecat]

I'm sure some petrol head will prove me wrong but I think DSC does much the same as ASC+T, CBC, EBD etc. The big difference is the above are active safety features while DSC is passive. In other words the above compensate when you over cook it but DSC stops you from getting there in the first place. It uses a gyroscope and other clever sensors to "predict" what the car is going to do and prevent anything bad happening. At the end of the day it still applies brakes and reduces engine power, it just does it before it gets messy.

If you're just wandering along you won't need it, if you're blasting you won't want it and if it's an emergency manouver you'll need the active stuff anyway so why bother???

[LMB]

Quote:

Originally posted by Amberthecat
If you're just wandering along you won't need it, if you're blasting you won't want it and if it's an emergency manouver you'll need the active stuff anyway so why bother???

You couldn't have put it better

I am glad to hear you car is problem free. I am due to pick mine up a week on Monday so the signs are good. I am praying I don't get a Lemon

Genie, I would like a problem free car please

Try this link for info:-

http://www.bmwworld.com/technology/dsc.htm

[BruceK]

Quote:

Originally posted by kotlewm
Try this link for info:-

http://www.bmwworld.com/technology/dsc.htm

So, in other words, like ASC+T, DSC works to maintain control in a turn when you have your right foot on the accelerator, whereas ABS, EBC and CBC work in the same turn when you are pressing the brake pedal. Is that right?

Still, at $500 it is a fairly costly option.

Yes, that's pretty much how I see it, I think DSC will work even if your feet are on neither pedal! I used to have a great video clip of a Mercedes A-class fitted with the Mercedes equivalent of DSC which they call ESP.

In the slow-mo clip of the Benz, you see it coming around a blind corner to find a tractor blocking it's path, the car swerves at the last second and just catches the grass verge with it's outside rear wheel. You can see the car start to oversteer before the ESP system individually brakes the outside wheels to counter-act the oversteer and bring the little a-class back on course.

I'll have a good rummage around the web to see if I can find it again, I had downloaded it around the time of the A-class launch when it fell over during the "Elk" test, and as a result got ESP fitted as standard.

This is the sort of scenario that you would be glad to have DSC and I will probably order it for my "S". At least you have the option to turn it off when you are fully concentrating on giving it "ten-tenths", it's the cruising along listening to the radio/chatting to (getting nagged by. . .) the wife moments when you are distracted that you will most need DSC.

M

[rich]

Does anyone know if either the Works conversions or the Superchips-type mods tweak the DSC, ASC+T, CBC, ABS, etc.

Presumably this is possible in principle & standard BMW settings err on the side of caution