This is like the fourth thread I have seen on DSC subject. I seem to be the only one who didn't get either LSD or DSC.

 

It is vastly improved. I drive quite heartily and have never had it activate inappropriately. In fact, it only did twice, both times while cornering and beginning to lose traction due to significant sand/dirt on the road.

 

I would be extremely surprised if BMW had not worked on its DSC software in the last four years.

DSC software varies from car maker to car maker. On a Porsche it is quite good, I'm told. Other cars (can't recall the make/model it can be quite disruptive). My experience with the MCS is that it has never interfered with spirited driving on twisty country roads. It may have saved my butt once or twice on decreasing radius turns I wasn't expecting, but I wasn't watching the dash for indicator lights at the time and didn't notice any odd behavior. I was just surprised to have made it through the curve.

 

That seems like rather odd logic to me.

By the same logic you could save money on vaccines, insurance, seat belts, ABS...

 

Thanks to all!!

Okay, okay...so what I'm hearing is that the DSC is definitely a must and a "yes" on the LSD if I want good, low-end torque, if I drive in snow other inclements, if I plan on driving aggresively, and it's "cheap" and "goodness". And only if I plan on driving it on a track.

So on the LSD, what does all this add up to? Especially considering I will be enjoying the S in Texas (where in this case, all things aren't bigger :-)?

Sorry to bring up an old topic! I'm excited to nearing "joining the club" and want to be happy with what I get so y'all don't hear me complaining later :-).

Thanks!

Mark

 

Glad you're going with DSC. It's really nice just for the hill assist. I've driven manual my whole life, and even so, this makes life much nicer! Crash statistics also say it's a good thing.

LSD: I don't track. I'm in TX. Snow? Maybe once or twice. But what about wet roads? Roads slick with a little bit of mud washed on to them from the rain? Construction zones with unclean roads. The car really does have a lot of low end torque. Whether or not you have LSD, the torque is there. The question is, do you want a wheel spinning, or some of that torque to be transmitted to the wheel with traction???

It's really not hard AT ALL to break the tires loose in 1st or 2nd without even trying. Without LSD, you'd have one wheel spinning much easier than I have. You don't have to drive like a madman, track, or be a snowbunny to take advantage. AND it's relatively cheap now, very much more later if you're wrong. It's a safety item to me.

I wanted low options for low price. No sunroof, no electrochromatic mirrors, etc. But DSC and LSD were two of the very short list of things that were a MUST for me.

 

net hiccup-looked hung...

 

first corner I went to on the demo car without LSD, I roasted the inside tire, it just spun

LSD in my opinion is not an option, it's a required must have

 

I didn't get either LSD or DSC. Going back I might have gotten the LSD but I don't think I'm going to miss it. I've had other fast cars that didn't have it and never got into any problems, you just have to know the limits of your car and pay attention.

 

hm... I ordered LSD on mine, but no DSC. I have always read that people would disable their DSC, so I figured it wasn't worth it to get. I mean they even went as far as developing a chip to automatically turn it off; but it seems there have been some improvements. I can only get one, so I guess I will do a little browsing to see what I should get.

 

If you can only get one, I'd go with the DCS, especially in IL. One is for safety, the other is for performance. But, the MINI has plenty of performance as it is.

 

Hey! I meet another person who didn't get either LSD or DSC, finally!
I just came back from driving on the mountain roads with no speed limit signs and it was a BLAST!!! I was keeping it below 4500 rpm and was in mostly 3rd and 4th gear between 3000 and 4500 rpm. What a car!
Turn in and tracking out was the best I have ever experienced. Torque steer is occasionally noticed but compared to the 95 Eclipse turbo (205 HP) I used to own, the severity is only about 25% of what was felt on the Eclipse. It is very manageable. Because it was in the mountains, some parts of the road were damp and some were wet and some were covered with Oregon's evergreen tree fall outs. I drove aggressively but not wrecklessly. To give you some sort of idea......Previously when I had a passenger in my previous cars, one friend's face got really white and on another occasion another friend got car sick (he said he had never gotten a motion sickness, not even out in the sea) and I had to slow down .

