In the current issue of Bavarian Autosport's Fast Times newsletter, they talk about how in a BMW with DSC, you can obviously turn off the DSC, just like in our MINIs. But you can also access a "half-mode" for DSC. Here's an excerpt from the article, (the first paragraph is stuff we already know, but it is needed for setting the rest of the article up, so bear with me here...):

"When wheels slip or a loss of traction is detected, the traction control system automatically reduces engine throttle and applies the anti-lock brakes if traction isn't restored quickly. The system does this much faster than a driver can usually react. While this is great for avoiding skidding and sliding in snow, ice or on sandy shoulders, it can make it virtually impossible to get to the top of a slippery hill. Here's what happens: the rear (talking about BMW's, mind you), wheels begin to spin, engine throttle is reduced, the anti-lock branking system (ABS) kicks in and your BMW slows to a stop part-way up the incline. This can happen even if you give yourself a running start.

You can disable the traction control by pushing the button on your console labeled DSC. When you do, the traction control light illuminates on the dash. But disabling the traction control doesn't always help. On a slippery hill with no ABS in play and full power going to the rear wheels, they will spin like mad."

"Wouldn't it be great if you could use the non-slip aspect of the ABS system without the reduction in power? Well... you can. Here's how:

Push and hold the DSC button: the traction control light will illuminate for several seconds, (about 10), then go off. Once the light is off, release the button. Your BMW's traction control system is now in a mode where ABS will be applied to wheels that lose traction, but the engine throttle will not be reduced.

NOTE: Unlike normal traction control operation, where you can go from ON to OFF and back again just by pushing a button, once your BMW is in this "half-mode," the only way to deactivate it is to turn the engine off. The next time you start the engine, it will revert to normal mode (traction control ON)."

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Now, I know that this article was written about BMW's, which are rear-wheel drive, (versus our MINI's front wheel drive setup). But do our MINI's also have this "half-mode", where it won't cut your power, but still uses the anti-lock brakes to help keep you out of trouble?

 

Well it does seem to follow what you say. You can hold the DSC for about 8 - 10 sec and the light clears - and you do have to turn the ignition off/on to reset it... I will test tomorrow and see if it offers makes a difference to how the DSC works.

 

So is this saying that you will be able to floor the accelerator and only the ABS will kick in to help stop the wheel spin? I am not sure why this would be a good thing.

 

BMWs have what's called DTC. That's the "half-mode" DSC. It lets you play a little bit more than the traditional DSC, but still keeps you in check if you get too crazy. MINIs don't have this feature. We have straight on or off mode DSC. If the DSC light is on, all you have is ABS.

 

the Mini interface works the same, but I don't know about function. I had the girl with me and didn't want to find a place for some, uh, aggressive testing....

Matt

 

If the interface behaves the same way, there's good reason to hope the system behaves the same way. I've never tried this, but I will tonight.

 

Moderators...Can we merge the two threads?