traction vs stability on the 135i

[stelleto16]

Ok so I read the manual, but I'm still not sure when I want to click "DTC" vs. leaving the in stability control. When I start the engine it is defaulting to stability yes.

Correct me if I'm wrong then but what I have gathered is:

Stability control for snow/rain/etc.

Traction for straight away highway/tight corner situations/etc.

Thoughts?

[floydr]

1) There are rare instances in snow where you might want to turn it off. If you don't know what they are _already_, you're not a good enough driver to attempt snow/ice without traction control, so leave it on.
2) If you are on the track and are willing to accept the risk of hanging out the tail, spins or whatever, then turn it off. You're trading risk for seconds.

Your question is naive; you *NEED* to spend the money for a driving school asap.

[stelleto16]

Thanks, I guess.

[floydr]

Look, I'm a curmudgeon that uses acerbic and sarcastic language a lot. That doesn't mean that I don't mean well, or that my advice is valueless. Your questions and the way that they were phrased imply in fairly strong logical connections that you don't understand vehicle dynamics. In that case, it's better that you just leave it on. My suggestion that you pay for a high-performance driving class (such as those at the SC factory, Bondurant or Skip Barber, or the BMWCCA) is intended to educate you on those dynamics. It's _possible_ that you know more than your questions imply, but I don't believe so. For instance, can you define (without going to Wikipedia) what "understeer", "oversteer", "trail-braking", "weight shift" mean, and how you can use vehicle controls to effect those dynamics? Can you tell us how the handling of a front, rear and mid-engined car differ? Can you tell us how ADB differs from a limited-slip differential (and what those terms mean)? Can you tell us the trade-offs between wide and narrow tires, and their profile?

If you can't, you shouldn't turn it off, and you should take a driving school.

[floydr]

1) It's not a "mode" switch that adjusts charactistics for different road surfaces/conditions. It's an OFF switch that progressively turns off the system.
2) Pretty much everyone posting here just leaves it on, including me. Only one or two really [Oops!] people that don't believe in electronic nannies and wish they were driving 30-year old cars (2002ti for instance) disable it.

[rustyh]

he's not familiar yet with BMW terminologies.

And his assumptions were correct, so it's not like he was out in left field or anything. Just asking for some clarity.

Hell, I've been driving for over 30 years, owned BMW's for over 20 of them, and I'm still not sure I understand what they mean with the silly term "Efficient Dynamics". :)

Jim

[floydr]

BMW's success in NA (North America) is mostly a marketing success.
They've managed to sell us heavily optioned cars with big engines, and made a lot of money from us. Now they're trying to figure out how to sell us cars that are a little more mid-range.

Although that sounds kinda cynical, factor in the fact that my wife and I have been driving BMWs since '78. I love 'em.

[Head Honcho]

Tom Purvis the previous head of BMW in the states did an incredible job of marketing and positioning the company.

Today's car companies are all about marketing and very little about substance, engineering, etc. Nobody can touch Toyota quality but BMW convinced most folks that a Roundel is more important than quality. He was a master!