Tests.
1. Hesitation when pulling out from a corner.....
I left the ASC on and from a complete stop I pull out hard making a right turn. I didn't feel it. The surface was partly covered with pine needles but the car pulled out fine with force.

2. Sport button....
Cruising in 4th gear just below 4000 rpm, with the sport button on, I tapped the gas pedal repeatedly with about 2 second intervals. I could definitely feel that the gas pedal was more responsive with significantly less delay in power surge.

3. Inside wheel spin because of lack of LSD...
Might have felt it only once in the 2nd gear in a relatively tight turn. I won't miss it.

All in all, the MCS is a very fast car(for the price) with an outstanding handling (at any price range, I dare to say) right out of the box. I was concerned about tramlining but it is extremely rarely experienced.
I plan to keep this car for a long time. I said the same thing when I first bought the Z3 but sold it after 5 years. We will all just have to wait and see.

 

It's not the DSC causing it. It is the ASC. learn yer alphabet!

All S models have the ASC as standard.

If you have DSC it includes ASC.

I have yet to experience the gut wrenching feeling of the engine drastically cutting back on an R56. It's much less intrusive than it used to be. I've even forgotten to turn it off on an autocross track (and my time was almost as good as with it off).

I have felt it on an R53.

 

We got DSC on our 07 and consider it a necessity here in Seattle due to the rain and the hills (Hill Assist). Would've added the LSD as well if we ordered the car, but it wasn't worth the added wait as we found a car that was 95% of our ideal on the lot.

 

that's funny because i gave up HIDs in order to do a locate to get a car with the LSD option (couldn't care less about DSC, but it's on the car that the local dealer found for me).

it's been damp the past two days and next 3 around here and the LSD kicks in for every onramp.

 

I am making a day trip to Seattle tomorrow and was going to take my MCS. But I am afraid that I might get stuck in the traffic that I decided to take my wife's car with auto tranny. Also her car has CC and the MCS doesn't. Oh, well...

I am just curious... How do you know when the LSD kicks in?

 

LSD is a "must-have" on the S.

DSC is great, too... but I don't know if I would have ordered it outside of the Sport Package. I didn't think it necessary... but I LOVE-LOVE-LOVE the hill assist feature.

 

I'm in the no-DSC, yes-LSD camp. LSD is a must in the torque-monster MCS. You still get torque-steer but at least its going through both front wheels instead of just one. Now DSC I guess is OK for the average driver, but I'd rather drive the car than fight the DSC computer for control. If you can only afford one, get LSD.

 

Have you ever fought DSC in an R56 MCS? Or, is this something you imagine would happen? Are you talking street driving, or track?

 

Coming from the V8 world, I think I could drop two cylinders and still have more torque!

Matt

 

I'm facing this question myself right now. My 04 MCS had DSC and no LSD, and that's mostly why I sold it.

DSC can definitely save your a$$, but it can also put it into a sling--on the whole, I ended up turning it off when I really needed to *drive*. This includes driving on dirt, gravel, and across golf courses and through forests. (/me stops beating dead horse).

An LSD is, to my mind, essential if you want to *drive*, especially if it's in rain, snow, on gravel, on a road course, or in a small, light FWD car with lots of torgue. (hint)

My wife's current 07 MCSC has everything BUT an LSD, and it makes me nervous as a drunk frat boy in church when I drive it.

I'll be looking for a used MCS without the sports/DSC package and with an LSD, or ordering a new MCS without the sport/DSC package but with an LSD, this Fall.

(BTW--I disagree with all of MINI's highly educated and competent engineers--I think you SHOULD be able to get a regular Cooper with an LSD!)

 

Haha! Everything is relative, right?