what's the difference between VDC and TCS?

thanks

 

i think the TCS cuts fuel to limit power. VDC applies brakes. Could be wrong though

 

TCS controls traction for example if you give it too much gas while accelerating and the rear wheels spin it cuts power, VDC theoreticaly prevents a spin for example you are in a turn and gas it too much the car senses either by yaw or wheel spin or both (i'm not sure) that the rear is breaking loose and it prevents the spin by cutting power and or braking. It's a strange feeling when that kicks in the car kinda feels like it's floating and you feel it doing all sorts of things out of your control but it does seem to work.

 

yeah it can brake wheels individually to get the proper force to correct spins.

 

Is there anyway to turn off the VDC?

 

The button under the dash (right above the fuel door release)

 

It simultaneously turns TCS off too

 

Here is an elaboration of jckolnturn's response:

TCS controls wheel-spin due to excessive power applied to the wheels (in this case, the rear ones). The system attempts to modulate wheel-spin by the following methods:

- Retard the spark timing (fast acting, but not always effective...an emissions nightmare)
- Kill or retard the fuel injectors (slow, but more effective)
- Close the throttle opening (slow, but 100% effective...can only be done on "drive by wire" throttles.)
- Apply ABS brakes (really fast, but man do I hate this method)

The idea behind this is to allow the driver to maintain control of the car. A tire that is spinning has only a small amount of the traction that it does when it is not spinning (relative to the road). The drag race guys I know all use TCS on their cars since it allows the tire to remain stuck to the pavement and improves their launches. Consequently, a tire that is spinning also cannot steer as effectively either.

VDC, ESP, DSC, etc. all attempt to control the yaw rate of the car (imagine punching a big, vertical pole into the roof of a car, this is the axis which it would rotate around). All variations use the ABS brakes independently. The idea is to brake the selected wheels which will cause the car to rotate opposite of what it's trying to do now. Say you were in a drift leading with the passenger side; the VDC system would attempt to correct this "oversteer" by appying the passenger-front side brake. It will also correct for mu-split conditions (engineer jargon for ice under one side and pavement under the other) by braking the tires on the slippery side. Nissan claims that their system compensates for understeer, but the 350Z will understeer horribly with it enabled...I'd be curious to try a front-drive Maxima with it on. The BMW systems are excellent.

There have been many "gimmics" in the auto industry over the years, but these two technologies are solid. Formula racing has been using these technologies for years (secretly) because they can get the cars to go faster than without it. VDC heralds an era where electronic devices are used to enhance the responsiveness of the driver's commands. It's just a damn shame we live in a sue-happy society that blames everyone else for their mistakes: most VDC systems will probably be relegated to inducing understeer. The select few (BMW, Porsche, Ferrari, etc.) will be tuned to increase oversteer to compensate for an understeering chassis design.

 

Does our Z's TCS use all methods listed above? Or just one of them?

 

Thanks for the info. I don't own a Z yet so I'm just gathering info and dreaming right now. Graduation is in 2 months, though... Just need a good job now.

 

good luck brother. A graduation present to yoursef I presume? If you are itching bad for one, pick up a job anywhere for the time being (after graduation that is).

 

If it weren't for all of the debt I accumulated in school this would be an easier task. Somehow I always find a way to get what I want though. I just really need a fast RWD car again, this Sentra is killin' me. I miss my Mustang, but not enough to get another one.