DTC Button??

Adam D said:
The Zed is well planted and tame compared to my last car, that was hairy in the damp!
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i've got to agree with this, to break traction in the 3.0i you really have to try hard, the chassis set up of the car is for it to understeer so the rear needs excesive provocation to break away, on the track days i have done it is always switched totally off and to drive hard and keep it tidy the rear will not break traction on a dry surface unless provoked, it will understeer first, all of this is in dry conditions, in damp/wet conditions the rear will break traction easier but then you really have to be confident and know your car to turn it fully off.
I find in the dry it is very very intrusive when spanking the car on fast A and B roads so I turn it off, all too often it is holding you back and cutting power, alot of this is due to the weight transfer of the car as when the back end goes light it cuts in but i have found that driving the same bit of road in the same way the car will not lose traction or step out if it's switched off but let you get on with it a bit quicker.
I would say this car in 3.0 guise is a perfectly balanced car power/chassis coz you can absolutly spank it to death and it behaves itself.

The M is a different story of course, firstly this car is set up to oversteer and the power will induce oversteer much easier i would say it's much more difficult to drive as hard as the 3.0i due to this..
 
plowy said:
i've got to agree with this, to break traction in the 3.0i you really have to try hard, the chassis set up of the car is for it to understeer so the rear needs excesive provocation to break away, on the track days i have done it is always switched totally off and to drive hard and keep it tidy the rear will not break traction on a dry surface unless provoked, it will understeer first, all of this is in dry conditions,
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It only does that cause you enter the turn too fast. Try slowing down just a tad bit more and accellerating THROUGH the curve with the DSC full off... you'll have a hoot of a time then :hooters:
 
cj10jeeper said:
Kurts05Z4 said:
I deliberately left it on during the last autocross to see how it behaved in that environment. It definitely tames the car down a bunch. Try and pull hard out of a corner and it shuts the throttle down on you to prevent a spin (which works quite well I might add). One push of the button and it will allow you to power slide through the corner (providing you don't give it too much throttle or it shuts you down again).
At the next event (next weekend), I'll shut it down completely and see how the times are by comparison. :thumbsup:
As for having the ass end come around on you, my Mustang GT was an absolute hoot to drive with the traction control shut off (dry only!). 350+ hp, a positraction diff, and 3:73 gears (stock were 3:08) made for some serious fun! :evil:
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Kurt - that's so right. On my first runs while powering out of the corners the traction control was so violent I lost 100m of clean surface before it let me have the throttle back. Once dropped down a notch I could make the back move enough to keep me happy, full power on and in the right gear. Much improved times.

Interested to see how you get on with it one more notch down..
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Yes, I'm looking forward to finding out myself. I'll be running slicks again so hopefully the understeer can be overcome by a little oversteer! :evil:
My Mustang had horrible understeer when I had the front sway bar set up too stiff. I was able to work around it by stabbing the brake to get steering back then tapping the throttle to toss the ass end around just enough to stay out of the cones. After I set the bars up softer in the front and slightly stiffer in the rear, I had a pretty good balance with minimal understeer (and of course the oversteer was directly connected to the go pedal :evil: ).
The Z4 is way more nimble and balanced so much better that I'm having to re-learn how to drive the short course. :wink:
 
flyboyaj said:
plowy said:
i've got to agree with this, to break traction in the 3.0i you really have to try hard, the chassis set up of the car is for it to understeer so the rear needs excesive provocation to break away, on the track days i have done it is always switched totally off and to drive hard and keep it tidy the rear will not break traction on a dry surface unless provoked, it will understeer first, all of this is in dry conditions,
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It only does that cause you enter the turn too fast. Try slowing down just a tad bit more and accellerating THROUGH the curve with the DSC full off... you'll have a hoot of a time then :hooters:
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OH Really...:roll:...give me a shout when your in the UK and you can give me some tuition as the guys i have had thus far are obviously no good... :thumbsup:
 
ovrkll said:
If you wish to play with it, make sure you are in a safe area! The above post about "Ditches, Trees, and Casualty" is not far off the mark.
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I like that definition LOL. It's part of the fun of a RWD car...most of us in the UK will have tried it on a quiet roundabout. DTC off, big slide, loads of opposite lock to correct it and maintain the slide, straighten up, feel like a hero, vow never to do that EVER again. It's for the track really.

