Traction Control Through Third Gear
 

I've noticed whenever I mash on the gas in first, second, or third the traction control light goes on. I have a hard time believing the stock 350hp engine has enough power to break the tires free going 75MPH in third gear. Is this due to poor tires, or is it due to the stiffer suspension of the Nismo?

Has anyone used the stock Yokohama Advan sport tires on the track, and if so what do you think of them?

I know what your talking about I've noticed this also and I'm not sure I think it just gets a tiny bit of slip from popping off the clutch or something because I agree I doubt that our cars are that powerful

Yeah it VDC likes to cut the power for no reason...so overbearing at times. If I am going to get on it, VDC is off.

What is the tread like on your tires? I recall constantly taking my car to he dealer for vdc issues and the dealer told there was nothing wrong. It was so bad to the point u couldn't even drive the car with the VDC on it was that annoying. A friend of mine told me to check the wear on my tires as when they wear the circumference is smaller and the computer sees it as slipping so vdc engages. I though he was full of shite but the instant I replaced the tires the problem was gone. Just a thought.

That's a load of shít.
Did you replace your tires with the same tires?

I was with 460 WHP Twin turbo and I had nice traction on 2nd gear.

Please replace your tires.

Under the right conditions. My VDC will pop on in 3rd, 4th, and 5th. 5th scared the crap out of me when it did it. :eek:

Like on a frozen lake?

Yup happened to me during winter snow fall, on all gears lol...

One cold morning with cold Mich PSS's. Not a good combination. :ugh2:

Nope the stock tires suck balls. Went with michelin pss. My issues progressively got worse and the tire issue worked for me. Just a thought. Can't speak for others just know what solved my clutch slipping/vdc issues.

Bam, exactly, then it wasn't tire circumference, it was shitty tires...
You're comparing apples to a sandwich

Like it was so cold that your tires were literally popsicles?
Because for you to have problems through FIFTH means one of a few things:
You're on a frozen lake
You have negative tread on your tires, AND you're on a frozen lake
Or, you're boosted, and while going 80-100MPH, you decided that while holding the clutch in, you decide to mash the gas pedal and shift at 7400RPM

There's a real good chance that you are causing a wheel to slip. 300+ HP in a light car. My Touring has made VDC kick in at highway speed (that'll make you butthole pucker heehee).

I'd check the tire circumferences. If one (or more) of the tires is bigger/smaller than the rest, it will mess with VDC.

The suspension doesn't help. There is an arched bridge in town that has a small bump about halfway up. I don't have to have the pedal down very far for a wheel to slip when I hit the bump. I'm guessing the Nismo is even worse.

Mine is doing it too, I have brand new tires. Was doing it with my old tires as well. I checked the FSM and it says there may be air in the brake lines.

Is there a way to permanently turn off the stupid thing?

what are you guys talking about?

for one the factory ADVANs are not a piece of sh1t. they are pretty damn good tires. second, you guys must be driving on some super cold tires or they are bald to be getting the traction light to come on like that.

im going to try today and mash it in every gear and see if i can get the traction light to come on.

and lastly, dont permanently turn your VDC off.you are just asking for trouble.

What kind of trouble? I know how to drive and not saying that like a 18 year old kid who thinks he knows. I sometimes forget to turn it off and when taking a corner at high speeds the thing turns on an ruins my momentum. I agree, the Advans are great tires! Might not be the best but they grip pretty dang good. I have never lost grip at higher gears and see that light turn on unless I am running through the Canyon taking the turns as fast as I can.

You have to remember, Cars never used to have traction control.. So I am curious as to what kind of trouble you are talking about.

Have you checked your brake fluid level? I've seen reports of VDC/ABS/TC problems under high acceleration (plus and minus) if the brake reservoir is not full. Not between the lines, but FULL to the top mark.

then pull the fuse to the VDC and party on!

Same, i have brand new Hankook V12s, temp was around 75 deg. Dropped it into 3rd, car revved to 4 or 5k rpm and punched it - VDC started blinking and cut power for about a second before it took off. Very annoying. Seems like i gotta turn it off if i ever want to get on it.

If you are hitting a bumpy/uneven patch of road (all over the place in PA), and give any amount of throttle the VDC goes crazy. I actually think its safer to turn it off sometimes because having the power randomly cut out really throws my driving off.

I have a set of 18" wheels I use on the track with Nitto NT05 275/35-18 tires on them and if I ever forget to turm off the traction control it kicks on at every corner. The times that I use the stock Yokohoma Advan Sports it almost never does. It seems to be the smaller diameter of the Nittos that throw it off.

As far as the Yokohama tires go I havn't seen a real difference in the grip, in fact both the Yokohama's and the Michelin PSS have a grip rating of AA

The tires I have are only a month old, so it is not that they are wearing down.

It seems like many manufacturers are building stability controls more aggressive than they used to. The stability control hardly ever kicked on in my 350 Z. I remember, also in the 2006 Corvette I had, it would hardly ever engage even under full throttle. With the 2012 Corvette I had it would engage in 1st and 2nd gear even if I didn't hear the tires so much as chirp. I read in the 2012 manual that the TCS would engage "If the system detects wheel slip or anticipates wheel slip." as if it were psychic.

Have you ever driven on a 30F day in Jan? Cold tires, cold pavement equal lots of fun. :ugh2:

Actually, yes, I lived in Calgary.
... And you decided that on these freezing days the best thing to do is to be going about 100 and to mash the pedal every gear change?

As many have stated before, you spinning the tires in 5th was either a bump or your brake fluid is low

Did I say anything about doing a 100, mashing the gas pedal at every gear change, spinning the tires in 5th, or my brake fluid is low? No. So quite adding words where they don't belong. ;)

Lol, well, if you're not doing snap gear changes or at too high of a rev into 5th,
You have a SERIOUS problem, and I'm not sure it's just tires, a sensor must be off somewhere or something.

It should be damn near impossible to spin the wheels in 5th, and much less so if you're lazily shifting into 5th at like 45 MPH without mashing the pedal between changes.

Then again, if you're saying its 30 degrees outside, it may not be cold tires, maybe you hit a patch of thin black ice or something similar?

LOL I said under the right conditions. 30F, cold tires, in 5th. Not knowing the road. Take a decreasing radius on ramp at too high of speed. As I shifted into 5th. The turn tighen up. :eek: Only doing about 55 mph.

I'm noticing the VDC light flashing even in 85 degree dry weather on pavement.

If you mash the gas in third gear in my car the light will flash for a good second.

If you switch it off will it still engage if you get in real trouble, or is it completely off?

An older video of my Z Chirping thru 1st, 2nd, & into 3rd...Don't mind the neutral rev, 7AT, and car rolling backwards haha...



You guys will probably know if its easier to do on a 7AT then it is in the 6spd. But thought a video is more fun.

That's a good question, is the traction control really fully off? My guess is, yes. Because you can spin out of control easily. That's when you are in real trouble.

Too much negative camber in the rear. That's why you have poor traction. The Nismo's come with way too much negative camber from the factory.

You do enough trackdays. You can still feel part of it. :icon14: