New M3 Owner

[a1gio2]

Hi, all,

I will soon be the new owner of a MG/SS M3 6-Speed. I have always wanted an M car, and have owned a 335i, Alpina B7, Ferrari Mondial t, to name a few.

I have some concerns regarding traction control and overall control of the vehicle. I have done quite a bit of reading on the forums, and intend to read the manual upon the cars arrival, but was looking for some advice.

This car will not be tracked, but rather driven to work and leisurely on highways, trips etc. My concern comes after seeing the video of the driver losing control yesterday. Will this car get me into trouble? I am not a racecar driver, but rather a pretty good driver that wants to enjoy my car safely. It would suck to have DSC constantly shut down power as its frustrating, yet in the same token, who wants to spin out and hit a tree,curb, guardrail, etc. Is there a happy medium?

I understand he had DSC completely off, which I do not plan on doing. How different is keeping DSC on Vs. MDM mode? Does selecting sport + default to traction control turning off, or are traction choices (MDM, DSC on/off) all individual selections?

[JustChris]

Congrats on the new car. I hope you enjoy, don't worry about the traction if your sensible in public.

[JeffM-Houston]

MDM and TC OFF are separate modes, MDM is pretty decent on the street if you are a sporty driver, but to be honest 95% of my street driving is with TC ON and 5% MDM mode. The only time I turn it off is on Autocross days.

[dkhm3]

sport plus does not do anything to MDM. it is independent.

you have suspension, adaptive dampers, steering, and dsc/mdm/off to adjust.

I leave dsc on, it has come on/flashed on more and more often for me as I adapt to the power of this car.

leaving dsc on has had very little effect on the performance of this car on the street. dsc comes on usually when you take a extreme turn /tires start squealing, or when try to go hard on the throttle from a rolling or complete stop.

[mkoesel]

Originally Posted by a1gio2

Will this car get me into trouble?

Only if you drive above your ability. On public streets, as long as you are driving without traction control disabled and in a reasonable and responsible manner, you should not expect the car to get away from you.

That said, it would probably be a good idea to take a car control clinic if you are unsure about your ability to handle a RWD car and correct oversteer.

How different is keeping DSC on Vs. MDM mode?

With the F8x M3/M4 MDM mode is very conservative, and in practice is not vastly different from just having traction control on. DSC Off is the very opposite. If you over-throttle the car it will spin and keep spinning until you correct it, you hit something, or if you are lucky, it comes to a stop on its own. The car will not cut throttle or apply braking in an effort to keep the itself under control.

Does selecting sport + default to traction control turning off, or are traction choices (MDM, DSC on/off) all individual selections?

Traction control modes are completely independent from your other M DDC selections.

[solstice]

The notion that DSC cuts power all the time is not only dead wrong, it's dangerous. With good throttle modulation DSC allows for huge power with no interference. If you find power to be cut often practice throttle modulation instead of turning DSC off. You can experience the fury of this car with DSC on so don't worry. That said it's a seriously fast car, way beyond the hp number so the speed it generates and how fast it generates it deserves a lot of respect with or without DSC.

[Hawaii i8]

Originally Posted by solstice

The notion that DSC cuts power all the time is not only dead wrong, it's dangerous. With good throttle modulation DSC allows for huge power with no interference. If you find power to be cut often practice throttle modulation instead of turning DSC off. You can experience the fury of this car with DSC on so don't worry. That said it's a seriously fast car, way beyond the hp number so the speed it generates and how fast it generates it deserves a lot of respect with or without DSC.

I will absolutely second that! I think you need to aways be aware 1) of the enormous torque this car has 2) Just how quickly the power gets transmitted to the rear wheels. DSC or no DSC this is a car that can bite back in a way that earlier M3 cars did not. Just remember to feather the throttle as opposed to mashing it to the floor and realize that this thing gains speed like crazy.. The fact that its a challenge to drive in a world of "generally dull to drive cars" is exactly why you are buying an M car right?

[afadeev]

Originally Posted by a1gio2

I will soon be the new owner of a MG/SS M3 6-Speed. I have always wanted an M car, and have owned a 335i, Alpina B7, Ferrari Mondial t, to name a few.

I have some concerns regarding traction control and overall control of the vehicle. I have done quite a bit of reading on the forums, and intend to read the manual upon the cars arrival, but was looking for some advice.

This car will not be tracked, but rather driven to work and leisurely on highways, trips etc. My concern comes after seeing the video of the driver losing control yesterday. Will this car get me into trouble? I am not a racecar driver, but rather a pretty good driver that wants to enjoy my car safely. It would suck to have DSC constantly shut down power as its frustrating, yet in the same token, who wants to spin out and hit a tree,curb, guardrail, etc. Is there a happy medium?

Just like with all my cars, including BMWs, I usually keep traction control (DSC) ON all the time on the street. Partly because that is the default setting, partly because my better half may be driving my car, partly because I would rather have the extra safety margin for the times I may be distracted or experiencing a brain fart.

DSC is not at all intrusive, and you will not see or feel it unless you are stomping on a gas in a turn. At which point the DSC light will flash, and the brakes will be individually applied, and eventually throttle body closed, to manage traction.

DSC gets turned OFF for autoX and track.

Originally Posted by a1gio2

I understand he had DSC completely off, which I do not plan on doing. How different is keeping DSC on Vs. MDM mode? Does selecting sport + default to traction control turning off, or are traction choices (MDM, DSC on/off) all individual selections?

MDM is a less intrusive mode of DSC.
No other vehicle options impact DSC, you manage traction control settings directly and independently.

Do note, that even with DSC ON, laws of physics still apply and you can succeed in taking the car off the road despite DSC's best efforts to stop you from doing so.

However, accomplishing that is much harder with DSC ON, then off.

a

[Aralan]

Originally Posted by a1gio2

My concern comes after seeing the video of the driver losing control yesterday. Will this car get me into trouble?

If you don't turn off DSC, and punch the throttle in a low gear you will be just fine. DSC in MDM is reasonably restrictive, and DSC ON even more so. The engine makes a good deal of torque and it comes on very quickly, so best to avoid sharp throttle inputs with DSC off, or better yet just don't turn DSC off.

[04cobra]

I had a 500rwhp cobra on drag radials that I never spun with once and I accelerated alot with that thing. Had TC off permanently.

This can happen to any RWD car. Hell it happened in my tiny little z4 because the tires were cold and bald.

My advice would be to leave all the "nannies" on until you come to a stituation where the car cuts power, if it does it often, then turn one thing off etc...

The reason his car spun was 1) he had everything off 2) it was probably too cold for summer tires, IIRC he said it was around 40 degrees out?

Cold is really a killer when it comes to tires and traction. Also it looks like he was just coming from a meet, where his car was probably sitting for a long time and the tires got cold, he left and accelerated with cold tires in cold conditions. If its warm out and your tires are heated up a bit (i.e. driven on for more than 5 minutes) you shouldnt have any issues with traction.