Whenever your DTC light flickers, imagine what would have happened if it had been off. Of course you can argue the downside to TC is with such an effective safety net, drivers toay have far less understanding of balancing a car and what's happening / going wrong at any given moment, the computers sort it all out. If all RWD sports cars drove like early 90s TVRs, things would be quiet different!

The M is a different story of course, firstly this car is set up to oversteer and the power will induce oversteer much easier i would say it's much more difficult to drive as hard as the 3.0i due to this..
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Everything you said makes alot of sense. I had a 330 Sport and drove that with the DTC off alot as it was very progressive and easier to handle. My previous M3 and this, much much more lairy and I tend to leave DTC firmly on; it'll go sideways with it on in a way the 330 never would have.

flyboyaj said:
Try slowing down just a tad bit more and accellerating THROUGH the curve with the DSC full off... you'll have a hoot of a time then :hooters:
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...thus provoking it to slide, making Plowy correct? :P As Sabine says in the 'Ring Taxi: 'do you want a technical, fast lap or a fun sideways one!'
 
I was going for the "fun sideways one". :evil:

I interpreted what he was saying that he was looking for a way to make the car handle like they do on that british car show that y'all like so much where the two guys compare cars on the track or on a runway... always drifting around the corners and spinning the tires whenever they can.
 
1st day in the rain with Z4 today. Interesting to say the the least. Fine taking it steady but flooring it at the lights ended up with the backend kicking out quite alot. DTC flashed quite a bit on the dual carriageway when it was wet and pulled away hard.
 
As you can see from the thread ive posted ive just turned mine off in the wet and had some reAL FUN!!! :D
 
OK, ran autocross yesterday with DTC off completely. What a difference! :thumbsup:
Too hot for slicks so I ran my F-1's.
No annoying throttle lag, no more bogging coming out of a corner.
The rear would break loose but was totally controllable. Lift a bit and it would get back in line, more throttle and it made for a nice controllable power slide. :evil:
There were three Minis on course and I had them by a full second (not too surprised since the course was fairly open with two 2nd gear stretches, the Minis seem to do better on a tighter course).
All in all a great day and another good learning experience with this car. :thumbsup:
 
spammy said:
so when its off you have the little yellow light on all the time?
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Press and let go = Yellow DTC
Press and hold = Yellow warning triangle with some squiggly stuff inside it.
 
yep, if you press and hold the button then it'll turn everything properly off, and there will be (if i remember correctly) two yellow lights lit on the dash.

Essential for track driving, unless you want to have power held back on the exit of corners all the time.
 
Cheers guy's getting back to air filters just been quoted £29.80 for an air filter from BMW is that about right ?
 
brillomaster said:
yep, if you press and hold the button then it'll turn everything properly off, and there will be (if i remember correctly) two yellow lights lit on the dash.

Essential for track driving, unless you want to have power held back on the exit of corners all the time.
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Close regarding the lights: short press actually switched DTC on and shows the “DTC” icon in yellow. DTC allows for a bit more slip than TC fully on (default setup), allowing you some freedom in conditions that “demand it” as BMW says. While originally intended to set off in snowy/icy conditions or on a wet field, it’s also a fun introduction to the point where the rear loses traction and what happens next. There’s still a safety net, but the system doesn’t cut power to the wheels quite as abruptly or early as in its default mode.

Feeling like a bit more fun? Press and hold: DTC amber switches off and an amber warning triangle with an arrow around the outside replaces it. (D)TC is now fully off, and you’re on your own. I can confirm this after suddenly facing my friend behind me, coming off an off-camber T-junction (no traffic) in very wet conditions on a decade-old set of run-flats :lol: It can snap quite harshly compared to say a 3-series, given that you’re right on the rear axle. A drift course or tuition in low-traction driving can be an excellent investment for our cars :thumbsup:
 
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