What Exactly Does The Vdc Do?

[dodes47]

Hi

Noob question here. May have been covered before but having trouble finding it.

I got an 03 v35 GT-8. Been wondering for a while what the VDC is for. I know it stands for Vehicle Dynamics Control, but what does it do exactly?

And how does it help with my driving? I tried turning it off but couldnt feel any difference in the handling. Should there be any?

Cheers

[dannyw]

turn it off, and when going thru a corner, slam on the gas hard!!! then u will know why it has to be on..

ps: PLEASE dont do this.. but i hoped i explained wat it meant..

[sethaiyaar]

lol...yeh dun try it, just stops the wheels from spinning...but rmbr to turn it off when flying off from the lights, or chucking an aggressive u-turn....oh and in NO way am i promoting you to do such preposterously unacceptable activities.

Saying that, it is rather fun to do.

[TRB-001]

from memory it does a few things, it detects when a wheel is starting to slip and retarts the timing (reducing the engine power) until the wheel slipping, it can work in conjunction with your abs to assist in balanced braking while on uneven surfaces.

also takes into account an on board g sensor, things like your whether your pressing the brakes pedal, it also looks at your steering wheel angle etc.... to try and anticipate what your trying to do and it will work accordling to keep the car level and balanced..

best off not taking my mumbo jumbo as facts and just google it

[180 wanabe]

VDC trys to save ur ass if you do something stupid or if your cars about to go out of controll it will do its best to bring the car under controll

its kicked in a couple of times in the wet for me and stopped the car from going into a slide when I took a corner too quick or was giving to much gas

[dodes47]

Cheers for the replies guys

So basically it's a safety feature? It decreases the engine power when it senses the car is going out of control and applies braking on the tires.

Is there any benefit on having this off? i was thinking.. i dunno.. fuel consumption? Handling perhaps?

Don't worry. i won't do those moves at all. Got too much to live for

[dannyw]

i dont think u get the real purpose of having the VDC on yet.. Turning it off for handling, consumption? i m pretty sure no.

but from wat i read(from the things u wrote), you better keep it on ALL TIME.

ask max from this forum, when turning it off, i made 3x360 degree on the track at 70kmph..

[scathing]

VDC = stability control

The VDC unit takes inputs from the ABS wheel sensors, to measure wheel speed, as well as a yaw sensor in the middle of the car to determine how fast you're cornering. It has outputs to the electronic throttle, and your brakes.

Through the ABS wheel sensors it can determine if you're wheelspinning. It'll cut power, and possibly grab the rear brakes, to stop the wheelspin. In that way it acts like the Traction Control System on the lesser-model V35ss and Z33s (although the TCS equipped FM platform cars don't grab brakes).

While cornering, it uses the yaw sensor to determine how fast you're cornering. It compares it to how fast you should be turning (I'm not sure if it just compares the inner and outer wheel speeds or has a steering wheel angle sensor).

If the parameters don't line up, it'll cut power and apply the brakes to bring you back on to what it thinks is the ideal line. So if it thinks you're running wide, it'll grab the inside brakes to pull the car back on line. If you've gotten sideways, it'll cut power and grab brakes in a way that will return you to cornering.

It's not the best system in the world. It's overly aggressive, and pretty slow to react. Z drivers who've tracked their car finds that it reacts slower than they do. They'll counter when they don't corner properly, and the system will counter a fraction of a second later. It amplifies the correction, and then they need to re-correct. The system will detect the over-correction, however, and also try to re-correct. etc etc.

Hopefully in future versions it'll actually work as a driver aid rather than a driver handicap (like Ferrari's current setup) but I'd leave it on if your car is being operated by someone who doesn't care about driving, but turn it off if you can actually drive yourself.

Edited June 7, 2009 by scathing

[dodes47]

"but from wat i read(from the things u wrote), you better keep it on ALL TIME"

Cheers, i plan to. It's a family car and i plan to treat it that way

Scathing's explanation is exactly what i'm looking for, thanks for that mate.

And thanks to everybody who provided their answers too

[MaXiMuS007]

i dont think u get the real purpose of having the VDC on yet.. Turning it off for handling, consumption? i m pretty sure no.

but from wat i read(from the things u wrote), you better keep it on ALL TIME.

ask max from this forum, when turning it off, i made 3x360 degree on the track at 70kmph..

Yep, I saw that .

I kept mine on for the duration.

[scathing]

Is there any benefit on having this off? i was thinking.. i dunno.. fuel consumption? Handling perhaps?

Handling maybe. If you actually want to slide the car, then you should turn it off. If you are pressing on and want to use it as a driver's car, then you will be a little quicker and the chassis should be a bit more predictable.

[Oaksey]

On the manuals if you are trying to get off the lights quickly VDC goes off, it cuts power too much if it detects just a little slip. However, if you are driving sensibly it is good to have on, especially in the wet, doesn't let the back end get out too far etc.

[BLISTC]

if you try to do a burnout get the wheel spinning then as soon as you hit the brake, the vdc will kick back in. ive read this happens on the g35 on American forums has anyone been down to the strip and tried it?

also if you do excessive slippage like a spin out.... the slip light will remain on. dont panic. just turn the car off and on again and it will be ok.

[scathing]

I am pretty sure in BMI's "350Z Shock" they said that if you just press the button it goes into a failsafe mode. You can power oversteer, but once you tap the brakes the electronics will try to straighten up the car.

If I remember correctly, and I probably don't, if you hold it down for 8 seconds it disables the VDC until you restart the car.

[worldwalker]

Not a fan of the V35's VDC. Its great day to day for saving my tyres but as stated its way to agressive and slow to respond. I find it trips as soon as it gets heavy lateral loads and cuts too much power. The otherside, and the worst cases, is when it trips just as is stepping. You start to correct in time with the slide and it hits the brakes and cuts the power. Obviously it corrects the correction of the correction for you with brake force distribution (which is a fantastic feature) but it looks ugly, feels uncomfortable and ruins your fun.

The V35 is front heavy as it is so its a very straight forward (literally) car to correct. The biggest problem I've found is if you're too heavy into a corner you get the typical skyline understeer, a quick weight shift solves that though. I enjoy driving with the VDC off its nice and simple even if you've got a heavy foot like me its a very forgiving car, but I find SW20's forgiving so take that as you like.

[Zx14rider]

So guys if I was going through some nice tight mountain rangers with the VDC off would it come back on as soon as I touch the brakes?

[DashyyPC]

18 hours ago, Zx14rider said:

So guys if I was going through some nice tight mountain rangers with the VDC off would it come back on as soon as I touch the brakes?

No it will not. Ive done this many times in my 370gt.

[mitchy93]

My 370GT V36 has VDC on and it still gets the slip light frequently. Is it supposed to let a bit of slip or?

[Rockit]

I was having a VDC/slip light  issue with my 350. On a couple of occasions, it caused handling issues when coming into corners. Did a search on it. Check the fluid level in the brake reservoir; needs to be close to full. Fixed it for me.

[V35_Paul]

18 hours ago, mitchy93 said:

My 370GT V36 has VDC on and it still gets the slip light frequently. Is it supposed to let a bit of slip or?

Depends.

What are you doing when it happens?