I just found this out to my embarrassment...
I came to a T-junction that I know has particularly bad grip. Even my former 911 sometimes span its wheels there, and that really is saying something! The best car for getting away at that junction was my MX-5 Sport which had an lsd; it got away fast, but with some happy tail wagging!
Anyway,just a couple of days after selling the MX-5 and getting my Z4, I came to that junction, and saw a car not that far off, so I went to brake. Then I saw it was a learner with SIX cars behind already. (I live way out in the country, so six cars is a major traffic jam to me.)
So, off go the brakes, on goes the power, slip goes the inside wheel and on comes the traction control. And it stays on... The learner is catching me up rapidly! I have my foot to the floor, and am going nowhere. I am cursing the lack of lsd before the damned car decides it has grip and heads off down the road.
Having said that, cars that I have driven with lsd do not feel nice in tight corners under power, sometimes feeling very understeery, and sometimes feeling very hoppy at the back end. Overall, it was a benefit on the MX-5, which did not have traction control, but it definitely is a compromise. If you want lots of grip on dodgy surfaces, buy an Audi TT or a Subaru, so I would think that you should just think of it as a feature of your car, rather than a problem.
HTH
A
