Disabling Traction Control (TC) and Vehicle Stability Control (VSC) Completely
 

Hi guys,

Yesterday was the 1st time i tested, played around with a Subaru BRZ 6 speed auto.
I would like to find out if anyone on this forum are really familiar with the handling dynamics of the car.

1st impression is that it was a nice car all rounder and a streetable car.
However i've some questions regarding the TC and VSC as i do not have an owners manual i can refer to plus the local distributor themselves are not to well versed with the car either.

After dabbling around i realise we have the option of:
1. Engage VSC for a sportier handling.
2. Engage TC off to allow some wheel spin.
3. Engage TC off and VSC to allow to have slight more fun.
4. Press and hold TC off until the TC wil turn off and engages VSC to allow to have "even more fun".

However i noticed something. Everytime i try turning off TC (option 1, 2, 3) the system will allow the wheels to spin initially.
However the car feels like the VSC is always working in the background (however there is a noticeable VSC intervention).
And if say u are experiencing excessive wheel spin and encountering some opposite steering wheel lock, the SILLY VSC lights will reign in the fun and start flickering and the TC will turn back on (This surprisingly applies on option 4 too).

So i was wondering is the car made this way that you cannot turn off the VSC and TC at all if you just wanna hoon the car around at a designated area (Yes i am aware of the media hype that it can be turned off but in practice i could not remove all the electronic stabilities/ nannies).

How do i want to TURN OFF all TC and VSC completely if it can be done?

Btw i tried to download the owners manaul of the 86 on this forum but it doesnt work (i dont have access to the owners manaul back home).

It wont be fun spending so much money on this car only to realise i cannot have the option of pressing the fun button (VSC and TC off period) when i am in the mood or given the choice to do so at a racing track, an autocross.

The only other logic i can think off why the car may warrant VSC in the background is to compliment the Torsen diff to provide some "preload" on to the diff to mimic a clutch pack lsd (reason being a Torsen needs some braking for it to provide a mediocre amount of "locking" to my understand). Once a Torsen is spinning a wheel it wont work at all.

What say you guys?
Appreciate your opinions.
Btw appreciate if there's no off topics why we should not turn these Electronic Nannies off as this is solely for track, drag, drift applications held in a sanctioned area.
Cheers.:thanks:

Press and hold TC and VSC at the same time.

Welcome to the forum! Let us know what you thought of the car if you have driven it any distance. Only a few here have driven it more than a few feet, so not much first hand knowledge in the membership yet.
On your question - I am certain I have read in reviews that it can all (VSC and TC) be switched off; search this forum for the BRZ owner's manual - there is an online version (there used to be a downloadable one but I think that link is broken).

HKS driver, Taniguchi have already commented that FR-S/BRZ doesn't fully turn off VSC or TC. iirc HKS had to pull the fuse to fully turn off the VSC & TC... but there's prob w pulling the fuse. When you do pull the fuse, it'll turn off the ABS also.

So if you wanna do full drifting, pull the fuse. Cuz VSC, TC, or ABS is necessary in drifting

I'm confused. Full Off is supposed to be a selectable mode...it would be a bit annoying if you have to pull a fuse.

"If the vehicle gets stuck in mud, dirt or snow, the TRAC system may
reduce power from the engine to the wheels. Pressing to turn
the system off may make it easier for you to rock the vehicle in order to free it.
To turn the TRAC system off, quickly press and release the button.
The Traction Control System OFF indicator light will come on.
Press the button again to turn the system back on."

"Turning off both TRAC and Vehicle stability control (VSC) systems:
To turn the TRAC and Vehicle stability control (VSC) systems off, press and
hold for more than 3 seconds while the vehicle is stopped.
The Traction Control System OFF indicator light and the Vehicle stability control (VSC) off indicator light will come on.
Press the button again to turn the systems back on."

Interesting for when the fuse blows on it's own. :P

Thanks for the rousing welcome.
Yes i tried that link but it seems broken.
Does anyone by chance still have a soft copy of the owners manual?
Would appreciate if anyone could email it to me.

