I searched a little bit on this issue and found a little bit of info but thought I would ask in a new thread. I bought a used 03 Touring model with about 27k on it. It has VDC as I see the button to turn it off. I dont drive to wild at all but when I have noticed the slip light coming on the most was when I was getting onto the freeway on a downhill slooped on ramp and let off the gas a tad and then I feel/hear a change in the car. I read in the book about it and is it putting on the breaks or cutting engine power or both. I am really juut wondering if it is really that sensitive than when acclerating down an on ramp and I slighty lift that it freaks out and throws up the slip light. Also just want to make sure that there is nothing potentialy wrong with the car. Thanks for any help guys.

 

what are the tire sizes on it?

 

they are 18's, the stock tire sizes.

 

bump

 

Please tell me the exact tire sizes both front and rear. Thanks.

 

stock would be what 225 front and 245 rear i think?

VDC actually is decently sensitive Ive found. If you are accelerating fast down hill on an onramp, especially if it has a curve to it and you lift the throttle this can actually cause a weight transfer if from nothing else, than movement from the engine and power delivery to the rear tires. if you do this same onramp without vdc you may notice a little slippage, vdc will let you know you are slipping and stop it/slow you down. I usually leave vdc on unless I plan to really focus while im driving and sometimes try to kick it out a bit. Throttle lifting is actually part of some drifting techniques.

 

So if you go bigger on your tires, will that cause the VDC to act weird? I was just wondering cuz I'm thinking of going 275/45/18 on both front and rear so I can get my tires aligned whenever needed. Do you guys think 275 is too big for a Z that is not lowered? Will it look weird, or will it look like it's lowered? Thanks in advance and sorry for the newbie questions.

 

those re the tire sizes yes. So when it kicks in is it supposed to feel like a major slow down. I am assuming yes. Sorry if I seem noobish but this is my first car with stability control

 

if you get bigger tires, you will have more traction and vdc will probably kick in less. I would discourage getting same size tires on a Z with vdc because it will make the vdc freak out...vdc expects wider tires in the back. You can turn off vdc but you have to turn it off EVERY time you get in, that would be a pain in the A$$. I have 275s on the rear and 245s on the front. my z is not lowered and it looks great. they still fill the wells nicely. DONT GET a 45 series tire, its too tall for 18's, it will fit, but its close to rubbing, stick with a 40 series. 245/40/18 in the front and 275/40/18 in the back is perfect, thats what nismo suggests and thats what i run. I may try to squeeze a 255 and 285 when I get new tires, but I will ask around first. I saw one guy with the nismo wheels who put 275s on the fronts and 315s on the rear, but I have NO IDEA how he got those on the nismo wheels. He had to roll his fenders too.

 

Yes you DEFINITELY notice the car slow down when VDC kicks in. too bad this happens otherwise vdc would be pretty awesome. honda had an ATTS on their prelude type SH back in 99 and 2000 this was the active torque transfer system and would send power to the wheel that needed it... cool system.

 

ok thanks for the info guys. Being in the Honda world for the last 6 years I need to start learning all over again about certain things!

 

Front 225/45R18 91W,
Rear 245/45R18 96W

I assume that the sizes above are correct, so the problem is not tires size.

1. Check the pressure with a quality gage. Insure 35 PSI in all tires.

The SLIP light is primarily a function of TCS (a subsystem of VDC). TCS activates if you spin the rear tires under acceleration. That will give you a SLIP light. If you hit a joint in the road, and one of the rear tires losses traction for a second, you will also get a momentary SLIP.

 

I agree with one minor caveat: VDC expects to see “taller” tires in the rear than the front.

 

implying something to the effect of 45 series rear and 40 series front? i dont think that is right. I dont know anyone who runs a set up like that with a vdc car.

is that what you meant by taller?

 

Agreed. I'm rolling on the same size and I think they're perfect.

The only time I can tell when my VDC comes on is if I gun it while turning on a slick road.....like yesterday in the rain.

It almost sounds like something is wrong with your car. Going down a slope sure shouldn't cause VDC or TCS to turn on.

If you turn off VDC how does the car act?

 

Not exactly. The rear tire overall height is larger than the front tire overall height. Take into consideration the OEM 18 inch staggered sizes:

Front 225/45R18 91W: 25.97 inches
Rear 245/45R18 96W: 26.68 inches

The rear tires are taller than the front.

 

interesting i didn't know about that... will that always be true if you have a slightly wider tire, even of the same series.... i.e. a 40 series tire? (so they would be wider and taller technically?)
what does 91W or 96W mean?

 

if i put 245/35/19 and 275/35/19 in the rear and dropped my car 1" with eibach springs would it rub???

 

I highly doubt it. I cant say for sure though. I doubt you would rub even with a 40 series which might fill the well a little better and provide better ride than a 35

 

Its just with the stock tires, the power is to great for them if you punch it it locks up the wheels. Get bigger size tires, also i always drive with the vdc off alot more fun and even though it is off, if you lose control it still kicks in.