what is the difference between the 2. i know tcs can be turned off but i dont know much else about that

 

VDC includes TCS as part of its function. Think of stability control as stages adding on to the previous stages. Turning off VDC will turn off TCS at the same time. If you have an Auto, stepping on the brake and throttle at the same time may cause a brake safety override to come on even if TCS is turned off.

Stage 1: Anti-lock Braking System (ABS)
Just like the title says prevents the brakes from locking the tires and causing a skid. Rolling friction has a higher coefficient of friction than sliding friction (skidding). Once the tires start skidding you no longer have directional control. ABS comes in 1, 2 or 4 channel controls. Single channel will pulse all the brakes at the same time. Dual channel can pulse the front and rear brakes seperately. Quad channel can pulse each brake independently. The Z has a 4 channel system.

Stage 1.1: Brake Assist (BA)
Upgrade to ABS that applies full force braking to all brakes if the system determines the car is in a panic stop and the driver doesn't apply full power right away. Studies have shown that most people will hesitate before applying full power to the brakes. This system will apply full power without any human intervention.

Stage 2: Traction Control System (TCS)
Has all the previous features. This system is basically the reverse of ABS. If this system senses that the wheels have lost traction it will use a combination of braking, throttle and/or transmission (auto) to bring the slipping wheel or wheels back into traction. TCS will also work in conjunction with the Limited Slip Differential (LSD) if so equipped.

Stage 2.1: Electronic Brake Force Management (EBF)
Upgrade to traction control. This system manages the amount of brake force going to the front and rear brakes in normal stopping conditions. Depending on the situation it will apply more or less braking balance between the front and rear brakes so that the car will have the most braking traction.

Stage 3: Vehicle Dynamic Control (VDC)
Has all the previous features. This system adds yaw sensors to the vehicle. It senses when the vehicle has exceeded a certain yaw angle while understeering or oversteering. It will employ the brakes and/or throttle to bring the yaw angle back within a predetermined range.

Stage 4: Collission Avoidance System (CAS); Future enhancement
Not yet available. System will include all the previous features and employ a sensor that will automatically apply the brakes if approaching a stationary or slow moving object at a speed it determines will soon exceed its stopping abilities and/or sound an alert if you are approaching a moving object at an unsafe speed.

 

can you turn VDC off? From what i understans, on cars with the VDC function, you can turn it on/off, but you cannot turn off all of it's sub-functions such as the TCS.

That's my understanding via word of mouth, so i don't know

 

Yes, there is a button under the left side of the dash (kinda in the same area as the gas-cap release) that turns VDC all the way off, and yes, it turns it ALL the way off.....Donughts are not a problem with the VDC off.

 

thanks

 

VDC can NOT be turned all the way off. It is stated clearly in the owner's manual. I believe the system that stays active is the LSD braking, which will only engage in what is perceived as a dangerous situation (not donuts in a parking lot).

 

LSD braking according to the above post is also part of TCS; so it would apply to both setups.

 

Unless you have some type of override, the LSD (limited-slip differential) is always active. The LSDs purpose is to redirect torque so that traction is restored. It doesn't control any brakes. If it is working properly it might feel like one or more brakes were activated.

Here basically how it works:
Open differentials are designed to allow the drive wheels to turn at different rates. When you are on clean, dry pavement and taking it easy on the throttle everything is fine.

Problems start to occur when one of the drive wheels starts to slip or loses traction. Driveline torque will want to follow the path of least resistance. So this means the more torque you input, the more power is wasted on the slipping wheel instead of the wheel with traction. In other words, you can be setup for an unfavorable safety condition in normal driving or decreased power in performance situations. In normal driving conditions you would be stuck or induce a vehicle spin if you kept inputting torque to the slipping wheel. In performance situations you would lose a significant amount of torque to the slipping wheel. The LSD attempt to prevent hazardous or performance robbing slip by using clutch packs similar to the ones found in an auto transmission to redirect torque to the drive wheel with traction.

TCS can work with the LSD. Cars equipped with TCS and LSD will continually balance drive wheel torque to get the most traction instead of just in emergency situations or the embarassing one wheel burnout. From what I've heard, so I'm not sure it's true, TCS can be turned off and it won't affect the basic functions of the LSD. The LSD will still work, it just won't use computer controlled balancing.

 

TCS does not have LSD braking (but it does have lsd). Does anyone even read the owners handbook anymore?

 

You're correct on this one. Non-VDC Zs only use TCS and the "mechanical LSD" at the drive wheels. TCS on the non-VDC Zs only control the torque management through electronic controls and also through automatic shift controls if equipped with an AT in addition to the mechanical LSD. TCS & LSD on non-VDC Zs don't use the brakes. They don't have the VDC brake controls. Only Zs with VDC have the TCS with "brake LSD" functions which will apply brakes to the spinning wheel and it can not be turned off through the VDC off button. The brake LSD and the ABS functions are always on according to the Owner's Manual. There are ways to bypass those systems if you do a search.

 

the only thing that can not be turned off is the EBC in a situation where the brakes are applied at the same time as the throttle it will
1. apply the rear brakes

2. cut throttle

the end result is no old fassion power braked burnouts.
there is a mod you can do that will disable the ebc but it involves instaling a switch between the brake sending unit and the ECU so that when bolth are applied the ecu will not "see" the brakes. there should be a how to on this somewhere on the forum.

 

Pat D is right on the "Brake LSD" and the ABS. They can't be turned off through the VDC Off button. The Brake LSD is different from the Mechanical LSD. On the AT, supposedly there is some safety feature that kicks in if you exceed some threshold while stepping on the brake and throttle at the same time. It's there to make sure that the brakes win out over the throttle in an emergency situation. Removing the brake fuse will keep this from happening but it will also disable your brake lights. I'm not sure what effect removing the fuse has on the MT. Also on the MT, you wouldn't be doing any brake torquing if you value your transmission and driveline.