I know it's too new for ppl to experience what i've been through. So looks like i've to wait a bit longer for feedback.

Oh so i'm supposed to press and hold both the TC and VSC button to completely disengage the systems?

Darn i got to try that if given the opportunity again.

I just followed what the Subaru people mentioned, where in order to turn off the system complete was just told to press and hold the TC button only (obviously now i know it doesnt work as the TC will revert back to normal once Mr. Toyoda things i'm being too naughty).


TC/ VSC stuff aside i gotta say it's pretty awsome car but unfortunately i never got to experience the car pass 2nd gear as i only got to play with it in a small little carpark cordoned off for me to hoon around by Subaru.

What really won me was that the car felt really spacious on the driver's seat (having driven Supras and Silvia) they feel pretty cramp considering they are quite lengthy.

The car perceives/feels/looks small but i would like to try parking a BRZ besides a Supra coz in reality i reckon they are probably the same size.

Only down side based on my 1st impression.....
Not enough power to smoke the rear wheels period.
Chassis is too good and underpowered.
It needs a turbocharged STi engine.
better still a Lexus ISF engine.
It needs a tigher LSD.

I would love to try a manual version as the auto gives me the impression that the gearing is just way too tall. 1st gear was good for 65kph if i recall.

Surprisingly i saw someone sporting a Subaru BRZ on STI Spec C RA-r brakes and running some sort of 19inch Ray Engineering Rims.
Was surprised the arches could clear 235/35 R19s front and 265/35 R19s rear.
However i doubt the handling would be the same and probably understeer like a pig but it really does look good on the car (somehow the newer cars these days needs +2 rim size up in the looks department).

Ok enough rambling for the day.

I thought VSC had 3 modes: on, sport, and off.

Does VSC do anything during a straight line "burnout"? I thought it was more for keeping the car from rotating (drifting). Now if you're doing a power slide with VSC on, I can see it stepping in.

How were all those drifting videos made with this car?

As for power to smoke the tires - my 133hp Miata will spin them with ease with a 3k rpm launch if I'm too aggressive with the clutch pedal release. I don't see this car having any problem turning 215's into smoke - just don't expect Hollywood type burnout effects (throw down some bleach if that's your thing).

If that's the case i really share the same sentiment as i spent litlerally the whole day hooning around doing figure of 8 (or doing pretzels) and doing donuts.

Stupid TC will revert back to normal.

Let me see if I can find the vid

K, after the first lap, Taniguchi went back to pit complaining to them about TC & VSC.
On 1-on-1 talk & bout 8mins into it, he explain that he can't fully turn off the TC & VSC... but he said that it's not 100% yet...
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I just tried to get the manual from the google doc, and it worked for me. You can try here:
http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=4181

According to the manual (p. 215), TC would be reactivated if only TC was off and the car went >31mph (50km/h). However, if both TC and VSC were off, the reactivation would not happen.

To turn both the TC and VSC off, hold the TC button > 3 sec while the car is fully stopped.

Thanks for the link and appreicate it...
That was the same link i tried before and it didn't work.

"To turn both the TC and VSC off, hold the TC button > 3 sec while the car is fully stopped"

Yup tried exactly as the above as instructed by the Subaru people. Unfortunately in reality it still feels that the VSC is working partially in the background and the TC did reactivate in an extreme situation/ drift angle/ or being naughty with the hand brake.

But not to worry. If that's the case what can i do.
If i can get more feed back from others on real life experience that would help me decide if the car is really worth considering.

^ This claim is worth checking out, but no other tester has reported this issue and we have all seen some massive drifting in the videos from tests in the hands of people like Chris Harris... Toyota may have liability concerns that led them to prevent full turnoff though.

BabyGodzillaGTi-R, if the car does not have enough power to spin the wheels then why do you want a tighter LSD? A tighter LSD will increase understeer.

My BMW has an open diff which is perfect for my car that has about 160HP (or maybe less) since it can't spin the wheels anyways.